by Barry Harrin
Today the old 1873 two story courthouse now serves as the Karnes County Museum. It overflows with an amazing amount of history. Old maps, pistols, photos and fascinating court records from the 1800’s … are just waiting to be discovered.
However one of the most interesting aspects of Helena is the secret that many of the remaining residents know but few will speak of. No, I’m not talking about the buried outlaw gold on treasure maps carried by suspicious looking visitors or the mysterious old records that had to be destroyed to avoid embarrassment.
What I’m talking about is the hidden truth that this ghost town is truly a ghost town. It is filled with an abundance of spirits and apparitions that have scared the hell out of the residents for well over a hundred years … and continues to this very day.
The residents of this now tiny village know of what I speak: Strange fire balls, sounds, footsteps, shadows and voices: Floor fans stopping in the dead of the night … as the electrical plug flies out of the wall socket and then crashes to the floor: Mother’s seeing a shadow walking past a night light at midnight … afraid to scream and wake their children: People pushed as they walk down the steps of the old courthouse.252
Ghostly figures from Old Helena touching adults or playing hide and go seek with two year olds, has become part of life in this town where so many died violently.
After much debate and concern the secret has been shared with some outsiders. Recently the San Antonio Paranormal Network (Associated with the popular Ghost Hunters TV show) was allowed access all night to the old courthouse, the Masonic Lodge and Mayfield store from the 1860s.
It was 4 a.m. on a bone chilling Sunday morning in November 2008 in the old ghost town of Helena, Texas. Under a very black night sky exploding with stars a small army of professional ghost hunters has just completed their second investigation of the town. They methodically disconnect and remove their sophisticated electronic equipment from the old buildings around the courthouse square.
Under the watchful eye of Robert Hernandez, founder of the San Antonio Paranormal Network (SAPN) and Case Manager Michelle Hernandez, the equipment is quickly loaded into a series of cars and vans. As this caravan begins its trek back to San Antonio the sound of their engines and lights quickly fade into silent darkness, only broken by the occasional howling coyote. This is Helena now … but as you already know … it wasn’t always this way.
The first investigation of Helena by SAPN yielded an Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) recording in a small kitchen near the courthouse. On the recording the female investigator asked a question, Can you tell us why you’re here?… This was followed by a rapid (enhanced) response from an old man appearing to say “I know something”
The official report of this investigation given to Ramona Noone of the Karnes County Historical Society was essentially inconclusive. However, I do have a few personal observations as I was allowed to tag along to all the sites with this professional group of investigators. At one location, after an investigator asked some antagonistic questions to any spirits that may have been there, the temperature rose 20 degrees in just a few minutes. At a second location, I made similar unpleasant remarks, and we were all greeted with a heart-stopping loud crash at 3 a.m.
My other observation was that a number of pieces of the investigator’s equipment, such as cameras, recorders, and walkie-talkies that had all been fully charged, kept discharging in these buildings. In one case the equipment only started to work again once they left the buildings under investigation … which by the way had no electricity.
More recently in November 2010 an enhanced voice recorder was used late at night in the courthouse and a nearby building. There were four different EVP’s recorded that night. The participants appeared quite upset at what they heard. You will have access to these EVP’s on our web site at www.helenatexas.com.
As an electrical engineer, I tend to be skeptical of the paranormal however my new bottom line is …don’t mess with Helena’s ghosts!!!
Notes
Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End
1 Karnes County Historical Society “Welcome to old Helena.”
2 Interviews with Historian Robert Thonhoff.
3 “THE KARNES AFFRAY; How the Two Men Met Their Deaths,” The Daily Express, December 31, 1884.
4 Ibid.
5 ”Wofford Crossing Road, “Maxine Yeater Linder, 1994, Kenedy City Library.
Chapter 2: The Beginning of the End
6 Moon Austin, San Antonio, and the Hill Country by Justin Marler
7 Handbook of Texas Online-Karnes County.
Chapter 3: The Europeans Are Coming
8 Spanish Expeditions into Texas 1689–1768 by William C. Foster.
9 Lonestar Genealogy-Immigration to Texas http://www,lonestargenealogy.com/courses/texas/migration.html.
10 Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13 by William C. Sturtevant, Raymond J. DeMallie.
11 “The Great Disease Migration” By Geoffrey Cowley “Newsweek” (Special Issue, Fall/Winter 1991, pp. 54–56.”
12 Notes of Spanish Colonial Historian, David J. Weber.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
Chapter 4: El Fuerte Del Cibolo
16 The La Salle Expedition in Texas: The Journal of Henri Joutel, 1684–1687; Foster, William C., ed.; translated by Johanna S. Warren; Texas State Historical Association, Austin, 1998.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 www.texasIndians.com, The Karankawa Indians By R. Edward Moore
21 Ibid.
22 Robert H. Thonhoff, El Fuerte del Cibolo: Sentinel of the Bexar-La Bahia Ranches (Austin: Eakin Press, 1992).
23 Biography of CAPTAIN JOSE DE URRUTIA, Commander of the Royal Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar, By John D. Inclan, Edited by Bernadette Inclan.
24 Ibid.
25 Robert H. Thonhoff, El Fuerte del Cibolo: Sentinel of the Bexar-La Bahia Ranches (Austin: Eakin Press, 1992).
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
Chapter 5: The American Revolution and Texas
28 The Texas Connection with The American Revolution, Robert H. Thonhoff, Eakin Press 2000.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Forgotten Allies: Spains Aid During the American Revolution by Rudy Scott Nelson.
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid.
37 Ibid.
Chapter 6: The Battle of Medina
38 Sons of Dewitt Colony, Texas © 1997–2007, Wallace L. McKeehan, Nueva España—Nuevas Philipinas—Provincia de Tejas
39 Ibid.
40 Green Flag Over Texas, By Julia Kathryn Garrett, Cordova Press, New York.
41 Ibid.
42 Handbook of Texas on Line, SANTA ANNA, ANTONIO LÓPEZ DE (1794–1876).
Chapter 7: The Anglo Invasion
43 Cantrell, Gregg; Stephen F. Austin-Empesario of Texas; Yale University Press
44 Ibid.
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid.
47 The Texas Revolution; Brinkley, William; Texas A&M Press
48 Ibid.
49 Ibid.
Chapter 8: The Battle of the Alamo
50 Handbook of Texas On Line, SANTA ANNA, ANTONIO LÓPEZ DE (1794–1876).
51 Chariton, Wallace O. 100 Days in Texas: The Alamo Letters. Plano, TX: Wordware, 1990. Print
52 Barr, Alwyn. Texans in Revolt, the Battle for San Antonio 1835. Austin, TX:
University of Texas, 1990. Print.
53 Handbook of Texas On Line, SANTA ANNA, ANTONIO LÓPEZ DE (1794–1876).
54 Groneman, Bill. Eyewitness to the Alamo. Plano, TX: Republic of Texas, 1996. Print.
55 Ibid.
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid.
58 Ibid.
59 Davis, William C.; Lone Star Rising-The Revolutionary Birth of the Texas Republic;Free Press
60 Battle of san Jacinto-Han
dbook of Texas Online
61 Ibid.
Chapter 9: Texas Is Now Free…But Not Free of Trouble
62 Handbook of Texas On Line, The Republic of Texas
63 William Campbell Binkley, The Expansionist Movement in Texas, 1836–1850 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1925).
64 Ibid.
65 Swift, Roy L. Three Roads to Chihuahua. Print
66 Ibid.
67 Ibid.
68 Ibid.
69 M.L. Crimmins Map Collection, ECB.
70 Swift, Roy L. Three Roads to Chihuahua. Print
71 Ibid.
72 Ibid.
73 Smith, War with Mexico. And Crimmins, Wool in Texas.
74 Swift, Roy L. Three Roads to Chihuahua. Print
Chapter 10: Helena and Karnes County Begin
75 Didear, Hedwig K. A History of Karnes County and Old Helena. Austin, TX: San Felipe, 1969.
76 Ibid.
77 Ibid.
78 Ibid.
79 Ibid.
80 Ibid.
81 Ibid.
82 Ibid.
83 Advertisement for Helena lots for Sale, in the Western Texan April 11, 1854.
84 Didear, Hedwig K. A History of Karnes County and Old Helena. Austin, Texas San Felipe, 1969.
85 The Early History Of Panna Maria, Texas, Thomas Lindsay Baker, B.A
Chapter 11: The Early Years in Helena
86 San Antonio Stage Lines 1847–1881, by Robert H. Thonhoff
87 Ibid.
88 Karnes County Historical Society. “Welcome to Old Helena” Print.
89 Didear, Hedwig K. A History of Karnes County and Old Helena. Austin, TX: San Felipe, 1969.
90 Ibid.
91 The Karnes City Citation September 24, 1931.
Chapter 12: The Cortina Wars
92 Rippy, J. F. “Border Troubles along the Rio Grande, 1848–1860” 23rd ed. 1919. Print.
93 oldfinch, Charles W., and Jose T. Canales. Juan N. Cortina: Two Interpretations. New York: Arno, 1974. Print.
94 Ibid.
95 Ibid.
96 Ibid.
97 Ibid.
Chapter 13: The First Outlaws
98 Didear, Hedwig K. A History of Karnes County and Old Helena. Austin, TX: San Felipe, 1969.
99 Ibid.
100 Ibid.
101 Kilgore, Dan. “Two Sixshooters and a Sunbonnet: The Story of Sally Skull” Dallas, TX: E Heart, 1981. Print.
102 Ibid.
103 Ibid.
104 Bradford, Virginia T. Sallie Scull on the Texas Frontier: Phantoms on Rio Turbio. San Antonio, TX: Naylor, 1952. Print.
105 Ibid.
106 Kilgore, Dan. “Two Sixshooters and a Sunbonnet: The Story of Sally Skull” Dallas, TX: E Heart, 1981. Print.
107 Ibid.
Chapter 14: The Ox-Cart War
108 Didear, Hedwig K. A History of Karnes County and Old Helena. Austin, TX: San Felipe, 1969. Print.
109 Ibid.
110 Ibid.
111 Ibid.
112 Ibid.
113 Texas State Library & Archives Commission, Pease to the Texas Legislature, November 30, 1857.
Chapter 15: Knights Of the Golden Circle
114 Stidger, Felix. Treason History, Order of Sons of Liberty, Knights of the Golden Circle, or American Knights 1864. 1903. Print.
115 Bridges, C. A. (1941). “The Knights of the Golden Circle: A Filibustering Fantasy”. Southwestern Historical Quarterly 44: 287–302.
116 Ibid.
117 Crenshaw, Ollinger (October 1941).” The Knights of the Golden Circle: The Career of George Bickley,” American Historical Review.
118 Dunn, Roy S. (April 1967). “The KGC in Texas, 1860–1861”. Southwestern Historical Quarterly 70: 543–573.
119 United States History: 1775 to 2000, A Manual for Students in HSTAA 101, Professor Quintard Taylor, Department of History, University of Washington, Fall 2004
120 The Southwestern historical Quarterly, The K.G.C. in Texas, 1961–1865, Roy Sylvan Dunn.
121 Stidger, Felix. Treason History, Order of Sons of Liberty, Knights of the Golden Circle, or American Knights 1864. 1903. Print.
122“Shadow of the Sentinel” by Warren Getler and Bob Brewer
123 Ibid.
124 Ibid.
125 Stidger, Felix. Treason History, Order of Sons of Liberty, Knights of the Golden Circle, or American Knights 1864. 1903. Print.
126 “Jesse James was One of His Names” by Del Schrader and Jesse James III
127 “Shadow of the Sentinel” by Warren Getler and Bob Brewer
Chapter 16: The Civil War
128 “Killing ground: photographs of the Civil War and the changing American landscape”. John Huddleston (2002). Johns Hopkins University Press.
129 The First Session of the Secession Convention of Texas, Anna Irene Sandbo, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. 18, No. 2 (Oct., 1914), pp. 162–194
130 Duncan, “The book of Texas Lists,” p 23
131 Baum, Dale. The Shattering of Texas Unionism: Politics in the Lone Star State during the Civil War Era Louisiana State University Press, 1998
132 The First Session of the Secession Convention of Texas, Anna Irene Sandbo, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. 18, No. 2 (Oct., 1914), pp. 162–194
133 United States History: From 1775 to 2000, A Manual for Students in HSTAA 101, Professor Quintard Taylor, Department of History, University of Washington, Fall 2004
134 Official Centennial Program, “Karnes County Centennial,” May 5 ~ 9, 1954: and The Karnes County Story, Helmuth H. Schuenemann.
135 Ibid.
136 James Smallwood, “Disaffection in Confederate Texas: The Great Hanging at Gainesville,” Civil War History 22 (December 1976) pp 349–60
137 Ibid.
138 Official Centennial Program, “Karnes County Centennial,” May 5 ~ 9, 1954: The Karnes County Story, Helmuth H. Schuenemann.
139 Petition No. 40, Citizens of Karnes County Ask that a Company be formed for the protection of Karnes and other counties, December 8, 1863 Texas State Archives, Austin, Texas.
140 Under the rebel flag, Life in Texas during the Civil War, From the Texas State Library and archives Commission.
141 The Sutton-Taylor feud: the deadliest blood feud in Texas by Chuck Parsons 2009
142 Clampitt, Brad R. “The Breakup: the Collapse of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Army in Texas, 1865” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 2005
143 The Last Battle of the Civil War Palmetto Ranch, By Jeffrey Wm Hunt
Chapter 17: Civil War Reconstruction
144 Edward McPherson, The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction (1875).
145 Ramsdell, Charles William. Reconstruction in Texas (19100
146 Edward McPherson, The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction (1875).
147 Vendetta, by Elmer Kelton
148 Robert D. Marcus and David Burner, America Firsthand: From Reconstruction to the Present (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989), p. 11.
149 Reminiscences of Reconstruction in Texas; and reminiscences of Texas and Texans Fifty Years Ago by W.D. Wood 1902.
Chapter 18: Civil War Reconstruction In Kearnes County
150 The First Polish Americans: Silesian Settlements in Texas.
151 Didear, Hedwig K. A History of Karnes County and Old Helena. Austin, TX: San Felipe, 1969. Print.
152 Robert H. Thonhoff, History of Karnes County,M.A. thesis, Southwest Texas State College, 1963.
153 Bartholomew, Ed Ellsworth. Wild Bill Longley: A Texas Hard-Case, Frontier Press of Texas, Houston, 1953
154 Ibid.