Cove residents learn of bygone society at annual Heritage Fest

One of those people, Shayne DuBose of Kempner, kept a watchful eye over his 3,000-plus-degree fire used to make his steel and wrought iron malleable enough to shape into tools and designs.

DuBose took a moment to speak with the Herald about his involvement in the Heritage Festival and the reaction from residents in general.

“The noise is a big draw for a lot of people, which is wonderful for these outdoor events like this,” he said. “And a lot of people have either never seen it or haven’t seen it since they were children.”

DuBose, who now does blacksmith work for a living, said the passion began when he was younger.

“Starting out, as any good young lad, you like fire and you like sharp, pointy knives,” he said. “Well, I learned that if you use fire, you can make knives out of metal, and that’s what I started doing.”

DuBose said he started out casting the fires in his father’s barbecue pit, nearly ruining it with the scorching heat required to work with metal.

“From there, I was able to acquire a forge, a real anvil and got away from making knives so much — it’s not my favorite thing to do,” he said. “I do it, but I love making tools — useful things — cooking implements and stuff of that sort. I love making things people can use.”

DuBose uses authentic equipment to forge his pieces, which also helps start conversations.

“Even just my fuel is a conversation piece because I use mined-out-of-the-ground coal, and a lot of people have told me — older people — (they) haven’t seen that since (they were) a child — and they’re on up in their 60s-plus,” he said. “And all of my pieces are original. The vice is from 1902; my forge is from 1890; my anvil, I couldn’t tell you how old — it’s at least 100-plus years old.”

Near DuBose’s blacksmith area, children learned to make corn-husk dolls or try their hand at tossing a lasso to corral a stationary cow.

The doll-making station was popular for two young girls in particular, according to their parents Kevin and Ashley Chesnut.

Overall, the Chesnuts enjoyed themselves again after experiencing the festival a year ago.

“(We like) any of the displays where they’re actually using ... like this one here, she does the fabric-dying,” Ashley said. “That one, I remember that from last year; we watched that one for a while. And the interactive exhibits here where they actually get to experience themselves, like the doll-making.”

Kevin, an officer at Fort Cavazos, said he feels the event was a great experience for his family.

“It’s great for the girls; great entertainment here,” Kevin said. “As you can see, you’ve got the lasso, to tin-punching to the blacksmith thing over there. It is interesting how they do business about a couple-hundred years ago.”

The husband and father said he especially enjoyed the wagon ride, while the mother and wife said she enjoyed that the event was free and the Ogletree building was open for the public.

“We come hiking so we see this building, and forever we were like, what is this,” she said. “So we didn’t actually get to see it until last year whenever they opened it up here, so this is the only time we can actually walk through and get a tour of the original homestead there.”

Inside the homestead, Central Texas College student Emma Gill portrayed Mrs. Ogletree as people walked through the two-room house.

“I really like interacting with everyone and getting to learn about history,” Gill said. “Because it’s not just teaching people about history; I’m learning about it as well, so it’s really interesting.”

Gill said her favorite thing about the role is putting herself in the mindset and considering what it would have been like in their shoes.

She said her favorite thing about the history of the area, however, is about how the city began.

“My favorite thing that I’ve learned so far about it is just how it developed into the town and area it is,” she said. “You don’t really think about ... this is how this developed, this is what it originally was. And it’s just fun to learn about that.”

City History

This year, Copperas Cove celebrated its 144th birthday.

The city of Copperas Cove was founded March 25, 1879, as a small ranching community and farming community, with the establishment of the first post office located in an area known today as Ogletree Gap.

Originally, residents filed an application for the post office to be called “Cove,” but it was rejected because a Texas post office already bore that name.

In the mid-1800s, the community was just a small settlement scattered over the ridges and valleys of the area known to Central Texas pioneers as the Five Hills.

During the 1870s, a cattle feeder route to the Chisolm Trail was cut through the region and the community became a logical resting stop for travelers.

The large spring of water serving the area had a distinctive “copperas” taste, which led to the naming of the settlement as Copperas Cove.

Originally, the name was spelled “Coperas,” until it was officially changed to “Copperas” in 1901, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

The population of Copperas Cove grew steadily from the mid-1880s to 1929, when a pre-Great Depression population of 650 had been recorded, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

The population reduced by nearly half in the wake of the Great Depression.

New life came to Copperas Cove when Camp Hood was established nearby during World War II. Since that time, the population has continued to steadily increase.

That continued increase in residents also meant the city’s physical size expanded. Fort Hood has changed the character of what once had been a small town. With soldiers and their families coming from across the U.S. to live in Copperas Cove — and often remaining after they are discharged from the service — most businesses in the city are now geared to serve those residents.

According to the official 2020 Census, the population of Copperas Cove is 36,670. As of Jan. 1, however, the estimated population is 38,211, according to Bobby Lewis, Development Services director.