The Spring Creek County Historical marker was unveiled in Spring Creek Park on Nov. 17.[/caption]
In November, Harris County honored a part of its history that has all but disappeared. A Texas Historical Commission marker was erected at Tomball’s Spring Creek Park for Spring Creek County, which was created in 1841 but ruled unconstitutional by Republic of Texas officials in 1842. The new marker tells the story of a community searching for an identity.
The county was formed before Texas was granted statehood in 1845, back when county government played a more intimate role in the lives of citizens, according to documents submitted by local historians Trevia Wooster Beverly and Bernice Mistrot to the Harris County Historical Commission.
In the early- to mid-1800s, county officials were the law enforcers and the faces of government, from commissioners building roads to the sheriff’s office carrying out the orders of the courts, Beverly and Mistrot wrote. The federal government was a distant parent.
“For most citizens of the Republic [of Texas], the President and Congress were far, far away, but county government was close—although often not close enough in an era when a horse was the fastest means of transportation and a courthouse visit could easily be an overnight trip,” Beverly and Mistrot wrote.
Individuals living around Spring Creek were unhappy when the Fourth Congress of the Republic of Texas designated the waterway as the southern boundary of Montgomery County in Jan. 25, 1840. The boundary included a portion of land that was formerly a part of Harris County.
The declaration left communities around Spring Creek far away from the county seats in Montgomery and Harris counties and in need of nearby county services, including a convenient way to pay taxes, file deeds and get in touch with law enforcement.
Founding a county
Frustrated with their isolation, about 130 male citizens who lived near the Spring Creek District in Harris County petitioned the Republic of Texas Congress to create a new county on Nov. 4, 1840, which would include land from both Harris and Montgomery counties near Spring Creek. A new county would enable residents to establish a new commissioners court, justice of the peace and county clerk’s office.
To fulfill their request, Congress had to find a loophole around the Republic of Texas Constitution. In 1840, the law limited Texas representatives to 40 members until its overall population reached 100,000. And at that time, there were already 40 representatives, but the population was well under 100,000.
Congress’ solution was to found judicial counties, like Spring Creek, which would allow for county services to be established in remote areas, but would not change congressional districts. This meant congressmen would sometimes represent multiple counties. Congress created 16 judicial counties between 1841 and 1842. Spring Creek was the second or third—the exact number is unknown, according to the document.
Although there is no concrete evidence of where the Spring Creek County seat would have been located, historical documents reviewed by local historians cite residents’ wishes to have it in a town called Greenville. Based on their descriptions, historians believe it would have been situated on land owned by early settler John H. Edwards, south of Spring Creek and east of the modern Decker Prairie-Rosehill Road. While the town was never officially developed, Rosehill became the area’s main post office and stagecoach stop in the early 1850s.
Because the judicial counties did not receive separate congressional districts, they were ruled unconstitutional in an 1842 Texas Supreme Court case, Stockton v. Montgomery, and all 16 territories were abolished, Beverly and Mistrot wrote. Spring Creek County was one of four whose name did not survive in future counties and whose territory still remains within its parent counties.
At the November 2015 ceremony, Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle recognized the local historians who spent two years researching the history of Spring Creek County.
“I’m proud that one of Precinct 4’s most historical parks can help educate the public about this little known county,” Cagle said in a release. “Part of my commitment to residents is providing not only recreational amenities, but educational opportunities as well.”
