Editing Coldspring, Texas (section)

==History==
The history of Coldspring is linked to Stephen F. Austin's first colony in Texas, which established, among other locales, San Jacinto County.  Austin's original colony extended to the Trinity River watershed (roughly along [[Texas State Highway 156|Texas 156]] toward [[Point Blank, Texas|Point Blank]]).  After receiving a commission from the Mexican government to settle the town, Joseph Vehlein, a German immigrant to Mexico, deeded {{convert|640|acre|km2}} to Robert Rankin, an American Revolutionary officer.  This acreage included the site of Coldspring.

The settlement of Cold Springs (old spelling) began around 1850.  In 1848, there had existed only a nearby trading post called "Coonskin" (later, "Fireman's Hill").

Coldspring had developed into a bustling county-seat town by 1915, but disaster struck on March 30, 1915 when the wooden courthouse burned, thus removing the economic foundation of the town.  Plans for a new courthouse were made, and the present building was completed in 1918.  The townspeople then moved their buildings to be closer to the new courthouse.<ref>Billie Trapp and Hilde Faulkner, "The History of Our Church," https://web.archive.org/web/20120306225218/http://www.coldspringmethodist.org/History_of_Our_Church.html.  Retrieved 2010-05-25</ref>

In 1983, San Jacinto County sheriff James Cecil "Humpy" Parker was convicted of six [[civil rights]] abuses of suspects using the form of torture called [[waterboarding]] and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/03/19/Sheriff-admits-he-tortured-prisoners-strip-searched-innocent-motorists/3074416898000/|title=Sheriff admits he tortured prisoners; strip-searched innocent motorists |publisher=United Press International |date=1983-03-19 |access-date=2019-03-13}}</ref> However, he served fewer than five before his medical release due to [[brain cancer]]; he died in 1994. Parker's son and deputy, Gary, was convicted in 1984 of [[conspiracy (civil)|conspiracy]] to violate suspects' rights. These incidents were incorporated into a [[novel]] by Steven Sellers,
''Terror on Highway 59'' in 1984, which in turn was made into a [[made-for-television]] movie, ''Terror on Highway 91'' (1989), starring 
[[Ricky Schroder]].