社评1226 蓝帽花之故乡 德州小镇的传奇

蓝帽花之故乡 德州小镇的传奇

第一次来到这座南方小鎭---教堂山镇是今年春天快近尾声的时节， 蓝帽花仍然长满在乡间小径旁， 起伏的山丘和稀落的南方宅院 ，充满了乡村之寧静。

教堂山镇人口只有六百多人， 係於一八四七年时建市， 主要是美国南方绵花和农產品之转运站，不幸在一八六七年时因為一次大温疫几乎毁尽了这座小山鎭。

不论任何城镇自称是蓝帽花之乡， 但多年来每年四月中旬在教堂山镇上的蓝帽花嘉华年会是被公认為最大最好的官定节日， 每年节日到来时 ，来自全国各地的游客挤满了小镇的街道， 满山遍野的蓝帽花， 琳瑯满目的手工艺品和德州烤肉之飘香， 有如回到西部牛仔之时光。

教堂山镇位於从休斯敦通往德州首府奥斯汀之第二九O州际公路上， 并且在一九八五年被全国歷史认証协会认定之国家歷史重点区 ，镇上一家教堂山银行成立於一九O七年是德州最老的一家银行。 时至今日仍然稟持一百多年来為社区农工商业服务之宗旨， 即便是在大萧条时期也从未歇业 ，充分展现银行对社区之贡献和依赖。

我们走在镇上 ，两旁许多是被保护之古老建筑 ，多半是来自德国和波兰的早期移民 ，我们都先后来到这块土地， 都热爱这裡的郷间小径和花香， 誏我们大家共同再次共同努力，谱上歷史之篇章 ………

Chappel Hill The Legendary Texas Town

The first time we came to this small Texas town, Chappel Hill, was at the end of April. This year, the bluebonnets still fully cover up and down the hills.

Situated in the heart of Stephen F Austin’s original colony, the Chappel Hill area attracted settlers from the original families of the old South.

This small town is part a small rural unincorporated community in the eastern part of Washington County, Texas. It is located along U.S. Highway 290, about a fifty-minute drive from Houston. The land is some of the oldest Anglo-settled in the state.

Chappel Hill today has a tourist economy that attracts visitors with restored homes, the Bluebonnet Festival and an Independence Day Parade and the Main Street Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the district is one of the oldest banks in Texas-- Chappel Hill Bank on Main Street. The bank was chartered in 1907 and has operated continuously in the same location in Washington County since its inception. In 1989, the bank officially amended its charter and changed the name from Farmers State Bank to Chappel Hill Bank. The core values that attracted people in 1907 are still the cornerstone of the Chappel Hill Bank today.

Today as we walked around this historical town again among all the old historical buildings, we felt as if we too are also a part of history in this great land.