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Montery
It is unclear whether the small community of
Monterey, located on the Louisiana-Texas state line, was
part of the Louisiana Purchase or if it was the property
of Spanish Texas. For the most part the community was in
Texas, but its layout gave some of it to Louisiana. The
town was short-lived, existing for maybe fifty years
during the nineteenth century, and served as a safe
haven for trouble and outlaws. Today a nearby lake is
named for the community, as is the community center, but
there is no physical evidence of the town. But even with
its short existence, the town had developed a reputation
of being a rough town.
1
The town had a mercantile business, at
least three stores, one or two blacksmiths shops, a
cotton gin, a saw mill, a cotton warehouse, and a grist
mill. Entertainment could be found at the town dances,
the saloon, and at the local race track, where gamblers
placed their bets on horse races and rooster fights. In
about 1848 blacksmith John A. Lester shot and killed a
Mr. Collins, the overseer on Reuben Harrison’s
plantation, in a drunken dispute over a rooster fight.
When Harrison learned of the death of his overseer, he
approached Lester, who grabbed a pair of blacksmith’s
tongs, as Harrison picked up a sledge hammer. The two
attacked one another, simultaneously killing the other
with their weapons.
2
A post office was established in Monterey
on August 16, 1851 with N. Jupton as postmaster and was
discontinued on January 23, 1867, but it was
re-established in 1878. Robert Harrell, the son of James
and Francis Harrell, served as the last postmaster of
Monterey from 1880 until 1900. At the
turn-of-the-century mail began to be sent to Vivian
instead.
3
The town’s disappearance has connections
to the establishment of Vivian, five miles northwest of
Monterey. The settlers of Vivian left their homes in
Monterey for the new railroad town.
4
References
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Cemeteries
