Captain Charles Welhausen of Fort Manhassett, Sabine Pass, Texas
leading Creuzbauer's Battery to the Battle of Calcasieu Pass, LA.
From an oil painting owned by Ray Welhausen, Shiner, TX. |
Most people would agree that the repulse of an
invasion fleet in 1863 and the oil eruption at Spindletop in 1901 were
the two outstanding historical events in Jefferson County’s history.
Each event has spawned volumes of history. In a sense, each occurrence
marked the decline of an old order. The outcome of the Civil War ended
slavery and witnessed the regression of the cattle industry. Gradually,
the new lumber and sawmill barons replaced the stockmen as Jefferson
County’s economic backbone. As the virgin forests vanished and
petroleum was discovered, the process of economic transition began anew.
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