The moonshine still as you drive into The Seasons was built around 1925 in the Jefferson area.

With the beginning of prohibition in January 1920 the illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol was banned everywhere. The Jefferson moonshine business began quickly and the “shine” makers continued into the late 1970’s. Numerous city leaders preferred “shine” as their spirit of choice, including several sheriffs.

A garage and apartment was built on the Seasons property around 1920 and Richard Collins’ friend Weldon Hampton ran his “bootleg whiskey” sales operation from there starting in the late 1940’s. Weldon got into trouble with the law and stopped his whiskey operation in the early 50’s. He later became a very successful builder in Jefferson and East Texas and did work for Collins.

Weldon also has the distinction as being Richard Collins’ only friend whose ex-wife is his mother in law.

Richard Collins’ friend Arthur “Sonny Boy” Wagner was the top gardener at The Seasons from 1976-91 and ran an African American speakeasy called the “Starlight Lounge” in the 1940’s and 50’s a few blocks from the Seasons. The drink of choice was “Jefferson Shine”. Sonny Boy was a devoted Catholic and the first Black member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Jefferson.

Collins asked former Jefferson Mayor Pro Tem Mary Edmonds if she knew anybody who made “shine”. She said “I did not know who drank it because everybody she knew made it!”

A Tip Before You Try Moonshine

Richard Collins bought a bottle of Jefferson shine in 1975, and to this day remembers: “You can drive a car with this stuff… if it does not kill you!”

Collins has been involved with law enforcement groups all his life and always speaks to police officers. His daughter Genevieve graduated from the University of Tennessee which is near the center of the Southern moonshine world. She told her father that the best moonshine was “Apple Pie.” Collins was speaking with the Governor of Kentucky’s security detail and told them his daughter’s story. The senior officer looked at him, smiled, and said “It’s not as good as cheesecake but it’s pretty good!” He continued saying “But remember, sip it and don’t fill up your jar. Just a little bit and you’ll be fine.”

We now all remember “sip it!” and not too much!

On a cold day in January  2016, our landscape team was planning a trip to Bracy’s Nursery in Amite City, Louisiana to pick up our carefully selected Savannah Holly bushes that were to be added to the landscape at the House of the Seasons in Jefferson, Texas. The bill was paid and a confirmation call to the owner of the nursery was made that morning to confirm all was set for pick up that day. After a brief pause of silence, the nursery owner sheepishly replied, “I rented your beautiful bushes out to be used for the Louisiana Governor’s inauguration, and they haven’t been returned yet.” It appears our landscape team knows how to pick exceptional quality. We are glad they could be of service for such an important event. In February 2016, the bushes were planted at the House of the Seasons where they continue to thrive and beautify the gardens.

Surrounded by our Savannah Holly bushes, Governor John Bel Edwards speaks at his inauguration ceremony as the 56th Governor of the State of Louisiana. The ceremony was held on January 11, 2016 in front of the State Capitol.

In 1898, a tragedy occurred at the House of the Seasons. James King and his wife, Minnie, had acquired several lots and a home on Friou Street behind the House of the Seasons in 1896. Two years later their two-year-old son fell into a cistern located next to the arbor and, tragically, drowned. Soon afterwards, a 300-pound concrete slab was put on top of the cistern’s opening, where it remained until 2016.

The cistern has a rich history; it was built in the summer of 1869 by John Murphy, a prominent citizen and builder in Jefferson. His signature is located near the floor of the cistern, shown in a photograph below.

The King family had five other children. Their youngest daughter, Frances, married Herbert Liverman of Jefferson, and the couple became good friends with Richard Collins when he purchased the House of the Seasons in 1973. Herbert briefly worked for Richard Collins’ grandfather in the insurance business before having a long successful career with the Southland Life Insurance Company of Dallas.

The House of the Seasons acquired the property where the cistern is located in 2014 and moved the slab next to the arbor to serve as the base to a beautiful, chain-circled flower pot where it will continue to be a part of the city’s history.

Art Conservationist Stashka Star, of Dallas, completed the restoration of intricate murals at the House of the Seasons, a historic home and museum in Jefferson, Texas, in 2003.

Renowned for her restoration of Art Deco murals at Dallas’ Fair Park, Star was hired in 1996 by Richard Collins to restore a sculpture at the entrance to the former Women’s Museum honoring his mother, Calvert Collins, the first woman to serve on the Dallas City Council.

 

A relationship developed between Star and Richard Collins, who asked Star to repair the murals in the dome of his recently acquired House of the Seasons.

 

“Stashka’s work on the Women’s Museum sculpture was extraordinary, and she has done a magnificent job to beautify and preserve the murals at the House of the Seasons,” Collins said.

The murals in the dome of the East Texas historic home were cleaned and restored by Star, who then delicately painted areas of the artwork that have been damaged over time from cracking and flaking.

After a final varnishing, the murals are more vibrant and are now protected to stand the test of time, according to Star.

“I am thrilled to work with Dick Collins in such an important endeavor as preserving this unique piece of fabulous art here in Texas,” Star said.  “Visitors to the House of the Seasons will be able to experience the beauty of the dome for years to come as its original artist intended when it was painted 130 years ago.”

 

Star spent seven weeks on the restoration project, all the while enjoying the comforts and amenities of the House of the Seasons where she stayed as a guest in the Peach Room (and saw the ghosts).

 

Star holds a masters degree in art conservation from Poland’s Copernicus University.  She has 29 years of experience in the conservation and restoration of paintings, murals, and sculptures.

 

In her analysis of the murals prior to conservation treatment, Star reported: “The wooden structure of the dome was sound and healthy.  The plaster composed of sand and lime putty was aged, powdering and detaching from the lattice.

 

“The vibrations and shifting of the house caused the plaster to crack and detach from the   wooden support.  The cracks were open and the surface of the plaster on both sides of most cracks was not level.  The original paint was deteriorated and powdering severely.

 

“Parts of the mural were cleaned improperly previously, leaving the paint discolored.  In some areas, the paint was flaking severely.

 

“The biggest damage was visible in the area of the dome immediately adjacent to the staircase.  The frieze on the top of the dome was painted and varnished previously.  The plaster in that area was cracked, dislodged and partially missing.”

 

Star detailed her conservation treatment as follows:

 

“The dust and dirt was mechanically removed from the bottom of the murals and the wooden base.

 

“Murals were varnished repeatedly until the paint stopped powdering.

 

“The plaster was reattached to the wooden support by injection of polyvinyl alcohol 25 percent dilution in water.

 

“The big losses of plaster were compensated with a mixture of sand and lime putty and the cracks were filled with a mixture of whiting and glue.

 

“The fillers in cracks were painted with MSA conservation acrylic paint.

 

“The discolored bottom parts of the two fields were painted to match the original background.

 

“The moulds on the top and bottom of the dome were reconstructed to original color with acrylic reversible paint.”

 

Some of Star’s most noted works include restoration of murals and stenciling in the Thistle Hill Mansion of Fort Worth, the Spirit of the Centennial at Dallas Fair Park, many Art Deco restorations there, and the conservation of paintings from the State Capitol in Austin.

 

In 1981, Star fled from Poland to the U.S. in search of freedom and life in a democratic society, and now resides in Dallas with her husband.  The couple has two grown children, one who is a doctor, and the other an underwater archeologist.

Here Lie the Remains

During the last week of August 2015, human skull fragments were found behind the House of the Seasons, specifically in the soil around an ornamental shrub which had just been installed by Roy Koopman’s work crew (J D’s Plant Farm and Landscaping, Marshall, Texas). Over the next several days, examination of the soil in the root ball area of the planting unearthed many more skull fragments.

The Collins Academy consulted several experts, beginning with George Avery, PhD, Director of the Anthropology and the Archaeology Laboratory at Stephen F. Austin State University, to determine the next steps in the discovery process. He said that accidental finds of Caddoan remains in East Texas, including skulls in private yards and on public grounds, are fairly common and that he is presented annually with several to examine in the Nacogdoches area. Avery recommended a ground penetrating radar survey of the finds’ location at the House of the Seasons and indicated Zac Selden, PhD, a research associate at SFA, might be able to conduct it. He also stated that the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma does not allow DNA analysis of remains. He did, however, advise that a coroner or forensic pathologist should examine the bones. Avery further helped by informing the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma of the finds and that they were likely Caddo Indian remains.

Avery also apprised the Texas Historical Commission’s Archaeology Division of the situation. A Commission representative sent a packet of relevant information for anyone discovering an unmarked cemetery. The packet consisted of (1) an Archaeologist’s Notice of Existence of Cemetery, (2) a Historic Texas Cemetery Designation description, (3) the Historic Texas Cemetery Request for Designation forms, and (4) the Guidelines for Preserving Historic Cemeteries in Texas.

A forensic pathologist from Marshall, Dr. Robert Palmer, inspected all the bone fragments and concluded that they were human and old. The Jefferson Police Department, called to the site early on, had thought the skull fragments were from an animal like a dog or cat. Jefferson PD received an audio tape of Dr. Palmer’s comments made as he examined all the bone fragments found to that point in time.

In addition, Richard Collins met with Sunday Eiselt, PhD, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, to ask about the appropriate steps to determine the ethnicity of the remains. Eiselt reiterated the Caddo ban on DNA analysis. She thought the bones were probably Caddoan but advised against DNA analysis due to the Caddo prohibition.

The location of bone fragments in the backyard of the House of the Seasons in the historic residential area of Jefferson, Texas, is pictured above.

Who Are You?

Background Information

Dr. Palmer made three defining observations. The first was that the bone fragments were from a human skull. The second finding was that the bones were old, not ancient or modern. The remaining feature Palmer noted was that the cause of death could not be determined because the skull was broken into so many pieces. Palmer’s observations suggest three possible sources for the origin of the skull fragments:

• a Native American
• an early Anglo settler
• an enslaved African

Native Americans occupied the region for at least 10,000 years, with many Caddo Indians living in northeast Texas up until the early 1840s when they were forced to move to reservations. It is important to note that mound building in the Caddoan culture ceased around 1000 AD. And after European contact in 1542, old-world diseases decimated Native American populations in northeast Texas. Three hundred years later, the first Anglo settlers arrived in the area to find deserted villages as evidence of a once large and thriving civilization (Tiller 2010). The general area within which Jefferson was later established was a wilderness until Anglos began to settle it in the 1830s. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, American emigrants remained on the eastern side of the Red River until the Caddo Indians were removed. They then spilled over into Caddo Prairie and, along with steamboat navigation, slowly progressed upstream and westward until reaching the future site of Jefferson.

In 1838, Allen Urquhart received 1,280 acres of land as a headright divided into two
640-acre sections. One became the city of Daingerfield; the other became the business district of Jefferson. The other half of early Jefferson came from a purchase by Daniel Alley of the Stephen Smith headright in 1845, encompassing the land immediately west of Urquhart’s, to develop a residential area (Bagur 2012). It is in this residential area where the House of the Seasons stands today and the bones were accidentally found.

Lots in Jefferson began to sell by 1844. Dr. Isaac Tabor, Jeptha Crawford, John Withee, Bennett Martin, Edwin Rogers, and Mansell Matthews were early lot holders in Jefferson and had a great interest in opening navigation for economic purposes. Construction on the first structures began in October 1844, about the time that William Perry had completed the bayou clearing effort to open up channels for river transportation to Jefferson.

On March 5, 1845, the 68-ton riverboat Lama arrived in Jefferson to pick up cotton that was ready for market. Being labor intensive, the presence of the crop is indicative of enslaved African manpower on the farms and plantations across the landscape around Jefferson. By June 1845, the town was emerging into reality with structures including a grocery and warehouse, a hotel, and several log cabins.

By 1860, 266 enslaved Africans were living in Jefferson (there was no Slave Schedule with the 1850 Census). They belonged to 65 owners and were housed in 73 cabins. The largest owner group in town was the mercantile class, which consisted of 23 members owning 123 slaves. The second largest group was attorneys, who owned 32 slaves. The primary position in town for female slaves was as domestics in private residences. The primary positions for male slaves in town were as freight and stock movers. As time and workloads permitted, owners hired out their slaves to others for profit (Bagur 2012).

Careful examination of the Abstract of Title for the House of the Seasons property (No. 2000 by C & H Abstract Company of Jefferson for Richard H. Collins) revealed the sequence of Block O and Block P property owners prior to the involvement of future House of the Seasons owner Ben Epperson. When this information is correlated with the data presented in the Slave Schedule of the 1860 Census for Jefferson, a minimum total of 25 slaves residing in Blocks O and P between 1854 and 1860 is determined. From the Abstract of Title, William Perry is indicated as the first buyer after Daniel N. Alley was able to purchase the Stephen Smith headright. Perry’s purchase in 1849 was for Lot 7 of Block P. By this time, Perry and his wife, Sardinia, had already given a portion of Block 86 to his slaves and employees, including free men of color, for a place of worship. This church parcel was deeded in 1851, the year William Urquhart was finally granted Patent to the land. In December 1867, William and Sardinia Perry again deeded the same parcel to use as a Negro Baptist Church (Russell 1973).

Evidence

Stephen F. Austin State University set up a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey on January 22, 2016, during which Zac Selden located soil anomalies considered helpful in finding additional artifacts.

Zac Selden conducts a ground penetrating radar survey in immediate area of the finds behind the House of the Seasons.

A survey team conducted a systematic archaeological excavation of four one-meter units on May 23, 2016, where indicated by Selden’s analysis of his previous GPR survey. This location was very close to and due east of the accidental finds location, and the excavation yielded the artifacts listed below.

Artifacts Found during May 23, 2016, Excavation

   Early machine-cut, square-head nails………………….30
Human bone fragments……………………………………..11
Crockery shard…………………………………………………..2
Metal hinge……………………………………………………….1
Decorative hardware………………………………………….1
Glass and ceramic debitage………………………………..100

Findings were sparse and could possibly represent components of a coffin (nails, hinge, and decorative hardware) consistent with what might be expected from a Christian burial. However, both vertical and horizontal soil horizons of all excavation units showed extreme disturbance and repeated mixing of the soil over time. The many glass and ceramic shards were found in the upper layers and come from nineteenth- and twentieth-century trash piles. Mixed with the trash layers were chunks of lumber, some with nails and some without. This location once held a store room and then a small greenhouse that was used for storage. Used lumber was apparently stored for longer periods of time, and some of it was forgotten and left to rot. There was also a wash house in close proximity. The lack of a marker, cemetery designation, or relics from other known Anglo burial traditions greatly reduces the chance of a European origin of the bones.

Heavily rusted nails unearthed during May 23, 2016, excavation

Bone fragments from the May 23 excavation

Hardware from the May 23 excavation

The survey team works on four one-meter units on May 23, 2016.

Next to a modern retaining wall, the excavation team uncovers sections of PVC tubing used by the current landowner’s irrigation system.

The 1872 Brosius map below depicts numerous outbuildings (slave/contract labor cabins) behind four residences on the northern half of Block P between Delta and Baker streets (two facing Alley Street and two facing Friou Street).

This 1872 Brosius map shows Block P and approximate location of the finds.

Inferences Drawn

The statement from Dr. Palmer that the skull fragments were old—not ancient and not modern—is significant. The apparent age and deteriorated condition of the remains suggests the bones were in place long before Anglo settlers arrived in the 1830s. If the site was an intentional burial, interment could have taken place as long ago as 1,000 years, the point in time when the Caddo ceased building mounds. If the individual was alone at death and simply fell to the ground, then this also most likely would have occurred long before the arrival of Anglos and the slaves they brought.

An illuminating finding was the omnipresent disturbance of the associated soil by the property’s chain of landowners. Land use and management shifted and overturned soil, damaging skeletal remains repeatedly over the past 172 years. Modifications started with shallow disturbances such as shovel-dug latrines, hand-hoed gardens, and surface trash piles. The use of burn pits and plows would cut deeper and spread remains farther. In more modern times, a wash house stood over the area, and later a greenhouse was used for storage there. More recent installation of a retaining wall, a sprinkler system, and a row of hedges further dismembered and scattered remains. Of peculiar note is the fact that the human bones, although present for hundreds of years, were not recognized as such until the hedge planting incident of August 2015.

Honor At Last!

Through deductive reasoning, the ethnicity of the bone fragments discovered behind the House of the Seasons must be Native American; specifically, a Caddo Indian. More definitive articulation is not possible without an extensive excavation of a much larger area and DNA analysis of the finds. Because the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma prohibits destructive analysis of skeletal remains, no such testing was, or will be, conducted.

Skull fragments and other bones collected and stored over the period of this investigation have been placed in a wooden box decorated with Caddo Indian signs and reburied at the location where they were found. In accordance with Caddo beliefs, it is hoped that the reburial has honored the disturbed spirit and set it free. A small monument marks the location and reads, “Here lie the remains of a Caddo Indian known only to God.” The marker shall stand for posterity to honor and memorialize this particular soul and all Native Americans whose lives and times were so greatly altered by Anglo America’s manifest destiny to spread across and possess the whole of the continent.

Here lie the remains of a Caddo Indian known only to God

References
Abstract of Title for the House of the Seasons property (No. 2000 by C & H Abstract Company of Jefferson for Richard H. Collins).
Bagur, Jacques D. 2012. Antebellum Jefferson, Texas: Everyday Life in an East Texas Town.
Brosius, Herman. 1872. Map of Jefferson, Texas.
Russell, Traylor. 1973. Carpetbaggers, Scalawags, and Others. Waco: Texian Press.
Tiller, Jim. 2010. Before the Line, Vol. I, An Annotated Atlas of International Boundaries and Republic of Texas Administrative Units Along the Caddo Lake-Sabine River Borderland, 1803-1841. Nancy T. Tiller.