Bevers / Huppler / Lena Huppler / McElhany

Day Sixteen: Sherman to Denton, Texas

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October 28, 2019

Retracing Lena Huppler Bevers’ Travel Log

Tues. Oct. 28.

Left Van Alstyne and had fairly good roads.  Ate dinner at Piolet Point.  Stayed all night at a Private House in Denton. – Lena Bevers

You know you are in Texas when your waffle is in the shape of the state. (Photograph by EJJ October 28, 2019)

After breakfast at the motel, my mother and I headed south from Sherman, Texas, on U. S. Highway 75 which roughly follows the course of the King of Trails Highway, starting at Atoka, Oklahoma.  When we got to Howe, we took a road that runs parallel to U. S. Highway 75 instead of driving on the freeway.  Shortly we came to Van Alstyne, the town where the Bevers family had stayed overnight the prior night a century ago.  The historic district is only a few streets and it is well-maintained.  I had been seeing signs in Oklahoma and Texas for “fried pies.”  There on an historic street was a shop selling fried pies, so I went inside to try out a couple pies.  I ordered a Cherry one and one called Sawdust, which had a filling of chocolate chips, pecans, coconut and graham cracker crumbs.  The crust on both was light and flaky, and the fillings were delicious.

Sawdust and Cherry Fried Pies (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
Van Alstyne, Texas; note the trolley tracks that are still in the street (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
The bank on the right and the building next to it are both dated 1890. (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
A striking mural on an historic building in Van Alstyne, Texas (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)

From Van Alstyne, Herbert Bevers and Mr. McElhany started driving west instead of south.  Florence Bevers states in her travel log: “Left Van Alstyne and had to leave our trail and go around bout way to Gunter, Tioga and ate dinner in Piolet Point.”1  No explanation is given by Lena nor Florence as to why they had to leave the King of Trails Highway.  The region they were traveling through is now called North Texas Horse Country due to the large horse ranches in the area.  It is promoted for its scenic drives.  The scenery for us as we drove by the ranches and farms was muted because of the low clouds and mist.

(Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
Pilot Point, Texas (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
Pilot Point, Texas (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
Long Horn Bull, Pilot Point, Texas (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)

Florence wrote: “There was a young fellow – his Mother and Sister from Nebraska with us all day and were going to stay with us till San Antonio but in the morning we lost them in Denton.”2  Possibly, they lost the young man’s car because the city was large, having a population of 7,626 in 1920.3  When the Bevers family entered Denton, they were driving on unpaved streets.  The first paved street in Denton was Hickory Street at the Courthouse Square, which wasn’t completed until 1920.4 

After eating a quick lunch in Pilot Point, we headed south on U. S. Highway 377 towards Denton.  The Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum has exhibits in the courthouse even though the historic building still holds county offices. We meandered through its halls and rooms, then took pictures around the square.  Lena says that they spent the night at a private home.  We ended our drive at a motel along Interstate 35 East at 3:00 PM.

Denton County Court House, Denton, Texas (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
From the third floor of the court house, looking up at the spiral staircase the goes to the top of the clock tower. (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
This antique bank safe was in the basement of the Denton County Court House (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
Opera House, dated 1901, Denton, Texas (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)
This mural covers two sides of this building in Denton, Texas (Photograph by MRW October 28, 2019)

Notes:

  1. B. Winkelmann, Our Trip to Texas [Transcription of Our Trip to Texas by Florence Bevers, 1919] (unpublished, n. d.): 3.
  2. B. Winkelmann, Our Trip to Texas: 3.
  3. Texas Almanac, City Population History from 1850-2000, https://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/CityPopHist%20web.pdf.
  4. City of Denton, History of Denton, https://www.cityofdenton.com/en-us/about-denton/history-of-denton.

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