Byers, TX RoadyGoat

Byers, Texas, might look like a sleepy ranching town today, but it has a little bit of star power baked right into its soil. You can feel it, standing here, a little higher than the plains around you at almost a thousand feet.

13.5 mi away

Byers, TX RoadyGoat

Byers wouldn’t be here at all if it weren't for the railroad. The Fort Worth and Denver came through in the early 1880s, and suddenly Dan Byers’ ranch became a shipping hub. That slight rise in elevation, almost a thousand feet above sea level, made it a good spot for a town, a break from the flat plains. Agriculture and ranching are still what keep the wheels turning, even now. You’ll see folks heading in from all around for supplies. Some come hoping to find that buried treasure from the old stagecoach days, that's for sure, and maybe catch a Coyotes hockey game over in Wichita Falls. But if you asked the old-timers why folks really end up sticking around Byers, they wouldn't talk about the railway or the river. They'd tell you it's the community. The "Byers Buzz" started right here, and it's more than just a newsletter; it's a feeling, a sense of belonging. Or maybe it’s just that slow, steady way of life that lets you remember when the Cowboys won the Super Bowl, and who you watched it with. It's that small-town spirit that keeps Byers, Byers.

13.5 mi away

Byers, TX RoadyGoat

Byers has always been a place where the land dictates life, and lately, folks have been talking about the drought. The Little Wichita River, usually a reliable source for ranchers and farmers, has been running lower than anyone can remember. It's not just the older generation recalling stories from the Dust Bowl; this feels different. You see pickup trucks lined up at the co-op earlier each week, folks buying feed they hoped they wouldn't need. The "Byers Buzz" newsletter has been filled with tips on water conservation, stories of neighbors sharing resources, and even some old wives' tales about rain dances. The drought has tightened that bond, a reminder that even with the railway and the paved roads, Byers still depends on the sky and the river. There's a resilience here, though. People are digging in, sharing what they have, and hoping for the best. You can feel it in town, a quiet determination that Byers will weather this, just like it has every other challenge since Dan Byers first settled this high spot on the plains.

13.5 mi away

Montague County, Early Trails in

1840

Lying on a direct line of travel from the United States to Mexico, California, and points west, the area now Montague County was once a network of trails. One of the first area roads forged by white men was the Chihuahua Traders Trail of 1840. Blazed by merchants hoping to open a trade route from Mexico to St. Louis, Mo., this road crossed present Montague County and left tracks for later travelers. In 1841 came the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition; though it failed to open regular commerce between the Republic of Texas and Northern Mexico, this delegation also left a road and enforced the claims of Texas to Western territories. In 1849 U.S. Army Capt. Randolph B. Marcy charted a "California Trail", using parts of older routes. This soon grew into a thoroughfare for forty-niners and sturdy pioneers who came later. In 1858 the famous Butterfield Overland Mail Line came across the county; and in the 1870's, as Texas was building her image as a cattle empire, Montague County was crossed by two feeder branches of the Chisholm Trail. In 1882, the county's first railroad followed much of the Texan-Santa Fe Trail. Today Highway 82 partly traces Marcy's route and other roads parallel many of these early trails. (1969)

Historical Marker → · 14.2 mi away

Whaley, Henry A.

1869

Henry A. Whaley, the first permanent settler in Clay County, was born near Washington in Rhea County, Tennessee, on August 24, 1826. He received little formal education. During the Mexican War he enlisted in the United States Army at Washington, Tennessee, and served in Company H of the First Regiment of the Tennessee Mounted Infantry, commanded by Capt. James W. Gillespie. Whaley saw no combat in the war with Mexico but did serve with the occupation forces at Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, after the capture of the city by the army of Gen. Zachary Taylor . By the time of his honorable discharge, Whaley had attained the rank of sergeant. He returned to Tennessee and became engaged in farming and ranching. On November 29, 1849, he was married to Annanellie Melhellen at Strawberry Plains in Rhea County, Tennessee; the couple had one son. Whaley and his wife did not live together after 1860, though a divorce was apparently never obtained. Whaley moved to Texas in 1860 and settled near Gainesville in Cooke County; there he farmed and ranched. With the outbreak of the Civil War , he enlisted in the frontier defense regiment commanded by Col. James G. Bourland . Serving in Company B of the regiment, Whaley saw combat in several campaigns against the Indians. By the end of the Civil War he held the rank of second lieutenant in the army of the Confederate States of America. In 1869 Whaley settled in northern Clay County, about four miles southeast of the mouth of the Big Wichita River. At that time he was the only White settler in Clay County. Whaley constructed a stockade and hired about a dozen employees to farm, care for livestock, and provide protection against the numerous Indians who frequented the area. He was soon selling several thousand bushels of oats annually. His principal buyer was the United States Army. Although he worked hard on his land for nearly thirty years and made huge amounts of money, he was alone and a virtual pauper during the last years of his life. He lost most of his land because of his weakness for alcoholic beverages. By the end of his life Whaley was subsisting on a pension of eight dollars a month granted on the basis of his service in the Mexican War. He died on December 26, 1898, and was buried in the Benvanue Cemetery, three miles east of Byers in Clay County.

Tsha Handbook → · 13.8 mi away

Wichita Falls and Oklahoma Railway

1903

The Wichita Falls and Oklahoma Railway Company was chartered on October 23, 1903, to build a road twenty miles from Wichita Falls to a point in the northwest corner of Clay County on the south bank of the Red River, near the mouth of Cache Creek. The company had a capital of $50,000, and the business office was located at Wichita Falls. Members of the first board of directors included Joseph Alexander Kemp, Robert E. Huff , A. Newby, O. J. Kendall, O. T. Bacon, G. B. Stone, Frank Aris, William McGregor, and H. M. Durrett, all from Wichita Falls. The Wichita Falls and Oklahoma was the first of a group of feeders that the Colorado and Southern built for the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. Twenty-two miles of track was built from Wichita Falls to Byers, Texas, and placed in service on June 24, 1904. The road received $28,000 in bonuses, of which the Byers family, for whom the Texas terminal was named, gave $15,000. Construction began in June 1922 on an extension from Byers to a connection with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific at Waurika, Oklahoma. This extension, built under the charter of the Wichita Falls and Oklahoma Railroad of Oklahoma, was placed in operation March 1, 1923. Both the Texas and the Oklahoma companies were operated by the Wichita Valley Railway under lease. The entire line was abandoned on October 19, 1942, and the track removed the following year.

Tsha Handbook → · 13.8 mi away

North Nocona Oil Field

1918

Pennsylvania oil man George Williams, backed by Cad McCall, drilled for oil intermittently, 1918-22, beginning at Eagle Point (4.5 mi. SE). Leasing by individuals and major companies--including Phil Lesh, A.E. Humphrey, and the Texas Co.--kept rigs working. Gas blew in at 800-foot depth on J.W. Maddox-J.E. Lemons land, one well yielding over 100,000,000 cubic feet daily. The gas was piped to Nocona and rural homes. Oil was discovered in 1922 on Maddox site, at about 1,000 feet. Production continued at 1,000-2,000 feet, there and elsewhere. The gas caused trouble: a capped well blew mud from prairie dog holes and gas from water well a quarter-mile away. In 1925, a gas well on W.W. Jones land (2 mi. W) blew out a gigantic crater. Another well (.75 mi. W) caught fire, burned its rig, and was finally doused by nationally-famed oil well fire fighter Tex Thornton. With an estimated 100,000,000-barrel total on record, this 12,295-acre field still produces. (1972)

Historical Marker → · 15.9 mi away

Highway Paved with Gold

1936

From the immemorial man has searched for a land where streets were paved with gold. As early as the 16th Century he was in Texas, lured by Indian reports of "Seven Cities of Gold." They never were found. But they provided the basis for legends of untold riches--stories still spun by some Texans. Surprisingly, perhaps, many of the "tall tales" are more fact than fiction. For instance, both this section of U.S. Highway 81 and a portion of adjacent U.S. Highway 287 are actually paved with gold! The story began in 1936 when the Texas Highway Department was paving the two highways here in Montague County. Sand for the concrete was taken from a nearby pit, opened three years earlier. The grains glistened with such intensity as they were mixed that a closer examination seemed prudent. So a small supply was sent to a Fort Worth laboratory for assay. Back came the report: the sand contained gold. The news sent the owner of the pit in feverish search of the mother lode. But in vain. Top assays on his extensive "soundings" came to no more than 54 cents per ton of ore. His ardor was cooled further when he learned the gold was not free but deeply imbedded in the sand. Disheartened, he settled back into routine sand production. From his pit, however, eventually came $250,000 in gold--all part of the sand. It has been reckoned that as much as $31,000 is distributed along 39 miles of roadway. Some $25,000 in U.S. Highway 81 and $6,000 in U.S. Highway 287. The remainder has gone into other construction in the region, including numerous buildings in which concrete has been used. So it is that today's motorist has discovered the highways paved with gold and the "golden" cities which his predecessors sought in vain. (1963)

Historical Marker → · 18.1 mi away

Ryan, Oklahoma

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Byers, TX RoadyGoat

Byers, TX RoadyGoat

Byers, TX RoadyGoat

Montague County, Early Trails in

Whaley, Henry A.

Wichita Falls and Oklahoma Railway

North Nocona Oil Field

Highway Paved with Gold

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