Cottage Hill was a settlement that once existed in eastern

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the state's fourth-most populous county. Bexar County ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States.

History

The beginning

In the 1840s the Irvin family settled at the 18 mile marker on the

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Gonzales Gonzales may refer to: Places * Gonzales, California, U.S. * Gonzales, Louisiana, U.S. * Gonzales, Texas, U.S. * Gonzales County, Texas Other uses * Battle of Gonzales, 1835 * Gonzales (horse) (1977 – after 1996), an American-bred Thoroughbr ...

road. Soon after, D. A. Saltmarsh established there a

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

stop. In 1855, two wealthy speculators, Gideon Lee and Joseph Beck, purchased land and laid out a town called Cottage Hill. Henry Bowers opened the 20 mile house just east of town, soon William A. Jackson opened a general store and was the first postmaster.

Post Civil War - incidents of violence

After the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Cottage Hill became known for lawlessness and violence. In 1876 a well known gunfight happened in Cottage Hill, in which Tom Secrest and William Irvin were killed, James Applewhite of La Vernia was brought before a grand jury but was released. A gang of 12 young men who robbed and terrorized the area called themselves the Cottage Hill gang. In 1877 John Humphrey was ambushed bringing mail from

and died a day later. This incident caused the post office to be transferred to nearby Saint Hedwig. The result was a steady decline of Cottage Hill as businesses moved to Saint Hedwig.

Present Day

As of 2021, only forgotten ruins and gravestones remain where the town of Cottage Hill once stood.

References

Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Bexar County, Texas Greater San Antonio Populated places established in 1855 1855 establishments in Texas {{BexarCountyTX-geo-stub