City of Edna

Edna, Did You Know?

Community events and city meetings used to be held at the Civic Auditorium, built in 1909 by J.C. Traylor, Jr. a few blocks west of the courthouse square.

The large wooden building hosted dances and events for many years, including Teenville for local teens, the Lions Club, and City Council (then called the City Commission). The City Commission approved the auditorium to be used as a U.S.O. facility during World War II. Hurricane Carla badly damaged the auditorium in September 1961 and had to be demolished.

While the building no longer exists, its location is easy to find. In the late 1940s the city built a one-story brick building to house the fire department, police department, and city hall next to it on the southwest corner of Allen Street and Main Street. Now, where the Civic Auditorium used to be, the Edna Fire Department is located (next to the old city building) and the Edna Police Department is next door in the brick building that the Chamber of Commerce once occupied.
- “Edna History, Book No. 1,” page 11, by M.C. Shelby
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Second Edition,” page 118, by I.T. Taylor
- Photos courtesy of Mr. Roy Ortolon, Johnny Dugger, L.K. Miller, and Janet Schade Mitchell

Edna, Did You Know?

Edna Ice and Light Co., Inc., was granted the rights in 1909 to erect electric light poles and wires throughout Edna, according to information from local historians M.C. Shelby in his “Edna History, Book No. 1” and I.T. Taylor in his “The Cavalcade of Jackson County,” both available in the Texana Museum.

The first electric lights had been brought to town the year prior, in 1908.

Telephones had arrived a decade earlier. Southwestern Telegraph and Telephone Co. was given permission to put in a line between Wharton and Edna in 1899. In 1901, the Southwestern Co. was permitted to “erect telephone poles and wires on the streets, alleys and public ways” in Edna, and Charlie Hasdorff was hired as Edna’s first telephone operator.

- “Edna History, Book No. 1,” page 10, by M.C. Shelby
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Second Edition,” page 118, by I.T. Taylor
- Photos courtesy of Mr. Roy Ortolon and Brenda Novosad

Edna, Did You Know?

One of the earliest church buildings in the county still stands, not very far from where it was originally built.

The Texana Presbyterian Church was built in 1859 in the Greek Revival style, dedicated on March 30, 1860, and then moved to Edna in 1884 when most of the Texana residents moved to Edna to take advantage of the newly built railroad. The church was moved the seven miles into Edna by pulling it with a team of oxen over log rollers and was re-dedicated on Dec. 16, 1884, becoming the first congregation to organize in Edna.

The church thrived, adding Sunday school classes, a full-time minister and a parsonage, and eventually grew to the point of needing a larger space, leading to the construction of the J.W. Allen Memorial Presbyterian Church in 1909. The congregation named the new facility for Mr. J.W. Allen, who donated the money necessary to construct the new brick building, which still stands at the corner of W. Church Street and Hanover Street. The wooden building was used for other purposes.

The 1859 wooden church was later moved to Apollo Drive when the Presbyterian congregation moved a new facility on Apollo Drive in 1965 and changed its name to Edna Presbyterian Church. In 1984, the 1859 building was restored and re-dedicated by the Texana Heritage Society.

It was relocated again in 2001 to Brackenridge Park and Recreation Center, about a mile from where it had originally been built in Texana. The Brackenridge family, namesakes of the BRC, had helped to organize the original church in 1855.

The old wooden church underwent more restoration and a re-dedication on May 17, 2002, through the teamwork of the Jackson County Historical Commission and the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority. It is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is entered on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Old Texana Church is available to rent from the BRC for weddings and other events.

- “History of the Edna Presbyterian Church 150th Anniversary, Sept. 2005,” Edna Presbyterian Church and Mr. Roy Ortolon
- “Historic Texana Church” flyer, https://cdn.saffire.com/files.ashx?t=fg&rid=BrackenridgeEvents&f=Historic_Texana_Church(4).pdf&cb=7E623958
- Historic Texana Church, Brackenridge Recreation Center website, https://www.brackenridgepark.com/p/facilities/historic-texana-church
- Photos courtesy of Mr. Roy Ortolon and the Texana Museum

Looking for something to do now that the kids are out of school?
Mark your calendars for Sat., June 13. The First Annual Flag City Celebration will be held from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Edna.
This free event will feature an antique car show, kiddie rides, cornhole, dominoes, historical trivia contest, live entertainment, historical displays, food, and more. Hotdogs and popcorn will be free, with food trucks on hand to sell other items.
Main Street will be closed from the light at Wells Street to the light at Allen Street, and Ed Linn Street will be closed from W. Houston Street by Twin Rivers Real Estate to Elm Street by the HEB Pharmacy.
Questions? Call City Hall at 361-782-3122.

Edna, Did You Know?

The City of Edna became the county seat well before it was incorporated in 1926.

Shortly after the railroad arrived, Jackson County residents voted 273-17 on Jan. 22, 1883, to move the county seat from Texana to Edna to benefit from the railroad. That decision spelled the end of prosperity for Texana as most of its residents moved to Edna, some even opting to move their homes with them.

The City of Edna was incorporated briefly 15 years later when Jackson County Judge John O. Rowlett signed into law papers creating the incorporated city of Edna on May 14, 1898, after citizens voted for it.

However, residents quickly changed their minds.

According to I.T. Taylor in his book, “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” enough residents objected to having to keep their horses and livestock penned up and not allowed to roam the streets that another election was held and the incorporation was dissolved on Sept. 28, 1899.

It would another 27 years before residents voted 212-69 to become a city with a “commission government” with a mayor and two commissioners.

The older photograph is the front of a postcard, taken sometime after 1907, judging by the date on the building. The more recent photo was taken in 2011 by Roy Ortolon. Both are of Main Street. All About Flowers, located today on the northwest corner of Main Street and Wells, would be the open lot on the far right of the older photo. It's interesting to see how the facades have changed over the years.

- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” page 112, 119-120.
- Photos courtesy of Roy Ortolon and Bill Stallings.

Edna, Did You Know?

On April 4, 1933, Fred Meador was elected to the first of three consecutive terms as Mayor of Edna. He was re-elected in 1935 and 1937.
W.S. McCormick was also elected as a City Commissioner each of those three elections. Phil Asbeck won election to the other Commissioner position in 1933, and he was succeeded in office by R.A. Drake in 1935 and 1937.
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” page 123.
- Photo courtesy of the City of Edna.

Even the little ones can join in the fun in the First Annual Flag City Celebration!