Our speaker on August16th was Stanley Bacon, who went to West Point and spent 23 years as an armor office. He also taught geography at West Point and became interested in Texas history when he moved here. He is a member of the local West Point Society, which has adopted Mt. Bonnell. Stanley told us the story of Joseph Bonnell, a hero of Texas revolution, and for whom the West Point Society believes Mt. Bonnell was named. Joseph Bonnell was a member of the U.S. Army at the time of the Texas Revolution, and had involvement with keeping the Caddo tribes under a treaty at the time of the Revolution, especially before the battle of San Jacinto. He became friends with Sam Houston and other Texas heroes, including Albert Sidney Johnston. Stanley showed us a video about Joseph Bonnell. He also talked about the defense of Austin as it was being constructed - it needed to be protected against Comanche attacks. High terrain such as Mt. Bonnell was useful to watch the Comanche trails. The theory is that Mt Bonnell was named during that time period by Albert Sidney Johnston, who was the Texas Secretary of War and was in charge of the defense of Austin. Despite historical markers referring to George Bonnell, the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas acknowledges that Johnston may have named Mt. Bonnell after his fellow West Point graduated, Joseph Bonnell.
