Relics From The Gulf of Mexico

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Every so often my father invites me with him on his weekend fishing trips on the Texas gulf coast. I haven’t always been the most enthusiastic fisherman, and I tend to grow bored quite quickly while fishing. I still go on these trips as it’s always nice to get out And enjoy the outdoors.

During my many fishing trips I sometimes find interesting relics right on the ocean coast. A good amount of the fishing locations I go to are built up using the remains of old demolished buildings from the area. If you take your time looking around you can find some really interesting pieces of history. During my last trip I spotted this large chunk of concrete, and it had a peculiar mosaic tile design on it.




This relic comes from a mostly forgotten period of American history where swastikas used to be popular decorative symbols inside of businesses and homes. The swastika was a popular symbol in the western U.S. due to its importance in Native American culture. The U.S. 45th infantry division used the swastika as there official insignia from 1924 until the rise of the the Third Reich in Germany forced them to change it. This old tile flooring marks an end of an era. After the Second World War decorative patterns like these vanished from American buildings almost completely. A hand full of old buildings scattered around the U.S. still retain their old swastika patterns, but they are becoming a rare sight.

After about 30 minutes with my pickaxe and shovel I was able to unpin this chunk from the large boulders that surrounded it. The piece weighs at least 70 pounds, but thankfully I managed to carry it to my truck bed. I know this isn’t a military related piece, but I still thought it was worth posting here on the forum. This antique flooring fragment dates anywhere from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Despite not being a German swastika, I still think Nazi history is tied to this piece in some form. If the Third Reich hadn’t adopted the symbol, who knows how long this wound have been used in American architecture.



Here are some photos of similar flooring that remains intact

[reneblacky]

Similar can be found today down here in Melbourne at the Prahran Town Hall, this would date between 1888-90.

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Very cool!

That one is the same color, and it's facing the same direction as mine.

Best Regards- Jarret

[sweersz]

That's so cool you found that!

[reneblacky]

Very cool!

That one is the same color, and it's facing the same direction as mine.

Best Regards- Jarret

Just checked google maps and it's still there if you look closely at the floor of the doorway, I haven't been there for over 10 years!

[Luftwaffe 1941]

That same day my girlfriend found this relic close to where I found the tile swastikas. She was kind enough to donate it to my collection



It’s marked

"S DICKEY CLAY MFG CO SANANTONIO TEXAS"

A nice piece of state history. Here is a photo of Mr Dickey himself

[reneblacky]

Now that's a keeper

[TWS]

Now that's a keeper

The tile or the girlfriend?