History

This site displays best on a computer vs a smaller device. Please REFRESH page each time you visit

Joppa Community

History of Pool Branch 1874

Excerpt from 1979 Burnet County History, Vol. I, page 128

This matenal was researched. written, and submitted by Mrs. Estelle A. Bryson.

The Pool Branch community was located just north of the North San Gabriel River some seven miles north of Bertram. The stream for which it was named, Pool Branch, heads on what is now Ranch Road 963 and empties into the North Gabriel about one-fourth mile west of the Joppa Bridge. About one-half mile upstream from the Gabriel on Pool Branch, there is a natural waterfall that falls into a mill pond.

Here a gin was built and operated in the 1880s, and could gin about 10 bales of cotton a day. A mill was also operated and ground corn. (In 1886 cotton was selling for two cents and

three cents per pound, and corn was 15 cents per busheJ.)

The gin was operated by George Livingston, who camped at the gin. His helpers were Boone and Teal Stevenson. The gin had two stands and operated for a good many years.

The community also had a store and a blacksmith shop a few hundred yards southeast of the gin on the west side of the present county road about halfway to the schoolhouse.

Mrs. Hattie Snow Smith had a hat shop in her home about one mile east of the gin and store. Mrs. Smith and Emma Barnett made a trip to St. Louis for milliner training. Mrs. Smith bought the mirror for her shop at Stokes Brothers in Lampasas.

On August 31, 1881, J. S. Danford and wife, Jane Danford, County of Delaware, State of Iowa, gave two acres of land from the northwest corner of the Douglas Brown Survey on the north bank of the North San Gabriel River to the County Judge of Burnet County and his successors in office to be used as a school and a church lot, provided a sufficient schoolhouse be built and completed by the first day of March, 1882; and "if said house is not completed by said date the land shall again become the property of said Danforth and wife. " The school was built and was used for that purpose and also as a church for many years.

A post office was established in 1891, and the name given it was "Joppa." By 1910 the name "Pool Branch" was no longer used for the community. There are a few stones left where the store and blacksmith shop stood, also perhaps a few pieces of iron where the gin stood, and the Joppa Community Center is where the school stood.

Texas Historical Commission. (Historical Marker Number 9722.)

Some of the first settlers in this farming and ranching community were the William Alexander Faires family in 1874 and the Martin Luther Ater family the next year. The settlement was called "Pool Branch" for a nearby pool formed by a waterfall. In the 1880s a cotton gin and mill were located on the pool which was known as "Mill Pond". There was a store, a blacksmith shop, and one mile from the gin, Mrs. Hattie Snow Smith ran a hat shop in her home.

J. S. and Jane Danford of Delaware County, Iowa, gave two acres in 1881 for a school and church, provided the schoolhouse was completed by March 1, 1882. Area residents met the deadline.

With the establishment of a post office in 1891, the community's name changed to the biblical, "Joppa". William F. Childers served as the first postmaster. After the coming of rural mail delivery, the post office closed in 1904.

Worship was held in the Joppa Schoolhouse until 1913 when the Joppa Baptist Church congregation erected this meetinghouse. The Joppa School consolidated with Bertram in 1942. All that remains of the pioneer settlement is the church house and school building which serves as a community center.

History of Joppa Community

Early families of Joppa Community, originally named Pool Branch

"For a community to be one of the right kind, one which a person is proud to live in, it must be made up of live, thrifty people who are willing and eager to take part in all social, as well as business events. We think Joppa hard to beat when it comes to such qualifications of its people."

- written by a 1911 reporter for the Burnet Bulletin recognizing the community's togetherness.

Burnet County History, Vol. I, page 122

The Joppa story was written and submitted by Mrs. Estelle A. Bryson.

The Joppa community is located just north of the North Fork of the San Gabriel River some seven miles north of Bercram.

The name ''Joppa,'' biblical in its derivation, was agreed on by the people of the community when the former Pool Branch community secured a post office in 1891. The Hebrew meaning of Joppa is "beauty."

The community had a school for more than 50 years and still has a church (see chapter on Churches, and on Schools). Rural mail delivery came co the neighborhood in 1903, the mail carriers out of Bertram being Chris Payne co the north and Witt Bryson to the south. Prior co this time, mail was delivered twice a week by horseback from Burnet.

Also in 1903 talk of getting a telephone was begun and on May 19, 1904, a line was installed from Bertram co Joppa by D. C. Reed, C. E. Deese, and John A. Jones. On May 4, 1905, a telephone line was built to Briggs.

An IRON BRIDGE was built across the North Gabriel at Joppa in 1907. In January, 1911, the iron bridge was built across Russell Fork of the Gabriel, and C. N. Price was the county commissioner. This bridge made three iron bridges between Joppa and Bertram, the third being across Bear Creek. At this same time the big cut was made on Joppa hill, just south of Joppa.

A SIMPLER TIME

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES in the community included sociables on Friday nights, and singings on Saturday and Sunday nights. The big affair of the year was the annual picnic held under the pecan trees on the North Gabriel just downstream from the bridge. The August 13, 1903. issue of the Burnet Bulletin reported a ball game at Pool Branch, and the score was Pool Branch 9-Burnet 5. Players for Pool Branch (Joppa) were Tom Taylor. Homer Feild, Tom Baker. Cunis Perry, Cory Snow, Mack Baker, Charley Parsons, Charley Baker, Vince Parsons, and Clinton Perry.

The Bulletin on August 20, 1903, reported the Joppa picnic ar which the Woodmen of the World had a log rolling with 2,000 to 3,000 present. The baseball game that day was between Bertram and Killeen, and there was also a roping contest.

These picnics continued until the 1930s. In the past 30 years each month covered dish lunches and suppers have been held. For many years an annual dove hunt and fry was held held on the first day of dove hunting season. The hunters scatter over the area and hunt while the ladies gather at the

community center for visiting and to prepare for the feast after the birds have been picked and cooked.

In 1912 Sam Taylor and B. H. Goode bought a 40-horsepower engine and thrasher. ''The grain crop is so fine that at least 30 horse-drawn reapers were sold in Bertram. The next year Sam Taylor and John Ater bought a new thrasher.

Early-day families in the Joppa community included the Blackston Bakers, M. L. Aters, William Faireses, Marshall McCleans, Mac Allens, Amory G. Olivers, W.W. Taylors, Elisha Prices, C. L. Snows, J. E. Landons, Reese Smiths, John H. Russells, William P. Rays, along with the Alexanders, Hundleys, Marrs, and Childers.

The people of the Joppa neighborhood have always worked together, having built their first school and also the church. The local residents in more recent years remodeled the church and rebuilt the school into a community center. In 1911 a reporter for the Burnet Bulletin recognized the community's togetherness when he wrote:

History of Joppa, Texas: From Pool Branch to a Thriving Community

By: Estelle Bryson from the Texas Handbook Online

Published: 1952; Updated: February 1, 1995

Joppa, on Farm Road 210 and the North Fork of the San Gabriel River, seven miles northeast of Bertram in Burnet County, was first called Pool Branch, after a nearby pool formed by a waterfall. At that pool in the 1880s were a cotton gin and a mill; just southeast of the gin were a store and a blacksmith shop.

On August 31, 1881, J. S. and Jane Danford of Delaware County, Iowa, gave two acres of land on the north bank of the North Gabriel to be held in trust for a school and a church. The school building was constructed at once and used for classes and church services. Worship was held in the schoolhouse until 1913, when a church building was erected. The local school, the church, and the locality were called Pool Branch until 1891, when the community secured a post office, and the people agreed on the Biblical name Joppa. On May 19, 1904, a telephone line was installed in Joppa.

An iron bridge was built across the San Gabriel River in 1907 and was still in use in 1989. The area received electricity in 1939 from the Pedernales Electric Cooperative. The school was consolidated with the Bertram district in 1942. Friday and Saturday night socials and Sunday night singings culminated in an annual picnic as late as the 1930s. The church and school buildings were still used in the 1980s for church and community activities. In 2000 the population was thirty-four.

side note by D Cain - Being curious about the teacher in the 1903 photo, John R. Hamilton, I did some asking around and located some of his relatives who still reside in the area. I was able to speak with one of them and they very interesting and informative.

Read about the early pioneer families of Pool Branch, at EARLY FAMILIES page on this site

Joppa School - formerly Pool Branch School

JOPPA SCHOOL formerly POOL BRANCH SCHOOL

The school at Joppa was started some time in the 1880s as the POOL BRANCH SCHOOL, and the name was changed some time around 1900 to the JOPPA SCHOOL.

On August 31, 1881, Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Danford of Delaware County, Iowa, deeded two acres to the County Judge of Burnet County to be used for a school and a church. If a building was not built for a public free school by March 1, 1882, the land would revere to the grantors (Volume N, Pages 506-507, DRBC). This was the land upon which the school house was built, and it has always stood at the same place. The JOPPA SCHOOL was listed as school #3 of Common School District #4.

The first school building burned during the 1889-1890 session when Jennie Faires was the teacher. Other early teachers were Miss Ollie Cushingberry, a Mr. Brown, and it is thought T. S. Reed.

1941 the school was consolidated with Bertram.

Click here to view Class Photos of Pool Branch and Joppa School above

Photo in gallery above: JOPPA SCHOOL-April 18. 1930. Students & Teachers

Back row (I to r) Armour Brooks (Barnett), teacher. Odell Price, Ruth Chapman. Lonnie Cox, Laura Cox, Jay Chapman, Ozelle Asher. Charlie Butcher, Ophelia Russell. Earl Key. Gladys Huggins (Teague). Walter Butcher, Carrie Maud Huggins (Banks), Oran Price, Mrs. R. M. Turner-teacher.

Second row from back (I co r) __ Blaylock, Luther Acer. Ella Faye Crawford , Buck Asher. Theatious Johnson. W. W. Taylor. __ Blacklock, Vera Mac Johnson. Raymond Dale Price. Thelma Crawford, Ernest Francis Allen (Buster), Wachweese Baker, Odell Huggins, Malcolm Blacklock.

Third row from back (I ro r) Raymond Crawford , Morris Price, Mary Lou Asher. Francis Cox, Eleanor Davis. Dorothy Nell Chapman. Ruby Lee Johnson. Dorothy Mac Acer. Glen Dora Crawford , Hazel Kate Price. Charlda Baker. La Verne Chapman, Juanita Huggins (Baker). Yates Johnson. J. W. Huggins.

Front row (I ro r) Mildred Crawford , Margaret Asher. Elvin McDaniel. Johnnie Mac Davis, Carlos Joe Price, George Gale Price. Elsie Faye Turner. Ozias Johnson.

more history to come

We hope to add more images and family stories - please send to toni.schmid@gmail.com

Pool Branch est 1874

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=27539

Bertram Depot est 1882

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=203266

When the Austin & Northwestern Railroad first laid rails through Bertram in 1882, the original Bertram depot was constructed on this site and served railroad passengers until the end of passenger service in 1937

Bertram School est 1882

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=27427

When Bertram was founded in 1882 along the Austin & Northwestern Railroad, one of the first structures erected was a combination school, Sunday School, and Masonic Lodge hall. Rudolph Bertram, Austin Railroad executive for whom the town was named, contributed $50 for construction of the school. The frame building was enlarged as the community grew. By 1908, however, new facilities were needed for the 264 students.

Schools in the area

Old Strickling School is thought to have begun about 1869 and ended around 1895. It was listed in School District #4 and later in 1911 Shell Rock, Shady Grove, and Joppa Schools were all listed in Strickling District #4.

Source: Burnet County History, Volume I