History
"Hey Paula"
It is estimated that the song 'Hey Paula' has been played almost every day somewhere in the world since it was recorded in the fall of 1962. The song and its performers, Paul and Paula, exhibited the 'Universal Lovers' image and theme that was successful in the mid-1960s.
History
Adams-Shaw House
This house was erected about 1876 for George H. Adams (1842-1920), a rancher and former Texas Ranger, whose cattle brand was carved into the front step. English-born stonemason William Frederick Morton (1851-1926) built it of sandstone quarried in nearby Willis Creek. The structure was purchased in 1908 by Laura (d. 1944) and Colin McKeever Shaw (1850-1944).
History
Bangs Public Schools
The town of Bangs was established on the route of the Santa Fe Railroad, which deeded land to the city for a school. The first school building, a two-room frame structure on the south side of the railroad tracks, was completed in 1892. Miss Clemie King was the first teacher; enrollment totaled 35 pupils.
History
Brooke Smith
One of ten children, Brooke Smith was born in 1853 to Paulina Thilman (Doswell) and John Snelson Smith, Jr. In Hanover County, Virginia. The family moved to Indiana in 1860 and then to Waco, Texas ten years later. There, Brooke became a clerk at Lyons, Cohn & Co. And decided to move west and open his own store in 1876.
History
Brown County
Created August 27, 1856; Organized March 21, 1857. Named for Capt. Henry S. Brown; came to Texas in 1824; Indian trader and fighter, commanded a company at the Battle of Velasco, member of the Convention of 1832; county seat, Brownwood 1856; moved to new site of same name, 1867. (1936)
Architecture
Brown County Jail
In 1901, Brown County commissioners determined their 1881 jail no longer met the needs of the county, and voters authorized the issuance of bonds to pay for the construction of a new facility. The commissioners hired Martin, Moodie and Co. of Comanche, Texas, in partnership with the Youngblood Brothers, to undertake the project. Local contractor William Hood served as construction superintendent.
History
Brownwood Harvey House
Built in 1914 immediately east of the Brownwood Santa Fe Railroad Depot, this was one of a series of restaurants operated along the Santa Fe line by the Fred Harvey Company, product of railroad agent Fred Harvey's idea to provide superior food and lodging for travelers. The Harvey House was popular from its opening day.
Military
Camp Collier, C.S.A.
Located 13 mi. southwest, this camp was one of a chain of Texas frontier posts a day's horseback ride apart from the Red River to the Rio Grande. Occupied by the Texas Frontier Regiment. Patrols and scouting parties frequently sent out kept Indian actions in check and rounded up draft evaders. Always needed were food, clothing, horses, ammunition. These men shared few of the glories of the war.
History
City of Brownwood
(first site 1 mile E; second, 5 miles SE, present location) Settled 1857. Acquired a post office 1858. An oil vein ruined 1860s water well of townsite donor Greenleaf Fisk. Wagon-yard keeper Martin Meinsinger sold medicinal oil from 1878 well. Commercial drilling began 1889. Farming, cotton sales, business town since 1880s; was reached by Santa Fe Railroad, 1885; Frisco, 1890.
History
Coggin and Parks Building
Brothers Samuel R. Coggin (1831-1915) and Moses J. "Mody" Coggin (1824-1902), prominent area ranchers, business leaders, and philanthropists, in partnership with businessman William Claibourne "Clay" Parks (1883-1916) completed this two-story commercial building in 1876.
History
Courthouses of Brown County
Brown County, created in 1856 and organized two years later, has had four courthouses. Pioneer settler Welcome William Chandler donated land for the first courthouse, a log cabin. The county moved the building twice, first two miles to the Billy Connell Farm, then to this site after Greenleaf Fisk's donation of land for a new townsite resolved an 1868 dispute.
History
Cross Cut Cemetery
Settlement began in this area of Brown County after the Civil War when several families from southern states moved here. They formed a community, initially known as Cross Out. It became Cross Cut in 1897 when an error was made on a post office application. Caroline Pentecost Elsberry was the first person buried in this community cemetery in July 1879.
History
Daniel Baker College
Affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and named for early Texas circuit-riding minister Daniel Baker (1791-1857), this institution was founded in 1888 by the Rev. Brainard Taylor McClelland (1845-1901). The college officially was chartered on April 5, 1889. McClelland, under whose leadership Brownwood's First Presbyterian Church was founded in 1876, served as the college's first president.
History
Dr. Mollie W. Armstrong
Dr. Mollie W. Armstrong (January 23, 1875-May 23, 1964). Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Wright Armstrong was instrumental in establishing optometry as a profession in Texas during the first half of the 20th century. A native of Bell County, she briefly attended Baylor Female College in Belton, where she met her future husband, Walter David (W.D.) Armstrong. They married in 1892 and moved to Brownwood. W.
History
Elkins Cemetery
This cemetery traces its origin to 1876, when noted pioneer minister Noah T. Byars helped establish Live Oak Baptist Church. That year, Civil War veteran Silas H. Wood moved his extended family from Mississippi and settled on land which included this site. The first recorded burial was that of D.O. Melton in 1876.
History
Eureka Cemetery
According to local tradition the settlers who established the town of Blanket (2 miles east) about 1870 named it for a Native American blanket they found on the banks of a nearby creek. The earliest marked grave in this cemetery, which served the rural community of Blanket, is that of Luperda Cox who died in 1876.
History
Fairview Cemetery
This community cemetery has served the people of rural Brown County for more than a century. James Jackson Martin (1847-1898) and Daniel Hulse (1822-1880) each donated land for the cemetery after settling in this area prior to 1878. Later donations by A. A. Martin and F. B. Smiley enlarged the cemetery. The first person buried here was Mrs. M. C. Cain, who died in April 1878.
History
Greenleaf Fisk
"Father of Brownwood" (1807-1888) Donor of present townsite of Brownwood, Fisk was noted as a soldier, public servant, surveyor, and businessman. The son of English parents, he was born in New York. As a boy he was so studious that he voluntarily gave up recess periods to read.
History
Heflin Cemetery
William W. and Pency (Williams) Heflin settled here in 1875. According to local tradition the first burial was that of a child who died in 1876 from eating wild berries as his family camped on the Heflin's property. The earliest marked grave is that of Robert Bonine in 1876. A deed confirming the Heflins' donation of 4 acres for burial purposes was executed in 1928.
History
Henry Ford
A native of Virginia, Henry Ford (c. 1845-1910) came to Texas in 1869 and worked as a cowboy on several central Texas ranches. He settled in Brownwood in 1876 and served several terms as county clerk and as a city councilman. A respected civic leader, he was influential in bringing the Santa Fe Railroad to Brownwood.
History
Howard Payne University
The Pecan Valley Baptist Association was formed by representatives of Baptist congregations in this area in September 1876. Meeting at Indian Creek in June 1889, the association acted on an executive committee resolution calling for the creation of a Baptist college within the organization's boundaries. Brownwood was chosen as the site of the school. The Rev.
Architecture
J. A. Walker House
Brownwood businessman and civic leader J. A. Walker (d. 1944) built this home in 1901. A prominent Texas Baptist, he was an early benefactor to Howard Payne University. The Colonial Revival styling of the Walker home reflects his status as a leader in the community. Outstanding features include the ornate portico, wide wraparound veranda and intricate ornamentation.
History
John Wesley Malone Home
Pioneer ranchers Modie J. and Samuel R. Coggin began this house after 1874. They sold it in 1888 to John Wesley Malone (1858-1932), who added the second floor in 1904. Malone ran a hardware store in partnership with his longtime friend Will H. Mayes, who became Texas' lieutenant governor, 1913-14. Also located here is Brownwood's first public swimming pool, built by Malone's father-in-law, John W.
History
Katherine Anne Porter
(May 15, 1890-September 18, 1980) Born Callie Russell Porter in Indian Creek, Katherine Anne Porter moved to Hays County with her family following her mother's death in 1892. She left Texas in 1915 and worked as an actress, teacher, reporter, and publicist in such places as Chicago, Denver, Mexico, and New York. Her first book of short stories was published in 1930.
History
Lost Creek Cemetery
The original Hog Creek Cemetery was established in the 1870s, about one-half mile southwest of this site; after only two burials, the community chose to relocate, reportedly because of the rocky soil there. J. W. Graves (d. 1874) was the first person buried at this location, then owned by H.C. Hancock. Area residents continued to use the site and, in 1892, J.C. Hensley (Henslee) and his wife, L.E.
Elsewhere in Texas
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