Fortenberry, A. H.

1850

In the 1850s, A. H. ("Sevier") Fortenberry and his second wife Jane (Odell) moved from Arkansas to the wilderness then existing in this section of Texas. Living as a farmer and stock raiser, Fortenberry joined neighbors in warding off Indian raids which endangered the settlements. On October 30, 1868, at a site 3/4 of a mile northwest of this marker, he was intercepted and killed by Indians while trying to join a defensive posse. He was buried in the Pollard Cemetery, Denton County. It is thought that he was the last fatality in the Indian Wars in this vicinity. (1977)

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Forester Ranch

1852

William S. Forester brought his family to Denton County from Tennessee in the early 1850s, and established a ranch about 1852. He was assisted in his ranching operation by his sons, one of whom, Sol, was killed by Indians at the age of sixteen while herding cattle on the ranch. Following William Forester's death the ranch was operated by his son, Lock S. Forester (1844-1913). A Confederate veteran, Lock Forester increased the size of the ranch to over 6,000 acres. Under his management the ranch's "Two I Jinglebob" brand became well known. He supervised the ranch interests until 1890, when he moved to Denton. Ed W. Forester, son of Lock Forester, assumed management of the ranch in 1890. In 1913 the ranch was divided into sections, with Lock S. Forester's three children each receiving one-third of the ranch property. Ed Forester became a successful rancher in his own right, raising champion shorthorn cattle as well as quarter horses, sheep, and other livestock. He served two terms as Denton County Commissioner. The Forester Ranch has been an important part of the history of Denton County for over a century. (1987)

Historical Marker → · 4.9 mi away

Slidell

1884

Named for John Slidell, one of the Confederate diplomats in the "Trent Affair" (1861), this community was established to supply goods and services to nearby farmers. The post office was started in 1884. Garrett Fletcher, donor of land for a cemetery and church, gave lots to nearby businesses that moved here in 1885, including twenty-two-year-old Dr. Drury Young Stem's medical office and drugstore. George W. Durham gave land (1893) for the public square and the first school building, and Nathaniel Pruett began (1895) the telephone system. Today Slidell serves a farm and ranch area. (1974)

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Bishop, Absalom

1855

Absalom Bishop, town founder and Texas legislator, was born on May 4, 1804, in Pendleton District, South Carolina. As a young man he married Mary Tippen, also of Pendleton District; they had six children before her death in 1879. Following his marriage Bishop moved to Spring Place in Murray County, Georgia, and became active in local business and politics following the Cherokee land lottery. Absalom Bishop along with his brother William was a member of the Georgia Guard and was involved in both the Seminole Wars in Georgia and the forced removal of the Cherokee Indians . In 1835 Absalom Bishop was with the contingent of troops that captured and detained "Home, Sweet Home"- songwriter John Howard Payne, who had been traveling with Cherokee chief Joseph Vann. Bishop was later mentioned in Payne's memoirs. William Bishop evicted Vann from his Georgia home and gave the house to Absalom, who was forced to vacate it in favor of the Georgian who won the house in the Cherokee land lottery. During his service in the Seminole Wars and with the Georgia Guard during Indian removal Absalom Bishop acquired the rank of colonel, a title he would carry throughout his life. While in Georgia Absalom Bishop became a notable pro-slavery agitator and was an acquaintance of Sen. Robert Toombs. Inspired by the issue, Bishop may have become too extreme for Georgia politics; his biographer notes that Bishop's activities "became so radical as to necessitate his removal from Georgia," and Absalom Bishop never returned to the state. Bishop traveled north, working for a time in Washington, D.C., on behalf of Georgia land claimants, and later as a goldsmith in New York City, apparently known for his gold pens. In 1849 in Rochester, New York, Bishop and his partner, Thayer Codding, are credited by some sources with the invention of the fountain pen. In 1852 Absalom Bishop came to Texas, settling in Hopkins County and operating a sawmill there. In 1855 he became one of the first settlers in Wise County, settling on Sweetwater Creek about four miles east of what would become the county seat, Decatur. Bishop quickly became an important force in local politics. The first elections in Wise County were held in May 1856, and Bishop's choices were elected to several posts, while Bishop himself claimed the title of county clerk. In 1857 he was elected to the Texas Legislature as the representative for Wise, Denton, Collin, Cook, and Montague counties. Bishop was a powerful force behind the organization of the county and chose both the name of the county and the hilltop site of the town which would become the county seat. The town, originally named Taylorsville for Zachary Taylor, was renamed when Bishop decided that Taylor's Whig politics made him an inappropriate namesake, and introduced a bill to have the name changed to Decatur, for Stephen Decatur of the Revolutionary Navy. Bishop also played a large role in planning the town's layout, which he decided should resemble the town of McKinney in Collin County, a place Bishop had visited and admired. As the Civil War loomed, Bishop became a fiery advocate for secession , speaking before the county secession convention and inspiring Wise County's high enlistment rates. An outspoken advocate and supplier of the Confederacy, Bishop's political career was ended by the surrender in 1865. Bishop lived out his life in Wise County and died on November 30, 1883. Col. Absalom Bishop is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery under the epitaph, "Father of Decatur and Wise County."

Tsha Handbook → · 14.6 mi away

Waggoner, Daniel

1854

Daniel Waggoner, rancher, son of Solomon and Elizabeth (McGaugh) Waggoner, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, on July 7, 1828. He moved with his family to Blackjack Grove (now Cumby) in Hopkins County, Texas, about 1848. His father, a successful farmer and cattleman who traded in horses and slaves, died in 1849. Shortly thereafter Daniel married Nancy Moore, daughter of William Moore of Hopkins County. Their only child, William Thomas Waggoner , was born on August 31, 1852. Nancy died the following year. In 1854 Daniel purchased a herd of longhorn cattle and together with his son, mother, brothers, sisters, and a fifteen-year-old slave boy, moved to a small farm of 160 acres located on Catlett Creek in Cooke County (now in Wise County). During the 1850s and 1860s western Wise County was a frontier area frequented by hostile Indians and marauding cattle thieves. In 1856 Waggoner purchased 320 additional acres close to Cactus Hill, eighteen miles west of Decatur. His family lived near Decatur until 1859, when Daniel married Scylly (or Sicily) Ann Halsell, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Electious and Elizabeth J. Halsell. Daniel then moved his family into his log house at Cactus Hill, where they lived until after the Civil War . Waggoner was a member of the local militia and often chased after raiding Indians while Sicily and W. T. concealed themselves in the cornfield. In order to protect his family Waggoner relocated seven miles east of Decatur on Denton Creek. In 1883 he built a $50,000 Victorian mansion, El Castile, on a rocky hill overlooking Decatur. Daniel Waggoner carefully trained his son to handle stock and supervise the ranch. By 1870 they were partners operating under the title of D. Waggoner and Son. That spring a successful cattle drive to Kansas netted a profit of $55,000 and provided the financial impetus for the Waggoner empire. During the next thirty years D. Waggoner and Son heavily invested in land and cattle in Wise, Wilbarger, Foard, Wichita, Baylor, Archer, and Knox counties. Their single D brand was changed to the triple reversed D, which became the Waggoner trademark. Eventually the longhorn cattle were phased out and replaced by Hereford and Durham stock which increased the weight and value of the herds. Although he had no formal education, Waggoner was a shrewd businessman whose investments included not only land and livestock, but also five banks, three cottonseed oil mills, and a coal company. As the Waggoner holdings increased, W. T. moved the ranch headquarters to the Zacaweista Ranch south of the Red River near Vernon; Daniel, however, remained in Decatur. When he died of kidney disease in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on September 5, 1902, Daniel Waggoner owned approximately 80,000 cattle, 525,000 acres of land, and leases on more than 100,000 acres in Indian Territory. The 500,000-acre Waggoner Ranch , administered by Daniel's great-great-grandchildren in 1986, was the largest family-owned block of land in Texas.

Tsha Handbook → · 14.6 mi away

Krum, TX

1884

Krum is on Farm Road 1173 seven miles northwest of Denton in west central Denton County. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway ran a line through western Denton County in the mid-1880s. At that time the company bought 200 acres, platted a townsite, and named the community for railroad official Charles K. Krum. The community reported a population of seventy-five in 1892, and by 1900 it was thriving, with a number of businesses, four churches, and a school. In 1900 the railroad shipped at least half a million bushels of wheat, prompting the claim that Krum was the "largest inland grain market in the world." In 1905 the Flour Mill and Elevator Company and three other elevator companies were operating at the community. The mill burned in 1915, and changing storage and marketing practices eventually closed the remaining elevators. Krum's growth and prosperity continued until about 1925, when its population reached 750. The community declined as cars and trucks began carrying trade to larger markets and as young people departed for college or city jobs. With the Great Depression years the town's population level dropped below 300, then stayed low in the post- World War II period, ranging between 300 and 400 until the 1970s, when the sprawl of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area northward brought suburban homeseekers in increasing numbers. Access from Krum to Interstate Highway 35 made commuting to city jobs convenient, and the community's population rose to 605 by 1978, to 917 by 1982, and to 1,542 by 1990. In 2000 the population was 1,979. That figure had increased to 4,157 in 2010.

Tsha Handbook → · 11.6 mi away

Slidell, Texas

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