Texas, Bell County, Salado
![]()
Salado was officially establish in 1859 when Col. E.S.C Robertson donated land for a townsite and for a college. Col. Hermon Aiken drew a plat for the town, which developed along its main street. However, there had been activity here long before this time, as Native Americans and Spanish explorers, among others, came through the spring-fed land. The
explorers used the term Salado, meaning salty, in referring to this area, likely confusing Salado Creek and the Lampasas River. By 1852, a post office opened to serve a growing community on the Burney and Blair stage line from Austin to Waco. Several hotels opened in the settlement, including Salado Hotel.
By the 1860s, Salado developed a thriving economy based on farming, ranching, milling, mineral baths and education. Salado College opened in 1860, attracting many individuals to the growing community. Additional schools were built, including Thomas Arnold High School, which was established by Dr. Samuel Jones, and a school on land donated by W.K. Hamblen, which closed in 1969 and became a community center. In 1873, the First Texas Branch of the Grange, a national fraternal agrarian order, opened in Salado. Salado hosted Bell County's first agricultural fair that same year; the fair moved to Belton in 1876. By the 1890s, several churches had also organized in Salado.
Salado became a virtual ghost town in the early decades of the 20th century; The population was around 250 in 1950, but since that time, Salado has experienced continued growth. Revitalization occurred when retirees moved here and with promotion of the arts. In 2000, Salado again incorporated, and today remains a viable community into the 21st century. Marker is property of the State of Texas
(Hispanic Americans • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Salado was officially establish in 1859 when Col. E.S.C Robertson donated land for a townsite and for a college. Col. Hermon Aiken drew a plat for the town, which developed along its main street. However, there had been activity here long before this time, as Native Americans and Spanish explorers, among others, came through the spring-fed land. The
explorers used the term Salado, meaning salty, in referring to this area, likely confusing Salado Creek and the Lampasas River. By 1852, a post office opened to serve a growing community on the Burney and Blair stage line from Austin to Waco. Several hotels opened in the settlement, including Salado Hotel.By the 1860s, Salado developed a thriving economy based on farming, ranching, milling, mineral baths and education. Salado College opened in 1860, attracting many individuals to the growing community. Additional schools were built, including Thomas Arnold High School, which was established by Dr. Samuel Jones, and a school on land donated by W.K. Hamblen, which closed in 1969 and became a community center. In 1873, the First Texas Branch of the Grange, a national fraternal agrarian order, opened in Salado. Salado hosted Bell County's first agricultural fair that same year; the fair moved to Belton in 1876. By the 1890s, several churches had also organized in Salado.
Salado became a virtual ghost town in the early decades of the 20th century; The population was around 250 in 1950, but since that time, Salado has experienced continued growth. Revitalization occurred when retirees moved here and with promotion of the arts. In 2000, Salado again incorporated, and today remains a viable community into the 21st century. Marker is property of the State of Texas
(Hispanic Americans • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
~Front~
Mississippi blues master Charley Patton was born on this property when it was known as Herring's Place, according to Bolton bluesman Sam Chatmon. Patton's birthdate has often been reported as April 1891, but other sources cite earlier dates, including 1881, 1885, and 1887. (Birth certificates were not required in Mississippi until 1912.) Patton's astounding body of recorded work (1929-1934) remains unparalleled, and his live performances were reportedly even more awe-inspiring. Patton died on April 29, 1934.
arrived in Baddeck in 1835. It is believed he was sent from Halifax by the executors of the estate of the late James Duffus in order to settle up his business affairs. Young Mr. Kidston, it is said, fell “madly in love” with the widow Duffus & they were married in 1836. The Kidstons had three children, William Jr., Isabella, and Archibald. 
English: 
English: 
English: 
On this spot the green flag dropped for twenty-three
sports cars to start the first road race in the United States
after World War II. It was October 2, a beautiful, crisp
Saturday in 1948. The event, sanctioned by the Sports Car
Club, of America, (SCCA) sponsored by the village of
Watkins Glen and attended by an estimated 5,000
spectators, marked the beginning of a racing era at Watkins
Glen, and throughout the country. It was the first closed-
circuit race in this country following WW II to be run on
public roads. The 6.6 mile course started at this spot with
a quarter-mile straight on Franklin Street, turned sharp
right on Old Corning Hill Road, with a steep climb to the
White House esses, across a plateau to School House
Corner, then a rapid descent to Cornett’s Stone Bridge, up
again over serpentine oiled gravel to a sharp right at Archie
Smith’s dirt surfaced corner, down a slightly bent, fast
straight to the railroad crossing, where the New York
Central held up trains for the races, leading to a mile long
descent into the village ’round a long sweeping right hand
bend on cement—then macadam, climaxed by an abrupt
25 mph left, a split second straight with a hard right onto
Franklin Street back past the start/finish line.
In 1953 the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Corporation
moved the circuit to a spot six miles southwest of the
village, very close to where the circuit is presently located
and racing continued on public roads for three more years
In 1956 the 2.3 mile permanent circuit was constructed
on land purchased by the Grand Prix Corporation. In
1971 the circuit was modified by widening the roads,
relocating the start/finish line and lengthening the course
to 3.377 miles by the addition of the one mile boot
configuration.
Each year on Friday after Labor Day, the Grand Prix Festival of Watkins Glen celebrates the community’s rich road racing history and the first post-World War II road race in the United States. The event is dedicated to the committee of the Chamber of Commerce of
Watkins Glen that launched that initial race on October 2, 1948.
Born Dorothy Camber, to a British plantation owner at South Carolina, Dorothy married lawyer George Walton at Savannah shortly before the beginning of the American Revolution. George Walton attended the Continental Congress in Philadelphia signing the Declaration of Independence. Dorothy relocated to Pensacola in 1822 where George Walton Jr. was serving as Acting-Governor of Florida after the departure of Andrew Jackson.
Born in Italy in 1777, Desiderio Quina served the Spanish army in the Louisiana Infantry Regiment. He was later employed in Pensacola as an apothecary for the John Forbes Company where he married Margarita Bobe. His son Desiderio was born in 1817 and fought in the second Seminole War with a regiment of Alabama mounted volunteers. He opened a pharmacy on Government Street in Pensacola about 1842 and later earned a license to act as a physician.
Born a nobleman in Spain about 1757, Noriega served his country with distinction in the Louisiana Infantry Regiment against the British at Baton Rouge, Mobile, and Pensacola between 1779 and 1781. His son Jose Noriega, born at Pensacola in 1788, also served the Louisiana Infantry Regiment. He operated an extensive brickyard on Escambia Bay and in 1820 was elected by Pensacola citizens Alcalde, an officer comparable to Mayor.
Salvador Pons was the second son of John Pons, a seaman from Maryland, and Maria Rosario, a free woman of color. As a property owner who could read and write, Salvador was able to serve the Pensacola community as City Alderman beginning in 1869 and was elected Mayor in 1874. He later served as City Clerk from 1878 to 1884.
