Koe Wetzel grew up in Pittsburg, in East Texas, and left at eighteen to play linebacker at Tarleton State on a football scholarship. By the time he left school, he was already playing shows. On February twenty-eighth, two thousand sixteen, he was arrested in Stephenville. By his own telling, he drank all night at a buddy's house with little money and a bottle of vodka, left, came back, and kept talking about Taco Bell. He says his truck ended up about five blocks away, out of gas, hood popped and doors open, and an officer found him lying face down in the middle of a soccer field. Wetzel says the officer thought he was dead, and that he woke up in jail. He turned that night into a song named for the date, February twenty-eighth, two thousand sixteen, and fans celebrate the date every year as Koe Wetzel Day.

RoadyGoat → · 13.9 mi away

The Father of Western Swing RoadyGoat

1903

Stephenville's music story starts with a man who helped build a genre. Milton Brown was born in Stephenville in nineteen oh three and moved to Fort Worth in nineteen eighteen. In nineteen thirty he started performing with Bob Wills, and together they developed the sound and style of Western swing. Brown then formed his own band, the Musical Brownies, fusing country, blues, jazz and pop. For a while, they were more popular than Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Brown died in April nineteen thirty six, five days after a car crash in Fort Worth. He was laid to rest back home in Stephenville, which holds a Western Swing Festival in his honor and marks September eighth as Milton Brown Day. In two thousand eighteen the Texas Music Office in the governor's office certified Stephenville as a Texas Music Friendly Community, the sixth city to get that designation. And Koe Wetzel, whose rowdy songs caught on with college students, came to Stephenville from Pittsburg, Texas, at eighteen, on a football scholarship to play linebacker at Tarleton. His band was managed out of Stephenville until two thousand nineteen.

RoadyGoat → · 13.9 mi away

History of Bluff Dale

The Town That Moved to Meet the Train RoadyGoat

1867

Bluff Dale is not where it started. Settlers from Ellijay, Georgia, and other Southern towns came to the Paluxy River in the late eighteen sixties and settled near artesian wells. They called the place Bluff Spring. A post office came in eighteen seventy-seven, and the village became a stop on a mail route that ran from Fort Worth all the way to Yuma, in Arizona Territory. Then, in eighteen eighty-nine, the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway was built a short distance to the east. Jack Glenn donated land for a new townsite on the line, and the town moved to meet the train. It paid off. An eighteen ninety-five directory counted about eight hundred people, three grocery stores, two hotels, a cotton gin, a doctor, and a telegraph station. By nineteen fifteen Bluff Dale had a bank and its own newspaper, the Bluff Dale Sun. By two thousand, the census counted one hundred twenty-three people.

RoadyGoat →

The Bridge That Was Never Really a Suspension Bridge RoadyGoat

1890

The rusty iron bridge hanging over the Paluxy River near Bluff Dale may be the oldest bridge of its kind in the whole country. The Runyon Bridge Company out of Weatherford built it, and Erath County accepted the work in January of eighteen ninety-one. Everybody calls it a suspension bridge. Engineers say that is wrong. It is cable-stayed, with cables running from the towers straight down to the deck, a design that did not really catch on until after World War Two. The towers are iron pipe. The first cables were probably hand-twisted wire. In nineteen thirty-four a new concrete bridge took over the highway crossing, so the old one was moved about a mile and a half upstream, to the county road where it sits. It carried cars until nineteen eighty-nine. In two thousand nine, Preservation Texas put it on its list of the most endangered places in the state. And in January of two thousand twenty-two, a travel writer found it sagging under vines, with the county planning to tear it down.

RoadyGoat →

The Forgotten Inventor Behind the Bluff Dale Bridge RoadyGoat

1888

The man who designed the old iron bridge near Bluff Dale is almost a mystery. When federal historians studied the bridge in nineteen ninety-six, they found very little about Edwin Elijah Runyon. What survives is a business card, a few county contracts, and eight patents. Six of those patents are for suspension bridges. The other two are for a cotton-cultivating machine and a lawn mower. He moved around North Texas, from Mountain Spring in Cooke County to Pilot Point. The historians doubted he had any advanced engineering training. He built with ordinary gas pipe, because it was durable, cheap, and easy to find. Erath County was careful with him. In eighteen ninety it hired his company for three bridges, but the crew could start the second and third only after the county inspected and accepted the first. His bridge on the Paluxy is one of only two known survivors of his patents. The records on the man are thin, but the iron outlasted them.

RoadyGoat →

Public Water Well, Old

1887

An early day oasis for travelers and cattle herds. Dug about 1887 by crew building Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad. At first artesian, lost power when well was dug nearby to supply locomotives. Local residents, who now have private wells, still use this well in emergencies. (1971) Incising on base of marker: Restored 1965 by Bluff Dale Study and Garden Club

Historical Marker →

Holt House

1895

This house was built around 1895 by Dr. Hardy L. Holt and his wife, Isabella "Belle" Victoria Gordon. Dr. H.L. Holt (1844-1914) was a First Lieutenant in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Later, he studied medicine and became a pioneer physician in Bluff Dale. He opened the town's first drugstore, which also contained an ice cream parlor. This two-story, side-gabled house with Folk Victorian and Queen Anne elements replaced the Holt's first home after it burned. Notable features include the wrap-around porch and balcony, turned wood columns, a projecting portico and lapped wood siding. A wrought-iron fence borders the front of house, which remains a significant part of Bluff Dale's history.

Historical Marker →

Warnock, J. F., Hardware

1908

Jeptha Franklin Warnock came to Erath County in 1898 and later settled near Bluff Dale. In 1908 he opened a hardware store and in 1915 built this structure to house his business. Here Warnock provided supplies and implements to the surrounding agricultural area. A community landmark, the Warnock Store features a brick parapet, wooden storefront, and transom windows typical of early commercial buildings once common in Texas. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1984

Historical Marker →

McGaughey, William L.

1861

William L. McGaughey, soldier, legislator, and commissioner of the General Land Office , was born on February 26, 1837, in Lawrence County, Alabama. After graduating from La Grange (Alabama) Military College, he worked in the law office of the former governor of Alabama, D. P. Lewis. With the onset of the Civil War in 1861, McGaughey enlisted as a private of Company H in the Sixteenth Alabama Infantry of the Confederate Army. He saw action at Shiloh, where he suffered a head wound. He was shot in the side at Murfreesboro, and a wound to his right heel at Chickamauga ended his career as an infantryman. Subsequently, he served as an adjutant for the general and staff corps in the Fifth Alabama Cavalry until the end of the war. On December 20, 1865, McGaughey married Aurie A. Robbins. They had two sons. His sons both worked for the state of Texas. In 1869 McGaughey moved his family to Texas and taught school in Van Zandt County. After three years he moved to Hood County. Between 1880 and 1905 he raised cattle and acquired four tracts of land in Hood County. In 1902 his land was valued at $4,600, and he had 400 cattle worth $2,800. McGaughey was elected to the Texas House of Representatives of the Nineteenth Legislature, 1885, to represent the Fortieth District, which consisted of Hood, Erath, Bosque, and Somervell counties. He was reelected in 1887 and 1889 to serve in the Twentieth and Twenty-first legislatures. In 1890 the Democratic state convention nominated him for commissioner of the General Land Office, and he easily won. He served in this position from 1890 to 1894. Through his efforts in support of farmers, McGaughey provoked opposition from supporters of industrialization. His foes brought charges of incompetence against him, and he was impeached, tried, and acquitted on May 5, 1893. He resumed the duties of his office. In 1897 he returned to the Texas House of Representatives to serve in the Twenty-fifth Legislature, representing the Eightieth District. In the House he was the chairman of the Committee on Education. He also served on the Constitution, Lands and Land Office, and Rules committees. McGaughey was a Cumberland Presbyterian, a Mason, and a member of the Farmers' Alliance . He died on March 28, 1912, in Tolar and was buried in the family plot in Granbury.

Tsha Handbook → · 6.5 mi away

Tolar, TX

1890

Tolar is on U.S. Highway 377 seven miles southwest of Granbury in southwestern Hood County. It was first settled around 1890, when the tracks of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway reached the area. The community was named by W. L. McGaughey in honor of his friend Alf Tolar, who lived in Abilene. A post office opened at the community in 1890, and within the decade Tolar had established itself as a trade center for area farmers and ranchers. In addition to a gin, a general store, and a blacksmith shop, Tolar provided its estimated 171 residents with two churches and an elementary school. Its population had reached 460 by 1914, and by the mid-1920s Tolar had a high school, a bank, a weekly newspaper, and some six other businesses. Several buildings in Tolar are made of petrified wood found in the area; in 1969 collecting and shipping this material was a local industry. For a time the population declined because of the Great Depression, World War II , and the growth of nearby Fort Worth. In the mid-1960s Tolar had an estimated 283 residents and five businesses, and in the mid-1970s its population rose above 300 for the first time since the 1950s. During the late 1980s Tolar reported 415 residents, and in 1990, some 523. The population was 504 in 2000.

Tsha Handbook → · 6.5 mi away

Hogan, William Benjamin

1912

William Benjamin (Ben) Hogan, professional golfer, was born in Stephenville, Texas, on August 13, 1912, the second son and third child of Chester and Clara (Williams) Hogan. The diminutive Hogan, nicknamed "Hawk" for his ferocious concentration on the golf course, was a relatively late bloomer as a pro. He won his first PGA tournament and his first major title at the relatively advanced ages of twenty-six and thirty-four respectively. Once his career took off, however, he went on to compile one of the most impressive records in golf history. His contemporary Jimmy Demaret considered him "the greatest golfer that ever lived," and Jack Nicklaus called him "the best shotmaker the game has ever seen." Hogan's early life gave few indications of his future success. His father, a blacksmith in Dublin, Texas, may have suffered from bipolar disorder; one source says that his wife moved the family to Fort Worth in the summer of 1921 to put Chester in a sanatorium. Chester committed suicide in front of his family in February 1922, when Ben was only nine. Thereafter, Clara Hogan earned a meager living as a seamstress and Ben's older brother, Royal, then thirteen, quit school and went to work to help support the family. Young Ben sold copies of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at the Texas and Pacific Railroad station until a friend told Royal that Ben could earn more money caddying at Glen Garden Country Club. Hogan's competitive nature surfaced as soon as he began caddying, in the summer of 1924. Sometimes he slept in a bunker at Glen Garden, so as to be first in line for a bag on the following day. According to family legend, when Clara scolded her teenage son for wasting his time playing golf, he responded, "Momma, someday I'm gonna be the greatest golfer in the world." One of his fellow caddies at Glen Garden was Byron Nelson , who also became a legendary golfer and Hogan's lifelong friend and rival. In 1927 Nelson beat Hogan by one shot after a nine-hole playoff in the club's annual Christmas tournament for caddies. Hogan registered as a professional in February 1930 to play in the San Antonio Open, but went broke soon after joining the PGA Tour in January 1932. He tried again two years later, with similar results, and briefly worked as a dealer and dice-game croupier in Fort Worth's thriving underground gambling scene. Years later, Hogan said, "My greatest accomplishment was being able to make a living playing golf after going broke twice starting out." In 1935 he married Valerie Fox, whom he had met in Sunday school more than a decade before. They were married for 62 years, until his death, and Hogan credited Valerie's support and faith in him for much of his success. Initially, however, Hogan's marriage seemed to have little effect on his golfing fortunes. In 1938 he and Valerie were in Oakland, California, and down to their last eighty-six dollars when someone stole the tires off their car. A distraught Hogan was ready to quit golf for good, but Valerie talked him out of it. Hogan went on to finish second in the Oakland Open, winning $285. Later that year, he won his first tournament, the Hershey Four-Ball, and from then on he was almost unbeatable. He was golf's leading money-winner in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, and 1948, and was named the PGA player of the year in 1948, 1950, 1951, and 1953. His sixty-three career victories and nine major-tournament wins rank third all-time, an accomplishment made even more remarkable by the time he missed-more than three full years-during the prime of his career. Hogan was drafted in March 1943 and initially assigned to Fort Worth Army Air Field as a physical-training instructor. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Air Force after completing Officer Candidate School in Miami that summer, then returned to Fort Worth for training as a flight instructor. Eventually, he was promoted to captain, though he never worked as a flight instructor. When he left the service in August 1945, he was

Tsha Handbook → · 14.9 mi away

Things to Do in Bluff Dale

nature 14.0 mi away

Dinosaur Valley State Park

The Paluxy River cut down through the limestone here and exposed dinosaur tracks pressed into 113-million-year-old mud. You can wade out into the river in…

quirky 14.0 mi away

Brazos Drive-In Theatre

Granbury businessmen pooled local materials in 1952 and put up a drive-in on what was then the edge of town to lure people in. It opened June 5 with Robert…

historical 22.2 mi away

The Great Comanche Trail

Long before settlers arrived the Brazos River corridor through Palo Pinto County was part of the Great Comanche Trail. Comanche Kiowa and Apache hunting…

spooky 21.1 mi away

McDow's Hole

In 1880s Erath County a young bride named Jenny Papworth was murdered and thrown into this swimming hole on the Green Creek. Her ghost guards the water and…

historical 25.0 mi away

New York Hill and the 150-Dollar Houses

Thurber was divided by class and the geography made it obvious. Company executives lived atop New York Hill in houses that cost eight thousand dollars each…

Everything Near Bluff Dale

296 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

The Town That Moved to Meet the Train
Bluff Dale is not where it started. Settlers from Ellijay, Georgia, and other Southern towns came to the Paluxy River in the late eighteen sixties and settled near artesian wells. They called the place Bluff Spring. A…
Warnock, J. F., Hardware · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
Jeptha Franklin Warnock came to Erath County in 1898 and later settled near Bluff Dale. In 1908 he opened a hardware store and in 1915 built this structure to house his business. Here Warnock provided supplies and…
Bluff Dale Tabernacle · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Bluff Dale Tabernacle, built around 1906 on land donated by the founder of Bluff Dale itself, Andrew Jackson Glenn. This place was the heart of the community for decades. Imagine it packed for…
Bluff Dale United Methodist Church · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Bluff Dale, home to the United Methodist Church. Its roots go back to the mid-1880s, with early meetings following a camp meeting in 1881. The congregation built its first church in 1894 and moved…
Public Water Well, Old · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
An early day oasis for travelers and cattle herds. Dug about 1887 by crew building Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad. At first artesian, lost power when well was dug nearby to supply locomotives. Local residents, who…
The Bridge That Was Never Really a Suspension Bridge · 0.3 mi
The rusty iron bridge hanging over the Paluxy River near Bluff Dale may be the oldest bridge of its kind in the whole country. The Runyon Bridge Company out of Weatherford built it, and Erath County accepted the work in…
Holt House · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
This house was built around 1895 by Dr. Hardy L. Holt and his wife, Isabella "Belle" Victoria Gordon. Dr. H.L. Holt (1844-1914) was a First Lieutenant in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Later, he studied…
Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge · 0.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Get ready to step back in time as you approach the Bluff Dale Bridge, a true survivor from a bygone era. This isn't just any bridge; it's a tangible link to Erath County's late 19th-century history. Imagine a time…
The Forgotten Inventor Behind the Bluff Dale Bridge · 0.3 mi
The man who designed the old iron bridge near Bluff Dale is almost a mystery. When federal historians studied the bridge in nineteen ninety-six, they found very little about Edwin Elijah Runyon. What survives is a…
Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge. For at least 20 years vehicles had to ford the Paluxy River to reach Bluff Dale and points west. Wagon traffic increased after the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad line…
Denny Cemetery · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Denny Cemetery, a final resting place for a Texas Ranger who guarded the frontier. Alfred Denny arrived in Texas in 1853, eventually settling near here in 1867. During the Civil War, he served in…
Houston Ranch · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Houston Ranch. Frank R. Putnam was born on November 15, 1848 in Massachusetts. In 1879, Frank and his brother, Addison, purchased 25,000 acres on Upper Berry Creek. In 1883, the Putnams built a…

Show all 200 nearby places

Glenn Cemetery · 1.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Hood County, near the old community of Bluff Dale. This is the site of Glenn Cemetery, established when Andrew Jackson Glenn donated land in 1897. The earliest grave here dates back to 1867, and…
The Night a Tornado Crossed Highway 377 · 4.6 mi
On the night of April nineteenth, two thousand twenty-five, the strongest tornado of a stormy North Texas evening came up this stretch between Bluff Dale and Tolar. It touched down along the Hood and Erath County line…
Rock Church Cemetery · 5.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Rock Church Cemetery, a burial ground for pioneers who settled this agricultural area in the 1850s. The community center was built on Jesse Caraway's land in the 1870s, and he deeded the property…
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Tolar (Tolar) · 5.6 mi
Tolar (Tolar, TX) placed on the 3A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Noah Yanish (0.465 avg).
Acrea Cemetery · 5.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Acrea Cemetery, originally known as Oxford Cemetery. John Wright died nearby around 1857, and Clayborn Oxford donated this land for his burial. The earliest marked grave is Oxford's infant…
Antioch Community · 5.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through western Hood County, near where the last Indian fight in the county went down. It was called the Battle of Lookout Point, and it happened right around here in September of <say-as…
Cedar Point School · 6.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Erath County, near Stephenville, past the site of the Cedar Point School. It started life as Elm Grove School around 1860, in a simple log cabin miles from here. In 1894, the community got three…
Tolar Tabernacle · 6.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Tolar, and right here is the Tolar Tabernacle, built around 1897. Before air conditioning, these open-air structures were vital for hot Texas summers. Think revivals, weddings, family reunions,…
Friday Night Dreams · 6.5 mi
In the fall of 2023, something special happened in Tolar. The town’s high school football team, the Rattlers, embarked on a historic playoff run that captivated the entire community. Week after week, the team defied…
The Fire That Turned Tolar to Stone · 6.5 mi
In nineteen oh nine, a fire tore through Tolar. By the town's own account, when it was over, only four buildings were left. The town's own history calls it a great disaster. And when Tolar rebuilt, it rebuilt only in…
Engineering a Town into Existence · 6.5 mi
The town of Tolar exists because of a railroad that could not make up its mind. The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway spent years pushing southwest out of Fort Worth, and its route was changed many times before…
McGaughey, William L. · 6.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
William L. McGaughey, soldier, legislator, and commissioner of the General Land Office , was born on February 26, 1837, in Lawrence County, Alabama. After graduating from La Grange (Alabama) Military College, he worked…
Tolar, Thaler, Dollar · 6.5 mi
Here is a word game for the road. Tolar, Texas, was named for a man, a friend of one of the town's leaders. But across the ocean, tolar was also money. From October eighth, nineteen ninety-one, until the euro arrived on…
Tolar, TX · 6.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Tolar is on U.S. Highway 377 seven miles southwest of Granbury in southwestern Hood County. It was first settled around 1890, when the tracks of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway reached the area. The community was…
Stroud Creek Cemetery · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Tolar, and just off the road is Stroud Creek Cemetery. Settlers began using this land for burials back in 1883, a practice that continued for residents of Tolar. The cemetery holds community…
Panter Branch School · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the old Panter Branch School, which served Hood County students by 1898. This two-room schoolhouse, with two teachers for up to 42 pupils, often closed in the fall so kids could help with…
Hightower Cemetery · 8.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Erath County, past the Hightower Cemetery. This peaceful spot began as a family burial ground for John Bryan McPheres Hightower and his wife Mary. They settled a large ranch here, and by 1870,…
The John W. Bull Stone House · 8.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Tolar, Hood County, and you might just miss this old stone house. But it's one of the earliest masonry homes built around here, and it has a story tied to the frontier. John W. Bull, a Tennessee…
Morgan Mill Tabernacle · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Morgan Mill Tabernacle, a place that's been at the heart of this community since 1910. Before this permanent structure, folks gathered under a summer brush arbor for revivals. This tabernacle…
Morgan Mill Cemetery · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Morgan Mill Cemetery, a community burial ground that started with a young girl's burial in the 1870s. The earliest marked grave is from 1880, and in 1883, three acres were deeded for this growing…
Martin Cemetery · 9.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Hood County, near Lipan. Look for the Martin Cemetery, a reminder of pioneer life. It may have begun as early as 1859 with the burial of Nathan Holt, killed in an Indian attack. The graveyard is…
Friendship Cemetery · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Friendship Cemetery, established in 1877. It was designated a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2012.
Smith Springs Cemetery · 10.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Smith Springs Cemetery, established around 1907. This was the heart of the old Smith Springs Community, and it's the last remnant of that settlement. Among the graves are those of Frederick Hook,…
The Colony Cemetery · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of The Colony, a community founded by enslaved people who came to Hood County with their owners as early as the 1850s. After emancipation, they settled here, acquired land, and built a life.…
W. D. and Essie Gafford House · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the W. D. and Essie Gafford House, built around 1916. It's a classic example of the Craftsman bungalow style popular in the early 1900s. The Gaffords were active in Lipan, owning the general store…
Parker-Davis House, 1890 · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Parker-Davis House, built in 1890 by James T. Parker. Parker was a Confederate veteran who made a remarkable 42-day wagon journey from Tennessee to Texas in 1871. He farmed, taught, and served as…
The Lipan Basketball Dynasty · 11.5 mi
In Texas, some towns are famous for football. Lipan is famous for basketball. The local high school, with an enrollment that barely numbers in the double digits per grade, has become a statewide basketball powerhouse.…
The Bank Robbery of 1932 · 11.5 mi
Imagine Lipan on a cold January morning. Not 1932 — January eighth, 1926. Six men, not two, walked into the First National Bank of Lipan and took about three thousand dollars in cash and valuables. And they did not get…
The Science of Lipan's Peanut Boom · 11.5 mi
Lipan's history as an agricultural hub is written in its soil. While cotton was its first cash crop, the town's 20th-century prosperity was built on peanuts, thanks to a specific geological advantage. You're in the…
Fitbits for Cows · 11.7 mi
Erath County is one of the top dairy counties in Texas, historically the state's leading milk producer, and Stephenville sits at the center of it. Just northeast of town, up US 281, Tarleton State University runs the…
Lipan, TX · 11.7 mi · Tsha Handbook
Lipan is at the intersection of Farm roads 4 and 1189, sixteen miles northwest of Granbury in the northwestern corner of Hood County. Though settlers began moving into the area during the early 1850s, the settlement was…
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Lipan (Lipan) · 11.8 mi
Lipan (Lipan, TX) placed on the 2A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Chris Collins (0.533 avg); Riggin Morris (2 HR).
Erath County Poor Farm Cemetery · 11.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Erath County Poor Farm Cemetery. This farm, established in 1881, was meant to house the indigent and provide work for petty offenders. It operated for over fifty years, producing…
Site of the Home of Elizabeth Crockett · 12.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site where Elizabeth Crockett, wife of the legendary Alamo hero David Crockett, lived her final years. She passed away right here on March 2nd, 1860, at the age of 74. Imagine the stories this…
Clark, Addison · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, maybe even near Fort Worth or Thorp Spring, and you're passing through history. Right here, Addison Clark and his brother Randolph, along with their father, founded Add-Ran College in…
Acton, TX · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Acton is on State Highway 4 five miles east of Granbury in Hood County. The site was cleared in 1866, when the area was in Johnson County. Acton is the oldest known settlement in Hood County. As early as 1845 there were…
Clark, Randolph · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Hood County, and right here in Thorp Springs, you're passing the birthplace of Texas Christian University. In 1873, Randolph Clark and his brother Addison, both teachers and ministers, were…
Crockett, Elizabeth Patton · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Central Texas, not far from Granbury, and you're passing through the final chapter of a remarkable woman's life. Elizabeth Patton Crockett, the second wife of the legendary Davy Crockett, made her…
Thorp Spring, TX · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Thorp Spring is on Farm Road 4 five miles northwest of Granbury in north central Hood County. Though Pleasant Thorp settled in the area near the banks of Strouds Creek in the 1850s, Indian attacks slowed community…
Doyle, John Newton · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Hood County, maybe near Acton, where Dr. John Newton Doyle set up shop in the late 1860s. He'd served as a Confederate surgeon during the Civil War, but Texas called him back to civilian life. He…
Fort Spunky, TX · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
The remnants of the Fort Spunky community are on Farm roads 199 and 2174 and Lake Granbury in the southeastern corner of Hood County. The settlement was originally named Barnardville. In 1849 George Barnard built one of…
Paluxy, TX · 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Paluxy is on State Highway 51 fifteen miles southwest of Granbury in Hood County. It was in Erath County until 1866, when Hood County was carved out of the region. The Paluxy post office was established in 1858 and was…
Pony Creek Cemetery · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Pony Creek Cemetery, a resting place for families who settled this land as early as 1845. Imagine the frontier life here, with homesteads built around that time, but still facing raids from Indian…
Mount Olive Cemetery · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Mount Olive Cemetery, a vital piece of Stephenville's African American history. Established in 1922, it holds relocated graves dating back to 1856 from the old West End Cemetery. The Colored Burial…
Cornelia Graves · 13.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Stephenville, where a remarkable educator once made her mark. Cornelia Tyler, born in Dallas in 1875, earned her teaching certificate and came here to lead the city's colored school. For nearly…
Lanham Mill Community · 13.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Lanham Mill, a community that grew up around a grist mill and cotton gin. William Lanham settled here around 1870, and by 1877, his mill was operational. The community thrived with farms,…
Oldest Home in Stephenville · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Stephenville, and right here is the oldest home in town, built way back in 1869 by J. D. Berry. Take a look at that native limestone and the Victorian architecture – you can spot it by that steep…
Post Oak Community · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the former Post Oak community, settled after the Civil War. It was a farming town, known for cotton and later peanuts, with churches and a school forming the heart of life. Though many left by the…
Stephenville Church of 1900 · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Stephenville, and you might notice a unique church building. This is the Stephenville Church, built by its Presbyterian congregation between 1899 and 1900. Designed by local builder William John…
First Christian Church of Granbury · 13.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Granbury, and just up ahead is the site of the First Christian Church. Organized in the 1870s, this congregation has deep roots in Texas education. The Clark brothers, who helped establish this…
Cage Home · 13.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Stephenville, and right here is a beautiful example of Texas architecture. This is the Cage Home, built in 1913 for Janie Cage after her husband, J.H. Cage, a prominent merchant, rancher, and…
Crow Home · 13.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Crow Home, a landmark of Stephenville's early prosperity. Tennessee natives Dr. Martin Swan Crow and his wife Mollie Jane arrived here in 1871. Dr. Crow built a successful medical…
The Night the Sky Lit Up · 13.9 mi
On the evening of January 8, 2008, dozens of people around Stephenville reported a large, brightly lit object drifting silently across the sky. Pilot Steve Allen described it as huge, with fast-flashing strobe lights,…
Cowboy Capital of the World · 13.9 mi
Stephenville calls itself the Cowboy Capital of the World, and it has the champions to back it up. The town is home to Ty Murray, the rodeo legend nicknamed King of the Cowboys, who won nine Professional Rodeo Cowboys…
The Butcher of Stephenville · 13.9 mi
On December ninth, nineteen twenty five, two men setting traps in the cellar of an abandoned Erath County farmhouse found a bloody feed sack hanging from the beams. Inside was the severed head of a young man. At a…
Erath County Courthouse · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Erath County Courthouse in Stephenville, a building that's been the heart of this town for over a century. It all started back in 1856 with a simple wooden courthouse. But that one went up in…
The Man Who Gave Away a Town · 13.9 mi
In 1854 John M. Stephen settled on the Bosque River frontier, and in May 1855 he rode in with surveyor George B. Erath and a party of about thirty pioneers, among the first settlers of what would become Erath County.…
The Night Behind February 28, 2016 · 13.9 mi
Koe Wetzel grew up in Pittsburg, in East Texas, and left at eighteen to play linebacker at Tarleton State on a football scholarship. By the time he left school, he was already playing shows. On February twenty-eighth,…
Crow Opera House · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Stephenville, and right here is the site of the old Crow Opera House, a building that was much more than just a place for shows. Erected before 1892, the first floor was home to the Erath County…
Gentry and Shelton Building · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Stephenville, and right here on the courthouse square, you're passing the Gentry and Shelton Building. Built in 1873 by partners George Gentry and James Shelton, this imposing limestone structure…
Moo-La, the Ten Million Dollar Cow · 13.9 mi
The black and white cow on the courthouse square has a name: Moo-La. Very early on the morning of September twenty-third, nineteen seventy two, a local dairy barn contractor hauled the fiberglass Holstein downtown and…
John Tarleton's Duck · 13.9 mi
Ask a Tarleton student about the school's founder, and you may hear about a duck. The story goes that John Tarleton walked all the way from Tennessee to Texas with his pet duck, Oscar P, waddling alongside. Legend says…
The Purple Poo · 13.9 mi
Every Tuesday morning at Tarleton State, signs show up nailed to the trees on campus, and the people who made them are a secret. They come from the Purple Poo, a masked spirit group that Tarleton calls the oldest spirit…
The Alamo Land Under Stephenville · 13.9 mi
Stephenville's story starts at the Alamo. John Blair was born in Tennessee in eighteen oh three, and on February nineteenth, eighteen thirty five, he registered for a league of Texas land as a married man. In early…
When Stephenville Nearly Emptied · 13.9 mi
Stephenville lost more than half its people in its first twenty years. John M. Stephen settled here in eighteen fifty four, and by eighteen fifty eight the town had grown to seven hundred sixty-six people. Comanche…
The Father of Western Swing · 13.9 mi
Stephenville's music story starts with a man who helped build a genre. Milton Brown was born in Stephenville in nineteen oh three and moved to Fort Worth in nineteen eighteen. In nineteen thirty he started performing…
First National Bank Building · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Stephenville, and right here on the town square is a piece of architectural history. Built in 1889, this building housed the city's very first bank. It's one of three structures on the square…
Dawson Saloon · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Dawson Saloon in Stephenville, built in the early to mid-1890s. Owner Billy Dawson made it a popular watering hole, even adding beer barrel seating for cowboys along the sidewalk.…
The Cowboy Capital Claim · 13.9 mi
Stephenville calls itself the Cowboy Capital of the World, and it is not the only Texas town that does. Bandera claims the title too. A Texas House resolution in two thousand thirteen traced Stephenville's case to…
The Oil Boom That Passed By · 13.9 mi
Stephenville had an oil boom once, and it lasted about two years. From nineteen eighteen to nineteen twenty, oil fever ran through Stephenville and Erath County. The trouble was that the important fields lay outside the…
Yellow Jacket Football · 13.9 mi
Stephenville High's football team missed the playoffs every year from nineteen fifty two until nineteen eighty nine. Then Art Briles arrived and turned the program around. Under Briles, the Yellow Jackets made the…
Jim Sharp, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Bull rider Jim Sharp was pro rodeo's rookie of the year in nineteen eighty six, and set a record for money won by a rookie. In nineteen eighty eight he became the first bull rider to ride all ten bulls at the National…
Harry Tompkins, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Harry Tompkins was born in Furnace Woods, New York, in nineteen twenty seven, an unlikely start for a rodeo champion. He worked horses on an eastern dude ranch and entered competition at Madison Square Garden in…
Tuff Hedeman, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Tuff Hedeman won the pro rodeo world bull riding championship three times, in nineteen eighty six, nineteen eighty nine and nineteen ninety one, and the Professional Bull Riders world title in nineteen ninety five. He…
Whit Keeney, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Whit Keeney started rodeoing in nineteen thirty two and won his first trophy saddle in nineteen fifty seven, when he was forty. He went on to win thirty-seven. Early on he roped with Will Rogers at the Texas Cowboy…
Stephenville Drug Stores · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the corner of Washington and Belknap streets in Stephenville, the site of a long-running local institution: the town's drug store. From 1899 all the way to 1994, this spot served as the heart of the…
George & Beulah Brown, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
George and Beulah Brown married in nineteen forty three and rodeoed for more than twenty-five years, George roping and judging while Beulah went from schoolteacher to rodeo secretary. They put on the first Stephenville…
Everett & Ava Colborn, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Everett Colborn ran the World Championship Rodeo Company out of Dublin, supplying stock for the big Madison Square Garden rodeos. He entered the Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame in nineteen sixty one, and in…
John Justin, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
John Justin was the grandson of the founder of the Justin Boot Company. He founded the Justin Hat company in nineteen thirty eight, and later turned the boot company into Justin Industries, which became the country's…
Troy Dunn, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Troy Dunn is an Australian bull rider who started riding calves at age nine. He moved to Canada in nineteen ninety to ride against the American cowboys, and in nineteen ninety one he qualified for the National Finals…
Tom Reeves, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Tom Reeves was born on September fifteenth, nineteen sixty four, in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, and grew up on his family's ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation. In two thousand one he became the only American…
Guy Allen, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Steer roper Guy Allen was born on September fifth, nineteen fifty eight, in Coushatta, Louisiana. He won his first world title in nineteen seventy seven, at nineteen, the youngest steer roping champion in history, and…
H. Sherwood Foster, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Sherwood Foster came from a pioneer West Texas cattle and ranching family, and was known as a breeder of some of the finest beef stock around. In Stephenville, he founded a home for children. He and his wife, Myrtie,…
G.K. & Nita Brook Lewallen, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
G.K. Lewallen was a founding director of the Erath County Livestock Association. He entered the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in nineteen ninety four, and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in…
Kay Floyd, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Kay Floyd moved from Indiana to Midland in the nineteen sixties and managed the Square Top three Ranch. In cutting horse competition she won the National Cutting Horse Association Non-Pro Futurity in nineteen seventy…
Hobie and Paula Wood, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Hobie Wood was a National Cutting Horse Association open world champion in nineteen ninety, nineteen ninety two, nineteen ninety five and nineteen ninety seven, and entered its hall of fame in nineteen ninety five. His…
J.M. "Junior" McNeill, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Junior McNeill came from a family that pioneered Erath County. He was a founding director of the Erath County Livestock Association and helped start a youth riding group called the Erath County Trailblazers. People…
Joe and Chitichi Fambro, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 13.9 mi
Joe and Chitichi Fambro ranched in Erath County from nineteen fifty on. They hosted cutting horse competitions, trail rides and barbecue cookouts at their ranch, and even sheriff's functions. They helped raise money for…
Dinosaur Valley State Park · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
One hundred and thirteen million years ago, this part of Texas was a shallow coastal mudflat at the edge of an ancient sea. A theropod, a meat-eating dinosaur walking upright on two legs, crossed the mud and left…
Dinosaur Valley State Park · 14.0 mi · Things to Do
The Paluxy River cut down through the limestone here and exposed dinosaur tracks pressed into 113-million-year-old mud. You can wade out into the river in…
Audie Murphy Arena · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Audie Murphy Arena, a place born from a friendship over horses. Car dealer Ray Woods built this arena on his Euless property, attracting cowboys and even hosting Audie Murphy himself…
Brazos Drive-In Theatre · 14.0 mi · Things to Do
Granbury businessmen pooled local materials in 1952 and put up a drive-in on what was then the edge of town to lure people in. It opened June 5 with Robert…
Cody Ohl, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Cody Ohl joined pro rodeo in nineteen ninety four and was named overall rookie of the year. He won world calf roping titles in nineteen ninety seven and nineteen ninety eight, and in two thousand one he took both the…
Charmayne James, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Charmayne James was a ten-time world champion barrel racer by nineteen ninety four, with more than a million dollars in arena winnings. Her pro career took off in nineteen eighty three after she won the barrel race at…
J.J. Hampton, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
J.J. Hampton won sixteen world roping titles in a six-year span, from nineteen ninety four to two thousand. From two thousand one to two thousand twenty one she stayed ranked among the top ten female ropers in the…
Ty Murray, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Ty Murray was born in Phoenix in nineteen sixty nine, and his father taught him to ride at age two. He turned pro in nineteen eighty eight and was rookie of the year. A year later he won both the college and the pro…
Junior Meek, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Junior Meek, born in Cleburne in nineteen thirty six, fought his first bulls with no experience, at an amateur rodeo in Louisiana, in exchange for his entry fees. In a twenty-year career he became one of the most…
Walt & Debbie Garrison, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Walt Garrison was two kinds of cowboy: a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys and a pro rodeo competitor. He made sure his Cowboys signing bonus included a two-horse trailer. His all-star rodeos raised more than four million…
Oak Dale Cemetery · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Oak Dale Cemetery, a final resting place that connects us to the very first settlers of this area. The Oak Dale community began to form in 1867, with folks like John Pickard, George Lidia, and…
Isora Johnson Young, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Isora Johnson Young was a rodeo pioneer. She roped calves and ran barrels at a time when women in rodeo were very rare. When she began competing in the early nineteen thirties, she was promoted as one of only two…
Chick Elms, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Chick Elms made the National Finals Rodeo in bareback riding six years in a row, from nineteen seventy five through nineteen eighty. He finished third in the world standings in nineteen seventy six and nineteen seventy…
Jerry Jetton, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Calf roper Jerry Jetton qualified for the National Finals Rodeo thirteen times. He grew up in Dallas and played football at Sam Houston, then quit to put his time into roping. That love was shaped by his grandparents'…
Terry & Delia Walls, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Terry Walls produced his first rodeo in Glen Rose in nineteen seventy one, and his company went on to supply bucking stock to the National Finals Rodeo. His Born to Buck breeding program raised a bronc named Jawbreaker,…
Buster Welch, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Buster Welch knew early that he wanted to be a rancher, and worked the Four Sixes, the Long X and the Pitchfork. He did not know he would become a household name in cutting horses. In nineteen sixty two he won the very…
Monty "Hawkeye" Henson, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Monty Hawkeye Henson won three world saddle bronc riding titles and qualified for the National Finals fourteen times. Born on October twenty-second, nineteen fifty three, in Farmersville, Texas, he grew up around…
Joy "Gordon" Hawks, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Joy Gordon Hawks was a world champion bareback rider in women's professional rodeo, and reserve world champion in bull riding. In nineteen ninety seven she won the women's bull riding at the Professional Bull Riders…
George Doak, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
George Doak was born in Fort Worth in nineteen thirty seven. Asked at age eight what he wanted to be, he said the best rodeo clown in the world. He fought his first bulls at the Mesquite rodeo in nineteen fifty three,…
Jimmy Anderson, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Jimmy Anderson was born in Fort Worth on September sixth, nineteen fifty three, and became a bullfighter and rodeo clown, named Wrangler Bullfighter of the Year more than once. Bull riders like Ted Nuce, Jim Sharp, Ty…
Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge #894, A.F. & A.M. · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge. Fourteen members organized here in 1904, electing Joe Dotson as their first master. The lodge met on Saturdays after a full moon, with a grocery store…
Faye Marburger Ramsey, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Faye Marburger Ramsey was born in Santa Anna, Texas, in nineteen eleven, and loved horses. She became one of the original Madison Square Garden Rodeo sponsor girls, young women picked by their local chambers of commerce…
Rodeo Clown Reunion, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
One plaque here honors no single cowboy. It salutes rodeo clowns, the funnymen who kept crowds laughing, and who, once Brahma bulls came into bull riding, were asked to help the cowboy get to safety. Later the barrel…
Bob Doty, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Bob Doty spent more than thirty years in rodeo, competing in amateur, junior and pro events before he became a college rodeo coach. Coaching at Western Texas College in Snyder and at Tarleton State, he produced one…
Toby & Jean Stone, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Toby Stone was a charter member and the first president of the Erath County Livestock Association, whose members built the county's rodeo arena. For more than four decades it hosted junior livestock shows, youth rodeos…
Tarleton State University rodeo teams, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
This plaque belongs to a team, not a person. It honors Tarleton State rodeo squads that won national intercollegiate titles: the men in nineteen sixty seven, and the women in nineteen sixty nine, nineteen seventy and…
Ethel Lewallen, Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame · 14.0 mi
Ethel Lewallen came from New York City and became an acclaimed western artist in Stephenville, where she lived for twenty-eight years. Her paintings of Texas life were among the works of twelve artists exhibited at the…
First Methodist Church of Stephenville · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the First Methodist Church of Stephenville. This congregation got its start way back in 1855 with just ten members, making it one of the town's earliest institutions. The current Beaux Arts building…
Stephenville Masonic Lodge #267 · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Stephenville Masonic Lodge #267. Organized in 1860 with 24 members, including town founder John M. Stephen, they first met in a log building. The lodge received its charter in 1861…
How to Clock a Dinosaur From Its Footprints · 14.1 mi
The dinosaur trackways preserved in the Paluxy River at Dinosaur Valley State Park can answer a question that sounds impossible: how fast was that dinosaur moving? You can actually estimate it, using nothing but the…
Gordon, William Knox · 14.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the heart of Texas, and right here, you're passing through the land that William Knox Gordon turned into an oil empire. Gordon, a mining engineer by trade, took over the company town of Thurber…
Thurber, TX · 14.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Though it is a ghost town today, Thurber once had a population of perhaps as many as 8,000 to 10,000. At that time (1918-20) it was the principal bituminous-coal-mining town in Texas. The site of the town is…
Footprints Are Fossils of Behavior, Not Bones · 14.1 mi
The dinosaur tracks that make Dinosaur Valley State Park famous are pressed into the bed of the Paluxy River, in rock that is about 113 million years old, a layer called the Glen Rose Formation, laid down in the Early…
The Footprints That Fooled People · 14.1 mi
Some of the tracks at Dinosaur Valley State Park come with a real lesson in ichnology, the science of reading tracks. Along the Paluxy, some long, narrow prints were once mistaken for giant human footprints walking…
Children of God · 14.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Erath County, not far from the old ghost town of Thurber. In late 1969, this area became home to a unique community: the Children of God. Led by David Berg, also known as 'Moses David,' about 200…
Coal and Lignite Mining · 14.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through a part of Texas that, for a time, powered the state. Right here, in counties like Erath, the ground beneath you was once a major source of coal and lignite. Commercial mining kicked off in the…
Hunter, Robert Dickie · 14.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, you're passing through the legacy of Robert Dickie Hunter, a Scottish immigrant who became a titan of Texas industry. After finding success in the cattle business,…
Comanche Peak · 14.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Comanche Peak, a landmark that's more mesa than mountain, rising over 1200 feet above sea level. For Native Americans and early pioneers, this flat-topped giant was a key point. It might have been a…
Salmon, Joseph · 14.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Erath County, near Clairette, a place that owes its start to folks like Joseph Salmon. Salmon arrived in Texas back in 1839, a farmer and stock raiser who eventually settled here. By 1860, his…
Bunyan, TX · 14.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Bunyan is on Farm Road 219 ten miles west of Stephenville in western Erath County. It was established the 1870s and named, according to some sources, for an early Methodist preacher in the area, Alexander Bunyan. Other…
The Reactor With Two Sets of Plumbing That Never Mix · 14.2 mi
Comanche Peak's two reactors are pressurized water reactors, or PWRs, and the clever part is the plumbing: two completely separate water loops that never touch each other. The primary loop runs water through the…
Two Very Different Animals Walked This Mud · 14.2 mi
Walk the trackways at Dinosaur Valley State Park and you will notice the tracks come in two completely different shapes, left by two completely different dinosaurs. The sharp, three-toed prints belong to a large…
Splitting an Atom to Boil Water · 14.2 mi
Just north of Glen Rose sits the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, and at its heart is one of the strangest facts in all of engineering. This enormous, complicated plant exists to do one humble thing: boil water into…
The Man-Made Lake Built to Cool a Reactor · 14.2 mi
That big lake beside the Comanche Peak nuclear plant north of Glen Rose is there for a reason. A power plant like this needs somewhere to dump its leftover waste heat, so before the reactors ever ran, the utility dug an…
Johnsville Cemetery · 14.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Johnsville, a community that thrived here before 1860. It was named for John Z. Martin, the first postmaster back in 1901. Johnsville boasted general stores, a cotton gin, blacksmiths,…
Duffau School · 14.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising past the old Duffau Schoolhouse, built in 1936. It rose from the ashes, literally, using insurance money from a previous school that burned down. Imagine this simple brick building, heated by wood stoves…
Add-Ran Christian College · 14.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Thorp Springs, and right here is where a college got its start. In 1873, J.A. Clark and his two sons, Addison and Randolph, opened a private school called Add-Ran Christian College. Think about it…
Brick Streets of Stephenville, Historic · 14.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Stephenville, and if you look closely, you might still see them: the old brick streets. Back in 1929, the city council decided it was time to ditch the dirt. They hired the Thurber Construction…
Hood County News · 14.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Hood County News. Successor to "Granbury Vidette" town's first newspaper, founded 1872 by Capt. W.L. Bond and later owned by an 1882 staff recruit, A. W.
Oak Trail Shores, TX · 14.5 mi
Nestled in northern Hood County, Oak Trail Shores is situated on the southwestern side of Lake Granbury, a reservoir on the Brazos River. The community is just 5 miles northwest of Granbury, the county seat. With a…
Wright-Henderson-Duncan House · 14.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Wright-Henderson-Duncan House in Granbury. This limestone home has a unique claim to fame: its three principal owners all served as sheriff of Hood County! A.J. Wright started building this place…
President's House · 14.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Stephenville, heading past the Tarleton State University campus. Look for a beautiful home built right here in 1923. Originally known as the Dean's Home, this house was designed by the first man…
Granbury, TX · 14.7 mi
Granbury's history is marked by pivotal moments that shaped the city. It began as a simple square with a log cabin courthouse, and many of the buildings on the square are now registered historic landmarks, including the…
Granbury - Legends on the Square · 14.7 mi · Historical Marker
Granbury has one of the most photogenic courthouse squares in Texas and two of the wildest legends. The first: that Jesse James didn't die in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1882. According to local lore, a man named J. Frank…
Davis, Lt. Col. George A., Jr. · 14.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Dublin, the hometown of Lt. Col. George A. Davis, Jr. Born here in 1920, Davis was a decorated pilot in both World War II and the Korean War. He was a leading Ace in Korea, flying F-86 Sabres. On…
Pleasant Thorp · 14.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Thorp Spring, named for Pleasant Thorp, a blacksmith who arrived in Texas in 1840. He settled here after traveling with the Morehouse Expedition, eventually setting aside land for this town and…
Bowden Kennon House · 14.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Bowden Kennon House, built between 1908 and 1914 for Ralph W. Bowden, a Granbury merchant who established an early telephone system. He also served on the city council. The home was sold in 1914…
The Silicon Valley of Milk · 14.8 mi
As you drive the highways around Stephenville, you're in the middle of a serious food-production engine. Erath County was the second biggest milk producer in Texas back in the 1980s, and by the early 2000s it led the…
The Stephenville Lights · 14.8 mi
On the evening of January eighth, two thousand eight, dozens of people around Stephenville saw lights they could not explain. Some forty witnesses reported extremely bright lights that moved slowly, then fast. Some said…
Stephenville, TX · 14.8 mi
Stephenville's history is marked by periods of growth and decline. Founded in 1854 by John M. Stephen, the town initially saw a population increase to 776 within two years. However, due to Comanche raids and the…
John Tarleton's Strange Gift · 14.8 mi
The man whose name is on the university here was a puzzle, even about himself. John Tarleton gave census takers different ages and birthplaces over the years. He worked about forty years for a mercantile firm in…
John Tarleton · 14.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Stephenville, home of Tarleton College. But did you know it all started with a self-made merchant named John Tarleton? He worked in a dry goods store for over forty years, investing his earnings in…
The Blacksmith's Son · 14.8 mi
Ben Hogan, who won nine major golf championships, was born on August thirteenth, nineteen twelve, and both Stephenville and nearby Dublin claim his birthplace. His family lived in Dublin, where his father Chester ran…
Hogan, William Benjamin · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
William Benjamin (Ben) Hogan, professional golfer, was born in Stephenville, Texas, on August 13, 1912, the second son and third child of Chester and Clara (Williams) Hogan. The diminutive Hogan, nicknamed "Hawk" for…
Brown, William Milton · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Stephenville, Texas, the birthplace of Milton Brown, the man who created the first western swing band. Born in 1903, Brown's early life was marked by tragedy when his sister died, leading his…
Glen Rose, TX · 14.9 mi
The town of Glen Rose was originally named Barnard's Mill after the three-story stone gristmill constructed along the Paluxy River. The mill was sold to Tyler Calhoun Jordan of Dallas in 1871 for $65,000. Tradition…
Erath County · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Erath County, a place named for surveyor George B. Erath. When settlers first arrived in the 1850s, they found not only the land but also Native American tribes like the Caddo and Anadarko.…
Stephenville College · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Stephenville, and right here is where a bold experiment in local education took root and then withered away. Back in 1893, citizens were convinced a college would boost the local economy,…
Cooperative Hospitals · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, and right here, we're talking about a revolutionary idea born out of necessity: cooperative hospitals. Back in the 1930s, rural communities like Amherst struggled to afford healthcare.…
Salmon, John A. · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Erath County, and right here, John Salmon was a man who knew this frontier. Born in Kentucky around 1827, he came to Texas and became a farmer and rancher. But Salmon was also a Texas Ranger,…
King, Thomas Benton · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Erath County right now, and you might be passing the very town where a legal battle for the future of education took place. Back in 1896, Stephenville was home to The John Tarleton College, an…
Tarleton State University · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Stephenville, the home of Tarleton State University. Did you know this whole place started with a promise from a wealthy businessman? John Tarleton left a fortune in his will back in 1895 to start…
Daniel-Harris Home · 14.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the elegant Daniel-Harris Home, built around 1892 for Robert Randolph Daniel, a local merchant and saloonkeeper. Just seven years later, in 1899, it was purchased by Wesley Smith Harris, a prominent…
James Hogan Doyle and Mary Kate Stringfellow Doyle · 14.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past where James Hogan Doyle and Mary Kate Stringfellow Doyle built their lives in Granbury. Doyle, a Civil War veteran from South Carolina, arrived in Texas around 1870. He quickly established himself as…
Dr. William and Eunice Walker House · 14.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Granbury, and just ahead is a house known as 'The Honeymoon Cottage.' Built around 1895 for Dr. William Walker, a specialist in eyes, ears, nose, and throat, and his wife Eunice, this Victorian…
Stephenville, TX · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Stephenville, a town that owes its very existence to a generous land donation. Back in 1854, John M. Stephen settled here and gave land for the townsite. He didn't stop there, donating fifty acres…
Jennings, Elzy Dee · 14.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Erath County, near Stephenville, where Elzy Dee Jennings spent much of his life. He was a college administrator who moved here as a child. After earning multiple degrees, he served as president of…
Baker-Doyle Building · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Granbury, and right here is the Baker-Doyle Building, a testament to Texas commerce. John D. Baker, a merchant and community leader, had this limestone beauty built in 1882 to house his dry goods…
Bush-Morgan Cherry Building · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Granbury, and right here is the Bush-Morgan Cherry Building, built way back in 1891. It's seen some of Granbury's biggest names and businesses. First, it was F.C. Bush's dry goods store, who also…
Daniel House · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Granbury, and you're passing the Daniel House, built in the early 1890s. Young William B. Daniel came to town at age 10, eventually taking over his father's grocery business to become a leading…
Hannaford, E.A., House · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Granbury, and just ahead is the E.A. Hannaford House, built between 1881 and 1882. Hannaford himself was quite the figure in town. He arrived from England in 1871 and quickly opened Granbury's…
Granbury House · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Granbury House, a place that tells the story of Martha Washington Stringfellow. Arriving in Hood County around 1871 as a widow with three children, Martha needed to make a living. She opened a…
Haynes-Burns-Ewell Building · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Granbury, and right here is a native stone building with a long history of commerce. It started in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1872</say-as> as the Granbury post office, built by James…
Holderness-Aiken House · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Granbury, and you might catch a glimpse of this historic home. Built in 1896 by contractor E.J. Holderness, it's a prime example of Eastlake architecture, with some really intricate decoration on…
Brown, J.D. and Georgia, House · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Granbury, and right here is the J.D. and Georgia Brown House, built back in 1907. J.D. Brown was quite the figure in this town. He started with a successful dry goods store, then moved into…
Thrash-Landers-Hiner House · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Granbury, and right here is the Thrash-Landers-Hiner House. This home has seen quite a few prominent owners since it was built around 1880. The first was Patrick H. Thrash, a North Carolina native…
Lees-Bryan House · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Granbury, and right here is the Lees-Bryan House, built in 1890. It's a prime example of Eastlake architecture, commissioned by J.C. Lees, a merchant originally from Canada. Take a look at that…
Selden · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Erath County, near Stephenville, past the site of what used to be Selden. Originally called Garrett Springs, this farming community really took off in the mid-1850s when John Selden arrived. It…
E. A. Hannaford Building · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the E. A. Hannaford Building, a piece of Granbury history right here in Hood County. E. A. Hannaford arrived in Granbury in 1871, starting his business from scratch in a tent! By 1886, he and partner…
First Presbyterian Church of Granbury · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Presbyterian Church of Granbury. Presbyterians held services in this area starting in the 1850s, and the church was officially organized here in 1879. The congregation built…
The Bartender Who Claimed He Was Lincoln's Assassin · 15.1 mi
Here is Granbury's most famous tall tale, and it really did start on this square. In the 1870s a quiet, well-spoken bartender named John St. Helen tended bar at a saloon on the south side of the square. Local tradition…
The Limestone Courthouse That Anchors One of the Most Complete Squares in Texas · 15.1 mi
Standing dead center on the square is one of the finest 19th-century courthouses in Texas. Architect W. C. Dodson designed it in the French Second Empire style, and contractors Moodie and Ellis built it of locally…
Davy Crockett's Widow and the Smallest State Site in Texas · 15.1 mi
Five miles east of Granbury in tiny Acton stands the smallest state historic site in Texas, just six-thousandths of an acre, and it marks a single grave. Buried here is Elizabeth Patton Crockett, the second wife of Davy…
The Night the Sky Took Rancho Brazos · 15.1 mi
On the evening of May 15, 2013, a violent EF4 tornado dropped onto the southeastern edge of Granbury and tore directly through the Rancho Brazos neighborhood. It carved a path about 2.75 miles long, with a width…
Nutt, J.F. and J., Building · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a Granbury landmark built by remarkable brothers. Jesse and Jacob Nutt, both blind, were instrumental in establishing Granbury as the county seat. Their first store in 1866 was a humble…
Granbury, General H.B.; and Granbury's Texas Brigade · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a legendary Civil War unit: Granbury's Texas Brigade. Formed in late 1863, this brigade was made up of Texans known for their incredible bravery. They fought in major battles like Lookout…
Hood, General John Bell · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Hood County, named for a man who became one of the Confederacy's most famous generals: John Bell Hood. Born in Kentucky, he first came to Texas serving on the frontier. He resigned his U.S. Army…
Crockett's Bounty · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through land that was once Davy Crockett's bounty. After his death at the Alamo in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1836</say-as>, his heirs were granted nearly 1,300 acres. In <say-as…
Nellie Gray Robertson · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Nellie Gray Robertson. Born in 1894 as the sixth and only daughter of William Jarrett Robertson and Arminda Barton Robertson, Nellie Gray Robertson grew up amid financial hardships in Hood County.…
Kerr's Hall: A Saloon Downstairs, the Footlights Above · 15.1 mi
On the south side of the square sits the Granbury Opera House, which opened in 1886 as Kerr's Hall, named for owner Henry Kerr. It was the showiest building on the square in its day, a two-story native-limestone…

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The Night Behind February 28, 2016 RoadyGoat

The Father of Western Swing RoadyGoat

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The Bridge That Was Never Really a Suspension Bridge RoadyGoat

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Public Water Well, Old

Holt House

Warnock, J. F., Hardware

McGaughey, William L.

Tolar, TX

Hogan, William Benjamin

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