Serendipity in Beeville
For young folks, the drive from the Rio Grande Valley to Bryan, TX requires about 7 hours. For Pat and me, the drive required over 10 hours yesterday. Because? Well, in part, it’s because I must stop and fill up my "nap tank" in Encino, Goliad, and some other parking lot along the highway. At about 20 minutes per nap, an hour is added to our drive. Then, add another hour for pork fajitas at the Maya Mexican restaurant in Cuero and a couple of wrong turns and the hours add up.
But, maybe the most interesting time-loss happened on the highway between Beeville and Goliad at the semi-ghost town of Berclair. Now, Berclair is one of those towns that you might drive through and barely notice — just a few run-down, old homes occupied and abandoned, and a small gas station and store that might or might not have been open. At the “city” limits was a small, faded sign that proudly advertised “Historic Berclair.” Well, I thought, every town has a history, so what is the justification for using the word “historic” in this dusty place? At the north end of town, we turned around at an abandoned, weedy, roadside park and decided to explore the town in search of a historic marker or something that might justify the “historic” designation. We headed west on a small, gravel, one-lane street and after a few more abandoned homes and autos, we noticed a large, old building in total disrepair that had likely been a schoolhouse. No marker there, so we continued another block or so through this one-time, thriving community, and finally found what we suspected was a major source of the “history.”
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| Berclair School? |
On the last street in town, this majestic mansion appeared, surrounded by a fence. We parked in front of the locked gate and peered through the fence at this handsome, well-maintained mansion which sported a green, manicured lawn. It was like an oasis in a desert. A sign on the fence read: “Terrell Hall, open for visitors 1PM to 2:30 PM on Sunday.” OK, today was Sunday so we could wait until it opened at 1 PM. But, the time was only about 11 AM so it would be necessary to invest a couple hours of wait-time for us to take a tour. It was tempting, but we decided to continue our journey.
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| Terrell Hall |
Back home after the long drive, I found a couple of photos taken in Berclair and my interest was renewed. I could not remember the name of the town, so I conducted a Google search for the words “Terrell Hall” that had appeared on the sign. Google responded with an Alabama football player named Terrell Hall, a restaurant by that name and some other stuff — but no Terrell Mansion. I searched my maps and found small towns on our route and Googled them, but none mentioned Terrell Hall. I was close to giving up on this search when I again found the “Terrell Hall Restaurant” and this time carefully read the details. It explained that the restaurant is located in the Berclair Mansion. So, then I Googled for “Berclair Mansion” and found at least one major reason why Berclair is historic.
“Phone 361-358-4480, 22 room mansion with all original furnishings. Some antiques dating back to 1600’s. Tours of the Berclair Mansion are being conducted on the last Sunday of each month from 2 to 4 pm. Cost is $10.00 per person. All ages. For large groups, different tours times can be arranged for 20 or more any day of the week.”
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| Berclair Mansion Furnishings |
“The heroine is Etta, born to Robert and Mary Wilkinson on Matagorda Island in 1861, the first year of the Civil War. She was the second of eight children. The family moved to Goliad County in 1862. Thirty-one years later, Etta married James Crogan Ludlow Terrell, a cattleman who amassed 25,000 acres of South Texas ranchland. In 1898, Etta had been married for only six years when her parents’ Queen Anne home in Berclair burned to the ground. Its heat scarred a part of Etta’s memory that never quite healed—until perhaps 38 years later.
By 1936, James had been dead for 17 years, and Etta was living with family in Berclair, where they built a new home after the fire. She decided to build another home for herself and her four sisters—Bertha, Lorene, and Carlyle, none of whom ever married, and Regina, like herself, a widow.”
For this reference and additional history, check out: http://texashighways.com/travel/item/5802-south-texas-berclair-mansion
Terrell Hall also serves as a restaurant:
“I WOULD like to recommend Terrell Hall Restaurant in Berclair as a surprising place for elegant dining in a romantic setting. This could also be called destination dining! It is only open on Friday and Saturday nights, and for special occasions. It is on the attractive, oak-covered grounds of the historic Berclair Mansion. They offer a limited menu, which changes every weekend according to what is freshest. Some of the entrées include a 12-ounce rib-eye steak, seafood, fresh shrimp, veal, and lamb. The desserts are delicious. Customers can dine inside or outside. The owner, Margaret Tindol, says they believe in pampering their guests, and they really do!”
Nancy B. Jones, Beeville. Terrell Hall Restaurant is at 66 Moore Rd.; 301/439-7600.
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| Terrell Hall Restaurant |
http://texashillcountry.com/supernatural-spinster-sisters-berclair-mansion/
It all seemed like the subject for a novel of Texas historical and ghostly fiction.
