05/04/2024
JERRY-LACKEY
HOMESTEAD: Community was Maringo before it was Hext
Jerry LackeySpecial to the Standard-Times
Joseph Robert 'Bob' Hext was born Aug. 31, 1859, at Cherokee in San Saba County, where his parents settled after coming to Texas. His ancestors came to America from England.
His parents, Joseph Bruten and Sarah Ann Salyer Hext, first lived in South Carolina before moving to Texas in 1844.
'At the time Bob was born the Indians were still quite a problem, and several skirmishes with raiding parties took place around the area. This problem continued until the 1870s,' wrote Bryan Hext, great-grandson of Joseph Robert Hext.
Joseph Robert Hext married Alice Marsilete Anderson, born April, 1868, and they settled at Hackbury in Edwards County, where they accumulated a large acreage. Their first house was made with pickets.
They sold the Edwards County ranch along with their Free Range brand and purchased a ranch 16 miles southeast of Menard in eastern Menard County near Maringo (later renamed Hext). They brought 200 head of cattle with them.
Actually, when the community of Maringo applied for a post office, the name was already taken. In turn, citizens in the town renamed it in honor of Joseph Robert Hext, the largest landowner in the region. Ennis Stark was the first postmaster in 1897.
In 1914, Hext had a cotton gin, a hotel, two general stores and 125 residents. A Church of Christ had been organized in 1904, and a Baptist church was established in 1916. By the mid-1920s population estimates for the community had fallen to 40; they rose to 60 in the late 1940s and remained at that level through the mid-1980s. The 2000 population was 73, according to online Handbook of Texas.
Robert Benjamin 'Ben' Hext was born Aug. 23, 1895, to Bob and Marsilete Hext at Maringo, two years before it was renamed.
Ben went to school at Ten Mile Crossing. In 1906 during a revival at Ten Mile Baptist Church he was baptized in the San Saba River near the Block House Ranch.
In 1907, Ben's father bought a ranch in northeastern Schleicher County that joined the Rocking Chair ranch.
As they were moving their cattle past the city of Menard, Ben saw a bumper pecan crop and filled a flour sack with nuts without getting off his horse, according to an account in 'Menard County History — An Anthology.'
There was no schoolhouse within 16 miles of the ranch, so Joseph hired Miss Hannah Mahoney as governess. There were four Speck children, four Tisdale children, Edith Burnham and three of the Hext children: Ben, Georgia Bland and Jim.
In 1908 the family moved to Eldorado and finally Menard, where Ben's father did most of his business. Ben and his siblings attended school in Menard and spent summers on the ranch.
In 1915, Ben attended Howard Payne College in Brownwood. He had never seen a football game. Once he did he became a tackle on the team. He made the best record of any first-year man on the team.
It was during the college days in Brownwood when Ben met Ruth Turner. They were married July 30, 1915. They would have two sons, Joe Turner Hext and Jack Hext; three grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
When Ben and Ruth moved to Schleicher County, they both worked at numerous jobs including at a cotton gin, an oil company and a movie theater.
He started buying a farm during his 26-year employment at Shell Pipeline. When he retired, they moved to the farm.
He said he enjoyed farming better than anything he ever did. 'Seasons mean something to a farmer,' said, and he had more satisfaction while living on the farm and working the soil and watching things grow, he added.
Ben served on the Soil Conservation Board for more than 15 years including a stint as supervisor of the Eldorado-Divide Soil and Water Conservation District in 1966.
Joseph Robert Hext died in Eldorado in 1941 at age 78. Marsilete Anderson Hext died in 1926. Ben Hext died April 20, 1984, and Ruth Turner Hext died Sept. 11, 1990. Joe Turner Hext died Feb. 20, 2002. Jack Hext died July 11, 1972.
