History
Adair-Steadman Site
In this vicinity is a prehistoric archeological site discovered in 1969 near the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. Archeologists have conducted extensive scientific excavations and attribute most of the cultural materials to the Paleo-Indian Period.
History
Captain Henry C. Lyon
Served in army of the Republic of Texas * Commanded a company in the army of the Confederate States of America * Born in Tennessee, April 15, 1815 * * Died March 31, 1889 Erected by the State of Texas 1936 [supplemental stone inscription: For Public Record Capt. H. C. Lyon's body is not buried in Roby Cemetery. His body lies in Woods Chapel where he was buried March 31, 1889. Fisher Co.
Industry & Science
D. W. Stephens No. 1 Discovery Oil Well
(The Texas Company [Texaco]) The search for oil in Fisher County began in 1918. Though four wells were drilled in the southwestern part of the county in 1919, all four were dry, and more wells were drilled in the Rotan area. None of these yielded oil. Dan W. Stephens (1860-1946) and his wife Laura Bell Johnson owned 3,100 acres of land near the railroad town of Royston.
History
Fisher County
Sites of old Indian trail from Mexico to settlements on Texas frontier. In this region in 1856, Colonel Robert E. Lee, then commanding the famed U.S. Second Cavalry (and later General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army), campaigned against the Indians. County formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created 1876. Settled in 1877. Organized 1886.
History
Hobbs Cemetery
Settlers began moving into this area of Fisher County in the early 1880s. The community that developed became known as Hobbs when Roby postmaster Vachel Hobbs Anderson suggested his middle name for the new post office here. In the early 1900s, area residents Robert and Ann Hayter donated land at this site for the cemetery to serve the growing settlement.
History
Hobbs Independent School District
The first school in what would become the Hobbs community was known as Buffalo and taught in a tent on Buffalo Creek from 1887 to 1888. The Rev. Robert Martin erected a church and schoolhouse on the site with funds from his home church in Louisiana. By 1896 the school was named for Vachel Hobbs Anderson, postmaster at Roby, and had changed locations several times. J. W.
History
Newman Community and Cemetery
Jim Newman, one of Fisher County's earliest settlers, established a ranch in this area about 1879. The community that developed near his ranch was named Newman when the county's first post office opened here in 1881. The town consisted of the Old Newman and Union Hall Schools, a post office/grocery store, and the Newman Baptist Church by 1901.
History
Organization of Fisher County
When the Texas Legislature created Fisher County in 1876, there were no permanent settlements in the area. As a result, the county was linked with Shackelford and Nolan Counties for judicial purposes. By 1885, enough settlers had moved into the area to warrant official organization of the county. Part of this organization was the selection of a county seat, a matter that caused much debate.
History
Palava Cemetery
Originally named Center Point, the town of Palava traces its history to early settlement in this area in the late 1870s. It was renamed when the U.S. Government granted a request to establish a post office here in 1900. Stella A. Daniel, member of a pioneer Fisher County family, served as the town's first postmaster.
History
Roby
Located on land originally included in a land grant to Texas War for Independence veteran Thomas H. Cosby, the town of Roby was first platted in 1885. The land was purchased by D. C. and M. L. Roby of Mississippi, relatives of Cosby's second wife, Martha.
History
Roby Cemetery
(1/4 mile east) Settlers began arriving in this area in the late 19th century. The oldest grave marker in the Roby Cemetery, that of Mable W. Deming, bears the date 1884, one year prior to the organization of Fisher County and the establishment of the town of Roby. Brothers D. C. and M. L. Roby purchased over 4,000 acres of land in 1885.
History
Rotan
First known as White Flat, the town of Rotan was settled prior to the organization of Fisher County in 1886. A thriving community developed, but not until the railroad came through in 1906 did the town become a major area commercial center. During the summer of that year, the Texas Central Railway decided to extend the western terminus of its Waco line to White Flat.
History
Royston Townsite
The town of Royston came into existence in 1906, when the Texas Central Railroad built a line through this area. In addition to the railroad depot, homes and businesses were soon established in the new town. The Royston Post Office was established in 1907.
History
The Old Rock House
In the 1880s Andy Long (b. 1850) began acquiring his 10,300-acre spread known as the "OB" Ranch. His landholdings surrounded what is now the town of Sylvester. This one-room rock house, built in 1883, served as ranch headquarters. Long stayed here while he was in the area working his cattle but maintained a home for his family in Sweetwater (25 mi. SW).
History
Woods Chapel Cemetery
(1.5 miles southwest) Settlement of this area of Fisher County began in the early 1880s. A small frame building, erected near this site in 1883-1884, was used as a school and church. A cemetery was established and was in use by 1884. The church was named in honor of its first pastor, J. B. Woods. Among the first settlers here were Henry Clay Lyon (1815-1889) and his family.
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.
