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Everywhere around us in this
Zodiacal settlement, we see abundant signs of prosperity... They have a tract of land which they have cultivated for about three years and which has yielded profitable crops. The well-built houses, perfect fences and tidy dooryards give the place a homelike air such as we
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territory. Core ideals of the
Germans that favored religious tolerance and disfavored the institution of slavery made this particular German community look inviting to Wight. Upon settling at a site on the Pedernales River in Gillespie County, Wight and his followers set about to erect the structures
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After the departure of the
Mormons, the area saw a succession of Germans, English and Danish colonists. Before and during the Civil War the area formerly known as Zodiac became a slave labor cotton farm, purportedly the only slave labor cotton plantation in Gillespie County. If that claim is
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of their community. They built a chapel, school, store, gristmill, and sawmill. The Mormon business enterprises helped supply the needs of the county as a whole. In 1848, Wight and his followers helped build
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farmer's meal comprised of an abundance of everything and served with faultless neatness. The entire charge for the dinner for twelve persons and corn for as many animals was $ 3.
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The
Presidents Fact Book: Revised and Updated! The Achievements, Campaigns, Events, Triumphs, Tragedies, and Legacies of Every President from George Washington to Barack Obama
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The Rocky Hill school was built in 1885, and Zodiac was renamed for the school. The cemetery was plowed over and destroyed. The area is located on private property.
267:. The area it was located on eventually converted to private acreage, and no trace of the settlement remains today. It was the first Mormon colony established by
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369:. They retained the rights to the Zodiac cemetery in Gillespie, where several of their flock had already been buried. Lyman Wight died eight miles from
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in June 1846. The
Mormons hired themselves out as laborers to help build the city jail. After constructing a sawmill and gristmill on the
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In 1851, the
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Wight led a group of 200 followers into Texas in 1845. The group first entered Texas at
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Polygamy on the
Pedernales: Lyman Wight's Mormon Villages in Antebellum Texas 1845–1858
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Organized German
Settlement and Its Effects on the Frontier of South-Central Texas
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Zealots of Zion: A Biography of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
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in 1851, and his third and final settlement was Mormon Camp in 1854 in
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had not seen before in Texas. The dinner was a regular old-fashioned
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on March 31, 1858, and was returned to Zodiac
Cemetery for burial.
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accurate, this is possibly the property on which future
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The Wild Ram of the
Mountain: The Story of Lyman Wight
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Matuz, Roger Matuz; Harris, Bill; Ross, Laura (2009).
634:. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. p. 193.
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had been charged to carry out the provisions of the
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659:. Kessinger Publishing, LLC. pp. 73, 74.
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655:Birney, Hoffman; Hargens, Charles (2004).
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765:. Gillespie County Historical Association
320:Wight received permission in 1847 from
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523:Sketches from the Five States of Texas
247:settlement established in 1847 on the
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718:. Texas State Historical Association
688:. Texas State Historical Association
611:. Texas State Historical Association
584:. Texas State Historical Association
554:. Texas State Historical Association
340:United States boundary commissioner
271:in Texas. The second settlement was
279:. In 1936, Zodiac was designated a
1741:Latter Day Saint movement in Texas
860:Municipalities and communities of
546:Fergeson, Ric; Dickensheets, Ken.
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1751:Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks
1224:Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks
525:. TAMU Press. pp. 113, 114.
308:, the group migrated towards the
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281:Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
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810:. Utah State University Press.
453:United States Geological Survey
449:"US Board on Geographic Names"
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737:Wilhelm, Hubert G. H (1981).
476:. Texas Historical Commission
85:Show map of the United States
16:Place in Texas, United States
1756:1847 establishments in Texas
787:Wight, Jermy Benton (1996).
741:. Ayer Co Pub. p. 102.
578:"Zodiac (Rocky Hill), Texas"
502:. William Nienke, Sam Morrow
273:Mormon Mill in Burnet County
1214:National Historic Landmarks
429:United States Census Bureau
346:Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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806:Johnson, Melvin C (2006).
167:1,594 ft (486 m)
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1698:List of counties in Texas
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716:Handbook of Texas Online
686:Handbook of Texas Online
609:Handbook of Texas Online
582:Handbook of Texas Online
552:Handbook of Texas Online
500:Texas Historical Markers
863:Gillespie County, Texas
680:Kohout, Martin Donell.
605:"John Russell Bartlett"
576:Kohout, Martin Donell.
283:, Marker number 10133.
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324:to settle a colony of
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521:Greene, A. C (1998).
425:"U.S. Census website"
342:John Russell Bartlett
190: • Summer (
114:30.22472°N 98.79361°W
1057:United States portal
916:Gillespie County map
1249:Tourist attractions
474:"THC Zodiac, Texas"
379:Texas State Senator
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817:978-0-87421-628-8
798:978-0-9651163-7-4
763:"Zodiac Cemetery"
748:978-0-405-13464-7
666:978-1-4179-6906-7
641:978-1-57912-807-4
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322:John O. Meusebach
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1675:Wagner Creek
1478:Metropolitan
1448:South Plains
1418:Osage Plains
1398:Hill Country
1368:Coastal Bend
1310:Homelessness
1285:Demographics
1137:Architecture
1112:
1050:Texas portal
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1026:Morris Ranch
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1521:Brownsville
1516:Port Arthur
1463:Trans-Pecos
1453:South Texas
1433:Piney Woods
1413:North Texas
1315:LGBT rights
1003:Ghost towns
993:Willow City
950:communities
878:County seat
769:10 February
722:11 February
692:11 February
615:11 February
588:10 February
558:11 February
506:11 February
480:11 February
371:San Antonio
363:Mormon Mill
355:New England
330:Adelsverein
328:within the
269:Lyman Wight
117: /
1730:Categories
1632:San Angelo
1575:Sugar Land
1548:Fort Worth
1502:Round Rock
1468:West Texas
1383:East Texas
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1338:Ark‑La‑Tex
1197:Newspapers
1192:Mass media
1187:Literature
1167:Healthcare
1162:Government
1031:Pedernales
983:Luckenbach
958:Blumenthal
459:2008-01-31
434:2011-05-14
412:References
316:Settlement
292:Background
261:U.S. state
231:feature ID
105:98°47′37″W
102:30°13′29″N
1655:Texarkana
1552:Arlington
1525:Harlingen
1423:Panhandle
1295:Education
1177:Languages
1157:Geography
1117:(capital)
1016:Cain City
978:Grapetown
968:Crabapple
938:Stonewall
548:"Mormons"
386:Civil War
259:, in the
219:FIPS code
207:Area code
173:Time zone
164:Elevation
158:Gillespie
1690:Counties
1665:Victoria
1613:Edinburg
1599:Longview
1512:Beaumont
1493:Amarillo
1343:Big Bend
1320:Politics
1305:Gun laws
1300:Gambling
1270:Abortion
988:Tivydale
395:See also
1650:Denison
1646:Sherman
1622:Midland
1617:Mission
1609:McAllen
1604:Lubbock
1585:Killeen
1567:Houston
1562:El Paso
1488:Abilene
1330:Regions
1290:Economy
1275:Culture
1263:Society
1234:Symbols
1172:History
1152:Cuisine
1142:Climate
1132:Outline
326:Mormons
287:History
234:1378977
131:Country
1627:Odessa
1594:Laredo
1589:Temple
1544:Dallas
1498:Austin
1458:Texoma
1239:Texans
1229:Sports
1124:Topics
1114:Austin
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1021:Eckert
1011:Albert
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245:Mormon
241:Zodiac
153:County
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1696:See:
1660:Tyler
1534:Bryan
1480:areas
1280:Crime
1202:Radio
1104:Texas
1100:State
948:Other
265:Texas
255:, in
201:(CDT)
199:UTC-5
178:UTC-6
146:Texas
141:State
1670:Waco
1244:Time
973:Doss
925:CDPs
895:City
812:ISBN
793:ISBN
771:2011
743:ISBN
724:2011
694:2011
661:ISBN
636:ISBN
617:2011
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508:2011
482:2011
229:GNIS
1556:DFW
1182:Law
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