By Rhonda Wyatt
This week, Elm Grove Echoes will carry a few echoes from the neighboring Bowser community.
I recently stumbled across a 1960 article in the Brownwood Bulletin that described Bowser as one of the oldest communities in the Richland Springs area, with roots dating back to about 1870. The community was named for an early settler identified as A. Bowser, and its school district was said to have been the second organized in San Saba County.
The first school in the area was called Flat Rock and stood along the banks of the Colorado River. In its more prosperous years, Bowser was a busy little community with two grocery stores, a post office, a school, two cotton gins, several churches, and a general mercantile store. In later years, the Bowser school consolidated with Richland Springs.
Churches and cemeteries were also an important part of community life. In 1889, a building fund was started for Varga Chapel Church and Cemetery on land donated by Paul Varga. The first burial there was Mr. Timmons in 1890. The cemetery is still used today by local families. The church building was later torn down and moved to Bowser, where it remains today.
The first Church of Christ building in Bowser was completed in 1903 and was rebuilt in 1950.
Over the years, the grocery stores changed hands many times, with Mr. and Mrs. Roy Pallett being the last to operate a store there.
Agriculture and livestock also helped shape the community. Dick Hyde is credited with introducing Hereford cattle to the area, while M. L. Rice reportedly raised hundreds of Poland China hogs.
Like many early settlements in this part of Texas, Bowser also had its share of hardship. Old settlers recalled several Indian raids or encounters that disturbed the community. During one raid, a man named Spiller was killed when Indians attempted to run off horses.
Today, very little remains of what was once a thriving little community. The stores, school, gin activity, and daily bustle are gone. What remains is a small church and the memories passed down through generations.
Sometimes it takes an old newspaper clipping to remind us just how much life once filled the quiet places we drive past today.
The results are also in for the district’s Texas Education Agency “grade,” and those results can be found at TexasSchools. gov. While ratings provide one measure of performance, they do not define a school or the people who make it special. Richland Springs has a strong school community built on hard work, dedication, and a willingness to keep improving. That work ethic is something our students, teachers, staff, and families can be proud of as the new school year gets underway. COYOTES FIGHT, NEVER DIE