Myrtle Springs

Robert Warren Hooks, planter and Confederate officer, was born in the town of Leighton, Franklin County, Alabama, in 1836. He was the son of Warren and Elizabeth (Robert) Hooks. Around 1848 the Hooks relocated to Bowie County in Texas, where Hooks's father established a 5,000-acre plantation along the Red River. This site became a hub for local elites and ultimately became the town of Hooks, Texas. By 1860 the Hooks estate was valued at over $100,000 and constituted one of the largest landholdings in Bowie County. In the late 1850s Hooks was a student at McKenzie College in Clarksville. Immediately prior to the Civil War, Hooks established a home for himself at Myrtle Springs, the site of Bowie County's post office.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Hooks enlisted in the Eleventh Texas Cavalry as first lieutenant in K Company on June 28, 1861. Following his unit's reorganization in Mississippi, Hooks received promotion to captain on May 8, 1862. After the death of Lt. Col. Joseph M. Bounds on October 27, 1863, Hooks was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Immediately prior to the end of the war, Hooks was absent from the rolls of his unit for an extended period of time. In 1870 Hooks was killed in a sawmill explosion. He is buried in Alabama.

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Aragorn Storm Miller | © TSHA

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Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Myrtle Springs is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

No

Place type

Myrtle Springs is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • [2]
  • (Rochelle)

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No