Historic Walker County

❖
Operators at the switchboard,
Huntsville Telephone Company, 1920.
COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE
ARTS COMMISSION.
Inspired by the heroic sacrifices of his fellow
soldiers, Huntsvillian John W. Thomason, Jr.,
decided to write a book about his experiences in
the Great War. Born in 1893, Thomason studied
art and worked as a writer in the editorial
department at the Houston Chronicle before
being appointed second lieutenant in the
Marine Corps in April 1917. The following year,
he and one of his men dislodged and killed 13
German soldiers who were firing on Marines at
Soissons, France, saving many lives and opening
the way for a strategic advance. For his heroism,
Thomason earned the Navy Cross and a
reputation for bold, decisive action.
When he returned from the war, he
published Fix Bayonets!, a first-hand account of
the Marines most famous actions, including the
Argonne Forest, Belleau Wood, Chateau Thierry,
Mont Blanc, and St Mihiel. Aside from his
military accomplishments, Thomason also
wrote nearly a dozen illustrated books and
published numerous articles. Thomason’s work
during and after World War I continues to be
recognized today. A U.S. destroyer was named
for him as well as a Marine Corps award “for
excellence in the fine or applied arts.” Locally,
the special collections room at Sam Houston
State University’s Newton Gresham Library is
named in his honor. 69
The signing of an armistice on November 11,
1918, brought the blowing of whistles, a grand
rally, and speeches to celebrate the end of the
Great War. The United States had prevailed with
its allies in the conflict, and at the local level
many soldiers were returning to their homes.
Yet, all was not right in Walker County.
Although the cotton crop was producing better
yields than at any time in the previous two
decades, race relations in the area were terribly
strained and sharecroppers were facing an
uncertain future. In June 1918, local whites in
Dodge lynched the Cabiness family, killing at
least six African Americans in a brazen act of
violence. Then, during the “Red Summer” of
1919, several white residents in Huntsville
attacked two groups of African Americans
including Ed Morgan, George Mosely, and Levi
Preston for allegedly having relations with a
white woman. Although all the men refuted the
charge, and the woman herself denied knowing
any of them, the white mob nearly killed several
of the men, souring race relations in the
community for years to come.
As if this was not enough, many African
Americans and white laboring people in Walker
County were reduced to working as
sharecroppers or tenant farmers on land owned
by others. By the end of the 1920s, 1,348 out of
the 2,477 farms in the county were operated by
tenants, and many of these families struggled to
make ends meet. 70
Farm tenancy was not the only issue plaguing
farmers in Walker County. During rain storms
and wet months, they often could not leave their
land due to impassable roads, which meant that
they had little contact with the outside world. In
the late 1920s, however, the isolation of rural
farmers began to change as mail delivery, the
telephone, and the automobile began to make
their way beyond the cities of the area. By 1930,
Huntsville had two movie theaters, a golf
course, and several hobby-oriented groups such
as the Cub Scouts.
These developments, along with the introduction
of dozens of new cars forced the local
government to allocate time and money towards
the paving of roads. For instance, the road
around the Huntsville Square was paved in
1918, and in 1928 the county allocated two
million dollars to pave streets beyond the
downtown district. These paving projects made
Walker County a mid-point between Houston
and Dallas, and they helped bring visitors to
Huntsville for family events and sightseeing. 71
3 2 ✦ H I S T O R I C W A L K E R C O U N T Y