100 Years Ago—March 16, 1923 Frank Murphy 20 years old of Pearson Street was charged with the larceny of a handbag belonging to Mrs. Louis Resnik of Whittier Street, and
If only we could eavesdrop.
Dotted throughout the county are still-standing trees, some hundreds of years old, proudly serving as silent bystanders to the important events taking place under their branches â what foresters call âwitness trees.â
Trees, especially substantial hardwoods, were scarce on the blackland prairie; so, a sturdy oak along a creek line was a rare and pleasant discovery and too precious to chop down for homebuilding.
Which is why Bell Countyâs âmidwife and godfatherâ is a tree. In April 1850, Judge Isaac Standefer (1801-1855), Milam Countyâs chief justice and county commissioner, following legislative action the previous January, ordered an election to organize Bell County to be carved out of a chuck of Milam County.