The Little House that Survived
The little house that survived
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| The House at Sherman's Mill after the 1932 Flood |
Since my last column, I’ve been struggling with a subject for this week. When so many around me are struggling to cope with the aftermath of a cataclysmic event, all of my ideas for a column this week just seemed silly.
I have avoided the western part of the county over the last few weeks, mostly to stay out of the way of recovery and rebuilding efforts, but also because so much of my life was formed along the banks of the Guadalupe between Ingram and Hunt. I wasn’t sure my heart could take the devastation of landmarks and buildings I thought would always be there. It wasn’t until I saw a post by Mercy Gate Ministries on social media that I got my idea for this week’s column.
When my great-grandparents came to Kerr County, they settled at the confluence of the Guadalupe and Kelly Creek, close to where the Waltonia Crossing is today. I try not to weave too much of my own family history into this column – I don’t want to be accused of glorifying my ancestors out of vanity, and there are so many other stories to tell. However, my Kerr County roots did help me find a subject this week, so indulge me for a bit.
The house I am going to talk about doesn’t just involve my family. There are several other locals who can claim it as part of their story, too.
If you turn left off Texas Highway 39 at the Waltonia Crossing, there is an ancient two-story house just outside the entrance to the camp.
That house is rumored to be one of the oldest houses in Kerr County, and a few historical resources state that the house was built sometime in the 1860s. In spite of the house being built close to the river and on low ground, it has survived many floods. 
The Sherman Mill House as it looked in 2022
I was sure that, after seeing photos of the destruction in Hunt and Ingram, the old house was a goner this time. There was no way it was still standing after I learned about the damage to neighboring properties — both Camp Waltonia and Casita Blu were profoundly impacted.
With the loss of life all around me and having friends who are exhausted from trying to recover from the flood or working to assist others, I felt guilty about worrying about that house, but I did worry. After seeing a post on social media about a box of family photos along the river that belonged to the current owner, I knew the odds of that house surviving the flood were slim.
I was preparing myself to say goodbye to another touchstone connected to my family history.
But hope was not completely lost. On Monday, I saw another post on social media, and it lifted my heart. What I saw was a group of local volunteers helping a local homeowner clean flood muck and debris from their house. It took me a while to recognize the house — it was the house on Kelly Creek, and it was intact!
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| John J. Sherman |
The house first shows up in the historic record when it was bought by John J. Sherman. Sherman was born in New York State on June 4, 1825. He came to Texas around 1848 and lived in Atascosa County. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate army as a teamster. He married Eliza Jane Williams in January of 1866.
In 1883, Sherman bought what was known as the Gwyer Ranch on Kelly Creek. I believe the house was part of the Gwyer Ranch, if there was a house on the property at that time. Some historical accounts say the house was built by Sherman in 1883.
I have done some searching on the Gwyer name, but have not been successful on finding anything on that family or that there was a house on the property when Sherman made the purchase.
Shortly after moving to Kerr County, Sherman built a mill on a rise about a quarter mile from the house on Kelly Creek. The mill processed corn, wheat and oats into flour, ginned cotton and milled lumber. During the 20 years Sherman operated the mill, he and Eliza raised 10 children in their home on the banks of the Guadalupe.
The House at Sherman's Mill, prior to '32 Flood
Sherman's Mill 1890s
In 1902, John Sherman sold the house and the mill to William D. Council, my great-grandfather.
The Council family operated the mill until 1917. While the Councils still milled corn, wheat and flour, the operations of the mill were focused mostly on processing cedar to make cross arms for telephone poles. 
Sherman's Mill in 1920s
William’s son, Joseph, devised a way of bringing cedar posts from the top of the hill nearby. A long cable was stretched from the top of the hill to an anchor at the mill. A log was fastened to the cable with a large staple at both ends. The log would be sent down the cable, zip-line style, to the mill.
The cable made a very distinct noise when logs were being sent to the mill, the line would “sing like bullets” throughout the valley when it was being used. More logs could be sent to the
mill in an hour than the family’s mules, Kit and Jude, could
“snake down in a week.”
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| Roxanna, Lucy & Lily Council (my great aunts) posing in front bags of milled flour |
In 1917, the Council family closed the mill and later sold both the mill and house in 1918. The property changed hands a few times until Harry “Pappy” Crate bought the property in 1925, Crate was amazed to find that while the mill hadn’t operated in almost a decade, all of the machinery was still intact and amazingly well preserved.
The Crate family did some remodeling to the house and found that rough sawn local timbers, probably sawn in Sherman’s Mill, had been used in the construction of the house, either pointing to a remodel or proof that the house was built by Sherman in 1883.
The flood of 1932 washed away the mill, sending the mill stone, machinery and turbine-type water wheel down river. Photos of the 1932 flood show the house surrounded by debris, but still intact. In spite of being on lower ground than the mill, the house survived the biggest flood event our county had experienced until this year.
In 1942, the Crate family sold the mill site to Howard Blackburn, but the house was kept in the Crate family. In 1945, Howard Blackburn salvaged the mill’s turbine from the river and put them to use to generate electricity and pump water for domestic and farm use.
Today, the Crate family still owns the old Sherman house, on what I believe to be one of the loveliest spots on the Guadalupe River.
Descendants of people who lived in that house from the Shermans to the Crates — many who still live in Kerr County — can point to that unexpectedly durable house not only as a part of their own story, but also as a piece of Kerr County’s story.
A screen shot of the social media post showing relief
workers cleaning the house at Sherman's Mill
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