Name: Merkel, Texas
Address: Merkel, TX

Merkel, TX RoadyGoat

Merkel might seem like just another blink-and-you'll-miss-it town along I-20, but this little spot on the West Texas plains has a story to tell. From its vantage point at over 2,000 feet, you can see the land stretch out forever, a panorama that has likely changed little since Abraham Merkel first put down roots here. Agriculture and ranching still define the landscape, and you can feel that connection to the land in the air. There’s a quiet pride here, a sense of community that's hard to find in bigger cities. They say a stash of outlaw loot might still be buried somewhere nearby, a whisper of wilder times gone by.

Merkel, TX RoadyGoat

Merkel, Texas, sits high on the rolling plains, a place where you can still feel the wide-open spaces of West Texas. Named for Abraham Merkel, who owned a good bit of this land, the town sprang up in the 1880s, drawing folks who were drawn to the promise of ranching and farming. Even now, you can see that heritage in the fields and pastures surrounding the town. They say there’s still a feeling of small-town peace here. Interstate 20 cuts right through Merkel these days, a far cry from the days when the railroad was the only connection to the outside world. It brought folks in, but Merkel has always kept its own pace, never quite growing as big as some of the other towns around. They still hold that "Calico Cat" antique tractor show every year, a reminder of the hard work and ingenuity that built this place. There's even a local legend about outlaw loot buried somewhere nearby, a testament to the wilder days, though I imagine that's more story than fact.

Merkel, TX RoadyGoat

Merkel, Texas, sits high on the rolling plains, a little pocket of calm you find right off I-20. Two thousand feet up gives you a view that stretches forever, a panorama of West Texas sky. The interstate, that ribbon of asphalt, is probably why most folks end up passing through, heading to Abilene or points further west. But Merkel's got a story that runs deeper than just being a convenient pit stop. See, Merkel started out as a ranching and farming hub, named for the man who owned the land back in '81. And that heritage is still strong. You'll see it in the fields surrounding the town, and you'll definitely see it at the annual Calico Cat antique tractor show. That show, it's a real testament to the enduring spirit of the place. Some say there's even outlaw loot buried somewhere nearby, a local legend whispered over coffee at the diner. But the real reason people stay, the reason Merkel is Merkel, well that's the community.

Mims, Charles D.

1860

Charles D. Mims, Texas secretary of state, lawyer, and politician, son of William D. and Sarah B. (Hudspeth) Mims, was born in Monticello, Arkansas, on January 15, 1860. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Tyler, Texas, where Mims's father was the editor of the Tyler Reporter . Mims had a meager education, yet at age fourteen he began to read law with Thomas Jefferson Jennings . In 1881 Mims was chairman of the Jim Hogg Club in Tyler. After his admission to the bar in 1887 he began his law practice in Tyler. He was elected city attorney by 1889 and served in this position for two years before returning to private practice. In 1893 he moved to Beeville, where he took an active interest in politics. Seven years later his wife's health problems necessitated a move to Nacogdoches, where he was active in the Good Roads Movement. He became county judge in 1907 and served for two years. In October 1909 he moved west to Merkel, where he became the town's first mayor in April 1910. In 1907 he was elected chairman of the Democratic executive committee. He was appointed by Governor William P. Hobby as secretary of state, a post he held from November 1920 to January 1921. Mims reflected the shifting attitudes of Texas Democrats in the early 1920s in pleading for greater restraint in regulating corporations. In 1921 he moved to Houston to practice law. He died there on March 11, 1923, in an elevator accident. Both the Texas House of Representatives and Senate passed resolutions honoring his leadership and contributions to Texas. Mims, a Methodist, was survived by four children and his wife, Vallie C. (Price).

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Havins, Thomas Robert

1890

Thomas Robert Havins, historian and college professor, was born on October 6, 1890, to William E. and Frances (McCall) Havins at Merkel, Texas, where his mother died while he was an infant. Thereafter his father, a sheepherder, moved his young family often throughout Central Texas. During a stay in Callahan County he sent his son Tom to Scranton Academy and then, in 1907, to Howard Payne College (now Howard Payne University) in Brownwood. Havins taught in small public schools from 1909 to 1921. He began working as a librarian at Howard Payne College in 1923 and received a B.A. degree there in 1927. In 1931 he received his M.A. degree from the University of Texas and began teaching history and government at Howard Payne. He taught there until his retirement in 1961, except when he left to obtain a Ph.D. in history from the University of Texas (awarded in 1941) and to serve in World War II as an officer in the United States Army Air Force (1942–45). Havins was chairman of the department of social sciences and was the first recipient of the Howard Payne Oscar, an award for faculty achievement. He was credited with teaching more students than any other teacher in the school's history and was named professor emeritus upon retirement. He served as a visiting professor of history at the University of Texas (1962–63). From 1947 to 1953 he was a member of the Texas Prison Board ( see PRISON SYSTEM ) and was recognized for his role in helping reform the state's prison system. Havins was made a fellow of the Texas State Historical Association in 1959. He wrote Something About Brown (1958), a history of Brown County; Camp Colorado: A Decade of Defense (1964); Beyond the Cimarron: Major Earl Van Dorn in Comanche Land (1968); and Belle Plain, Texas: Ghost Town in Callahan (1972). He published numerous articles in the 1952 Handbook of Texas , the Southern Baptist Encyclopedia , Texas Military History , Texana , and the West Texas Historical Association Yearbook . He was also the author of a column, "Evergreen," published in the Brownwood Bulletin in 1960 and 1961, for which he won a Texas Press Association award. Havins was married on June 14, 1915, to Mottie Frierson, who died on June 26, 1970. They had a son and a daughter. In 1972 Havins married Myrtle Kimberlin. He was a Baptist and Democrat. He died in Baptist Memorial Hospital in San Angelo on February 6, 1976, and was buried in Eastlawn Memorial Park in Early.

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Butterfield Mail & Stage Line

1857

One of major horse-drawn transportation projects of history. Was authorized by Act of Congress on March 3, 1857. Contract for semi-weekly service overland to San Francisco, California, was awarded to company headed by John Butterfield; another stockholder in the $2,000,000 venture was express pioneer William G. Fargo. The line employed some 2,000 people and used hundreds of stagecoaches and thousands of animals. In addition to receipts from freight and passengers, it had a $600,000 annual subsidy for carrying U.S. Mail. Company operated from September 1858 to February 1861 with a 25-day schedule for the 2,795 mile trip (8 to 9 days were allowed for crossing Texas). Route began in Tipton, Mo., and Memphis,Tn., uniting at Fort Smith, Ak., entering Texas near Sherman, thence westward through the Comanche-held frontier, leaving the state at El Paso. Stage stations were located about every 20 miles and the best known in this vicinity were Fort Belknap, Fort Phantom Hill, Mountain Pass and Fort Chadbourne. Between Fort Belknap and Tucson, Az., mules were used to pull the coaches as they were less appealing to Indians. Each coach accommodated four to ten passengers at an average fare of $200 each; mail and freight charges were ten cents per one-half ounce. (1969)

Historical Marker → · 7.7 mi away

Castle Peak

1858

The Butterfield Overland Mail, the first public transportation facility spanning the area from the Mississippi to the Pacific with passenger and mail service, 1858-61, used the 2400-foot peak to the northeast as a beacon. The drivers and passengers viewed it for 30 to 40 miles. In that era it was called Abercrombie Peak, for Colonel J. J. Abercrombie of the U.S. Army, active in defense of this frontier. Waterman Ormsby, a newspaper reporter riding the first Butterfield Stage to pass this way, noted that the peak resembled a fortress. Later the height was renamed Castle Peak. (1968)

Historical Marker → · 5.5 mi away

Indian Fight, Vicinity of

1871

On New Year's Day, 1871, Indian raiders who had stolen horses in Coleman County were pursued and overtaken here by 18 Texas Rangers and cowboys. Leaders of the group were Captain James. M. Swisher and rancher Sam Gholson. The Indians took refuge in the heights west of Mountain Pass. The ensuing battle lasted all day, and at nightfall the raiders left the horses and fled. Of the fewer than one dozen Indians, one was killed, several wounded. One cowboy was wounded and another, J. M. Elkins, recorded the battle in his book, "Indian Fighting on the Texas Frontier." (1968)

Historical Marker → · 5.5 mi away

Merkel, Texas

Music in Merkel

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Merkel

History of Merkel

Merkel, TX RoadyGoat

Merkel, TX RoadyGoat

Merkel, TX RoadyGoat

Mims, Charles D.

Havins, Thomas Robert

Butterfield Mail & Stage Line

Castle Peak

Indian Fight, Vicinity of

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