Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Independent School District
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Ben Bolt - Palito Blanco High School, picture taken on April 28, 2006, image taken from http://www.badgercountry.com
The Ben Bolt - Palito Blanco Independent School District is located in South Texas off South HWY 281. The district contains three schools, two of which are located in Ben Bolt (high school, middle school), and an elementary in Palito Blanco, TX.
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[edit] Ben Bolt
[edit] History
Ben Bolt Water Tower, picture taken on April 28, 2006, image taken from http://www.badgercountry.com
- Ben Bolt is on Farm Road 2508 off U.S. Highway 281, seven miles south of Alice in south central Jim Wells County. Mexican herders were residents of the ranching area before the building of the railroad. The town was laid out in 1904 by L. B. Collins. When he named the town, which is right down the road from Alice, he did so under the influence of a popular song, "Ben Bolt," the first line of which is "Don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt?" A post office was established at Ben Bolt in 1906.
- By 1914 the town had fifty residents, a cotton gin, a general store, and a cattle breeder. That year the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway built a line through the community. By 1947 Ben Bolt had a population of 120 and four businesses. In 1950 the population was estimated at seventy-five and in 1966 at 138. From 1974 to 2000 it was 110.
[edit] Palito Blanco
[edit] History
- Palito Blanco is off Farm Road 735 fifteen miles southwest of Alice in west central Jim Wells County. The site was first settled by Mexican ranchers who according to local legend named the town for the hackberry trees that grew in the area; however, palito blanco is Spanish for "little white sapling." The community had a population of twenty-five in 1891. A post office named Palito Blanco was established at the site in 1916, discontinued shortly afterwards, and reactivated in 1928. By 1933 Palito Blanco had an estimated population of twenty and five businesses. In 1936 the town included one school, two cemeteries, four businesses, multiple farm units, and various dwellings. The town's population had increased to 100 by 1943 but by 1950 had dropped to forty. During the 1950s and 1960s Palito Blanco's population remained constant, and by 1963 the town included two schools, San Jose© church, and several dispersed dwellings. Palito Blanco saw little change during the 1970s and 1980s, and in 1990 the population was thirty-five.
[edit] Garza War 1891-1892
- The Garza War was an abortive effort in 1891-92 to organize a Texas-based revolution against the Mexican regime of Porfirio Diaz. Catarino E. Garza was a Mexican journalist living in Texas who had for many years launched editorial attacks against Diaz. Garza and his allies recognized no official border, considered themselves Mexicans, and were active in the internal politics of Mexico. On February 3, 1891, Garza's friend and fellow Diaz opponent Ignacio Martinez was killed by Diaz agents on the streets of Laredo. Martinez's assassination, combined with his own experiences with the regime, convinced Garza that he had to take up arms to defeat Diaz.
- Catarino Garza using Palito Blanco as his intelligence center, Garza reputedly organized a force of revolutionaries in 1891 to invade Mexico. On September 15, 1891, he led a group of twenty-six armed men across the Rio Grande at Mier, Tamaulipas, and proclaimed the "Plan Revolucionario." The revolutionaries returned to Texas after nine days and a brief engagement with Mexican forces. Over the following months, the Garcistas made at least two more incursions into Mexico. According to Garza's own records, by the end of 1891 his army had 63 commanders, 186 officers, and 1,043 soldiers. Reacting swiftly, the Mexican government sent to the border Gen. Lorenzo Garcia, who so brutally suppressed anti-Diaz dissent that his cruelties caused a pro-Garza reaction in Texas.
- Fearing border war, influential Texans urged South Texans to remain neutral and petitioned the governor for special rangers to drive out Garcistas. By December 1891 United States Army troops had been sent to patrol the border; one short skirmish occurred, at Retamal Springs. The army generally was ineffective, but Garcistas soon left the area as newly appointed special rangers proved effective and potential recruits opted for neutrality. In 1892 Garza reportedly learned that he was wanted by the special rangers and fled Texas.
[edit] External links
| 2006 Texas Education Agency Accountability Rating |
| Exemplary | Recognized | Academically Acceptable | Academically Unacceptable | Not Rated: Other |
