Actors will bring Montgomery history to life Saturday in two historic cemeteries in the city.
The 4th annual Voices from the Past tour from noon to 3 p.m. presents actors portraying the real pioneers who settled the area.
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Here are five things to know about this year’s event.
Why is Montgomery history celebrated?
As one of the oldest towns in Texas, Montgomery began as a trading post in 1826 and was charterd in 1837. Montgomery was the first county seat of Montgomery County and was the third county formed under the Republic of Texas. It is also recognized as the birthplace of the Texas Lone Star Flag. Dr. Charles B. Stewart, a prominent resident of early Montgomery, is credited with designing the Texas flag.
A statue of Stewart by artist Lynn Peverill is in the city’s Cedar Brake Park on Texas 105.
How Voices from the Past started
This event is presented by the Montgomery Historical Society and the Montgomery County History Taskforce as an event to encourage people to appreciate the rich heritage of the area.
“This event was originally conceived to be aimed at 7th grade students who are studying Texas history, but we found that parents, grandparents and history buffs of all types found it to be informative and entertaining,” said Bea Rouse, event coordinator for the Montgomery Historical Society.
Actors in period costume tell about their lives as soldiers, traders, bandits and pioneer women. Each actor represents a person buried in one of the two historic cemeteries. After presentations by the actors about their characters, attendees are encouraged to ask the actors questions about what life was like when the characters were alive.
Montgomery settlers featured in the past
The two featured cemeteries are the old Methodist “Churchyard” Cemetery and the New City Cemetery.
Previously featured individuals have included Owen Shannon, one of first setters in Shannon’s Prairie and one of two men buried in Montgomery County who fought in the American Revolution, William J. McGraw (McGrew), a county attorney killed in 1868 for stealing horses with his half-brothers, Monroe W. Lawson, an African American WWI veteran who returned to Montgomery to teach and inspire his students and Dr. Charles B. Stewart.
New stories this year
This year’s tour will include two new stories. One of the new historical characters, John Bowe Addison is from the “Montgomery Miracle” story, one of Montgomery’s most widely circulated stories set in the early 1900s. As a teen Addison was involved in a hunting accident and was brought back to the Addison-Gandy House in Montgomery. The local doctor operated on the teen on the family’s dining room table and he survived a harrowing experience that most thought would be fatal.
The boy went on to live a long life in Montgomery County.
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Members of the Alabama Coushatta tribe will participate for the first time.
“This year we are happy to welcome a group from the Alabama Coushatta tribe to our event. They are an important part of the area and were great allies of Sam Houston during the Texas war for independence from Mexico,” said Ann Meador, coordinator for the History Taskforce. “They will be located at the Davis Museum at 14264 Liberty Street and will be giving short presentations about their history and role in the area.”
How to go to Voices from the Past
For the cemetery tour, all students ages 14 and under are free, students 15-17 pay $5, and those 18 and older pay $10. Tickets are available online at the website MHS-TX.org. They also will be available at 11 a.m. at the Davis Museum and at each of the historic cemeteries on the tour. Purchasers will be given wristbands for admission and maps.
