And Now You Know The men who made Orange famous

Published 2:55 pm Monday, June 24, 2019

Mike Louviere, And Now you Know

An article in the Southern Industrial & Lumber Review, published in November 1902, listed citizens who had made outstanding contributions to Orange. They were called “The Men Who Made Orange Famous.” The article follows:

Mayor J.W. Link — Partly by his official position and partly for his willingness and ability to undertake any worthwhile project and his capital backup for the upbuilding of the city. 

Bedell Moore — Now a citizen of San Antonio, he invested large sums of money in Orange enterprises. He has interests in sawmills, timber, land, factories, and buildings. He is also an advocate for deepening the Sabine Lake Channel.

W.H. Stark — One of the leading investors in Orange enterprises. He has the generosity to see that every legitimate enterprise has the funding to start.

Miller — An “Orange Man” who made his money in town and does not invest it out of town. He is currently the president of the Orange and Northwestern Railroad.

Dr. W.M. Brown — Included in most of the investments made by Messrs. Stark, Lutcher, Moore, and others of the big lumber firm. He spends most of his time at Donner, Louisiana attending to his cypress interests but still works actively for Orange.

George W. Bancroft — Reputed to be the best mill manager for the Kirby Lumber Company. He serves as president of the Orange National Bank, which he founded and oversees his building investments in Orange.

Carl F. Pannewitz — His investments in Orange are not as great as some, however he is a warm advocate of Orange wherever he goes. He has a legion of friends who have confidence in his word, “and his judgement is universal.”

Chas. M. Rein — He is an editor and editors always come last. Rein says the reason he is behind is to push people forward. He has a position of great influence and has accumulated a comfortable fortune.

F.H. Farwell of the Lutcher and Moore Company has been elected president of the newly formed Orange Business League. Farwell is a young man of great energy an undoubted ability.

There are an army of young workers, Drs. Butler and Sholars, Pat O’Day, Bettis, and Davidson. Bankers Reid and Roach. Lawyers Holland, Robertson, Hudgins and others all of whom are citizens of Orange and are devoted to its every interest.

The city council is composed of up to date men who keep themselves in touch with the future needs of the city. The board of aldermen is composed of: Dr. A.R. Sholars, president, C.M. Hunt, Pat O’Day, J.A. Lyons, John Griffith, J.J. Windom, and P.L. Ferguson.

The Orange City Council is a model one and its example can be followed by many another Texas city.

New men coming into Orange and doing their full share of the work at hand are Burt McDonald and his father John McDonald, lately the mayor of Austin, and N.A. Dawson. These men have their hands full in preparing plans and in the work of construction.

[Timbermen by a Railroad Track in the Woods], photograph, Date Unknown; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth36303/m1/1/: accessed June 24, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Heritage House Museum.

The words above are from the 1902 article. The effect these men had on Orange is evident by the names of streets and in a case or two, schools and neighborhoods.

The home of J.W. Link was purchased by E.W. Brown, Jr. as the home for his mother and later donated to the Presbyterian church and used as their first school building.

Link left Orange in 1903 and moved to Houston. He developed the Montrose area. His home is in use as the administration building for St. Thomas University.

Farwell moved from a bookkeeper to vice president of Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company. His Spanish Mission Style home on Green Avenue is etched into the memory of many Orangites as the Little Mexico Restaurant.

There was a Bancroft school district until it was merged with West Orange. The Bancroft school building still stands. It is now a church.

Until recently there was a Sholars Drug Company, the last in Orange to give home delivery, perhaps the legacy of a doctor who made house calls in Orange for nearly half a century.

“And now you know.”