Meansville and Kaleta

Meansville and Kaleta (HMLXP)

Location: Odem, TX 78370 San Patricio County
Buy Texas State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 27° 56.982', W 97° 34.986'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 457 views
Inscription
Meansville
(3 miles southeast)
Col. William Marshall Means, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, came to San Patricio County with his family in the 1850s and settled southeast of present Odem. Means was county sheriff from 1862 to 1867. The center of the community was a two-story building erected by the Methodist congregation in 1874. It also served as a schoolhouse, ecumenical church and community center. By January 1876, the community was thriving and headed for a promising future when three of Col. Means' sons went on a shooting spree in Papalote in Bee County. A posse which included San Patricio County Sheriff Ed Garner tracked them to their father's ranch, where Col. Means was killed. In August, Ed Garner was shot as he attended church services. Alley Means was convicted of murder, but later pardoned by Gov. John Ireland. The townspeople lived in fear until the Texas Rangers ordered the Means families to leave the area. By the early 1880s they had sold their San Patricio County holdings. The school building was sold in 1881.

Kaleta
(5 miles southeast)
Several families settled in the area that became known as Kaleta in the late 1880s and shortly thereafter built a one-room school. The Kaleta school may have been established to fill a void left by the closing of the Meansville school. Frank S. Rachal served as first postmaster in 1894. The school closed in 1910 and the post office was discontinued in 1914, but the stagecoach line continued to deliver local mail to the home of former postmaster J.D. Willis and his family. By the time of the devastating 1919 storm, the stage line had closed and Kaleta had disappeared from the map.
Details
HM NumberHMLXP
Tags
Marker Number12182
Year Placed1999
Placed ByTexas Historical Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, October 24th, 2014 at 8:36am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)14R E 639385 N 3092438
Decimal Degrees27.94970000, -97.58310000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 27° 56.982', W 97° 34.986'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds27° 56' 58.92" N, 97° 34' 59.16" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)361
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 508 Voss Ave, Odem TX 78370, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. This marker needs at least one picture.
  8. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  9. Is the marker in the median?