| |
ALTO,
TEXASAKA
Branchtown
Cherokee
County, East Texas
Hwys 69, 21 and 294, and FMs 752 and 1911
12 miles S of Rusk
31 miles N of Lufkin
25 miles
W of Nacogdoches
34 miles NE of Crockett
Population 1,190 (2000)
|
History
in a Pecan Shell
Robert F. Mitchell is credited with being Alto's
founder sometime around 1849. The following year a post office was granted under
the name of Branchtown and in 1851 Mitchell opened a store. The land was reportedly
the highest point between the Angelina and Neches
rivers, and so the name was changed to Alto - the Spanish word for "high" in 1852.
Alto benefitted greatly from its position on the Old San Antonio Road, and grew
accordingly, with all the essential businesses needed for a town to prosper. |
| | Williams
Chapel AME in Alto
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson August 2004 |
| | "M.E.
Church" in Alto
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
| | "Residence
of F.B. Guinn"
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
| The Kansas and Gulf Short
Line Railroad arrived in the mid 1880s and towns within the Alto trading area
had their populations move into town. In 1893 the town got its own newspaper (the
News) and two years later the population was up to 600 Altoans. Alto incorporated
in 1909. |
| Alto
recorded its peak population just prior to the Great Depression with 1,600 people
but as things worsened the population dropped to just over 1,000 by 1936. In the
mid-1960s the population was almost back to the 1929 level, but it declined to
1,252 in 1990 and is presently (2004) at 1,190. |
|
See
Alto,
Texas by
Archie P. McDonald
Alto, Texas, in Cherokee County, is the retirement
home of legendary coach Steve McCarty... But we digress. This story is about Alto,
a town originally known as Branchtown located on El Camino Real, or the Old San
Antonio Road, where US Highway 69 and State Highway 21 intersect south of Rusk,
north of Lufkin, west of Nacogdoches, and east of Crockett. Once upon a time,
those places might have been described as near Alto, for it was nearly as large
as any of them...
Side Trips
There
are several sites near Alto worth side trips >
(From "East
Texas Sunday Drives" by Bob Bowman)
Caddoan
Mounds State Historic Site >
What is left of the mound-building
Caddos is found in stone artifacts and small tools at the Caddoan Mounds State
Historic Site east of Alto on Texas Highway 21, often known as El Camino Real
Founded in the l960s, it is a wonderful place for a weekend family trip and to
learn about the Caddos.
(From The
Mystery of Caddo Mounds by Bob Bowman "All
Things Historical")
Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
Nacogdoches
Hotels |
| | John
H. Singletary cruising timber for the
Blount-Decker Lumber Company of Alto
c. 1908 | Photo
Courtesy Arcadia Publishing and
The Cherokee County Historical Commission
|
Alto
Texas ForumSubject:
M.E. Church
Hi My name is Sandy Owen and I live in Ontario Canada. My mother's late Uncle
Charles Mallory (her father's half brother) and his wife Cecelia lived in Alto
for a number of years. She died in the late 1930s and and Uncle Charles died in
1943 and they are buried in Alto City Cemetery. They were members of the First
Methodist Episcopal Church in the town of Alto. Upon the death of his beloved
wife, he stated in his will that the Church would receive money annually for the
upkeep and care of her grave. He also had built a memorial gate at the cemetery
in her memory. I am wondering if this might be the same church and if the church
still survives. My mother is almost 87 years old and is trying to find as much
info as she can regarding her favourite uncle. Any information you could provide
would be very much appreciated so that I could pass it on to my mom. Thank you
for any information you might have. Sincerely Mrs. Sandy Owen, December 29,
2005
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
Nacogdoches
Hotels
Lufkin
Hotels
More Hotels |
|
|
