Attractions


	ATTRACTIONS

Miles Opera House

A prominent meeting place in Miles is the Opera House, built in 1904. It had several purposes, first for operas and plays and later as a hotel that closed in 1950.

Restored in 1976, the two-story Opera House is now a meeting place for all residents and serves as the Senior Citizens' Center. Seniors enjoy various activities throughout the week, along with noon meals that are served three days a week.

The Opera House has four rooms upstairs, including a large auditorium, and several rooms downstairs, including a parlor, dining room, kitchen, hall, office and workroom.

The rooms house antiques from the early 20th century. Among the items on display are a 1900's multi-tiered pump organ that stands more than six feet tall, an 1847 Box Rosewood piano, old telephones and photographs, early 20th century clothing and World War II artifacts.

The “Hello Central” room, where the first switchboard in Miles was located, has a 1920's radio with a large gramaphone.

Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Miles Library

The Miles Library was established by the Miles Preservation Authority in 1989. This library has a collection of over 15,000 books which operates on the self-serve/honesty policy. No librarian is on duty. A volunteer takes care of the facility when needed. There is no check-out system or library card. Patrons may take books and return them they are finished, whether that's a week or three months later. There are no fines either.

All of the books in the library have been donated by local residents as well as people from all across Texas and the United States. The carpet, furniture, some book shelves and light fixtures also have been donated.

Paperbacks and hardbacks cover a variety of reading interests including western, romance, adventure, mystery, science-fiction, classics, biography, travel, history, war, health and medicine, religion, philosophy, literature, poetry, geography, gardening, crafts, photography and children's books. There is also a wide selection of magazines, and a twice-a-month story time for children is held from September through May.

The library is located in downtown Miles and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and some Saturday mornings.

Rumley Tractor

The 1909 Advanced Rumley tractor, which sits along U. S. Highway 67, weighs 24,470 pounds and has a maximum speed of 2½ miles per hour.

The tractor was used to thrash grain, break land, grade roads and move houses out of Miles. It runs on kerosene and water and its radiator uses oil instead of water to keep the temperature more even.

The Rumley once belonged to Frank Schwertner, a long time farmer in the area who died in 1928. Schwertner immigrated to Texas from Austria in the 1870s and established the town of Schwertner in Williamson County by building the first cotton gin.

The tractor was used for the last time in 1925.

Red Brick Road

Six-tenths of a mile remains of the historic brick streets that were laid in downtown Miles in 1926. An average of 70 to 75 bricks lie side by side across the street in straight lines. None of the bricks has ever been replaced, due to the fact that they were set three inches deep in a concrete foundation.

The bricks were shipped by rail and then hauled downtown by wagon and mules. Local school boys took tongs and carried six to eight bricks to the sole brick mason who did all the work.

The historic bricks begin as you enter downtown over the railroad tracks and continue for four blocks up to Third Street. They also stretch about a block on either side of main street along First, Second and Third Streets.

Old City Jail

The jail was built in the mid 1920s to replace a wooden structure erected in the late 1800s. Two cells housed prisoners arrested for minor offenses, such as public drunkeness or disorderly conduct.

A stock pen once located behind the building was used as a temporary “jail” for any loose livestock. The owner then had to pay to get the animal out.

The city jail is located next to the city water tower.

Merry-Go-Round

Miles City Parks

MPA (Miles Preservation Authority) Park
This Park Contains Hookups and A Dump Station For Travel Trailers

Kornegay-Treadaway Memorial Park
This Park Also Contains A Nice Stage

Memorial Designed

and

Constructed By:

Jaton Treadaway

Jaton Treadaway (pictured above) designed and constructed a memorial which will

serve as an entryway to the city park that is named in memory of his ancestors.

Jaton used this project to earn his Eagle Scout badge.

Thank you Jaton for a job well done.

Pictured below are snapshots taken during a dedication ceremony held on June 14, 2002.

Here is a copy of a speech that was read at the dedication ceremony.

As we are once again faced with sending our young men off to defend our freedoms in a war half-way around the world, it is appropriate to remember and honor our fallen heroes who in past wars gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms and insure the safety of our country. First let me tell you about.

Pvt. George Milton Kornegay who died on February 5, 1919 in Limoges France a casualty of WWI.

There may be no one alive today who remembers the exact details of George Milton Kornegay’s death except that he was a casualty of WWI and a decorated hero at just 24 years of age. My parents and I visited the Miles Cemetery yesterday and read the following information from his headstone.

He was born January 2, 1895 and died February 5, 1919 in Limoges France. He was a Pvt. in Company L, 23^rd Infantry. He was the son of Missouri E. and Edward A. Kornegay. He is buried beside his parents. Also nearby is buried another brother, Weldon Lee Kornegay. Weldon was a veteran of WWII and died in 1971. Another brother, Chester, is also buried in the Miles Cemetery. We see their ties to this community are strong and deep.

I find it rather sad that there are so few details about his life and his sacrifice in evidence today. When Jaton first started to put this project together I tried to find some information about George Milton Kornegay on the internet to help him with the project. I have written letters to distant relatives and received e-mail messages from them. Several different people have attempted to ascertain the information relating to his life and death by researching the County Courthouse records without much success.

So, I would like to tell you about the 23 Infantry of which George Milton Kornegay was a part.

The 23rd Infantry Regiment was constituted on May 3, 1861 in the Regular Army as the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry and was organized at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut. It has seen service in Wars and military actions from 1861 and the Civil War through the Vietnam War. On September 28, 1990 the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry was inactivated and remains to date in an inactive status. Last night I received a copy of a sterograph of George Milton Kornegay’s unit, the 23rd Infantry which served with valor in WWI. The picture was taken just a few months after Kornegay’s death. The picture is on display in Weatherby Hall and you may review it at the reception.

This was the famous 23rd Infantry, and part of the newly formed U.S. 2^nd Division, a regiment whose deeds in France have won it a great place in the hearts of both the French and American people. The regiment arrived in France on September 22, 1917. The following March it was sent to the trenches in Meuse, near Verdun, for a six weeks' training course with the French. The last of May it was rushed in trucks to Chateau-Thierry and there, in conjunction with the 9th Infantry and the 5th and 6th Marines, stopped the German drive on Paris. The 23rd was one of the American regiments chosen by General Pershing to cooperate with the French Moroccans in the crucial battle of Soissons (swason). It was also in the assault of Saint-Mihiel (San me yel), in the battle of Champagne and in the final great drive in the Argonne. The 23^rd was in battle with brief intermissions to refit and replace casualties, from June 1, 1918, to the end of the war, November 11, 1918. Its losses were terrible, barely twenty percent of the original enlistment was still in the ranks when the armistice was signed. After the armistice the regiment was sent into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.

For its valor the 23rd was awarded 3 French Croix de Guerre (Quah de guerre) with Palm and the French Fourragere which all soldiers assigned to the 23rd were entitled to wear on their left shoulder. As a soldier in the 23^rd, George Milton Kornegay was a recipient of these citations.

Next we honor an airman who gave his life while in service during WWII

My uncle, 2^nd Lieutenant John P. Treadaway

In a beautiful and impressive funeral ceremony, Miles paid tribute to her first casualty of WWII, 2^nd Lt. John Pershing Treadaway, just 24 years old,. An estimated 1000 persons gathered in the Miles School Auditorium to honor the memory of the dead hero.

A large United States flag decorated the Casket and Lt. White of Patterson Field, Ohio, was here as a representative of the U.S. Army. The flag was folded and given to Mrs. H.B. Treadaway, mother of Lt. Treadaway.

John P. Treadaway was born January 22, 1918, at Alma, Texas. After living in Oklahoma for 7 years, the family moved to Miles in December 1925 and have since made their home here.

John was a member of the graduating class of 1937 from Miles High School. In the fall of the same year he entered San Angelo College and attended for three years, the final year of which he was an assistant instructor in biology. He graduated in the sprig of 1940.

He entered Primary Training of the U.S. Army Air Corps at the Ryon School of Aronautics, Lindberg Field, San Diego, California in February of 1941. He completed Basic Air Training at Randolph Field, San Antonio on May 2, 1941, and in the later part of July went to Brooks Field for advanced Training. He graduated from Brooks Field and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant September 26, 1941.

November 1941 he entered Tactical Training Medium Bombardment in Jackson Air Base, Jackson, Miss. Upon finishing this course, he was transferred to San Francisco, California and later to Patterson Field Ohio.

Lt. Treadaway was a member of a bomber crew of five who were killed in a plane crash near the municipal airport of Memphis, Tennessee, Saturday afternoon, March 21, 1942. Survivors included his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Treadaway; six brothers, and two sisters. Alomost all of his brothers saw service in the various branches of the armed forces or homeland defense during WWII. Edgar was with the Marines, Henry was in the Air Corps, Jim was in the Army, Stanley, was in the Civil Air Patrol, and Roy served in the Navy. His brother Joe had served in the Cavalry in 1932 and due to injuries received in an earlier accident wasn’t able to serve in WWII. John’s also had two sisters, Mrs Frank Penkert and Mrs. Donald Cox.

Still surviving at this time are John’s brothers: Stanley, Edgar, Jim and Roy. Stanley and Edgar are in attendance today.

To honor our fallen heroes with a moment of silence let us please bow our heads while I recite:

A Soldier’s Prayer by LTC Charles E. Roller Brave warriors, should fate find us in battle, may our cause be just. May our leaders have clear vision. May our courage not falter. May we be triumphant and earn victory as we show mercy to our enemies. May our efforts bring lasting peace. May our sacrifice be always appreciated by those we serve. May we return to our loved ones unharmed. Should we be harmed, may our wounds heal. Should we perish in the struggle, may God embrace us and find for us a place in His Kingdom. Amen.

Infantry on Review on Rhine Sector

This is the famous 23rd Infantry, and Division, a regiment whose deeds in France have won it a great place in the heart of the American people. The regiment arrived in France in the fall of 1917. In the following March it was sent to the trenches in Meuse, near Verdun, for a six weeks' training course with the French. The last of May it was rushed in auto trucks to Chateau-Thierry and there, in conjunction with the 9th Infantry and the 5th and 6th Marines, stopped the German drive on Paris. The 23rd was one of the American regiments chosen by General Pershing to cooperate with the French Moroccans in the crucial battle of Soissons (swason). It was also in the assault of Saint-Mihiel (San me yel), in the battle of Champagne and in the final great drive in the Argonne - in battle with brief intermissions to refit and replace casualties, from June 1, 1918, to the end of the war. Its losses were terrible, barely twenty percent of the original enlistment still in the ranks when the armistice was signed.

After the armistice the regiment was sent into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. It was quartered in Vallendorf, a small town on the east bank of the Rhine, about six kilometers from Koblenz. Its parade ground while at Vallendorf was an immense plateau 200 feet above the Rhine and it was there that Pershing reviewed the entire 2nd Division - nearly 30,000 veterans - in May, 1919.

The men before us are real soldiers, soldiers who faced every form of warfare the boche could invent and who hammered him out of one stronghold after another.