Somerville Independent School District
In 1880 the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company of Galveston, Texas built the first railroad bridge over Yegua Creek.
To gain access to East Texas forests, the GC&SF bought a short line that ran from Montgomery to Navasota in 1882.
In 1897 a group of Chicago investors built the Texas Tie and Lumber Preserving Company that was bought by the Santa Fe in 1905.
People from Burleson and other Texas Counties, all parts of the United States, and other countries came to Somerville to work for the Santa Fe or start a business.
A native stone gymnasium and football stadium with seating and fence were built by the WPA during the Depression and finished by 1939.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers began construction of the Somerville Dam and Reservoir on Yegua Creek at the southwestern edge of the town in 1962 and completed the project four years later, producing one of the most outstanding recreational areas in south central Texas.
The United States Army Corps of engineers began construction of the Somerville Dam and Reservoir on Yegua Creek at the southwestern edge of town in 1962 and completed the project four years later, producing one of the most outstanding recreational areas in south central Texas.
The museum houses archives, collections, and exhibits of photos and artifacts for the purpose of preserving the history of Somerville and the surrounding area from 1850 to 1950.
[2] The first impact of the WPA creation was economic since the small communities were able to locally employ their own able, skilled, and unskilled workers.
[5] On October 3, 1938, a WPA Project Proposal, addressed to the Works Progress Administration of Houston, Texas, was prepared.
B. Lewis, who was born in 1911, wrote his memoirs of Somerville and included the following in his writing: “A WPA project was the fence on the football field and the gym building made of rock.
The school district is also engaged in a building program to the extent of about sixty thousand dollars under a WPA project.
Several members of the Somerville Historical Society attended a school board meeting in February 1988 to express their concerns about the wall possibly being torn down.
Although a practice field was built several years later in another location, the Rock remains the site of all home football games.
In a conversation with Donald Lee Strickland, Class of 1945, who was the coach at that time, he verified that the baseball team did play there.
On September 22, 1962, Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson and Representative Homer Thornberry turned the first spades of dirt for the $17 Million Somerville Dam and Reservoir Project.
[17] Vice President Johnson gave a speech to approximately 4,000 persons in attendance at the football stadium concerning the groundbreaking of this project.
Vice President Johnson flew into Easterwood Airport in College Station, Texas, before being driven to Somerville to deliver his speech.
[18] At the April 15, 2015, Somerville School Board Meeting, the board, consisting of Bryan Crook, James Douglas, Linda Pinkerton, Melissa Tharp, Joe Gonzales, Stanley Smith, and Jason Urbanosky, discussed the wishes of the Somerville Ex-Students Association to pursue designating the Yegua Center and the Football Stadium with historical markers to preserve the history of each structure.
They were built by unskilled labor more than 75 years ago and are still straight, strong, and useful.”[20] In an interview with KBTX News, Superintendent Charles Camarillo stated, “People come to play at the Rock.
A lot of memories are tied to this place.”[21] Tim Edwards, Class of 1963, played football at the Rock during his high school years.
During pregame ceremonies, the members of the class celebrating their 50th anniversary of their high school graduation are introduced and walk out on the field, along with officers of the Ex-Students Association.
