History
A Jesse James Hideout
Jesse James, celebrated 1860s-1882 Missouri outlaw, used to visit in Archer City in house built by Stone Land and Cattle Company for its manager, Allen H. Parmer (1848-1927), his Confederate comrade of the Civil War and husband of his sister Susan (1849-89). With Frank James, his brother and aide, the outlaw chief hid at the Parmers' when hunted for train and bank robberies or on other occasions.
History
Alex Albright
(September 22, 1861 - April 8, 1937) A pioneer American karakul breeder. Born in Nebraska; grew up in cattle business. In 1890 came to Dundee; opened a general store. Built Elm Lodge Ranch (1400 acres on Holliday Creek, 4 mi. SE). At first raised purebred Lincoln sheep. In 1910, with help of U.S. ex-President Theodore Roosevelt and the Czar of Russia, he imported valuable karakul sheep from Asia.
History
Archer County
A part of the Peters Grant, 1841; Created January 22, 1858; Organized July 27, 1880; Named in honor of Dr. Branch Tanner Archer 1790-1856; Texas Commissioner to the United States, 1835, Member of Congress, Secretary of War of the Republic of Texas. First permanent settlement, 1874; First railroad, 1890; Archer City, the county seat. (1936, 1986)
Industry & Science
Archer County Copper Mines
The civilized world first heard of copper in this area from Texas Rangers after an 1860 campaign against Comanches on the Pease River, about 100 miles to the northwest. The Ranger Captain, Lawrence S. ("Sul") Ross, later to serve Texas as governor, had nuggets picked off the surface of the ground and hauled to Austin. In 1861, Assistant State Geologist S. B. Buckley charted the mineral site.
Architecture
Archer County Courthouse
Courthouse, Archer County, 1891. Besides government, housed many pioneer social affairs. Dome, cupola removed, 1925. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965.
Industry & Science
Archer County Discovery Well
M. P. Andrews No. 1, drilled in 1911, reached oil sands at 920 feet. Well first flowed oil, March, 1912, at rate of 10 barrels a day. Production in this shallow sand development area fell off when oil prices dropped, but rose after other pools in the region were tapped from 1916 to 1921. Since then, Archer County has become one of the state's most productive.
History
Archer County Jail
By 1909 Archer County had outgrown its original jail, a 16-foot square frame building. Construction on this larger facility was completed in Sept. 1910. The sandstone structure was designed with living quarters for the sheriff and his family on the ground floor. The second and third floors had cells and a hanging gallows which was never used.
Military
Battle of the Little Wichita
In reaction to an Indian attack on a mail stage, Capt. Curwen B. McLellan set out on July 6, 1870, from Fort Richardson with 56 men of the 6th Cavalry. On July 12, McLellan's command encountered a war party of 250 Kiowas led by "Kicking Bird" near the north fork of the Little Wichita (6 miles NW).
History
Bridwell Park
Donated to his countrymen by conservationist-philanthropist Joseph Sterling Bridwell (1885-1966), Missourian who moved to Texas in 1909. Drilling his first well in 1921 on W. T. Waggoner estate, in 1927 he formed Bridwell Oil Co., which ultimately produced 50 million barrels of petroleum. In 1932 he bought local ranch (with headquarters 5 mi.
Military
Camp Cureton, C.S.A.
Star and Wreath Strategically established during Civil War on defense line Red River to Rio Grande where Gainesville-Fort Belknap Road crossed west fork Trinity River about 10 miles south, 4 miles east of Archer City. Texas Frontier Regiment patrolled area frequently to check Comanche raids.
History
Camp Stonewall Jackson
106 acres of land bought 1898 by United Confederate Veterans of Archer County for reunion grounds. Meetings lasting 3 days were held annually until 1935. Approximately 500 people attended each year. Activities included ball games, dancing, visiting, contests, shows and rodeos. Erected by the Archer County Historical Survey Committee. (1967)
History
Captain John Holliday
(Dec. 8, 1811 - Aug. 19, 1842) Born Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania; came to Texas about 1835, joined Texian Army, and was one of 24 survivors of the Goliad Massacre, March 27, 1836. Joined Texian-Santa Fe Expedition, and en route to New Mexico, Aug. 4, 1841, carved his name on a tree in this vicinity. After reaching Santa Fe, the party was arrested and marched to Perote Prison near Mexico City.
Nature
Cimmaron (Persimmon) Springs
(Four miles east off Cowan Road) The natural springs that flow near this site first appeared on early maps of the area as Cimmaron Springs. European immigrants who settled here in the early 1890s were unfamiliar with the word cimmaron and called it Persimmon Springs.
History
Dad's Corner
The result of a 1923 oil boom, development of a town at this site included some twenty-two businesses, including a food stand operated by a man with the nickname "Dad", which provided a name for the settlement. Located at this crossroads were a hotel, cafe, school, stores, ice house, and more. Early residents remembered tales of lawlessness and Texas Ranger patrols.
History
Extinct Town of Anarene
Landowner Charles E. Graham (1872-1937) in 1908 granted the Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad a route across his property and platted a town at this site. Anarene was named for his wife Annie Lawrence Graham, daughter of pioneer cattleman J. Marion Keen. Graham built a hotel and obtained a post office, cattle pens, dipping vat and other facilities.
History
Geraldine
In 1901, after failing to locate suitable land in Oklahoma, the American Tribune New Colony Company of Indianapolis acquired over 59,000 acres in this area for an immigration project. A post office was established in March 1902, and by grand opening, May 20, 1902, Geraldine had been surveyed, 2 water wells drilled, 75 buildings erected, and 125 farm families settled.
History
In Vicinity of French Trading Area (4.5 Miles West)
In the mid-1700s, Indians of this region met at a trading ground near this site with Frenchmen who brought them manufactured goods, sometimes including guns and ammunition--products denied them by the Spanish who held sovereignty, but could not prevent intrusions from Louisiana. The Spanish explorer Jose Mares on a road-mapping expedition here in 1787 saw evidences of the French.
History
J. H. Meurer Home
German native John H. Meurer (b. 1850) settled his family in this area about 1900 when he became a land agent for H. J. Scott of the Clark and Plumb Company. In selling over 60,000 acres of land, Meurer helped to establish the towns of Windthorst (6 mi. S) and Scotland (named for H. J. Scott), both primarily German Catholic settlements. Meurer had this one-and-a-half story home built in 1911.
History
Lake Creek Cemetery
In the late 1800s, this part of Texas was open range. After the U.S. government removed Native American tribes to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), new settlers began arriving as early as 1874. Disputes between ranchers, who favored the open range, and homesteading farmers divided the settlers, but Archer County organized in 1880, despite opposition.
History
Megargel
In 1910, thirty years after the Texas Legislature created Archer County, the Gulf, Texas & Western Railroad began extending its track from Jacksboro to Seymour. That year the trinity townsite company laid out a new town along the tracks on land purchased from the prominent Meade family. The company named the town Megargel for the rail company president, Roy C. Megargel.
History
Megargel Cemetery
Residents of this part of Archer County in the 1880s included Irish native James Colgan and his wife, Nancy. Most other area families were of Bohemian descent, with names including Kulhanek, Bohac, Kunkel and Pechacek. The GT&W Railroad came in 1910, and the town of Megargel was established. That same year, Dr. W.T.
History
On Route of the Comanche Exodus
After living 1854-58 on the reservation set aside by State of Texas near Camp Cooper (30 mi. SW), the Comanche Indians with their goods were removed to Oklahoma. Near this spot on a head branch of Kickapoo Creek (so named, 1830) the exodus camped on Aug. 3, 1859, with its escort, a company of 1st United States Infantry under Capt. C. C. Gilbert, along with the Indian agent Matthew Leeper.
History
Sheriff E. Harrison Ikard
This stone is erected to the memory of Sheriff E. Harrison Ikard by the Commissioner's Court, American Legion and local friends in recognition of a man who holding sacred a public trust answered duties call; fearless unto death, September 22, 1925.
Nature
The Confluence of the Brazos, Trinity, and Red River Watersheds
The Trinity, a major Texas river rises 250 yards west of this 1250-foot mound. South of this site water drains to the Brazos, and north and west to the Red. This high point has been important in Texas history. It guided Capt. Diego Parilla to battle Indians on the Red in 1759 and aided Capt. R. B. Marcy in mapping a California trail in 1849. Marcy and Maj. R. S.
Entertainment & Sports
The D. S. Dudley Show
Founded in late 19th or early 20th century as a wild west circus, the D. S. Dudley Show has been chief industry in Mankins for over half a century. Dick "Cheyenne" Dudley (born in 1896), a prize-winning bronc rider, bought the show in 1914, interrupted his career to serve overseas in the U.S. Army in World War I, came back and married Ruth Wolf of Mankins.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
