History
Alexander Cemetery
This burial ground has served residents of southern Erath County since the late 1800s. At that time, the community of Alexander, platted by the Texas Central Railroad Company, was thriving. The community had received a post office in 1876, when it was named Harper's Mill (it was renamed Alexander in 1881), although settlers had lived in the area since before the Civil War.
History
Audie Murphy Arena
Located in an area of Texas known for rodeos, the Audie Murphy Arena originated in Euless, Texas, on the property of car dealer Ray Woods. Woods met Audie Murphy on a defense bonds drive and instantly connected over their love of horses. The arena on Woods' property and his association with Murphy attracted many cowboys to rodeos with Murphy as a featured guest.
History
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 reached the town in 1889. This iron bridge began to serve the public by spanning the Paluxy about 1891, on the main access road that became State Highway 10 and later U.S. 377.
History
Bluff Dale Tabernacle
This tabernacle was built about 1906 on land given by Andrew Jackson Glenn, donor of the Bluff Dale townsite. The scene of many community events, including plays, singings, funerals and a high school graduation, the structure was primarily used for early camp meetings. Conducted for all area denominations and lasting for days, the revivals served as a source of community identity.
History
Bluff Dale United Methodist Church
Bluff Dale Methodist Church dates to the mid-1880s, when area Methodists began to meet regularly, following an 1881 camp meeting along the Paluxy River. In 1894, members began to meet at a church building they constructed. As the community grew, so did the congregation, which became known as Bluff Dale Methodist Church in 1939. By 1956, membership moved into a newly completed church facility.
History
Brick Streets of Stephenville
Seeking to improve the town's dirt streets, the Stephenville City Council in 1929 authorized paving by the Thurber Construction Company. High-quality bricks from Thurber (26 mi. NW), popular with builders around the state, were laid over a macadam base and bonded with a tar-like substance.
Architecture
Cage Home
Merchant, rancher, and banker J. H. Cage bought this property in 1876 and moved his family into an existing house. After his death in 1912, his children had the house moved and in 1913 built this home for their mother, Janie.
History
Caudle Cemetery
Once known as "South Bolton Cemetery," this is the final resting place of Mary Follis (d.1879), who was buried here during the ownership of James and Louisa Franks. Hers is the earliest marked grave. T. W. Bolton bought the land in 1879, and James Robert and Tennessee Caudle purchased it in 1883. Family matriarch Rebecca Clayton Caudle, widow of Mark Caudle, was buried here in 1886.
History
Cedar Point School
Originally known as Elm Grove School, the Cedar Point School began about 1860 in a log cabin nearly 2 miles east of this site. In 1894 J. J. Davidson donated three acres of land here to the community. The school built on this site housed one teacher and 40-50 students. The first building was destroyed by a windstorm in 1908, and the rebuilt structure was destroyed by fire in 1928.
History
Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge #894 A.F. & A.M.
Fourteen charter members organized Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge on Dec. 8, 1904. Joe Dotson was elected the first worshipful master. Lodge member J.H. Underwood built a two-story frame building by 1908 with a first floor grocery store and second story lodge assembly space. Meetings occurred on Saturdays on or after a full moon.
History
Clairette Cemetery
Joseph and Elizabeth Salmon and their children moved to the Republic of Texas in 1839. They settled in this area in 1854. When their 15-year-old son, Albert, died in 1858, he was buried at his favorite campsite in a grove of oak trees on the family land. Albert's brother, Joseph Salmon, Jr., deeded the acre of land surrounding the grave site for use as a community cemetery in 1876.
History
Clairette Schoolhouse
The first Clairette schoolhouse was a one-room log structure built as early as 1871. This two-story building was constructed in 1912, one year after the creation of the Clairette Independent School District. It served until 1949, when the rural school was closed. The native stone building was then used for various community functions.
History
Cornelia Graves
The youngest of nine children of John and Laura (Fuqua) Tyler, Cornelia Tyler was born in Dallas in 1875. She attended Dallas schools and then Prairie View Normal School and Hearne Academy to earn her teaching certificate. After teaching inDallas, she moved here and was the principal and only teacher at the city's colored school (or Bethelda School) for African-American children.
History
Cow Creek Cemetery
In 1871, Jesse Van donated land for a community cemetery for Cow Creek residents. The community included a school and the Cow Creek Methodist and Live Oak Baptist Churches. The first recorded burial was on March 15, 1874 for the infant daughter of J. P. and Indiane Martin. Earlier burials are possible, especially among 65 unidentified graves.
History
Crow Home
Tennessee natives Dr. Martin Swan Crow (1833-1892) and his wife Mollie Jane (George) Crow (1843-1910) arrived in Stephenville in 1871. Dr. Crow operated a successful medical practice and drug store, and he invested heavily in real estate. Mrs. Crow also invested in real estate, founded the town's first savings and loan and served as a director of an area railroad.
Entertainment & Sports
Crow Opera House
The first floor of this limestone building, erected before 1892, housed the Erath County National Bank, with Dr. M. S. Crow as president. His wife Mollie Jane Crow suggested use of the top floor for cultural events. The opera house auditorium, which held about 400 persons, was the site of theatrical productions, dances, and town gatherings.
Architecture
D. L. Harris House
This residence was constructed in 1901 by D. L. Harris, a partner in a Dublin mercantile store, and his wife Claire (Jackson) Harris. The home's design reflects a mixture of architectural styles that were popular at the turn of the century. Notable detailing includes the distinctive gabled roof with ornamental trim, wide veranda and fishscale shingling.
History
Daniel Roberts and Mary Anna (Garland) Thornton
D. R. Thornton from Mississippi married Mary Anna, daughter of frontier fighter Peter Garland in Anderson County, Texas, in 1853. The Thorntons settled here in 1857 as cattleraisers, and helped make this frontier safe for less hardy citizens. Mrs. Thornton was midwife and doctor to fellow settlers. The couple reared eight children.
History
Dawson Saloon
Dating from the early 1880s, downtown Stephenville consisted of wood frame and masonry one-part and two-part commercial block buildings, oriented around the county courthouse. The Dawson Saloon building was constructed in the early to mid-1890s on a prominent corner of the square. Reflected in sanborn maps, the saloon was likely the earliest occupant of the building.
History
Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company
Sam Houston Prim (1863-1946) arrived in Dublin in 1891 with $680 worth of bottling equiment, purchasing property at the southeast corner of Patrick and Elm streets to house his bottling works. Prim bottled Dr Pepper, along with other products, under an informal agreement until 1925, when he formally chose as a Dr Pepper distribution territory a 44-mile radius centered on Dublin -- an area that…
History
Dublin National Bank
In 1893, John G. Harris, a former railroad president, joined with three other businessmen to establish Dublin National Bank. The bank opened on the heels of the incorporation of the town of Dublin in 1889. Dublin experienced considerable growth in the late 19th century due to the cotton industry and the arrival of the railroad.
History
Duffau Cemetery
Francis T. Duffau was among the early settlers who arrived in the late 1850s to farm in this community. The Duffau post office was authorized in 1860. Duffau became a thriving trade center but later declined after suffering several disastrous fires and being bypassed by the railroad. The nearby Duffau mineral wells became a health resort, attracting people to the area.
History
Duffau School
This schoolhouse was built by architect-contractor George Coleman of Stephenville in 1936 with the $4,700 insurance settlement received after an earlier school building burned. The simple one-story structure, built of brick veneer over frame construction, is topped by a hipped metal roof and features a shed-roof front porch entry.
History
Early Commercial Building
Constructed of wood about 1880 by Joseph E. Bishop, son-in-law of A. H. and Sarah Jane Dobkins, founders of Dublin. Veneered 1895 with native stone,and remodeled 1943, 1965. Colorful, important occupants have included banks, medical clinics, a drugstore, newspaper plant, saloons, and a dress shop. (1972)
History
Edna Hill Community
Abundant grassland, timber, and water induced pioneers to settle in this area of Texas's western Cross Timbers region in the 1850s. Ranching and cotton production dominated early land use. Barbee Cemetery was established nearby about 1863. A community developed near a school built here in 1904 on land donated by Brack Salyer.
Elsewhere in Texas
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