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City Council Meeting Minutes January 7, 2020 William Thompson together with John Crayton & Thos. G. McGehee have executed & delivered their joint & several promissory note payable to the order of Nelson H. Munger administrator in 1851. Mr. Buckley stated that Mr. Thompson enslaved at least 25 people, some of their names we know, including the Brady family which is why Mr. Buckley intends to ask the Parks board (of which he is a member) to name the park in tribute to the Brady family. The connection to McGehee has further importance. It was McGehee who actually owned the land on the San Marcos River where Thompson developed his first mill with the labor of his slaves. The relationship of the two men gave considerable credence to the "gentlemen's agreement" discussed in Kathryn Thompson Rich's 1978 document. In conclusion, Jo also states I have seen and learned enough to make sense out of all the trails. William A. Thompson established some sort of a milling operation on the San Marcos River at the place now called the Thompson Dam, probably between 1852 and 1855. Additionally, it is clear the enslaved African Americans owned by William Thompson dug out several channels in the San Marcos River and deposited the river mud to build several dams in the San Marcos River in the 1850s. The purpose of such work was to increase the flow of the river into several water courses to use the power of the river to run several mills, specifically a saw mill and a grist mill. It does not appear the cotton gin was powered by the river in this early period. It would also have been the enslaved who were the onsite engineers, designers and craftsmen and women who made the mills work. Thompson ordered the work, but the people he enslaved made it happen. In 1850 Texas had a population of 212,000 white citizens and 58,000 African American people who were enslaved. By 1860 those numbers had grown to 604,000 white citizens who owned 183,000 people that they enslaved. In 1860 Hays County had just under 800 people enslaved; the white population was approximately 2,200. He said the historians do not have the history right and that we should look into it. Roland Saucedo, spoke as vice -chair of the San Marcos Complete Count committee, chair of government subcommittee and chair of the finance committee for the Complete Count Committee. We appreciate your time and service. The two councilmembers that have been appointed have not been able to attend a meeting except for one meeting. We are the City of San Marcos representatives to work with the US Census Bureau and scheduling conflicts makes it difficult to attend the meetings and if they can't fulfill the obligation then reappoint two new council members because it is important to have our council members active as the campaign begins. There is a presentation this evening on item #13 and he would like to note we have zero financing. Splash Coworking is the first private business that is assisting with funding materials City of San Marcos Page 4