History of Texas; Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition

HISTORY OF TEXAS

FORT WORTH

AND THE

TEXAS NORTHWEST EDITION

EDITED BY

CAPT. B. B. PADDOCK

VOLUME II

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY

CHICAGO and NEW YORK

1922

Copyright, 1922
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY

innvERPT-v nF CAT. -

SANTA BAJiUAHA

Fort Worth and The Texas Northwest

CHAPTER XXXIV

AFTER WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION

The injurious influence of radical rule did not end with the termi-
nation of the Davis administration, nor was it limited to the laws that
were placed by them on the statute books. It had prepared the ways for
a reaction which placed in the ascendancy the most conservative element
of the Democratic party at a time when moderation and prudence should
have prevailed. The latter went to extremes in its efforts to re-establish
its ascendancy and by attempting: to return to the elementary govern-
ment, the small public expenditures and the laissez fairc policy that pre-
vailed before the war.

In his inaugural address Governor Coke said:

"Today for the first time since she emerged from the ruin and
disaster of the great Civil war, Texas sees the inauguration in her
Capital of a government chosen by the free and untrammeled suffrage
of her people, having their confidence and looking to them for sup-
port and accountability. Let the heart of the patriot throb with joy.
for the old landmarks of constitutional representative government,
so long lost, are this day restored, and the ancient liberties of the
people of Texas reestablished. The virtue and intelligence of the
country, no longer ostracised, now wield their legitimate influence
and the government of Texas henceforth is to be administered in
the interest and for the benefit of the people, and to reflect their will."
These words were spoken while the authority of the governor was
still contested by his predecessor. Before this program could be carried
out, it was necessary for the democrats to obtain control of the govern-
ment in all its departments. The legislature was already in their hands.
The various radical state officers, like the governor, maintained their
positions as long as possible, and when ousted left everything in the
utmost confusion, requiring much time and labor on the part of their
successors to obtain a correct knowledge of affairs. The local and mu-
nicipal officers throughout the state, acting in sympathv with and tak-
ing courage from the boldness of the leaders at the Capitol, refused for
a time to deliver over to their lawfully elected successors the offices in
their possession. Thus a universal conflict of jurisdiction and author-
ity, extending through all the departments of the government, embrac-
ing in its sweep all the territory and inhabitants of the state, and every
question upon which legitimate government is called to act, was imminent
and impending. (Message of Governor Coke, January 12, 1875.)

Reform in the judiciary was made possible in part by an amendment
which had been adopted at the recent election, increasing the number of
supreme court judges from three to five. Its effect was to bring to a
close the terms nf the judges, composing' "the semi-colon court." An

441

44_' FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

entirely new branch was appointed, with < ). M. Roberts as chief justice.

The displacement of certain district judges was affected in a different

manner.

"The members of the legislature had hardly got settled in their
seats before an extraordinary movement was made which was per-
haps never before exhibited in any legislative body of Texas. Reso-
lution after resolution was ottered day after day, for the purpose
of removing district judges from office, by an 'address,' which remedy
had been provided in the constitution. Very soon there were as
many as seven such resolutions, and there were more afterwards.
The judges sought to be removed were located in districts in different
parts of the state. The complaints made against them were different
against different judges. Some of them were for physical disability.
others for legal incapacity, and some for malfeasance of various
kinds amounting to arbitrary dereliction of duty, others for legal op-
pression, and others for the exercise of partiality on political grounds.

Some of them were removed and a few were not."
I Roberts, in Comprehensive History of Texas," IT, 211.)

New Constitution

The prospects of an early change of constitutions exercised a restrain-
ing influence on the legislatures of 1874 and 1875; they confined their
attention mainly to matters that did not permit of delay. Besides mak-
ing the reforms in the judiciary already described, acts were passed to
improve the credit of the state, for suppressing lawlessness and for pro-
tecting the frontier. More attention to these acts will be given further
on

Efforts were made during the session of the Legislature in 1874 to
call a constitutional convention, but wiser counsel prevailed and the
call was postponed. The state was not in condition financially to add
the expense of a convention, but the chief reasons were far weightiei
and were summarized as follows in a message of Governor Coke, March
16, 1S74:

"( onstitution-making is a work greatly different from what it
formerly was in Texas. Our social and our labor systems and, ill
some degree, our political system have changed fundamentally. We
hardly yet appreciate the extent and import of the changes our-
selves These changes are going on and will continue. New popula-
tion, with new ideas, are filling the country; new industries are
springing up. Enterprise and rapid movement is the order of the
day. Associated capital in the hands of corporations, so imperatively
necessary to our development on the one hand and so dangerous
on the other, finds an extensive field for operation in Texas. We
have 40.000 unenlightened black voters, natural followers, in their
simplicity and ignorance, of the unscrupulous trickster and dem
igue, in some portions of Texas largely outnumbering the whites.
and have equal privileges with them at the ballot box and in the
jury box. From these and other fads which might he stated, thai

exist among us now, with which our (people are scarcely vet familiar.
■ itm - 1 present themselves to be dealt with bj the framers of

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 443

our organic law which should be gravely and most maturely con-
sidered. The new constitution should be adapted to our changed
social, political and industrial condition, and to the growing and
changing condition of our society and the different elements and
interests which constitute it. To make such a constitution, we should
have a clear conception of Texas as she is, and as she will be. If
the people of Texas will take time, and give mature deliberations
to the problems of government, now for the lirst time confronting
them, which must be solved in the formation of a new constitution,
I have no fear of the wisdom of their conclusion. But 1 do confess
to fears of the result of hasty and precipitate action."
It should be remembered, too, that when these words were spoken the
Federal Covernment was still supporting through the presence of United
States troops the carpet bag governments of Louisiana and Florida. A
year later the governor reverted to the subject of a constitutional con-
vention in the following words, taken from his general message :

"In its incongruous, repugnant and heterogeneous provisions, it
(the constitution of 1869) faithfully reflected the extraordinary-
character of the assembly, and the disordered times which produced
it. Necessity forced it on the people of Texas. * * * Prudence
and policy prompted submission to it. * No reason exists

now for longer submitting to it. The causes, which one year ago
rendered it imprudent to call together a constitutional convention,
have ceased to exist. * * * We no longer fear Federal inter-
ference ; we are not hampered with financial embarrassment ; the
popular mind is free from passion or excitement, and views the
great questions to be solved through no discolored medium ; and
last, but not least, for twelve months past the thinking men of the
State have been studying and investigating the subjects to be dealt
with in framing a constitution, and are now ready to act."
He suggested that the convention be composed of ninety delegates.
This number was embodied in the joint resolution approved March 13,
1875, and the first Monday in August was fixed as the date for the
election. The people were to vote for or against holding the convention
and at the same time choose delegates. Some disliked the optional feature
of holding the convention, fearing that the opposition might rally sufficient
strength to defeat it. The vote for holding the convention numbered
69,583 to 30,549 against holding it. The convention assembled at Austin.
September 6th, and adjourned November 24, 1875.

The constitution of 1876 contains some striking changes from that
of 1869. To insure a reduction in the expenditures of the state govern-
ment and to limit the powers of the various state officers, so that even
should the radicals again come into power they would be effectually
held in check, appear to have been of such concern to the members
of the convention that they neglected other matters of great importance.
"Under a mistaken impression as to the causes of high taxation,
attention has heretofore been given to curtailing the expenses of state
administration, and the real cause, which is to be found in local ad-
ministration, has been overlooked." (Coke's Message. April 19. 1876. i
Cities of 10.000 population were allowed a maximum rate of taxation

444 FORI WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

for the support of municipal government 2>j per cent. The fee system
was retained to pay for the services of local officials. In many other
particulars the Constitution was unsatisfactory. Although the work of a
democratic body, the party withheld its endorsement at the state conven-
tion, and Governor Coke pointed out its numerous defects in his message
of April 19, 1876.

The limit on the number of representatives in the Legislature was
raised to 150, while that of the Senate was retained at thirty-one. The
sessions were changed from annual to biennial. Where there had been
no limit on the length of the session heretofore, the length of regular
sessions with full pay was now limited to sixty days, and of adjourned
and special sessions to thirty days. The maximum salary of members
of the Legislature was fixed at rive dollars per day. Of the nineteen
Legislatures that have assembled since the adoption of this constitution
only two held sessions which did not exceed sixty days — the thirty-first
and the thirty-second, and they were re-convened in extra session. In
fact, there have been only four Legislatures (the fifteenth, nineteenth.
twenty-first and twenty-third I which have not been called in extra
session. The bill of rights was deemed inadequate as a protection of
individual rights against legislation; consequently there were appended
t<p tin- legislative department additional requirements and limitations.
in sixteen sections, "some of which had a number of distinct clauses,
and all of which were intended to be specific restrictions, either upon
legislation itself or upon the manner of it, and applied to a large number
of subjects previously open to general legislation."

The governor's term of office was reduced to two years, and his
salary from $5,000 to $4,000 per annum. The governor's appointive
power was greatly restricted by making nearlv all officers elective, and
by requiring the consent of the Senate to all other appointments. ,\
further limitation was placed upon his power by dividing the execu-
live powers among the officers composing the executive department,
namely, the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, comptroller,
treasurer, commissioner of the general land office and attorney general.

h of these is tin- trovernor's equal in matters confided to him. and
since all except the secretary of slate are elective, it may easily happen
thai the different executive heads hold widely divergent views on matters
nf public policy, Authoritative unity in the executive department of our
state government has nut been provided for. Finally, "the constitution
enjoins upon the governor that 'he cause the laws to be faithfully ex
ecuted,' bul withholds from him the power to comply with the mandate.
The executive agents of the government (the prosecuting attorneys and
sheriffs) are independent of him; he cannot command them directly or
indirectly." (Coke's Message, April 19, 1876.) However, the governor
was given die power to veto; in the case nf appropriation bills this power
may be applied to special items; and he alone can designate the subjects
in be acted upon b) the Legislature in called session.

I be judicial system of the slate was vested in a supreme court, a

court -I appeals, district, county and other courts

"IIh judicial s\slem framed 1>\ ibis article as a whole and in all

mi my judgment, the most faulty, inefficient ami expensive

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 445

one that has ever been suggested. * * * It is fatally vitiated
by the following prominent faults: It provides for two high courts
of last resort, giving supremacy to neither. * * * It establishes
county courts, conferring on them extensive general and statutory
jurisdiction, and prescribes no qualification for the judges. * * *
It abolishes the office of district attorney, heretofore filled by men
of learning, ability and experience, and substitutes that of county
attorney. * * * It extends the jurisdiction of justices of the
peace over matters and rights more important than should be sub-
mitted to the judgment of men usually unlearned in the law. * * *
It provides salaries for district judges which are insufficient to sup-
port them in many districts. * * * It surrenders the people, in
a considerable section of the state, through the justice and county
courts and sometimes the district court, in three-fourths of their
litigation, to the domination of uneducated and ignorant suffrage."
(Coke's Message, April 19, 1876.)
Governor Coke recommended a return to the judicial system of the
constitution of 1869, which he said, the concurrent opinion and almost
unbroken voice of the bench and bar and non-professional intelligence
of the state adjudged superior in efficiency.

The provisions in the bill of rights of the constitution of 1869, that
declared secession a heresy and that the constitution and laws of the
United States are the supreme law of the land, were stricken out. In
the article respecting the right of suffrage, no mention was made of
"race, color or former condition." The registration of voters was abol-
ished. Separate schools for white and negro children were ordered.
The appropriation of money to encourage immigration was prohibited.
Neither the Legislature nor any county or town was permitted to vote
public funds or incur debt by way of subsidy to any private corpo-
ration, whether railroad or other association for private profit. Limita-
tions were placed upon the extent of taxation by municipal corpora-
tions. The objects for which taxes may be imposed by the Legislature
were defined, the maximum tax rate on the $100 valuation was fixed at
50 cents, and the debt created to supply deficiencies was limited to
$200,000.

Notwithstanding its many defects, the constitution possesses points
of merit that have secured its retention until this date. It provides
greater facility for amendment than did former constitutions. It en-
sures the supremacy of the people, and makes the lawmakers and public
officials their servants. It guards against the creation of public debt,
and dedicated the public lands to the public welfare. It curbed the rail-
roads, and prohibited oppressive monopolies.

The fifteenth Legislature assembled April 18, 1876. It was confronted
by an extraordinary amount of important legislation. The adjustment
of the statute laws to the new constitution, the remodeling of the crim-
inal system, the revision and change or amendment of the penitentiary
system, the reorganization of the civil jurisdiction and methods of pro-
cedure, the reconstruction of the revenue system, and last, but not least,
a revision of the new constitution with the view of proposing and sub-

446 FORI WORTH AND THE TEXAS Xok I 1 1WF.S I

mitting such amendments as max be found necessary were some of the
subjects called to its attention by Governor Coke.

State Finance

The finances of the state demanded attention as soon as the Demo-
crats came into power. Investigation of the records of the comptrol-
ler's and treasurer's office showed that the treasury was empty and that
there were obligations outstanding amounting to $2,098,928. This
amount was later doubled by the audit of claims originating prior to
1874. Treasury warrants were selling at from sixty-five to eighty cents
on the dollar. Bonds amounting to $900,000 remained in New York
unsold, because there was no market for Texas securities. Upon a por-
tion of these bonds the sum of .$327,074 had been advanced, and the
creditors were now suing to recover payment. Bonds in the sum of
S404.0OO would mature between September, 1876, and January 1, 1877.
( lOvernor Coke deemed it inexpedient to levy a tax for the payment of
the public debt. The general tax rate, although fixed at the maximum
allowed by the constitution, did not produce revenue sufficient to cover
the expenses of the government. Further loans would become necessary.
Under these circumstances the governor directed his efforts first of all
to improve the credit of the state. Payment of the floating debt was
suspended, and the holders of treasury warrants were given an option
of exchanging them for interest-bearing bonds. All receipts of the
treasury were used to pay current expenses. The expenses of the gov-
ernment were cut down wherever possible. A compromise with the Inter-
national Railroad Company was effected whereby the treasury was re-
lieved of a large issue of bonds. The claims of the New York creditors
wire promptly settled, although to do so required the sale of bonds at a
heavy sacrifice. However, the governor's policy was effective ; the credit
of the state improved and subsequent bond sales were made at better
prices.

In addressing the fifteenth Legislature, Governor Coke said:

"One of the most important subjects claiming vour attention is
that of the assessment and collection of taxes. A law which shall
promptl) subject all the property in the state to its just proportion
of the burden of maintaining the government is of the first and high
est importance. Our present revenue laws are wholly inefficient.
I axes now due and unpaid and returned as delinquent amount to
several millions of dollars. Bui a still greater evil is the failure
to a^i ;ss a considerable proportion of the taxable property of the
state, and the undervaluation <>f that which is assessed. * * *
Quoting from my lasl annual message on this subject: 'Taxation
should be jusl and uniform, but under this law it is believed that
two-thirds of the property of Texas pays all the expenses of govern-
ment. * * * \ Luge proportion of the personal property money,
bond-, bills, notes, merchandise, stock and other valuables in the
te, and of the assets of banks, banking concerns, trust, insurance
and Other companies and corporations, not visible to the assessor,
is never assessed, and |>;n nothing.' * * * These things are
true now as when represented to the fourteenth Legislature."

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 447

After the lapse of thirty-five years a number of these problems still
remained unsolved.

Governor Hubbard enjoyed a season of legislative rest such as no

other governor of Texas before or since has enjoyed; during his term

of over two years there was no session of the Legislature except the one

which inaugurated bis successor. In his message in 1879 he was able

to report that a portion of the public debt had been paid, that the bonds

of the state were selling at a premium, and that in consequence bonds

bearing a high rate of interest bad been refunded in bonds bearing a

lower rate of interest. But he was obliged to report a deficiency in the

state's revenue and a consequent inability to pay current expenses.

"Unfortunately, tbere is now recalled to mind no fiscal year of

Texas, from 184i down to the present date, but lias witnessed the

same mistake repeated by Legislatures. * * * In early times

these annual deficiencies were met by borrowing from the several

millions in gold received from the United States Government for

our sale of the Santa Fe territory, and at others by the issuing and

sale of bonds of the state. To-day the credit of Texas bonds is

higher than that of any other state in the entire Union. While

this fact is and should be a just source of pride to every citizen

of Texas, I respectfully and earnestly urge upon your consideration

that other fact — not so much a source of pride as of extreme regret

— that the debts we owe to our own fellow citizens at home * * *

have too often become the subject of speculation. * * * because

there is no adequate provision to meet these claims in cash when

presented at the state treasury. Neither in law nor in morals ought

an invidious distinction be made by the state between the domestic

creditors and the foreign bond holders."

While the increase in the wealth of the state has caused a gradual
reduction in tax rate the contingency of a recurrence of deficiencies in
the revenue has not been provided against effectually up to the present.
With such plain statements before them, the Republican and Green-
back parties severely criticised in their platforms of 1878 the financial
policy of the Democrats! The former denounced the occupation taxes
and the increase of the state debts through the issuance of bonds. The
( ireenbackers demanded "abrogation of the odious and unjust occupa-
tion and smoke-house tax laws," retrenchment in the public expenditures,
and a reduction of tax-rate to 37 ' .. cents on the $100. While there
was little prospect that either of these parties would gain control of
the government, the Democratic platform pledged the party not to borrow
money or to issue bonds to meet current expenses or to increase the tax
rate, and to keep expenses within current receipts.

Governor Hubbard in his message reviewed the estimates of receipts
and expenditures for the year 187°-, and pointed out that the former
were inadequate to meet the latter.

"The estimates for the present fiscal year make no allowance
for much needed improvements in our institutions of public charity,
for the early organization of the recentlv completed penitentiary
at Rusk, for state colleges, or any extraordinary appropriation.
* * * The conclusion is therefore inevitable that unless the ex-
penses of the government be lessened the estimated revenue will

448 FORT WoRTil AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

fall far short of meeting the actual expenditures of the state. It is
well to look this danger squarely in the face, for we have reached
that point * * * in our financial history when the cry of 're-
trenchment and reform' becomes no longer * * * the cheap
watchwords of the demagogue, but rather a palpable and imperious
necessity to the legislation of Texas from this day henceforth. Can
the machinery of the state government be kept in motion, on the
present basis of taxation, without abandoning old and cherished
public policies, the protection of the frontier, and the maintenance
of the public free schools? Can it be done without reducing the
compensation of the judiciary or otherwise impairing the vigor and
efficiency of the various departments of the state government?"
It remained for Governor Roberts to answer these questions. He
declared that :

"The true policy of the state * * * under the present junc-
ture of affairs, is to retrench expenses from top to bottom, wherever
it can be done consistently with the efficiency of the public service.
and inaugurate the policy of now disposing of the public lands at a
fair value as soon as practicable to any purchaser that will buy them
in any quantity.'
One cause of the existing financial difficulties of the state he ex-
plained thus:

"Gradually, and much more in the last ten years, the state has
been assuming other and extraneous burdens beyond the capacity
of the productive wealth of the country to sustain. * * * Refer-
ence is here made to the protection of the frontier and our police
force; to the penitentiary and its enlargement; to our free common
school system; to our schools for the blind and the deaf; to the
establishment of an agricultural and mechanical college; to our pen-
sions to the Texas veterans and to our immigration bureau."
The student of public affairs will find an interesting parallel
between the problems confronting the legislatures of 1879 and 1915.
However, few would have tin- temerity to class the support of the public
schools as an extraneous burden of the state. The Legislature of 187''
had little choice in the matter. ><, it trimmed appropriations unsparingly,
bringing them down to an amount less than that for the preceding bien-
nium. However, the Legislature did not adopt two of the governor's most
sweeping recommendations, namely ( 1 ) to reduce the appropriations for
the public free schools below the one-fourth of the general revenue
allowed by the constitution, and (2) to inaugurate a speedy sale of the
public lands in any quantity to any purchaser. Fearing that there would
tun be sufficient revenue to meet current expenses, if the appropriations
for the free schools and the interest mi public debt should stand as i\s.(.-(\
\i\ the Legislature, and being determined to avoid a deficiency at every
cost, Governor Roberts vetoed this portion of the bill. His action created
intense excitement; the Legislature adjourned next day; but bis message
i>l 'I' Fended a "pa) a-- you go" policy, that be was able to carry his
point \t a special session of the Legislature the appropriation for the
interest on the public debt was re-enacted, and the appropriation for the
free schools was limited in one-sixth of the general revenue for the next

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 449

two years. In 1881 the Legislature again appropriated one- fourth, and
the governor approved it. but in the meantime he had been subjected to
much abuse and criticism for his veto in 187').

Provision was made for the sale of school and public lands; the
former at one dollar an acre in quantities varying from one-quarter
to three sections, (in 1881 increased to seven sections,) the latter at
fifty cents an acre in unlimited quantities, the proceeds being divided
equally between the schools and the public debt. These acts, coming at
a time when settlers and speculators were pouring into Texas in large
numbers, increased the permanent school fund faster than the board of
education was able to invest it under the restrictions imposed by statute.
Governor Roberts adopted the questionable plan of buying state bonds at
a premium of forty per cent. The sale of public lands in large bodies
greatly stimulated speculation in these lands. For both these results
he was severely criticised. A justification of his course, in his own
words, is as follows:

''The public lands and those belonging to the school and other
funds were for the most part in the western portion of the state,
a great proportion of which were not and never would be adapted
to farming. * * * To utilize those lands for stock-raising, to
which they were adapted, it was necessary to allow large tracts to be
purchased by persons who had means to engage in that business in a
dry country. Another consideration was that it was better to sell the
lands at a fair price and increase the school and other funds to help
pay the public debt, thereby relieving the people from taxation, than
to continue donating them to railroad companies. It was also ap-
parent that it was better to let the lands belong to individuals who
would pay taxes upon them than for the government to continue to
keep them for any purpose. The experience of our past history
in land business was that, however careful the government has been
to prevent them, frauds would continually be perpetrated in its man-
agement, which conclusively demonstrated the impropriety of the
government's undertaking to handle such property permanently. It
was evident that there was no propriety in the state government
holding the lands for speculative purposes. * * * For the in-
crease in the common price of land at any time does not arise from
anything that the government does to raise the price of it, but from
the labor and capital expended by the people in settling upon and
improving parts of it, which makes the balance of it more valuable :
and for the government to demand more for it then is in effect spec-
ulation on what the people have done to enhance the price of tin-
land. " (Comprehensive History of Texas, II. 247.)
In his message of 1881 the governor was able to report that the state
treasury went on a cash basis on May 1. 1879. Retrenchment in gov-
ernment expenses, taxation of everything taxable, rigorous collection ol
the taxes due, and a large increase in the wealth of the state had com-
bined to work this result. The connection existing between the general
revenue and the public school fund was terminated by providing a special
school tax, and in 1883 the constitution was amended by placing the
maximum state tax rate at thirtv-five cents on the $100.

450 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Frontier Protection

\ erv closely connected with the financial problems, confronting the
new administration in 1874. were those having to do with the suppres-
sion of lawlessness and protection of the frontier. "The large emigra-
tion from other countries, the former spirit of speculation and subse
quent monetary depression and want of profitable employment, the exten-
sion of our frontier and the changed condition of a large colored popu-
lation, have all contributed to generate and exhibit an amount and char-
acter of crime and civil wrong entirely unprecedented in this country.
The very inadequacy of the power of correction has provoked * * *
outrageous wrongs as a substituted remedy, without and against the
law." ( Roberts' Message, 1879.) "Texas has an Indian frontier and
a Mexican border of not less than 1,500 miles, on which her people of
necessitv wear arms habitually for defense. Five-sixths of the popu-
lation of Texas may be found in one-third of her territory. The re-
mainder of the country is in the common acceptation frontier." (Coke's
Message, January, 1875. I

The vigorous enforcement of the laws filled the penitentiary to over
(lowing. The number of convicts in that institution on January 1. 1876,
was 1,725. What to do with the prisoners became a great problem and
continued to perplex the state administrations during subsequent years.
As there was not room within the walls, and since the stair at that time
owned no farms, a majority of the prisoners were hired out ; hut the
treatment they received at the hands of the lessees was denounced as
vicious even in its beginning.* To carry out reforms the erection of an
additional penitentiary was undertaken, with a view of employing a large
number of the prisoners within the walls. But finding profitable employ
ment within the walls has been difficult for the character of the labor
to be employed.

An act of 1874 to provide for the protection of the frontier against
hostile Indians. Mexicans or other marauding of thieving parties author-
ized the governor to organize a battalion of mounted men of six com
panics of seventy-five men each. This force was the beginning of the
present Texas Ranger force; its permanence has been due to its dual
character of military force and of peace officers. The Rangers relieved
the frontier counties not only of Indian depredations hut also of the
equally troublesome lawless characters that sought refuge there. Their
influence on the development of the frontier was very great. During
the twelve years preceding 1874 no new counties had been organized in
the West. Through the confidence of securitj restored by the Rangers
the frontier settled so rapidly that fourteen counties were organized he
tween 1874 and 1878. The taxable values of twenty three border conn
lies doubled within this shorl period. The adjutant general of the state,
in the fall of 18811. "made a tour of inspection and observation on the

•In speaking of tin lease system, it must in- stated that Texas has never
surrendered tin- care ami < ontrol of its prisoners into the hands of the contractors
When a railroad or an individual hired the convicts, the state sent along its own
guards who exercised tin same control "\er the prisoners as if engaged in state
work The state employed physicians i" look after the prisoners' welfare. While
iliis modified form of tin lease system had many advantages oxer the out and
out lease it ha n"i been proof against abuse

FORT WoKTII AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 451

frontier from Fort Elliott, in the northern part of the Panhandle, to
Menard County. * * * I found the country wonderfully developed
and improved since my last trip to the frontier two years ago. The out-
side settlements are now from 50 to 100 miles further west than the}
were then. The tier of counties which contained the border settlements
three years ago, their only population at that time being stockmen, who
lived in picket houses and dug-outs, are now settled and rapidly rilling
up by an industrious and thrifty class of farmers. * * * The stock-
men have * * * moved from 50 to 150 miles further west and
northwest. * * * There is now almost a continuous line of large
ranches from Devil's River on the Rio Grande, via the headwaters of
the Concho, Colorado. Brazos and Red rivers to the Canadian, in the
extreme northern part of the Panhandle." (Report of the Adjutant
General, 1880, p. 29.)

Fighting Indians was only a small part of the Ranger's arduous task,
and this practically ceased, even in the wildest portions of the state, in
1884. The Ranger force has since been greatly reduced as regards
numbers, but it has not been discontinued because of its excellence as
an instrument in dealing with lawless men. In proportion as Texas
■-cttled up, and the demands upon the time of each person increased.
Governor Roberts states, the disinclination on the part of the people to
t;ive aid in any way in the execution of the laws increased, except on
full compensation in money. Hence Rangers were called on to assist
the local officers whenever the latter were in need of aid in making
arrests of desperate criminals, or to escort prisoners threatened with vio-
lence, or to attend court to preserve order, or to protect jails against
mobs.

Free Education

The constitutional provision for a system of public free schools set
apart an enormous quantity of public lands for its endowment. An
annual poll tax of one dollar and a sum not to exceed one-fourth of the
general revenue, together with the annual income from the permanent
fund, were set aside for the support of the schools. The lands for a
decade remained unproductive of revenue. The income from poll taxe<
was necessarily limited. The constitution made no provision for sup-
plementing state funds by local taxation. Yoking the available school
fund with the general expenses of the government made it impossible to
increase the former without at the same time trebling the latter. There
was much demand for a reduction of the expenses of the government.
Added to this was the fact that the public mind had not recovered from
the rude shock experienced during radical rule from the attempt to force
upon the state the unsuitable, extravagant and onerous system provided
for in the old constitution, with its brood of devouring officials. There-
fore, Governor Coke gave it as his opinion that the people would have
to be led by slow and easy approaches through practical results, which
all can see, to the realization of a system suitable t<i their condition and'
within their ability to maintain.

The entire machinery of the former school system was swept away.
'ID meet the large decrease in the school revenues the scholastic age was

452 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

changed Erom six to eighteen to eight to fourteen. This reduction in the
number of scholastics practically made it impossible to organize schools
in thinly settled portions of the state. To inaugurate a new system of
free schools a board of education was created, composed of ex-ofHcio
members who already had all the work they could do. That vague and
indefinite something, the community, was made the local unit. Teachers
were not graded and little attention was paid to their qualifications. In
1877 the average length of the school term was three months and tin
average salary of the teachers thirty-live dollars.

The principal income of the school fund was the one-fourth of the
general revenue of the state. During Roberts' first term the share con-
tributed by the general revenue was cut from one-fourth to one-sixth.
\n effort was made by speedy sale of the school lands to increase the
permanent school fund and thus recoup the revenues from that source.
For four years the policy of disposing of the school lands amounted to
little >hort of squandering several million acres of land, besides laying
the foundation for huge private and corporate land holdings. The com-
plaint that the school law "proceeded upon the idea of providing for
the compensation of the teachers more effectually than for the teaching
of the scholars, for whom the money has been distributed to the coun-
ties" resulted in an act establishing a ratio between the salary of the
teacher and the attendance of the pupils. Some attention, too. was given
to the classification of teachers into three grades according to their quali-
fication. \ secretary for the hoard of education was employed. By the
aid of the Peabody fund normal schools for the training of white and
colored teachers were established, and summer normal institutes inau-
gurated in 1881. The University of Texas was opened in 1883. This
year also an amendment to the constitution was adopted which com-
pletely changed the basis of support of the public schools from the gen
eral revenue of the state to an annual ad valorem state tax not to exceed
twenty cents on the $100 valuation any one year. The amendment fur-
ther provided for the creation of school districts in which the state tax
could be supplemented by a local tax. The sale of the public and school
lands at former prices was stopped, and a law enacted regulating the
leasing and sale of these lands at much higher prices. The office of
state superintendent of public instruction was created in 1884. and the
general school law was much improved. These measures of Governor
Inland'- administration marked the beginning of real progress in the
public free school system of Texas.

Economn Readjusi ment

"For sixt) years before the war the Federal Government was
administered s,, as not t<> be the adversary of the agricultural
interests of the Southern people, and, as claimed by the Northern
people, prejudicial to their commercial and manufacturing inter
estS, which made them dissatisfied and caused a political contcn
tion. That difference culminated in the wai between the sections.

North and Smith Since the war for thirtj years the national

rnmenl has been administered in a waj t'> result in promo
ting the commercial, manufacturing and general moneyed inter

FORT WORTH AXD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 453

ests of the Northern people, and, as claimed by the Southern peo-
ple, prejudicial to their agricultural interests, which makes them
dissatisfied and causes a continued political contention.'" ((). M .
Roberts, in Confederate Military History. XI. 148.)

"Prior to the political revolution of 1860. the wealth of the
United States was distributed among the inhabitants in some
just proportion to the capacity of men to acquire it unaided by
legislation. The government had rarely interfered with private
affairs and the people were left to their own exertions in the
acquisition of property. As a consequence there were few colos-
sal fortunes, and the peril of accumulated and organized riches
was not imminent. Since then it has become common for the
Government to aid certain classes of industries by bounties, pro-
tection and other species of unequal laws, and under this impetus
individual fortunes have grown to such gigantic proportions that
conservative and thoughtful men are appalled at the enlarging
power of concentrated capital. * * * To this harmful and
indefensible legislation there have been added in recent years the
oppressive and audacious operations of trusts and conspiracies
against trade, and between them the exactions imposed upon th<
great masses of the people, enriching the few and tending to
unjust division of wealth, have grown intolerable." (Governor
Culberson's message, January 16. 1895.)
After the war there was a rapid influx of capital and population.
The principal development along commercial and industrial lines in
Texas centered around the construction of railways, appropriation off
the public lands and exploitation of natural resources. Of greatest
immediate importance the railroads outranked bv far all other enter-
prises. Through their interstate relations they brought to bear on
the people of Texas the effects of the policies and legislation existing
beyond our limits and beyond the control of the state. The principal
owners of the railways and of other large corporations were non-
residents. Therefore, federal legislation in reference to these bodies
was always of great interest to the people of Texas. The state fur-
nished such leaders in congress, as Reagan in favor of an interstate
commerce commission. Mills in favor of tariff reform, and Coke in
favor of the people against oppressive corporations and legislative
corruption of every kind.

Railroads

The people of Texas desired railways and made generous dona-
tions of land, money and bonds to hasten their construction. The
state government appropriated 10,240 acres of land for every mile
of road built until the public domain was exhausted. Much of this
land was rich and valuable, and all of it was useful to the railways
in financing their projects. The total amount of land granted to rail-
ways was about 38,826,380 acres, or 22 per cent of the total acreage
of the state, an area equal to that of the State of New York. The
impetus given to railway construction was extraordinary. From the
United States and from foreign countries capital flowed like water into

454 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Texas railway enterprises. The increase in mileage as compared with
the growth of population between 1870 and 1890, was as follows:

1870 Rank 1880 Rank 1890 Rank

Population 818,579 19 1.591,749 11 2,235,523 7

Railway mileage ... 571 28 2,696 12 8,630 3

The period of extraordinary activity in construction terminated with
the exhaustion of public land in 1882. and was followed by an era
marked by combinations, over capitalization, extortionate rates and
poor service on the part of many of the roads.

In 1881 the Huntington and Gould interests entered into an agree
merit whereby all competition between the two was suspended and the
construction of parallel or competing lines was forestalled. These
two magnates controlled most of the railways in the state : the former.
the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio and the Texas & New
Orleans railways, the latter controlled the Texas & Pacific. Interna
tional ec Great Northern, the Galveston, Houston & Henderson, the
Missouri. Kansas & Texas and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & South
ern railways. In 1885 the Texas Traffic Association was formed. It
was composed of nine Texas railroads and of eight connecting lines
lying outside the limits of the state. Its object also was to eliminate
competition among the roads composing the association. A central
committee promulgated the rates which each member was obliged to
observe, until the combine was dissolved by the attorney-general in
1888.

Complaints and charges against the railroads were numerous.
Local rates were unreasonably high as compared with through rates

The products of Texas manufacturers, said Senator Coke, "are out
rageously discriminated against on our railroads. Manufactured
products from distant states are distributed * * * throughout

Texas by the railroads at lower rates than similar articles of Texas
manufacture will be carried by them from one point to another in
Texas. Cotton goods from Georgia mills arc carried at lower rates
than the products of Texas mills, and iron manufacturers of other
states arc favored in the same way over those of Texas." The sen
ator gave an instance; the water works company of Weatherford
preferred to purchase iron pipe at Rusk but on account of the differ
ence in freight rates was obliged to place its order in Tennessee.

Rates were not based on cost of service but on "what the traffic
would bear." When harvests were abundant freight rates were
increased and absorbed most of the farmers' profits. Discriminations
between individuals for the same service were constant. Secret rate
cutting demoralized business. By granting secret special rates,

rebate*, drawbacks and concessions they fostered monopoly, enriched
favorite shippers and prevented competition in such lines of trade in
which tin- item of transportation constituted an important factor.
Another example cited l>> Senator Coke illustrates this:

"Where ate tin- New Braunfels woolen mills, the cloth prod
ucts of which of the same class, unequalled in the East, were
worn all over Texas and retailed in every store in the state ten

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 455

or twelve years ago? This splendid industry by hostile discrim-
inations of the railroads in CO operation with Eastern manufac-
turers has been driven absolutely out of existence." (Coke to
Harned, July 26. 1889, in Fort Worth Gazette, August 3, 1889.)
Free passes were used to maintain a privileged class at the expense

of those who paid.

"The railways have issued free passes to nearly every tax
assessor and county commissioner in this state, who must adjust
the values of their property. They have issued them to sheriffs,
who serve the process of law. They have issued them to col-
lectors, who enforce the payment of taxes. They have issued them
to justices of the peace and to county judges, and to most all
other judges along the line of their railways who try their cases."
(Ex-Governor Hogg's address to House Committee on Constitu-
tional Amendments. February 5, 1901.)
The capitalization and bonded indebtedness of railways largely

exceed the actual cost of construction. "In prosecuting the East Line

case." said Ex Governor Hogg:

"I proved by the railway officials that this railway line from
Jefferson to Greenville cost its owners $7,000 per mile to build
it; that they got from the state 10,240 acres of land to the mile;
that they sold this land for more than enough to pay for building
the road; that they issued $12,000 in bonds and stocks to the mile
on the road, and that they ran it many years and maintained it in
fine condition : that in 1880 they sold it to other parties for $9,000
in cash per mile, which included the stocks and bonds. The new-
purchasers immediately placed stocks and bonds on the road for
$35,000 to the mile, thus making a clear profit upon the face of
the transaction of about $4,000,000. At once the new manage-
ment cut down the train and track service, reduced wages of the
employes, raised traffic rates out of reason, and within six or
seven years ran down the road from a good one to such a reck-
less state that no one could get an accident ticket over it." (Ex-
Governor Hogg's address, February 5, 1901.)

Industrial Problems

With the industrial development of Texas a large number of wage
earners was introduced. The concentration of wealth and power in
the hands of their employers caused the workmen to enter into defen-
sive organizations. Reductions of wages of railwav employes pro-
voked strikes. The interruptions of traffic resulting therefrom caused
great losses and much suffering to the people. A strike on the Gould
lines was inaugurated about March 1, 1885. Governor Ireland's proc-
lamation, and the harsh measures aimed at the strikers by some mem
bers of legislature, were met by directing attention to the disregard
of law by the railroads. Public sympathy was generallv with the
strikers. The troubles were adjusted by an agreement of March 15.
1885, which was regarded a victory for the labor unions. Perhaps as
a result of this victory organization of railway employes under the
leadership of the Knights of Labor made rapid progress during 18X5

456 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

and 1886. Alleging violations of the agreement of the previous year.
the Knights of Labor used the discharge of C. A. Hall, a foreman in
the Texas & Pacific shops at Marshall, and a prominent member of
their order, as the occasion for calling another strike on the Gould
lines in March. 1886. In the meantime the Texas & Pacific Railway
had passed into the hands of a federal receiver. The railway officials
used the receivership as an excuse for refusing to negotiate with their
employes. Matters dragged for a month with no approach toward
an adjustment. Bitterness increased with suffering. Some destruc-
tion of propertv occurred, and bloodshed resulted in an effort to pre-
vent the moving of a local freight train at Fort Worth on April 3rd.
The governor ordered several companies of militia and the Rangers
to that point, but no further trouble occurred, as the large body of
strikers was opposed to the use of physical force. The decision of
the federal judge in the case against the strikers held that the
cmploves of a railroad, acting under the direction of the court, are
in contempt if they conspire among themselves to leave the service
of tin- road without warning, thereby temporarily crippling the serv-
ice. It looked like both courts and the executive had joined with
the railroads to oppress labor. It greatly emphasized the necessity of
curbing the reckless use of power of these powerful interests ; and
stirred the Knights of Labor to great political activity during the cam-
paign of 1886.

Another grievance against the railroads is tersely stated in the
Following words, taken from Governor Culberson's message, fanuarv
16. 1895:

"Every act of the Legislature which authorized a donation of
land to corporations required its alienation in good faith within
stated periods of time, in default of which the land became for-
feited to the state. These provisions were wiselv intended to
prevent and discourage perpetuities and land monopolies and
should lie effectually executed. In unmistakable evasion of the
law railroad companies have frequently transferred t he land color-
ably only, sometimes directly to individuals, sometimes through
simulated foreclosure proceedings and sometimes through forma-
tion of new corporations by stockholders, bondholders or directors
of the old companies, in efforts to avoid forfeitures. By this
means the policy of enforced alienation is thwarted and the land
held in practical perpetuity for speculative purposes in obvious dis-
regard of the growth and development of the state." „
Reference lias elsewhere been made to the good work of the
Rangers in affording protection to the frontier. In this work they
were heartily seconded by the cattlemen, who spread out over the
plains as rapidly as conditions of safety would warrant. Free grass
was tile rule, whether the lands belonged to individuals, to the school
fund or was public domain. Free grass was regarded as one of the
perquisites of the frontier. The small expense invoked and the good
prices prevailing up to 1882. made the cattle business as profitable as it
wa- attractive to a large element that natural!} gravitated to the
west The legislation recommended bj Governor Roberts, provid

FORT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 457

ing for the sale of the public and school lands, proceeded on the
assumption that it was better to sell them to cattle and land corpora
tions than to donate them to railroads. The rapidity with which the)
were seized surprised the warmest advocates of this policy. It was
never popular with the people who demanded that the lands he sold
to settlers.

Stockmen and Public Lands

"Next to the introduction of railroads," said Roberts, "barbed wire
has done the most to develop the agricultural and pastoral pursuits of
the state." As if by magic it transformed the open country of the
West into a series of pastures, and put a stop to settlement. The
very existence of those men was threatened who owned cattle hut no
lands. Small stock men generally fared little better. Sometimes the
only water holes in extensive dry areas were fenced in. In other cases
school lands and private lands were inclosed without the consent of
the owners. The first lease law enacted in 1883 proved more favor-
able to the large cattlemen than to the small ones and actual settler^.
The population divided into free grass and pasture men, — the former
representing free grass for the many, the latter free grass for the
few. Great bitterness arose between them, outbreaks of violence
occurred, developing finally into a mania for fence-cutting. Governor
Ireland regarded conditions so grave that he convened the Legisla-
ture in special session in January, 1884.

Fence-cutting was made punishable by imprisonment in the peni-
tentiary, but those who unlawfully enclosed public and private lands
were punishable by fine only.

Fence-cutting had some points in common with labor strikes.
Roth were due to oppressive conditions created in defiance of law.
In each case remedial measures were much more effective in dealing
with the aggrieved than with the aggressor. The punishment of the
fence-cutter was much easier than to compel the cattle companies to
take down their fences from around school and private lands, or even
to make them pay a just rental for their use. In an address delivered
in April, 1886, two vears after the above named law had been passed,
A. W. Terrell said,'

"I hold in my hand a map copied from one made by a grass
commissioner of the land board, which shows twenty counties of
the Panhandle in one block, wired in, every acre of them, in pas-
tures built generallv by corporations. Inside of those pastures
are millions of acres of unrented and unsold school land, which
are appropriated in defiance of law."
The chartering of cattle and land corporations was stopped in 1885
The refusal of the cattle corporations to pav "for the children's
grass" was deeply resented by those residing in the thickly settled
portion of the state. The Westerners, on the other hand, contended
that the lease law ought to be repealed, because it furnished to the
pasture men the chief support for their monopoly, and by so doing
placed an embargo upon the further settlement of the West. "You
have given one-half of this countrv (the West* to corporations for

458 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

building railroads, not one mile of which was ever built west of Fort
Worth. You have endowed your blind, lunatic and deaf asylums out
of the lands of that country and have given 3,000,000 acres to erect a
state capitol. and now you demand that the balance be leased out to
educate your children." (M. A. Spoonts' address to democratic state
convention, 1886.)

The building of pastures had much influence upon the cattle indus-
try. Retter control of the herd resulted iti improved stock. The
uncertainties of the range during drought or winter turned the atten-
tion of the stockmen to agriculture as a source for additional feed
supply. The ravages of Texas fever paved the way for live stock
sanitary regulations. As the cost of production increased the decline
of prices caused no little dissatisfaction among the stockmen. The
settlement of Kansas and Nebraska closed the "trails" over which
great droves of cattle had formerly been driven to market. The sub-
ject of railroad rates, and the combinations of packers to control prices
caused the cattlemen much worry. They readily joined the farmers
in their demands for regulation of freight rates and for anti-trust laws.

The Grange

The business of no other class of population in the South suffered
greater change through the war than the agricultural. The accumu-
lated savings of several generations of the planters were swept away
when the slaves were set free without compensation. The recent
immigrants as a rule were poor. In his address to the second annual
meeting of the Texas State Grange, 1874, Master W. W. Lang
described conditions in the following words:

"The planters of the state generally are in debt. * * *
Cotton planting for several years has been attended with actual
loss of money. The effort of the Southern agriculturists to
produce cotton to the exclusion of all other crops has brought
distress upon the country. It is a sad condition. The question
then comes to the planter with terrible earnestness: What shall
I do? Mow can I rid myself of the galling slaver.) of debt? One
of the primary purposes of the order of Patrons of Husbandry
was to bring the farmers to a cash basis— to buy for cash and to
sell for cash; it will be your duty to inaugurate some system
which will tend to aid the fanner to bring about this happy condi-
tion, and if you succeed in breaking up the great cotton monopol)
m our agricultural system b) diversifying our pursuits and filling
our storehouses with bread and provender for man and beast.
you will have accomplished a great blessing for our country.
Our tillers of the -oil have to unlearn man) habits of planting
under tin' system of slave labor; they have to forget they ever
wire planters and learn to be independent farmers."

lb. Texa State Grange was organized at Dallas, October 2, 1873.

Within two years after organization its membership was 40,000.

In 1884 tin membership was about 14,000, and thereafter it graduall)
declined through the rapid growth of the Farmers' Alliance, The
< "<r:iTv ■. rlid not originate in Texas as did the Farmers' Alliance and

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 459

the Farmers' Union. It had passed its experimental stage before
entering this state. Its advent marked a new era in farming. For
the first time Texas farmers banded themselves together to improve
their social, educational, and material condition. The activities of the
order included many matters non-political in their nature, but some
of the changes it sought to bring about required legislation and, there-
hue, involved more or less political activity.

To elevate the farmers "out of the old paths, where they have been
so long journeying," the lever of education was selected. The educa-
tional scheme embraced the entire farm population: for the adult the
Grange, for the youth the A. & M. College, and for the children the
public free schools. When the Grange was organized in this state the
free schools were viewed with little favor by many. In each annual
address from 1877 to 1890, the Master of the Texas State Grange
called attention to the public free schools and the A. & M. College.
The introduction of the principles of agriculture in the rural schools
was advocated from 1877 forward; more liberal support, local taxa-
tion, and longer school terms were also urged. For several years
after it was opened the A. & M. College gave little attention to agri-
culture and the mechanic arts. This condition the Grange deplored
and gave assistance in securing larger appropriations, until the school
became what its name implied. Farmers were urged to give their
'Oils the advantages it offered. A demonstration farm was suggested
in 1877, and an experiment farm was recommended the next year.
The need of a school where girls could be taught domestic science
and all arts that adorn the home was set forth in 1881 and kept on
the program thereafter.

"The Grange is our school, where we are to discuss all important
questions that affect the public welfare, and to the extent that we are
enlightened will intelligent action follow." A vigorous protest was
made against the levying of a tax on land and an additional tax on the
products arising from that land before such products had been placed
upon the market. A constitutional amendment, adopted in 1879,
exempted from taxation farm products in the hands of the producer.
Marketing farm products engaged much attention. The collection of
agricultural statistics for the information of the farmer, fraudulent
weights by cotton factors and others, the selection of public weighers,
and the prohibition of speculation in cotton futures were some of the
problems dealt with. The reduction of freight rates and the improve-
ment of Texas harbors were advocated manv years before important
results were obtained.

The one thing that loomed largest in the Granger's horizon was
the railroad. He wanted the railroad, but he wished to curb its
inroads on his profits. As early as 1875 complaint wras made about
"the fearful rate of freight we have to pay upon all the implements of
husbandry imported into this state." The farmers early put them-
selves on record as being opposed to profligate and greedy misman-
agement of railroads, and "to any and all efforts on their part to
control the legislation of the country, to influence the courts or to
override law and justice." Taking time by the forelock, a resolution

460 FORI WORTH AND HIT. TEXAS NORTHWEST

was adopted calling upon the constitutional convention to "insert a
clause in the constitution binding the Legislature to regulate the
charges of freight and tare on railroads." This was done, but it was
many years before any Legislature attempted to carry out this com-
mand. In his annual address in 1882, Master A. J. Rose said,

"The subject of regulating the charges of railroads by law has
been continually agitated by our organization from its early his-
tory. * * It took the initiative step against the tyranny of
Monopolies. * * * The constitution of Texas declares that
'the Legislature shall pass laws to correct abu.se> and prevent
unjust discrimination and extortion in the rates of freight anil
passenger tariffs on the different railroads of the state, and shall
from time to time pass laws establishing reasonable maximum
rates of charges for the transportation of passenger and freight
on said railroads, and enforce all such laws by adequate penal-
ties.' * * * Nearly seven years have expired since its adop-
tion and no law regulating freight charges as contemplated by
the constitution (has been passed). It is of common
occurrence for them to charge more lor a short haul than for a
long one, thereby damaging one section for the benefit of another,
and charge one citizen more for the same service rendered than
another."
Each year the Grange returned to this subject with greater earn-
estness. In 1884 a resolution was adopted, declaring "that the Texas
State Grange will not directly, nor through its officials, from this time
forward ask the railroads for any reduction of fare." Another resolu
tion stated that, "Believing it to be wrong and corrupting in its prac-
tice for any legislator or judge to accept free passes from railroad
corporations, we respectfully ask that our next Legislature pass a law
making it a high misdemeanor for any officer of any corporation to
offer, or for a judge or legislator to accept a free pass from any rail
road." In 1885 Master Rose said,

"Texas has given sixteen sections of land per mile for the con-
struction of her railroads. 'This land was the property of her citi
/.ens. which at present prices would more than build all the roads
in Texas. * * * Notwithstanding this they will bring freight
from points hundreds of miles beyond our border to the most
distant points in the slate for less than they will from one point
to another within the state. * * * 'The roads of the slate are
dependenl upon the farmers for an existence, and yet the farmers
cannot gel the advantages even equal to those who live out of
the state."
t ongress passed the interstate commerce commission law in 1887.

John II Reagan, the author, was a Texan and a member of the 'Texas
State Grange. 'The next year the order declared for a railroad com
mission for 'Texas.

Railroads, however, were not the sole cause for complaint by the
farmers, There wen- man) other subjects that received attention,

iking "i the existing agricultural depression, Master Rose in his
address, 1891, said:

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 461

"There are many things which contribute tu this depression,
viz: The contraction of the currency, the protective tariff, high
rates of interest, high salaries, unequal taxation, the surplus mid-
dlemen who stand between the producer, consumer and manufac-
turer, trusts that depress the markets of agricultural products
while in the hands of the producers, the credit and mortgage
system as now generally practiced, the thousands who live in idle-
ness at the expense of labor, the heavy outlay by farmers for
articles of consumption that could and should be raised at home —
these all help."

Farmers' Alliance

The Farmers' Alliance was started in Lampasas County, Texas,
in 1875, by a number of farmers as a defensive league against the
encroachments of land sharks.

"The history of the move, from its inception to 1886, was not
attended with much interest. It had grown by August, 1885, to
the number of about 700 sub-alliances, and had changed its
objects and workings until they resembled very closely those of
the present. From August, 1885, to August, 1886, a most pro-
digious growth was recorded; the increase was about 2,000 sub-
alliances. Among the reasons for this rapid growth, and probably
one of the more potent, was the fact that all other occupations were
either organized or were rapidly organizing, and the farming interest
was unable to cope with them unorganized. * * * Again, the
results of combination had reduced the price of all products the
farmer had to sell to such an extent that in many cases they would
not pay hirelings' wages. * * * The rule was that a year spent
in the most vigorous labor and rigid economy would, with good man-
agement, yield a bare subsistence, and in many cases it yielded less ;
and would finally result in a surrender of the farm to the mortgagee
merchant, and the addition of one more family to the army of
renters." (Annual address of President C. W. Macune, 1887.)
At the annual meeting of the State Farmers' Alliance at Cleburne,
August, 1886, the following demands of the state government were
adopted : The sale of all public and school lands in small tracts to actual
settlers on easy terms of payment ; taxation at market value of all lands
held for speculation by individuals and corporations ; prohibition of alien
ownership of land ; the prevention of dealing in futures of all agricul-
tural products; the removal of fences from public and school lands
unlawfully enclosed by cattle companies, syndicates or other corpora-
tions ; the enforcement by the attorney general of the payment of all
state and county taxes from corporations ; the assessment of railroad
property for taxation at an amount equivalent to that on which divi-
dends are based ; the regulation of freight rates, the prevention of re-
bates and pooling of freights ; and compelling corporations to pay their
employes according to contract in lawful money. These demands were
advocated with much fervor, and the Alliance grew with astounding
rapidity. By June. 1888, there were 3,673 sub-alliances, 143 county alli-
ances, with a membership of 225.000.

462 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Neither the Grange nor the Alliance were political parties, but they
exerted an influence on existing parties in the shaping of their platforms
and in the selection of their candidates. The discontent existing in poli-
tical rank- manifested itself by the appearance of a "third" party and
independent candidates. The republican party had a very small follow-
ing in this state, partly because of its bad record, but chiefly on account
of the measures supported by the national organization — contraction of
the currency, strengthening of the national banks and protection to man-
ufacturers— matters regarded as inimical to the prosperity of the South-
u est.

In 1878 W. W. Lang, who had been Master of the State Grange
since 1874. became a candidate for the democratic nomination of gov-
ernor, but was obliged to give way to a compromise candidate. The
Greenback party perfected a state organization in March, when a plat-
form was adopted which set out by saying, "Whereas both the old poli-
tical parties have [failed to give equal protection to every individual. |
have encouraged sectionalism, fostered monopoly and carried on a finan-
cial system so radically wrong as to pauperize the masses to support a
chosen few in idleness and luxury," therefore, this new party. In tin-
declaration of principles, after disposing of the financial measures, it
declared for equal taxation of property of individuals and corporations ;
universal manhood suffrage without property qualification; an efficient
system of public free schools; a graduated income tax; opposition to
grants of public land to railroads or to other corporations; efficiency and
economy in the administration of the government. At a convention,
held in August, candidates were nominated and the following additions
made to the platform: "We demand the passage of such laws as will
prevent all combinations, discriminations and granting of rebates by any
transportation companies, and compelling common carriers to furnish
the same facilities and perform the same service for the same price to
all men" O. M. Roberts, the democratic nominee for governor, and
the Texas congressman made a thorough campaign through North Texas.
where the Greenbackers were thought to be strongest. They polled
55.000 votes.

The Texas State Grange met at Austin in 1880. Governor Roberts
delivered an address before the farmers, and in other ways conciliated
them and invited their co operation. The Roberts' policy of retrench-
ment and reform was indorsed. The Greenback candidate received onlv
22.500 vol..

The Greenback platform of 1882 was the most sweeping of all in its
criticism. "We declare that the democratic party was put into power to
right the wrongs inflicted upon us by tin republican party, which wrongs
consisted in part in involving the state in debt and in granting enormous
subsidies to corporate monopolies. We declare that the democratic
party has betrayed its trust, It has doubled the debt. It has exempted
the lands of the International Railroad from taxation. * * * It has

II d land certificates to railroads, irrigating companies and pretended

canal i panics to the amounl of many million acres in excess of the

public domain. It has robbed the public school fund and our people of
homi ■ tablished gigantic land monopolies in our midst by granting to

FORT WORTH \ND rHE TEXAS NORTHWEST 463

four Chicago capitalists 3,000,000 acres of public domain to build a state
house. It has inaugurated a system of class legislation in favor of the
rich by refusing to sell the public domain in tracts less than 640 acres,
thus depriving her men of the opportunity to acquire homes in our state.
It has sold bonds at eight-five cents, and bought them back at $1.40. It
has persistently refused to exercise the constitutional prerogative of state
control over railroads. It has withdrawn from circulation in this state
over $1,500,000 and piled it up in the treasury as useless cash balance,
save for electioneering purposes, and at the same time has refused to
make the constitutional appropriation for the support of the public schools
upon the false plea of insufficient revenue. It refused to submit to a
vote of the people the question of prohibition, though petitioned to do so
by a large and respectable portion of the citizens of this state. * * *
Under a pretense of favoring the laboring men it has exempted from
taxation the cotton and sugar crops of the wealthy and at the same time
has taxed the mechanic's tools. In redisricting the state it resorted to
shameless and outrageous gerrymandering. * * * In short, the demo-
cratic party of Texas has ceased to be democratic, but has become a close
corporation run by and in the interest of a syndicate of machine poli-
ticians." No candidates for state offices were nominated, but the sup-
port of the party was pledged to independent candidates, endorsing the
above principles. The democrats trimmed their platform to meet some
of the charges. George W. Jones, the independent candidate for gov-
ernor, received 102.501 votes; Ireland, the democratic candidate, received
150,891 votes.

The democratic platform of 1884 showed even a greater desire to
take the wind out of the sails of their opponents and to meet the demands
for reform. It declared for a free ballot and a fair count; an efficient
system of public free schools ; leasing of the school lands until pur-
chased by actual settlers; greater protection for mechanics and laborers
through liens; limiting the amount of land owned by corporations and
the prevention of landed and other monopolies ; and for immediate regu-
lation of the transportation of freight by common carriers. The Green-
backers thereupon denounced the democratic platform "as being every-
thing to everybody and nothing to anybody." The vote in 1884 showed
that the Greenbackers had again lost ground, and thereafter this party
disappeared from Texas politics.

Political Issues and Reforms

The disappearance of the ( ireenback party after 1884 did not mean
that the causes of dissatisfaction with political conditions had been re-
moved. There were still more than 100,000 discontented, independent
voters in Texas. The phenomenal growth of the Farmers" Alliance and
the Knights of Labor during 1885 and 1886 promised to give greater
unity and effectiveness to the demands of the plain people. To the con-
sternation of politicians these organizations plunged into the campaign
of 1886 with the ardor of new converts. "These orders know their
strength, and knowing it will certainly take advantage of the power it
gives them." A prominent knight was quoted as saying, "It has been
demonstrated that strikes are failures ; we must try something else. You

4o4 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

may look for us at the ballot-box and in the primaries." An effort to
organize an anti-monopoly or people's party was made. A prohibition
party was formally launched. And within the democratic ranks numer-
ous candidates offered for the various offices. Candidates and news-
papers discussed the lease law, regulation of freight rates, control of
corporations and other practical, current state questions.

The legislature is the most important branch of our government.
Except where inhibited by the constitution, it^ wields the sovereign power
of the people. When impelled by the will of the people its acts can
produce the greatest good. In the House of Representatives of the
Twentieth Legislature more than one-half the membership served for the
tir-t time; the farmer element predominated and held the balance of
power. "The present legislature was elected as a reform body. The
people cried out against the politicians, and filled the lower house with
havseed." (Fort Worth Gazette.) The new governor and attorney
general, too, as their records soon showed, were the right men in these
offices at this time.

In his inaugural address Governor Ross said, "Probably no legisla-
ture was ever confronted by graver responsibilities. Those who study
the public affairs of our state, and consider the want of homogeneity in
its population, its industrial pursuits, business enterprises and social
sympathies are aware of the fact that it presents questions vastly more
complicated and embarrassing than any other state." The first question
to engross the attention of the legislature was the election of a United
States senator. Sam Bell Maxey, Ex-Governor Ireland, John H. Reagan
and A. \\ . Terrell were candidates. A^ a result of the thirtieth ballot
Reagan was chosen; his choice was regarded as peculiarly a victory for
the people. Of the measures enacted by the Twentieth Legislature,
mention should be made of the law prohibiting "dealing in futures in
cotton, grain, lard, any kind of meats or agricultural products, or cor-
poration stocks." The law regulating the sale and lease of school and
other public lands abolished the land board and vested the commissioner
of the general land office with the duties pertaining to this important
subject. This act greatly increased the power of this officer, and. since
the public lands were mostly located in the West, his administration has
been of especial interest to those identified with that section. To re-
move the complaint that tin- lease law prevented settlement, agricultural
land was not subject to lease and grazing land could onlv be leased if
not in immediate demand for purposes of actual settlement. Agricul-
tural land was sold to actual settlers only in quantities ranging from 160
to 640 acres. Grazing land might be purchased in quantities up to four
sections. One-fortieth of the purchase price was payable each year. No
land could be purchased by corporations. Foreign corporations before
beginning business in Texas were required to obtain a permit. Rail-
roads were required to give employees thirty days' notice of any intended
reduction of wages, to pay promptly to discharged employes the wages
due them, and all persons engaged in construction, repair or operation
of railroad property were given a prior lien upon such property for
wages due Railroads were required promptly to furnish shippers with
i ai and to interchange with connecting lines freight and passengers

FORT Wok II I AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 465

without delay or discrimination; consolidation of parallel or competing
lines was prohibited; and a joint resolution required the attorney general
at once to institute suit against all railroad companies and others for the
forfeiture and recovery of all lands and grants made to them by the
state, that had failed to comply with the law or the requirements in their
charters to alienate such lands. Among the constitutional amendments
submitted was one providing for state prohibition. Indicative of the,
spirit of the times are the following measures which the House of Rep-
resentatives passed, but which the Senate failed to pass: Bills prohibit-
ing pooling by railroad officials; prohibiting the watering of stocks and
bonds by railroad companies; prohibiting tire and marine insurance com-
panies from entering into combinations to fix rates in Texas, establish-
ing a railroad commission, and forbidding the use of free railroad trans-
portation by state, district and county officers. Thirty-two members of
the legislature, when the failure of these measures became clear, signed
a protest against the actions of their colleagues.

The constitutional amendments voted upon August 4, 1887, were
defeated. The one relating to prohibition created most excitement. "Its
discussion," said Ex-Governor Roberts, "produced the most exciting
political contest that had occurred in Texas for a number of years. It
enlisted in the canvass not only the habitual politicians, but also citizens
of every class, including preachers and women, both white and black.
The moral question involved in it stirred up society to its very founda-
tion with a greater manifestation of universal feeling and interest than
had ever occurred before in Texas. Nor were the exertions for victory
confined to public speaking. Those who supposed they had influence
exerted it in any way they could. It was not confined to the day of the
election, but the work went on day and night for more than three months
before. Those in favor of it argued that it was the right and duty of the
government as a police regulation to prevent the evil of intoxication with
all its destructive consequences. Those opposed to it argued that it was
a sumptuary provision that unjustly deprived the citizen of his liberty.
Indeed, it may be said that the arguments pro and con were multiform
and multitudinous, and neither side of the controversy was convinced by
the other. Still, like all other great commotions of society, it left an
impression that was not effaced in the struggle. There has been since
that time a large increase of local options adopted in counties and pre-
cincts in Texas for the discouragement of the use of intoxicants." (Com-
prehensive History of Texas. II, 268-69.) The prohibition amendment
was defeated by a vote of 129,270 for and 220,627 against it.

Nothing daunted by previous failures, those dissatisfied with Demo-
cratic administration in Texas determined to place their own candidates
in the field in 1888. The presidential campaign attracted much atten-
tion, and much of the criticism stirred up by the conduct of the national
Democratic party was used by the Independents in their attacks upon
the Democrats of Texas. Prohibitionists, Republicans, Union-labor and
Nonpartisans held conventions. Of the four the Nonpartisans, or Inde-
pendents, who claimed to represent the farmers, laborers and stockraisers.
appeared to be strongest, and they received the support of the other
three. The Democratic platform declared for laws restricting freight

466 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

charges of railways and express companies, and to prevent discrimina-
tinn in charges against any points within the state, for laws defining and
suppressing trusts, p< "d> and all illegal combinations in restraint of
trade, and for a deep water harbor on the coast of Texas. Ross and
Hogg were renominated by acclamation. The campaign "agitated the
entire state and stirred its people to the profoundest depths." but tin-
Independents were able to poll only 98,447 votes against the 250,338
casl for Ross.

The Twenty-first Legislature was the first to assemble in the mag
nificent new granite capitol. "The air is full of railroad legislation,"
reported a newspaper correspondent. "Nobody can tell what it will be
except that there will be a commission ; that much has been decided upon,
and unless it can be headed off in the Senate a railroad commission will
have charge of the transportation of freight in Texas before twelve more
moons." Governor Ross had become an active supporter of the measure.
\ legislative committee of the Farmers' Alliance worked for its passage.
The bill pas>ed the House February 21 by a vote of 66 to 25. Popular
interest was raised to an extraordinary pitch. The newspapers were
filled with interviews and discussions, tending mostly to show why tin-
lull should not become law. It was suggested that a committee be
appointed to investigate the working of such commissions in other states.
The improvement of a dee]) harbor on the coast of Texas, it was urged,
would regulate freight rates by placing water communication in com-
petition with tin- railways. It was claimed, loo. that so important a
subject as the creation of a railroad commission should be submitted to
a vote of the people. To all this the supporters of the measure replied.
"The bill now before the Senate, and that of two years ago. litis con-
tinually been under discussion in the lodge rooms of Grangers and
banners' Alliance. The farmers understand this question and nine
tenths of them demand its passage * * Kill the commission bill

and you murder the Democratic part) of the state, defeat the promises
of the party made from time to lime for years." (Senator Claiborne, in
Fort Worth Gazette, March 5. 1889.) \fter exhaustive debate the bill
was killed in the Senate, the fourth or fifth on this subject to suffer a
like fate.

The chief argument brought against the bill creating a railroad com-
mission was the- one alleging its unconstitutionality. The constitution

commanded the legislature to regulate railroads; it was maintained that
tin- legislature could nol delegate this power to a commission. An
amendment to the constitution removing this objection was. therefore,
submitted tO the voters for decision al the next general election. Other

important measures enacted bj the Twenty-first Legislature required
Texas railroads to keep their general offices and their shops at some point
on their lines in this state; another law defined conspiracies against trade
by combinations and trusts and prescribed penalties; a joint resolution
provided for a committee, to act with committees appointed by Kansas
.nid other states, to investigate the pork and beef trust, ami another reso
lution requested Texas representatives in congress to assist in procuring
, deep hai l>"i mi the coast i if Texas.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 467

Regulating Railroads

The submission <>f an amendment t<> the constitution on the subject
of regulating railroads transferred this subject from the legislative halls
to the political hustings. While the vote would not be taken until the
general election in November, both sides recognized that its fate de-
pended largely upon the action of the Democratic state convention. The
amendment, therefore, occupied a prominent place in the speeches of the
candidates for governor. Hogg in his opening speech cbampioned the
amendment ; he showed the urgent need for a commission with power
to make and enforce rates. What gave significance to Hogg's endorse-
ment above that of the other candidates who favored the amendment was
his official record and his personality. When Hogg was nominated attor-
ney general he was scarcely known outside of East Texas ; after he had
been in office six weeks he filed the first of a series of suits that made
bis name known and respected throughout the country ; when he quit
the office of attorney general he left it endowed with a record for service
in behalf of the people that has spurred the ambition of each of his suc-
cessors. He put out of business about forty "wild cat" fire insurance
companies that were operating in this state in violation of the law. He
compelled the railroad from Beaumont to Sabine Pass, which had sus-
pended operation, to reconstruct and equip its properties and resume
business. He enjoined the Texas Traffic Association, a pool that had
killed competition among Texas railroads, and brought about its dis-
solution. Attempts to revive the combination with headquarters outside
of Texas were successfully frustrated. Railroads were compelled to
return their general offices and shops to points on their lines within this
state, and their control by outside concerns was terminated. The East
Line and Red River Railroad was placed in the hands of a receiver for
abuses of its charter franchises; this was the first instance of the state
exercising such authority. He sued for and recovered lands from rail-
roads that had been obtained for turnouts, sidings and switches. These
various proceedings gave him a comprehensive knowledge of the abuses
practiced bv railroads, and- prepared him for advocating effectual meas-
ures for correcting them. As no other person in the state could have done,
he demolished the stock argument of corporation advocates that the rail-
roads should be regulated by law and not bv a commission, for he had
tried regulating them by law. Hogg was bent on enforcement of the
laws ; "they are but the commands of the people to their officers." Hf
was a man of the people, and they gave him their confidence and support

The Democratic state convention was controlled by delegates in-
structed for Hogg and the commission. The amendment was adopted,
and the law enacted in 1891 created one of the strongest commissions in
existence at that time. Many deemed its powers too radical. "The
great defect of our railroad laws generally." said Governor Roberts, "has
been the want of adequate and practicable remedies to enforce what is
legally required of them." The new Texas commission could not only
classify freight and fix the rates fur railroads and express companies,
but it was specially empowered to enforce the obedience of the railroads
John H. Reagan, United Stales senator, yielded to the urgent request of

468 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

i iovenior Hogg to accept the chairmanship of the commission. His
action in resigning a high office with a large salary to accept at a smaller
salary the much mere difficult and burdensome task of inaugurating the
new railroad commission was a fine act of patriotism. The commis-
sioners organized lune 10, 1891, and at once set to work to make equi-
table rates. In most cases the rates were reduced below those nominally
in force, for it was found that the railroads were allowing rebates and
special rates below their published rates. The beneficial results of regu-
lation were soon shown by greater activity in intra-state shipments, in
the ci instruction of mills and factories within the state and in better
prices for farm products.

Those who had opposed the creation of a railroad commission wen
not inclined to submit to its control without a contest. On April 30,
1892. the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, of Baltimore, filed suit in
the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Texas
against the railroad commissioners, etc., for the purpose of restraining
them from enforcing the rates established on the International and Great
Northern Railroad, because it was claimed these rates were so low that
they did not permit the road to earn operating expenses and interest on
the bonds and were, therefore, confiscatory. It also attacked the con-
stitutionality of the act creating the railroad commission. Similar suits
were brought bv five other roads. On August 22, 1892, the commission
was temporarily enjoined from enforcing its rates on the roads of the
plaintiffs. The suit was carried to the Supreme Court of the United
States and the constitutionality of the Texas railroad commission law-
was fullv sustained, but the enforcement of the rates already estab-
lished was enjoined.

During the year and a half that the work of the commission was at
a standstill, the railroads increased their rates, practiced the abuses in
which they had formerly indulged and once more demonstrated to the
people of Texas the ureal desirability of adequate railroad regulation.

While the constitutionality of the commission law was pending in
the courts, it was assailed from another quarter. Under the ostensible
plea that the vigorous enforcement of the laws and the advocacy of new
measures fur the control of corporate business had crippled business.
frightened awa\ capital and checked immigration, the transportation,
commercial and financial interests in the Democratic party organized in
prevent Hogg's re election. Judge ('lark, who had led the fight against
the adoption of the commission amendment, was selected to lead their
cause. The supporters of Governor Hogg at once branded the scheme
as an attempt to overthrow the commission, and the campaign again was
waged on this issue. The ("lark forces denied that they planned in
abolish the commission, bui advocated popular election of commissioners
to be "clothed with such constitutional powers as may be requisite Foi
the protection of the people against injustice and extortion." The new
Populist party also declared for an elective commission. The friends of
the existing law pointed out that the election every two years of a new
commission would not onlv seriously handicap ibis bodv, but would be
onstanl temptation for the railroads to enter into politics. They were
willing to make the commission elective, if the term- of the commis

FORT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 469

sioners were extended to six years and only one commissioner chosen
at each biennial election. I logg was renominated. An amendment to
the constitution, extending the term of railroad commissioners to six
years, was submitted in 1893 and adopted at the next general election.

"There can be but little doubt that the most important results achieved
by the state through the work of the railroad commission have been the
almost complete abolition of discriminations between persons and places,
and of the fluctuations in rates due to competition and rate wars. Steady
and uniform rates are far more essential to the business community than
low rates, and these two qualities have been secured in larger measure
as a result of the commission's work." (Potts' Railroad Transportation
in Texas, 172.) The prevention of discrimination was exceedingly dif-
ficult, and was accomplished by providing the commission with liberal
funds with which to prosecute investigations and suits for violations of
law and finally by the passage of an act in 1899 prescribing a penalty
of from two to five years in the penitentiary for any railroad official
who should be found guilty of granting rebates or unjust discrimina-
tions. The most tenacious form of discrimination to succumb was the
free pass evil. Denounced for more than twenty-five years, it was not
stamped out until the act of 1907 largely suppressed it.

Intimately connected with the subject of fixing freight rates was that
of controlling the capitalization of railroads. "Next to the commission,"
said Governor Hogg, "I regard the regulation of the issuance of stocks
and bonds by railway companies as the most important question affect-
ing public interests * * * The railways of this state * * * Have
outstanding against them $455,250,744 in stocks and bonds, or an amount
[equal to] more than one-half the assessed valuation of all the property
within the state, including the railways themselves." He showed that the
railroads were rendered for taxation at a valuation of only $63,000,000
or less by $392,000,000 than the amount of their indebtedness. For the
past seven years the railroads had increased their obligations on an
average of $30,000,000 annually. The railroads claimed a right to earn-
ings sufficient to cover all their expenses and interest on their indebted-
ness. The courts sustained their contention. The result was that the
people of Texas were confronted with the unwelcome prospect of pay-
ing the interest on a huge debt created in violation of the constitution for
the benefit of railroad manipulators. "If a man attempts to impose an
obligation on another in writing without his consent, he is guilty of
forgery and subject to imprisonment in the penitentiary * * * What
is the difference in principle distinguishing such an act from one where
a corporation in fact imposes upon and makes the public pay millions it
does not owe?" The enactment of a stock and bond law was an issue
in the Hogg-Clark campaign. The platform of 1892 demanded its en-
actment. Governor Hogg urged the same upon the legislature that
assembled in 1893, saying "fictitious bonds are not capital nor the rep-
resentatives of capital ; they are the fruits of crime." The law enacted
empowered the railroad commission to ascertain the value of every rail-
road in the state. The values thus ascertained were to form the basis
for all future issues of stocks and bonds, and no other indebtedness
secured by lien or mortgage on a company's property could be issued in

470 l-OKT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

excess of these values. The railroad commission was given ample power
to give effect to these provisions, each bond having to pass through it >
hands and to be registered by the secretary of state to be valid. The
fixing of the values of the railroads, of course, forms the crux of this
measure. Values increase and decrease : the railroad commission has
adhered to its original valuations. With the advance in values railroads
have clamored for revaluations. Since the indebtedness on railroads
already built, when the commission's valuations were made, exceeded by
far their real value and which the commission had no power to reduce.
any increase in their properties has served to establish a more equitable
ratio between value and outstanding securities. The stock and bond law
"has not only stopped the increase of fictitious stocks and bonds, but has
actually resulted in a decrease in the average amount of the outstanding
securities per mile of line. This result is worthy of remark in view of
the fact that the last twenty years have seen a marked increase of the
outstanding capitalization cm the other railroads in the Inked States.
The average amount of capital stock per mile of line in Texas has been
reduced from $15,000 in 1894, to $8,400 in 1913, or a decrease of more
than forty-four per cent. The bonded indebtedness per mile of line has
been reduced from $25,700 per mile to $23,200, or a decrease in the
mortgage debt of nearly ten per cent. The total amount of both stocks
and bonds has been reduced from $40,800 in 1894, to $31,600 in 1913,
or a reduction of more than twenty-two per cent." (C. S. Potts, in The
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, May,
1914, p. 164-65.)

Closely related to the effort to control the indebtedness of railroad
corporations was the law regulating and restricting the issuance of bonds
by counties, cities and towns. A number of counties and cities had con
toted the validity of their bonds: thereby innocent purchasers were sub
jected to expensive and tedious legislation, and stains of fraud were cast
upon securities bearing the name of Texas. A law was enacted which
provides that bonds can he issued upon following conditions only: the
levying of an annual tax sufficient to pay interest and create a sinking
fund, rate of interest not to exceed six per cent, and term of the bonds
not to exceed forty years. The attorney general must examine each pro-
posed issue of bonds to ascertain whether these conditions have been
observed, and the comptroller must register the bonds in bis office. When
these requirements have been observed, the validity of bonds cannot In-
called in question. A large portion of the permanent school fund is
invested in bonds of cities and counties; but the law was broader in its
bearing than securing this fund against loss; careful scrutiny tends to
reduce extravagance, undoubted validity made possible a low rate of
interest and has gained for Texas securities an enviable reputation in the
markets of the world.

Land < >w nersh ip

"There is a land famine in most of the old world and in many sec
tions of the new. In the natural drift of affair- it may reach Texas
within the next generation, Nothing can so readily precipitate it as the
land corporation." (Governor Hogg's message to the Twenty-third

islature.) Land corporations at tint time owned about forty million

FORT WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 471

acres, or one-fourth of all the land in Texas. An act was passed de-
claring the unrestricted ownership of land by private corporations a per
petnity, and therefore prohibited by the constitution. The chartering of
land corporations had been prohibited since 1885, but foreign corpora-
tions were still permitted to acquire lands in this state. Further acquisi-
tion or ownership of land by land corporations was prohibited, except
in payment of debts due. The lands then owned were required to be
sold within fifteen years, and those that might be acquired in payment
of debt must be sold within fifteen years after such acquisition. No
corporation is permitted to hold more land than is necessary to enable
such corporation to do the business for which it was chartered in this
state. Lands in excess of such purposes acquired in the collection of
debt or otherwise must be sold in good faith within fifteen years after
their acquisition. To enforce this act provision was made for selling
the lands of refractory corporations bv judicial proceedings. Corpora-
tions for the lease, purchase, sale of subdivisions of land within incor-
porated towns and cities and their suburbs are not included in the terms
of this act.

A second act dealt with the subject of alien ownership of land in this
state. It provided that from that time forward no alien or person who
is not a resident of the United States shall acquire title to or own any
land in this state, except in the ordinary course of justice in the collec-
tion of debts. The law did not prohibit the acquiring of liens or the
lending of money and the securing of the same upon real estate. Aliens
owning land in Texas were permitted to retain possession, but as soon
as these lands changed ownership this act became operative. Aliens who
acquired land subsequent to the passage of this law were allowed ten
years within which to sell the same. In case of failure to sell, provision
was made for sale through judicial procedure. The law in its terms
applies only to rural property. It expressly permits aliens upon equal
terms with all other persons to hold lots or parcels of land in incor-
porated towns and cities.

Amendments to the constitution were adopted in 1891 which sub-
stantially replaced Article V, creating the judicial department. Begin-
ning with Governor Coke each governor had recommended reform of
the judiciary. The new article finally accomplished a reform. In many
respects the present organization of the judiciary, no doubt, is superior
to the one discarded, but there is still much complaint upon the heads
of prompt and business-like dispatch of cases and the cost attending
suits. Not only was the reform of the judiciary noteworthy, hut the
judges that were selected were men of exceptional probity and learning ;
a number of them, after a lapse of twenty years, were still members of
the courts to which they were originally chosen, and others stood at their
posts until they responded to the summons from beyond. The higher
courts of the state were manned by judges in sympathy with the reforms
then making, and presented a wide contrast to the federal judges then
in Texas, whose freedom in granting injunctions and declaring state
laws unconstitutional occasioned the recommendations, that life tenure
be abolished, which appeared in successive Democratic platforms about
this time.

Veil.. II ::

472 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Summing up the results of the reforms of his administration Gover-
nor Hogg said, recently the foundations of the state "have been relaid
strongly, securely, to the end that the sovereign people may maintain,
control and operate their governmental affairs at the lightest expense,
without menace from any source." In an address before the Texas
House of Representatives, January, 1897, YY. J. Bryan said, "I have
been gratified the better acquainted I have become with the laws to know-
that in the matter of securing just and efficient laws the state of Texas
is taking the lead among the states of the Union. In fact, I doubt if
any state in the Union has reached a more advanced position on the
question of corporation law — in the regulation of these great corpora-
tions, which to a great extent are doing the work of the country."
i House Journal. 1897, p. 123.) Senator Culberson, in a speech at Dallas.
October. 1912, pointed out that, instead of originating in certain Repub-
lican states, notably in Wisconsin, "this progressive movement began in
the Democratic state of Texas under the leadership of James S. Hogg
ten years before La Follette was governor of Wisconsin and while Roose-
vell was police commissioner of the City of New York.

"This movement took form in Texas in 1890, when corporate
and selfish interests here were beginning to be more powerful than
was consistent with the general welfare, and which, had the}- not
been promptly curbed, would finally have placed this state under a
corporate rapacity as insatiable and oppressive as that which pre-
vails in California and Pennsylvania. * * *

"The purpose in Texas then was not to replace a representative
with a pure Democracy, not to govern by the people in mass rather
than by their chosen representatives, but to make representative
government more efficient and more truly representative of the
whole people, and to regulate and hold in check corporations which
were levying unrestrained tribute upon the people." (Dallas News,
October 19, 1912.)

Hogg-Clark Campaign

The period of reform was marked by extraordinary political activity.
The Hogg-Clark campaign of 1892, with its mottoes of "Hogg and the
I ommission" and "Turn Texas Loose," was in many respects the most
remarkable contest the state ever witnessed. Public interest in the elec-
tion was universal and popular feeling in certain localities approached
closely to partisan fury. The contest ended in a split of the Democratic
state convention into two factions — a progressive Democracv led by
Hogg and a conservative Democracy led by Clark. The silver question,
although a national issue, strengthened the breach. During this year
the I'opulist party entered the lists in this state; it was skillfully led and
drew a large support to its declaration of principles and proposed
reforms. Many were dissatisfied with the monopolistic tendencies of
the national Democratic party and with the domination by a political
machine of the party at home. The contest between Hogg and Clark
arrayed the machine forces OH one side and the plain people on the other
Hogg received 100.481, votes, Clark 133,395 and Nugenl 108,483. The
Democratii victory, however, did not cheek the growth of the I'opulist

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 473

party, notwithstanding that many of the reform measures received their
hearty endorsement. (The Life Work of Thomas L. Nugent, 204.)
The Pullman strike, which extended to this state, and President Cleve-
land's high-handed method of dealing with it caused much dissatisfac-
tion. Cleveland's anti-silver policy, the panic of 1893, resulting in
monetary stringency, falling prices and low wages, vexed and distressed
the people, leaving them little to hope for in the future in the way of
relief from existing unhappy conditions should the Democrats continue
in power. The campaign of 1894 promised to be a severe test of the
Democratic party's strength in Texas. \n March peace was made be-
tween the Hogg and Clark factions at a harmony meeting held for that
purpose. Among the candidates for governor were Charles A. Culber-
son, John H. Reagan, John D. McCall and S. W. T. Lanham — all prom-
inent, capable, "free-silver" men.

When Hogg entered the race for governor in 1890, he was deeply
interested in the choice of an attorney general who would conduct the
office along lines in harmony with his own policies. It was partly at his
suggestion that Culberson entered the race, and the latter conducted
the office with eminent ability as well as fidelity to the policies of Gov-
ernor Hogg. The race nevertheless was very close; a short time before
the convention the governor openly supported the attorney general; still
a "deadlock" seemed in prospect for the convention. To avoid this con-
tingency, a resolution was offered to abolish the two-thirds rule in mak-
ing nominations, and after much debate it was adopted by a vote of
481 to 374. The two-thirds rule had been strictly adhered to in this
state from the earliest conventions, but its abolition was followed by
another resolution "that hereafter the relative strength of each candi-
date in the several counties shall be allowed to be represented in the state
convention." With the party machinery then in use this suggestion was
impracticable. The platform, however, demanded the enactment of a
primary election law, and the one passed in 1905 gives to each candidate
the benefit of every vote cast for him in determining his standing before
the state convention. This provision has greatly increased the impor-
tance of the individual voter and proportionately minimized the im-
portance of the convention. Culberson received the nomination, but was
furnished a platform which declared against "free silver." He had
expressed his views upon this subject before his nomination, and did not
alter them afterwards; it was purely a national question, but the dissatis-
faction of the gold Democrats was increased nevertheless. The election
resulted in 207,167 votes for Culberson and 152,731 for Nugent. The
state's finances and the condition of the country made economy impera-
tive; important reductions were made in official fees. A voluntary arbi-
tration law. a fellow-servants act, and the first primary election law-
were passed. The anti-trust law was amended so that it became the
strongest in the Union. The first text-book law in this state was en-
acted. Frequent changes in the text-books in use and the exorbitant
price charged for them had long made such legislation desirable. Im-
provements in successive acts have made the one passed in 1911 one of
the best to be found upon this subject. Rut the able and progressive
character of his administration did not forestall the necessity of making

474 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

a strenuous campaign for re-election. He received 298,528 votes and
Jerome C. Kearby, the Populist candidate, 238,692 votes — the largest
vote ever polled against the Democratic party in Texas; it was also the
last formidable opposition offered ; each succeeding election has shown
a decrease in the total vote of opposing parties. In his second inaugural
Governor Culberson >aid, "The campaign through which we have just
passed was the most virulent and vindictive in our history. * * * To
have passed uninjured in character through that storm of malice and
hate and political depravity and received decisive expression of the faith
of a great people is to me unpurchasable and priceless. * * * But
above personal indorsement and vindication is the distinctive triumph
here of the great party to which most of us belong, and the assurance of
good government for the state. Whether the one shall be enduring and
the other perpetuated through that agency may be influenced by your
deliberations. Broadly speaking, what is demanded to further these
results is that we act uprightly with the people. Not a single promise
of legislation which we have made should go unredeemed, and no sub-
stantial public interest be disregarded. In a still larger and nobler sense,
the ambition of all should be the advancement and the grandeur of
Texas. Glorious in her infancy, rich in her later memories, splendid in
her present achievement, and limitless in promise and in future, she offers
exhaustless material for the betterment of mankind and the building of
a mighty commonwealth."

CHAPTER XXXV
MEN AND MEASURES

The following chapter, devoted to the political events in Texas,
from the redemption of the State from "Carpet Bag and Scallawag" rule
down to the present, will deal with "Men" with such incidental reference
to "Measures" as are deemed necessary to properly record the activities
of those who assayed to direct the destiny of the State from a political
standpoint.

The overwhelming majority of the democratic party was calculated
to make aspirants to place and power indifferent to preconvention and
pre-election promises made, either by the candidates or convention plat-
forms.

A story told of a colloquy between the conductor of a railway train
and a passenger illustrates the attitude of many candidates. The con-
ductor is said to have remonstrated with the passenger for standing
on the platform of the car. The passenger asserted that "platforms
were made to stand on ;" the conductor retorted : "No, they are made
to get in on." This theory has been adopted by many candidates in recent
years ; elected and inducted into office, they forgot, or purposely ignored,
every promise made prior to election. This is not true of all, but of
many ; and serves to illustrate the evil effect of a majority, which makes
the "nomination equivalent to election."

There are some sidelights on the deliberations and actions of political
conventions, which should be interesting to those who participated and
in a measure instructive to the general reader.

The first Democratic State Convention held in Texas assembled in
the City of Waco in May, 1857.

It was called to order by John Marshall of Travis County, the Chair-
man of the State Executive Committee. M. D. Rector of Rusk County
was made temporary Chairman and R. T. Brownrigg of Travis County
temporary Secretary, Thomas P. Ochiltree and A. B. Burleson Sergeants
at arms.

One hundred and seven counties were represented by delegates ; there
was a contested delegation from Tarrant County, from Birdville and
Fort Worth respectively, the contest growing out of the rivalry caused
by the contest for the location of the County Seat which was then being
waged. The delegation from Fort Worth was seated and J. R. Wallace
of the Birdville delegation given a seat by courtesy.

The platform, among other planks, favored the right of the owners
of slaves into Free Territory, and the doctrine of State Rights was
asserted in the following language :

"Resolved that the Federal Government is one of limited power
derived solely from the Constitution, and the grants of power made
therein ought to be strictly construed by all departments and agents of
the Government, and that it is dangerous to exercise doubtful Consti-
tutional powers."

Jim Wells of Brownsville and James \\ . Throckmorton of Collin
County were members of the Convention, as was George W. Jones of

475

476 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

\\ illiamson County, who afterwards strayed into the Greenback Camp.
Jones was elected to Congress during the "Greenback" controversy and
was several times an unsuccessful candidate for Governor on that ticket.

F. K. Lubbock, the candidate for Lieutenant Governor, served on the
staff of President Davis of the Confederate Government and was State
Treasurer for three successive years. Ochiltree went over to the repub-
lican party after the war and was a member of Congress for one term
and was made United States Marshal during the Administration of
Presidenl Grant.

The first democratic convention of more than ordinary interest was
held at Austin, July 17, 1878. It met in an unfinished building known
as the Millet Opera House. The floors of the building had not been laid,
and the delegates, some 1,500 in number, occupied seats made of rough
planks laid on empty beer kegs, two or three feet below the level of the
street. A July sun shone in upon this mass of humanity, making ii about
as uncomfortable as could be imagined.

The candidates for the nomination were Richard B. Hubbard, then
i M'vernor of the State ; J. W. Throckmorton of Collin County and W. W.
Lang of Falls County.

The delegates supporting Hubbard being in the majority, a temporary
organization was perfected by the election of W. S. Herndon of Smith
County as Chairman and B. B. Paddock of Tarrant County as Secretary,

The report of the committee on credentials developed the fact that
un a roll call by the counties the Throckmorton delegates were in majority
and a permanent organization resulted in the election of M. 1). K. Taylor
of Marion for I 'resident and John Bookhout of Dallas County for Sec-
retary

The customary two-thirds rule was adopted, and after preliminary
matters were disposed of balloting commenced, which developed that
Hubbard was in the majority but did not have the necessary two-thirds.
The balloting continued for several days without any marked change in
the result. About the third day Throckmorton was withdrawn and his
supporters cast their votes for \Y. W. Lang, demonstrating the assertion
made in the opening paragraph that men rather than measures dictated
and controlled political action. In the canvass preceding the convention.
Mr. Lang had denounced the democratic party in the most violent and
unmeasured terms, and yet men claiming to he democrats cast their vote
for him as a candidate for the highest office within the gift of the Stale.

Lang was no more successful than Throckmorton. Hubbard still
maintained a majority hut not the necessary two-thirds. Lang was
then withdrawn and Thomas J, Devine of Beaux County was placed
in nomination, bul was no more successful than (he two preceding can
didates had hern. < In the fifth daw it having become evident that Hub-
bard could not get a two-third vote and no one a two-third vote against
him. it was ordered that a committee of thirty two he appointed, sixteen
from each of the adherents of Hubbard and Throckmorton, who wen

i" select a candidate and report its findings to the convention,

I In convention adjourned to allow the committee time to deliberate,

and anothei da) was consumed before it reached a conclusion. The com
mittee met with thirt) members present, and on the firsl ballot |obn II

FORT WORTH \.\'l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 477

Reagan received fifteen votes, \\ . P. Ballinger of Galveston, two votes,
John Ireland, five votes, R. Q. Mills of Navarro, three votes, O. M.
Roberts of Smith and Charles Stewart of Harris, one vote each.

None of these men were candidates. The second ballot was nearly
the same. In the meantime the two absent members of the committee.
W. W. Walton and Wills Thompson, came in, and on the fourth ballot
Roberts received eighteen votes, Reagan thirteen and Mills one, giving
Roberts the necessary majority.

The members of the committee reported to their respective cau-
cusses, which endorsed their action and so reported to the convention.
The report of the committee was approved by the convention, and it
then proceeded to the nomination of the rest of the State ticket. Joseph
D. Sayers was nominated for Lieutenant Governor.

The usual democratic platform, as expressed by the national dem-
ocratic convention of 1876. declaring in favor of a sound currency
and reform in administration of the national government, was adopted ;
that the State debt must not be increased, taxes must be reduced, expenses
not to exceed the revenue, the frontier protected, laws rigorously-
enforced, public free schools maintained and convicts worked inside the
walls of the penitentiary instead of being hired to the railroads and other
large employers of labor.

The Greenback party, which had begun to assume some prominence
in the State, nominated as its candidate for governor W. H. Hamman
of Robertson County; for Lieutenant Governor J. S. Rains.

The Republicans put in nomination A. B. Norton of Dallas County.
At the election in November Roberts received 158.933 votes. Hamman
55,602 votes and Norton 23,402 votes.

Governor Roberts' administration was eminently satisfactory. He
adopted as his slogan "Pay as you go" and set his face sternly against
every attempt to make expenditures in excess of the revenue. To him
also was accredited the statement that "Civilization begins and ends with
the plow."

In 1880 many of the men who went down in defeat with Hubbard
endeavored to prevent the nomination of Roberts for a second term.
The convention met in Dallas in July. The candidates were O. M.
Roberts and J. D. Sayers, governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.

Many people differed with Governor Roberts in regard to certain
features of his policy. There was also another element of influence
which had begun to affect public sentiment ; this was known as the "Young
Democracy," which assayed to claim recognition as being more progress-
ive in its policy of government than the older men of the party. They
advocated the nomination of Lieutenant Governor Joseph D. Sayers, but
the first ballot demonstrated that they were in a hopeless minority, and
Roberts was nominated on the first ballot.

L. J. Story of Caldwell County was nominated for lieutenant gov-
ernor. In that year E. J. Davis was the Republican candidate and W. H.
Haman candidate of the Greenback party. In the election which fol-
lowed O. M. Roberts received 166,001 votes; E. J. Davis. 64,382 and
W. H. Haman, 33,721 votes. The second administration of Governor
Roberts was productive of much constructive legislation. During that

47S FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

term the State University was founded, and one million acres of the
public domain of the State was set aside for a permanent University
fund.

On November 9. 1881. the State Capitol was destroyed by fire,
destroying practically all of the records of the State. A special session of
tin- Legislature was called, which held its sessions in the Millet Opera
House, the House of Representatives occupying the main auditorium and
the Senate an adjacent hall. During this session a contract was entered
into with a syndicate of Chicago capitalists, headed by Mr. I. B. Farwell
and others, for the construction of a capital building upon plans and speci-
fications submitted, for which they were to receive as full compensation
three million acres of land in the Panhandle of Texas adjacent to the
border of New Mexico. The land, at this time, was thought to be worth
about fifty cents an acre. The Capitol building was reported to have cost
the syndicate around $3,500,000, so that the contract was considered
favorable for the State. In the meantime a temporary Capitol was erected
on land provided by the City of Austin adjacent to the Capitol grounds,
which served until the new building was completed in 1888. The corner-
stone of the new Capitol building was laid with imposing ceremonies on
Independence day, March 29, 1885. and the building dedicated on May
1(>, 1888. The following particulars of the dedication ceremonies are
taken from Wooten's History of Texas: "Public notice had been given
of the occasion, and preparations had been made for it. The people —
men, women and children — came from all parts of the State to the num-
ber, as estimated at the time, of from eight to ten thousand, who, upon
their arrival upon the capitol grounds, beheld, to the astonishment and ad-
miration of most of them, the magnificent granite structure, with its great
expanse spreading out on Capitol Hill, 560 feet in length and 274 feet
in width, with its body of granite blocks and ornamented pilasters loom-
ing up from its surrounding paved walk, three high stories surmounted by
;i dome patterned after that of St. Peter's at Rome, with the Goddess of
liberty on the top. holding aloft the five-pointed Texas star, ,512 feet high.
There it stood, the representative of Texas in its immense proportions,
the representative of Texas in the materials of its construction; the rep-
resentative of Texas in its large and increasing population ; the representa-
tive of Texas in the commemoration of the early Texans whose valor
and intellect acquired the three millions of acres of land that paid for its
erection ; the representative of Texas in the conception of its people of the
day, to fasten together the four corners of Texas in an inseparable union
in all time to come; the representative of Texas as the State's domicile,
where its wise men shall meet and consult for fostering the interests and
protecting the rights and liberties of all of its people. In anticipation of
the occasion, and to do honor to it, a memorable incident in the history
of Texas — there had been appointed a public military drill, for which
suitable ground had been prepared near the city. It was attended by
officers and soldiers of the United Slates army and a large number of
militia companies of Texas. The Masonic fraternity had also furnished
members of its body to do honor to the occasion, and they, with the bodies
of military troops, formed in a procession to march to the capitol in the
following order : The mounted police, the Masonic Grand Commander)

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 47')

and Grand Lodge of Masons, Colonel Smith'.- Nineteenth United States
Infantry and band, battery of United States Artillery, United States Cav-
alry, Galveston Rand, Adjutant-General King and staff and a number
of companies of the State militia. At the entrance of the capitol grounds
Governor Ross, General Stanley and General Mexia of Mexico received
the procession, which proceeded to and around the capitol ; the body of
Masons leaving it, proceeded to the stand in the south front of the build-
ing, where, under a broad high arch, were seated Governor Ross, General
Stanley of the United States army. General Mexia of Mexico, General
Benavides of Laredo, Texas, the speakers of the day; Hon. A. W. Ter-
rell, Hon. Temple Houston and Col. Abner Taylor, the contractor for
the building of the capitol, the Texas Veteran Association, the executive
officers and other distinguished citizens, including three ex-governors and
officers of the Legislature. This great concourse of people was a minia-
ture embodiment of all the people of Texas assembled to dedicate their
capitol, that should stand through countless ages an honor to all of the
people that have lived and were living in Texas up to that good day — the
16th of May, 1888 — and a bounteous gift to future generations for their
use. All of them were anxiously awaiting the commencement of the
ceremony when Governor Ross arose and introduced the Rev. J. C.
Woolam, a veteran preacher and a veteran soldier of 1836, who offered
an impressive prayer. Then Governor Ross, with all the pride of an old
Texan and of presiding at the head of the government on this grand
occasion and with a countenance beaming with the delightful conception
of it, delivered an eloquent and feeling address. Hon. A. W. Terrell,
in his happy style, traced the history of Texas from its infancy as a known
country, through its trials and hardships, through its great achievements
in the council and in the field of battle, through its social and industrial
progress, from its small beginnings to a magnificent and extensive pros-
perity, inhabited by a people with nerve and enterprise equal to the task
of its development. At the close of his address Hon. Temple Houston
was introduced. He was the youngest son of the soldier and statesman
who had led the old Texans in the battle that made the Texas star on the
top of the capitol the emblem of Texas liberty and independence. The
very sight of him, with the announcement of his name and parentage,
brought a joyful memory of the past to the minds of the veterans present.
He delivered a finished and appropriate address. Col. Abner Taylor,
being introduced, addressed the people, congratulated them upon having
the most elegant capitol (with possibly one exception I of any state
in the Union, that had been most cheaply obtained without taxing
the people for it, and expressing his personal gratification at having car-
ried the work through to a successful completion. After the audience
was notified of the close of the ceremony, there were many glad greetings
of old acquaintances and friends thus brought together, as they gradually
dispersed and left the building.

"The portraits of the presidents and governors of Texas, painted by
Mr. William H. Huddle, a young man who was raised in Northern Texas,
were purchased by the state, by an act of the Legislature of May 20, 1888,
He also painted the large picture which hangs in the front corridor of the
Capitol, representing the scene after the battle of San Jacinto, when

180

FORT WmKTII AND THE TEXAS XORTHWLST

President Santa Anna was brought into the Texas camp a prisoner, and
also a portrait of Davy Crockett, which were also purchased by the State.
The portraits of the presidents and governors are hung up in the library
of the Supreme Court, in the north room of the second story of the
building."

During the second administration of Governor Roberts, disposition
was made of nearly all of the public lands, the title of which remained in
the State. Two million acres were equally divided between schools and
the university and its branches ; the mineral in lands belonging to the
school fund, and other funds were reserved to the State ; a State
Land Board was created, consisting of the Governor. Attorney General.
Treasurer, Comptroller and Commissioner of the general land office to
have charge of the sale and leasing of all land surveyed, or to be here-

Texas Wheat Field

aftei surveyed for tin- Common Schools, University, the Lunatic, Blind.
Deaf and Dumb and Orphan Asylums funds, with general power for the
management, sale and leasing of these lands. The minimum price fixed
for the sale of tin- land was two dollars per acre, to be paid in thirty
equal installments; five dollars per acre for land with timber, and three
dollars for land with water.

The amount that might be sold to each person was limited to one sec-
tion for land sold as agricultural or watered land and in seven sections of
unwatered pasture land-. It was provided that pasture lands not dm
bered might be leased in quantities for stock and ranch purposes for not
less than four cent- per acre per annum, and for periods not exceeding
ten years; a league ami labor of land, which was equivalent to about 4,400
acres, was sel aside for the school fund of unorganized counties which bad
nut theretofore received any portion of the public domain,

The land commissioners pul a larger price on the lands than the mini
mum price fixed b\ the Legislature, Dry land- were placed at eight cents

an i<" ind watered land- at twent) cent- per acre. This caused no little

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 481

disturbance throughout the unsettled portion of Texas, the ranchmen
declining to pay what they considered an exhorbitant price, preferring to
take their chances for "free grass" until such time as the land was taken
up by the actual settlers, which to them seemed very remote.

The inauguration of the University of Texas also occurred during
the latter year of Governor Roberts' administration.

Among the disturbing incidents of the times was "fence cutting." The
ranchmen, having enclosed large bodies of the public domain to which
they had no title, were greatly annoyed and put to great expense by men
who resented their action and showed their resentment by cutting the
wire fencing, and the ranchmen, by their long use of other people's lands
for grazing their stock, conceived that they had a vested right in the grass
on these lands. It therefore became necessary to provide greater penal-
ties to arrest the evil that had grown up, and Governor Roberts' successor,
soon after his inauguration, convened a special session of the Legislature
for that purpose.

The next convention was held at Galveston in June, 1882. At this
time it seemed that there were vers' few aspirants for the office of gov-
ernor, and it was handed to John Ireland of Guadalupe, almost by de-
fault. Marion Martin of Navarro was nominated for lieutenant governor.

By this time the Greenback party was developing more strength,
and it nominated George W. Jones of Bastrop County for governor,
E. W. Morton of Tarrant County for lieutenant governor. J. B. Robert-
son was nominated for governor, with Andrew Young for lieutenant
governor, the latter being on the Prohibition-Union Labor ticket. At
the ensuing election Ireland received 150,809 votes, Jones 102,501 and
Robertson, 19,334 votes. Following a democratic custom Ireland was
renominated in 1884 with Barnett Gibbs of Dallas for lieutenant governor.

George W. Jones ran again on the Greenback ticket and A. B. Norton
of Dallas on the republican ticket. The vote at the ensuing election
was proportionately the same as in the preceding election.

Governor Ireland's second term was characterized by a season of
great unrest throughout the unoccupied section of the State. Ireland
himself was opposed to any effort to increase the population of the un-
settled districts, predicting that it would be but a few years before the
people of Texas would be crowding each other into the sea.

Fence cutting was rampant throughout the Panhandle and Western
area of the State, and the rangers were appealed to and detailed to put
down the evil and to see that the laws made for the suppression of this
evil were rigidly enforced. The result was that Ireland's administration
was very unpopular with the masses of that section of the State.

A convention was held at Galveston August 11. 1886, for the selec-
tion of candidates, at which time L. S. Ross, D. C. Giddings, W. J.
Swayne and Marion Martin were the candidates. It was demonstrated
early in the convention that Ross had a very large majority of the dele-
gates, and on the first ballot he received 438 votes; Swayne, 99; Martin,
99; and Giddings, 67. Ross was then nominated by acclamation with
T. B. Wheeler of Eastland County for lieutenant governor. A. M. Coch-
ran was the nominee of the republican party and E. I.. Dohoney on the
prohibitionists ticket.

482 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

At the ensuing election Ross received ZZ^JJft votes, A. M. Cochran.
o5,236 votes and E. L. Dohoney, 19,186 votes.

In 1888 the convention met in Dallas on the fifteenth day of August.
Ross and Wheeler were re-nominated without opposition. At the con-
vention resolutions providing for the regulation of railroads and favoring
prohibition were voted down by an overwhelming majority. Later on
it will be seen how rapidly public sentiment on these two important
questions were undergoing a change.

Marion Martin, disappointed at not having received greater recog
nition from the democratic party, ran as an independent candidate. At
this convention James Stephen Hogg "the stormy petrel" of Texas politics
was nominated for attorney-general.

At the ensuing election Ross received 250,338 votes; Martin, inde-
pendent candidate, 98,447 votes and W. A. Moses, running as a repub-
lican and prohibitionist, rceived 87,614 votes.

Several acts of Legislature of paramount interest were passed during
the second administration of Governor Ross. Among these acts was the
establishment of agricultural experimental stations in connection with
the Agricultural and Mechanical College ; provision for the location and
erection of a lunatic asylum west of the Colorado River, the asylum at
Austin having proved inadequate for the number of these unfortunates
throughout the State. This asylum was located a few miles south of
San Antonio. An act was passed to validate the act of the State Land
Board, which was heretofore placed in charge of the disposition of school
lands, it being claimed that they had exceeded the authority given them
by the law ; an act requiring railroad companies to keep their general
offices within the State and for the Presidenl or Vice President and other
principal officers to reside in the state; an act requiring railroad com
panies to provide separate coaches for white and colored passengers and
an Anti-Trust Law.

These latter acts referring to railroads and the trusts were sponsored
by Attorney-General Hogg, and it was by reason of Ins influence and
activities that these laws weir enacted, lie insisted that if this legislation
was passed that he could put the trusts out of business and Jay Gould
in stripes. I low much lie lacked in accomplishing these purposes is known
to every one familiar with the history of the state. An amendment to
the state constitution having for it > object the creation of a railroad
commission for regulation of railroads in this state was adopted by the
Legislature, submitted to the people at tin- succeeding general election
and ratified by a vote of the people.

Before the close of Ross' second administration another organization,
styled the Farmer's Alliance, which originated in a meeting at Pleasant
Valley, Lampasas County, became a factor in Texas politic--.

Tlie "Grange" had existed lor some years and had co-operated with
the Labor Unions but had made lint little progress in directing state
affairs. The .Alliance spread with great rapidity, and while it professed
to be non-political it never failed to take an active interest in political
matters. It did not, as an organized body, put forth candidates for office
but contented itself with giving it- SUpporl to the man whom it considered
best in serve its purpose. The) were impelled to take an active pail m

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 48.5

politics for the protection of their interests. This was caused hy the
general belief that railroad charges were exhorbitant and detrimental tc
the interests of the farmers.

The administration of Governor Ross, taken as a whole, was the most
universally approved of any administration prior to or since that time.

On August 12, 18('0. the Democratic State Convention met in San
Antonio and James Stephen Hogg, T. B. Wheeler and Gustave Cooke
were candidates for governor.

Before the first ballot was concluded it was evident that Hogg had
a more than two-third majority of the delegates present and Wheeler
and Cooke withdrew and Hogg was nominated by acclamation. George
H. Pendleton of Bell County was nominated for lieutenant governor.
The platform followed closely after the last platform of the National
Democratic Convention, declaring for a tariff for revenue only ; opposed
to federal aid to education and the loan of money upon any kind of
security ; the prosecution of trusts and in favor of free silver.

Webster Flannigan was a candidate for the republican party. E. C.
Heath of Rockwell County for the prohibitionist party.

At the ensuing election Hogg received 262,432 votes; Flannigan.
77,742, and Heath. 2,235 votes.

As before stated, Hogg was the "stormy petrel" of Texas politics.
He favored and secured the passage of an act providing for a railroad
commission to be appointed by the governor with authority to fix rates,
to hear and determine controversies between the railroads and their
patrons, abolishing maximum freight rates, prohibiting the issuance of
free passes and many other drastic regulations. He also secured the
passage of a law authorizing the formation of corporations for the pur-
chase of insolvent railroads by order of court. He advocated and carried
into effect the passage of laws against fraudulent and fictitious issuance
and circulation of railroad stock and bonds ; and to restrict counties
and municipalities in the issuance of bonds ; to enact amendments ;
strengthening the laws in regard to trusts and conspiracies against trade :
to hold receivers of railroads liable for damages or injuries causing death
to persons ; strengthening the law passed by the Twenty-second Legislature
limiting and regulating the rights of aliens to own real-estate in Texas :
to prohibit corporations from owning land in this State on prescribed
conditions ; the Election Law providing for the registration of voters in
cities of 10,000 population, known as the "Australian ballot" system.
All of these laws had been prominently discussed for many years, but
it was left to the potent influence of J. S. Hogg to see them written in
the statute books of the State of Texas.

Governor Hogg appointed on the railroad commission John H. Raegan.
at that time a member of the United States Senate. Judge W. P. McLean
and L. L. Foster as railroad commissioners.

The railroad commission did not have plain sailing at the outset.
The Farmers' Loan and Trust Company of New York, acting for the
security holders of the railroads, secured from the United States courts
an injunction against the railway commission and the state authorities,
prohibiting them from carrying into effect the provisions of the act
creating the commission. The case was carried to the United States

484 FORI' WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Supreme Court and decided in favor of the state, and the commission
proceeded to the exercise of the function for which it was created. This
litigation continued nearly to the end of the first term of Governor Hogg.
Meanwhile strong opposition was manifested throughout the state against
the commission as a whole, and particularly the provision making the
commissioners appointive by the governor. The opposition proceeded to
the formation of a faction within the party and was supported largch
by the daily press of the state and a large number of the leading ami
prominent members of the party. The weekly press and country papers
were practically unanimous for Hogg and the commission.

i Irganizations were perfected in nearly all counties of the State.
and the Honorable George Clark of Waco, who had been the attorney
for nearly all of the railroads, in fact all but two of them, was selected
as the man who was to lead the opposition against the nomination of
Hogg for a second term. The canvass was spirited and enthusiastic, and
the lines between the Hogg and Clark factions of the party were closel)
drawn. It was admitted that the question of a railroad commission had
been settled, but objection was made to the terms of the law as adopted,
and that the commissioners should be elected instead of appointed by the
governor. In no previous campaign had there ever been such universal
public interest manifested in a state election, and popular feeling at times
and in certain locations rose to a high pitch of partisan furor. Leading
men in all parts of the state took the stump, and there was a very
thorough public discussion of the points of division throughout the
country.

In supporl of Clark were mosl of the leading and prominent men
of the State. The final trial of strength came at the Stale Democratic
Convention, which was held at Houston on August 1''. 1892. When the
convention met it was discovered that the al tendance was greater than
had ever been known at a state convention. There was no hall in the
city large enough to accommodate the immense crowd of delegates, to say
nothing of the great mass who was interested in the result and who had
attended the convention to use its influence on the side favored by it. The
convention was held in a building constructed for housing street cars and
afterwards became known as the '"car-stable" or "car-shed convention"
to distinguish it from the separate body, which organized in Turner Hall
. i fiii tin spin 111 the regular convention. The body was called to order
ii\ V \\ . Finley, Chairman of the Stale Democratic committee, who,
after reading his address, called for nominations for temporary chairman.
Jonathan Lane of Fayette County, representing the Clark faction,' was
nominated h\ A. 1.. Matlock of Tarrant County and John 1.. Shepard of
Camp Count) was nominated by T. J. Brown of Grayson for the Hogg
faction. Mr Finley called for a roll call of counties, to which Mr. Mat-
lock objected, and demanded that the vote 1» taken viva voce for the
reason thai then- had been no report of a credentials committee and no
one knew the number of votes to which each count) was entitled. The
chaii ruled against Mr, Matlock's contention, and the roll call proceeded
amid scenes ,,f greal violence and riotous disorder. < >n completion oi
the roll call Mr. Shepard was declared elected temporar) chairman
Meanwhile the Clark faction had pul the nomination of Mr. Lane to

FORT WOK III AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

485

a viva voce vote, and li<- was declared elected. Both men took the plat-
form and proceeded to call the roll of counties for the selection of com
mittees on platform, permanent organization and credentials. It was
feared, for a time, that serious violence would occur, and it was only
prevented by the firmness of a few men. The whole afternoon was
consumed in the appointment of these committees by the opposing fac
tions. and night fall came by the time it was concluded and the convention
adjourned until the following morning.

A majority of the democratic state committee was favorable to the
Hogg faction, and at a meeting held that night it was ordered that badges
lie distributed to the various county delegations, and no one should be
admitted to the convention ball the following morning except such ;>•.
were in possession ot the badges. The police department of the city

Ikkioated Fields

was appealed to and furnished policemen to see that this order was
executed. The Clark men as a rule were not provided with these badges,
and when they presented themselves at the door of the convention hall
they were denied admittance. After a hasty consultation they repared
lo the Turner Hall and proceeded to the organization of a separate con
vention with Jonathan Lane as chairman.

The proceedings of the two bodies went on without further incident
until the adoption of a platform came up in the carshed convention.
There were two reports from the committee on platform and resolution-
which had had an almost all night prolonged and stormy meeting. The
majority report was signed by fohn H. Reagan, chairman of the com-
mittee, and the minoritv report by D. C. Giddings. Dudley G. W'ooten
and ]•'.. P. Hamblin. The main point of divergence in these two reports
was on the currency and coinage issue. The majority report favored
free and unlimited coinage of silver and the minority report was for
sound money. The minority report was defeated after a prolonged
debate, and Colonel Giddings moved as a substitute for the financial part
of the majority report the exact language of the national democratic
platform on the same subject, which was voted down, and the majority

486 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

report was adopted. The supporters of Clark, a few of whom had gained
admittance, considered this an equivalent to the deliberate repudiation
of the national democratic party platform, and they took no further
part in the proceedings, but did not join the Turner Hall convention.

The "car-shed convention" then proceeded to the nomination of tin-
various candidates for state offices, and J. S. Hogg was nominated for
governor and M. M. Crane of Dallas for lieutenant governor. The re-
mainder of the ticket consisted of Charles A. Culberson for attorney-
general, W. B. Wortham for treasurer. John D. McCall, comptroller ;
W. L. McGaughey for land commissioner.

The Turner Hall or Clark convention nominated George Clark of
Waco for governor, C. M. Rogers for lieutenant governor, E. A.* Mc-
Dowell for attorney-general, C. B. Gillespie for comptroller, T. J. Gores
for treasurer and W. C. Walsh for land commissioner. A. L. Matlock
of Tarrant County was chosen as chairman of the state executive com-
mittee on the part of the Clark faction and Waller S. Baker of McLennan
County chairman of the executive committee for the Hogg faction.
The campaign which followed was the most spirited, enthusiastic and
bitter of any ever experienced in the political history of the state. Lead-
ing men of both factions closed their offices, abandoned their business
and professions and took the stump for the candidate whom they favored.
Mass meetings, huge in numbers and attended with all the pomp and cir
cumstance which the ingenuity of their promoters could devise, were
held in all parts of the state.

The republicans held a convention in Fort Worth in September and
endorsed the Clark wing of the democratic party and recommended the
election of George Clark. This was done with a view to still further aggra
vate the dissension in democratic ranks and with the hope of gaining
some prestage for the republicans. The split in the republican rank-,
followed this action, and a small faction put in the field candidates of their
own, Andrew J. Houston of Dallas, a son of Sam Houston, being their
candidate for governor. Opposed to the democrats were the populists or
people's partw whose nominee for governor was Thomas L. Nugent of
Tarrant County. He was supported by the Farmers' Alliance, the Grange,
the populists and many prohibitionists.

Marion Martin, who had abandoned the democratic party, it having
failed to recognize his claims for place and position, was nominated
for governor.

The general election, which was held on the eighth day of Novembei .
resulted in the election of the Hogg ticket. Hogg receiving 1^0.486 votes,
(lark. 133,395; Nugent, 108,483; Houston, 322 votes The candidates
>m the Hogg ticket were inducted into office the following January.

The Legislature, which convened in January. 1893, submitted an
amendment to the constitution providing that the railway commissioners
hould be elected by the people, the tenure of office being for six years,
and after the firsl election one of the commissioners should be elected
• .' i> tv 'i < it This amendment was adopted by the people by a very
large majority, which was the only measure advocated by Clark democrats
which received the approval of the democracy of the state,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 487

The Legislature proceeded with due diligence to the amendment of the
laws suggested and advocated by Governor Hogg. Prominent among
these amendments was a law which provided that no private corporation
whose main purpose was the ownership of land by purchase, lease or
otherwise should be allowed to acquire land in this state ; all such cor-
porations, at that time owning land in this state, were required to sell
the same within fifteen years ; all corporations authorized by previous
laws to do business in this state whose main purpose was not the acquisi
tion of land should sell the same within fifteen years, except so much
thereof as might be necessary for the transaction of their business ; no
private corporation to be permitted to purchase land unless the land so
purchased was necessary to enable said corporation to do business in
this state, except where iand was purchased in the due course of business
to secure a debt previously incurred. This law was not made applicable
to lease, purchase or sale within incorporated towns or cities and the
suburbs thereof, or within two miles of the limits of said incorporation;
an act to give the state through its officers supervision and control over
the issue of bonds, stock and other securities by railroad companies, and
to prevent an illegal and injurious increase of their indebtedness by
watering stock or bonds or by any other improper means so that the rail-
road commission might be enabled to justly fix freight rates with reference
to the value and expense of operation of the roads ; to provide penalties for
violation of the law and to prescribe the duties of the railroad commission
and the attorney-general in relation thereto ; to give the state regulation
and control of the issuance of bonds by cities, counties and towns ; and
to prevent the excessive and illegal issue of such bonds to secure their
validity when issued ; to provide for the manner of their payment ; and
that when such issues were approved by the attorney-general and regis-
trated by the comptroller their validity should not be questioned in judicial
proceeding except for fraud and forgery.

This amendment, while severely criticised at the time, came to be
heartily endorsed and approved by the public as being calculated to en-
hance the value of municipal securities.

Before following farther the current of political events, as directly
applicable to state affairs and because of its relation to succeeding cam-
paigns, an account of proceedings of the state convention called to name
delegates to the national democratic convention and presidential electors
will be of interest.

A state convention for the purpose above mentioned was called to
meet at Lampasas in May, 1892. at which a resolution was introduced
to instruct the delegates to the national democratic convention to vote
for no man who was not known to be in favor of the free and unlimited
coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one of gold. This was con-
sidered equivalent to instructions against the nomination of Mr. Cleve-
land. A heated and exciting debate followed, participated in by the
leaders of both sides, which resulted in the defeat of the resolution and
the adoption of one that declared Cleveland to be first choice of Texas
democrats.

The agitation thus begun on the coinage and money issue originated
in the division in democratic ranks, which continued with increased vio-

vor, ii— 4

488 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

lence and antagonism until the issue was finally settled and was eliminated
from both national and state politics.

As the time approached for the nomination of candidates for the suc-
ceeding campaign the leading members of both the Hogg and Clark
factions, realizing that it would be a matter of great concern with demo-
crats generally, in view of the increasing strength of the "people's party,"
concluded that it was to the interest of the party that these dissensions
should be healed that the party might present a united front to the oppo-
sition. To this end a conference was had between Mr. Matlock, repre-
senting the Clark faction, and Mr. Baker, representing the Hogg faction,
and a joint meeting of the two executive committees was called to meet
at Dallas on March 19. 1894.

In addition to members of the respective committees a large number
of prominent democrats from all parts of the state attended the meeting
to aid by their counsel and advice in producing harmony. The meeting
at Dallas lasted for two days, and it was with extreme difficulty that those
who favored harmony between the two factions were able to agree upon
a plan by which the party might be re-united and which should involve
no sacrifice of principle on the part of any democrat nor the imposition
of any terms calculated to bring humiliation to anyone who had parti-
cipated in the contest between these two factions. After much delibera-
tion and discussion a basis of agreement was adopted by which the
executive committee of the Clark faction was to cease its activities, and
that the executive committee of the Hogg faction should constitute
the only recognized democratic state executive committee; that the execu-
tive committee presided over by Mr. Matlock should be dissolved and
that the call for the next democratic stale convention should be issued
by Chairman Baker and his committee and all good democrats were
appealed to to unite in cementing the partv and promote its success.

The campaign of 18°4 was fairly opened early in May with six candi-
dates for the democratic nomination for governor, to wit : John D. McCall.
C. A. Culberson. Heber Stone, John H. Cochran. S. W. T. Lanham
and John If. Reagan. All of these candidates made an active canvass
throughout the state, and although all were avowedly within the demo-
cratic party and advocates of its principles, as they respectively under
stood them, yet there was a wide divergence of opinion upon many of the
vital issues both of state and national import. They were all what was
called free silver men, advocating the free and unlimited coinage of
silver at a ratio of sixteen to one.

From this it will appear that the statement made earlier in this chapter
i^ demonstrated, that the issue before the people was frequently one of
men rather than of measures and that the choice between these men
would he a Cjuestion of personal preference. Judge Reagan's long and
distinguished public career, his advocacy of the creation of the Interstate
< Ommerce Commission, was calculated to make him very strong before
the people and particularly the older citizens. Mr. Culberson's fidelity
to the policies of Governor Hogg and his administration as attornej
general, his vigor and youth, rendered his candidacy formidable. Mi
McCall's record as comptroller gave him a substantial following among
conservative business men. Mr. Lanham's congressional career, hi^ mag

FORT WORTH AND III!''. TEXAS NORTHWEST 489

iietic eloquence and general popularity with all classes gathered to his
support an extensive influence throughout the state. The following of
Heber Stone and J. II. Cochran was negligible. The exceeding activity
of the populist party at this time made it evident that a mistake on the
part of the democrats would add very materially to the voting strength
of the populists. The convention assembled at Dallas on August 14, 1894.
Judge J. R. Fleming of Baxter County was selected temporary chairman,
and the usual committees on credentials, permanent organization, platform
and resolutions were selected by senatorial districts. While these com
mittees were at work, the principal candidates for governor, Messrs.
Reagan, Lanham and Culberson, were called upon to address the con-
vention, and responded with speeches of considerable length and vehe-
mence. There was considerable delay in perfecting permanent organiza-
tion, and it was the afternoon of the following day that the committee
on credentials and organization made their report, which was promptly
adopted. W. R. Hamby, of Travis County, was elected permanent
chairman, and other minor offices were filled. Then came a new and
unprecedented proposition to a democratic convention, to wit : The aboli-
tion of the two-thirds rule, which had been in force since 1832. This
proposition was made by the adherents of Culberson, again demonstrating
the truth of the assertion earlier made in these pages that men, and nol
measures, were the dominant influence in Texas politics. There bad
been an earnest and lengthy contest over this matter in the committee on
permanent organization, but it finally declined to report either way.
leaving the question to be fought out and decided by the convention.

After several hours of debate the roll was called by counties resulting
in 480 votes for the abrogation of the two-third rule and 374 votes for
the retention of the same. The next struggle was over the platform
The committee on resolutions had consumed much time and labor trying
to arrive at a conclusion satisfactory to the contending views of the
committee, but in vain. The result was two reports representing the
ideas of the majority and minority members of the committee. The
majority report was signed. by its chairman and seventeen others, while
the minority report was signed by J. W. Blake and twelve others. The prin-
cipal point of cleavage between these two reports was on the monetary
question. The majority report followed closely the utterance of tin-
national platform on this subject, while the minority report favored the
free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver at the ratio of sixteen to
one. A spirited and able debate was indulged in. which lasted for
several hours. It was long past midnight when the final vote was begun
by counties and the majoritv report was adopted. This was regarded
as a victory for those who represented the Clark wing of democracy in
1892, and they were correspondingly jubilant. Notwithstanding tin- late
ness of the hour caucuses of the Lanham, Culberson and Reagan dele-
gations were held before the delegates retired for the night. At the
Reagan caucus it was determined that his chances for nomination were
too remote to justify his continuance in the contest. When the convention
assembled the next morning nominating speeches were made, and after
the withdrawal of Reagan ballotting commenced, which resulted in the
nomination of Culberson, with George T. Jester, of Navarro, for lieuten-

490 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

ant governor, M. M. Crane, of Johnson, for attorney-general. A. J.
Baker, of Tom Green, for land commissioner, R. W. Finley, of Smith,
for comptroller, and W. B. W'ortham, of Travis, for treasurer.

The populist party presented as candidate, Thomas L. Nugent of
Tarrant and Marion Martin of Navarro for governor and lieutenant
governor respectively. The republicans had two tickets in the field,
known as the "Lily-Whites" and the regulars of "Black-and-Tans."
J. B. Schmitz of Denton and W. W. Mann were the candidates of the
"Lily-Whites," with J. K. Makemson and R. B. Renfro for the "Black-
and-Tans."

That the full import of what follows may be understood by the
general reader the fourth plank adopted bv the convention is submitted
in full.

"We held to the use of both gold and silver as the standard money
of the country, and the equal coinage of both metals without discrimi-
nating against either metal or charge for mintage ; but the dollar unit
(if coinage of both metals must be of equal intrinsic and exchangeable
value, or be adjusted through international agreement, or by such safe-
guards of legislation as shall insure the maintenance of the parity of the
I wo metals and the equal power of every dollar at all times in the
markets and in payments of debts, and we demand that all paper currency
shall he kept at par with and redeemable in such coin. We insist upon
this policy as especially necessary for the protection of the farmers and
laboring classes, the first and most defenseless victims of unstable money
and a fluctuating currency."

The campaign opened vigorously and was continued with unabated
zeal until the election. Mr. Culberson made his opening address at
Goliad. He announced in favor of the free and unlimited coinage of
silver and gold at the ratio of sixteen to one. This was regarded by the
sound money wing of the partv as having repudiated the platform on
which he was nominated, which again supported the statement made
earlier in these pages that nun rather than measures exercised the greater
influence in the selection of public servants. This action on the part of
Mr. Culberson produced considerable feeling in party ranks and some
defection among democrats and was the cause of a somewhat reduced
vote for Mr. Culberson.

The result of the November election was as follows: Culberson.
2')~.\<<7 vote-; Makemson. the regular republican nominee. 54,520;
Schmitz. "Lily-White" representative. 5.026; Thomas L. Nugent, pop-
ulist. 152.731 votes. This is the largest vote the populist ticket had re-
ceived up to that time, and is accounted for by the defection in the ranks
of the democracy caused by the abandonment of the democratic nominee
of the democratic platform. Mr. Culberson's administration met with
the approval of a majority of the citizenship of the slate. Among the
more prominent laws passed was that of regulating the holding of primary
elections of political parties and to prevent illegal voting at the regular
elections.

During the summer of 1895 a sensational incident occurred which
gave Governor Culberson much notoriety throughout the country,
Arrangement had been made in the earl) part of the year for a prize

FORT WOK III AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 491

light between two noted pugilists, J. J. Corbett and Robert Fitzsimmons;
which was promoted by a noted gambler and citizen of Dallas in October
of that year. The moral element in the state entered a vigorous protest,
and the courts were resorted to to prevent the fight. A test case was
made at Dallas before Judge Hurt, of the Court of Criminal Appeals,
who held that there was no law to punish prize fighting in Texas. The
governor called the Legislature in special session on October 1, 1895,
for the purpose of enacting an adequate and explicit statute on the
--ubject. The legislature promptly passed the desired law, and this ended
the matter so far as Texas was concerned. The fight was transferred
lo Mexico, at a remote point opposite Langtry on the Rio Cirande, where
a few enthusiastic sportsmen attended the contest.

At the first meeting of the Legislature under Culberson's adminis-
tration the primary election law was enacted. The bill was drawn
by Hon. A. W. Terrell, one of the most prominent and talented of the
bar of Texas. He devoted much time and labor to its preparation.
When it was introduced in the House of Representatives numerous
amendments were offered by men who were ambitious to leave the
impress of their genius on the laws of the state, regardless of their
value, or whether theyr would improve the original bill. By the time
they were through, the author of the bill would not have recognized
it and disclaimed responsibility for it. It was one of the most intri-
cate, complex and unintelligible pieces of legislation ever written in
the laws of any state. Few, if any, who were charged with its execu-
tion, understood it or were able to say how it should or could be
carried into effect. It was many years, and after amendments were
made by succeeding legislatures, before it became a "workable law."

The original intention was to give the electorate an opportunity to
select their public servants. But it had just the opposite effect, the
people have no means of selecting their public servants. All that they
are permitted to do is to vote for the least objectionable of the men
who offer for office. One result was to foist upon the public men of
inferior attainments and fitness for the office they seek. Another, and
a very serious effect, was to increase the expense of their candidacy.
Men hesitate to become candidates because of the enormous expense.
To illustrate : It costs a candidate for governor from $20,000 to
$75,000 to be elected. The office pays $4,000 per annum. The same
proportion follows every office in the state, counties or municipalities.
It is one of the most pernicious statutes ever enacted. The primary-
system has been engrafted on the statutes of most of the states. The
slogan, "Let the people rule." caught the imagination of the masses
and they are the sufferers.

The convention in 1896 renominated Culberson and Jester for
governor and lieutenant-governor, respectively, and N. M. Crane for
attorney-general.

There was a spirited contest over the financial plank of the plat-
form, but the free-silverites won by a handsome majority.

Culberson's second administration was devoid of any special feature
of public interest worthv of mention in this narrative.

492 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The democratic convention, called to select delegates to the
national democratic convention, met in Galveston and resulted in a
dual set of delegates that were termed the "Goldbugs" and "Free-
silverites."

When the national convention assembled in Chicago it was evident
that the goldbugs had no prospect or chance of being seated, and their
credentials were withdrawn, leaving the field to the free-silverites. As
is well known. W. J. Bryan of Nebraska, was nominated as candidate
for president, which resulted in a split in the democratic ranks and a
subsequent convention nominating Palmer and Buckner to represent
a sound money wing of the party.

The populists nominated for governor, Jerome ti. Kirby of Dallas,
confessedly the strongest man they had ever presented to the elec-
torate of Texas. The ensuing election resulted in Culberson's receiving
298.528 votes and Kirby. 2.58,692, which was the high water mark of
the populist party in Texas.

The contest for the office of governor in 18°*8 was erne of the most
spirited and hotly contested in the history of the state, with the single
exception of the Hogg-Clark contest in 1892. The leading candidates
were Joseph D. Savers, then a member of congress. X. M. Crane,
attorney-general of the state and Col. R. M. Wynne, of Tarrant
County. Before the canvass was concluded, Crane and Wynne with
drew from the race and Savers was nominated, with J. X. Browning,
of Potter County, for lieuteant-governor and Thomas S. Smith, of
Hill County, for attorney-general.

Barnett Gibbs, of Dallas, who had been a prominent and leading
democrat all his life, abandoned the democratic party and ran as a
nopulist candidate. At the ensuing election Savers received 285, -U8
votes and Gibbs 107,088 votes.

Sayers' administration was devoid of any feature of general inter
est. Matters of state moved on smoothly and satisfactorily to the
public, so that when the convention of 1900 met at Waco in August
of that year, Sayers, Browning and Smith were renominated by ac-
clamation.

There was a spirited contest in the convention over the platform,
Hogg and Crane leading the free-silverites and Smith and Senatoi
Bailey the sound money wing of the party. Again the free-silverites
were in the majority, and their financial views were adopted.

The republicans nominated R. E. llanney for governor. At the
following election Sayers received Ih/.S.1!? votes, llanney 121,173
votes, which was the largest republican vote ever cast in Texas up to
that time.

As in the preceding term of Governor Sayers nothing of promi
nence or special interest developed. Sayers made a conservative and
most people thought a wise executive.

The only feature of special interest with which he was associated
resulted from the Galveston storm of September 8th of that year,
which, as well known, practically destroyed that beautiful city, caus-
ing a los^ of more than 7,000 lives and main million dollars oi
propertj Governor Sayers went to New York t" lay before the

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES1 193

people of that city the desperate conditions of the people of Galveston,
which resulted in the chamber of commerce of the State of New York
and the merchants' association of the City of New York sending a
steamer loaded with supplies, in charge of Thomas B. Corwine, for
the relief of the people of Galveston. One favorable result of Gover-
nor Sayers' visit to New York was the formation of a strong com-
mittee of the prominent business men of the state and City of New
York which visited Texas the following spring to investigate the
economic conditions in Texas.

The committee traveled in a special train and was met at New
Orleans by a delegation of Texans, who escorted them through the
state. They spent nearly a month in Texas, Visiting the principal
cities and towns from the coast to Red River, and their report was
very favorable to the state and its industries and did much toward
establishing better relations between Texas and the business interests
of the east. Governor Sayers was highly commended for the part he
took in bringing about this result.

In 1902 the democrats nominated S. W. T. Lanham, of Parker
County, for governor, and George D. Neal, of Navasota, for lieutenant-
governor, and C. K. Bell, of Tarrant County, for attorney-general.

The republicans nominated George W-. Burkhart, of Anderson
County, for governor. The populists nominated J. M. Mallett and
the prohibitionists, G. W. Carrow. At the ensuing election the demo-
cratic ticket received 269,676 votes, the republican 65,916, the popu-
lists 12,387 and the prohibitionists 8,768 votes.

The most prominent legislative enactment during Governor Lan-
ham's term was the passage of the intangible assets law, by which
a commission composed of state officers were authorized and em-
powered to assess against the several railroads of the state such an
amount as, in their judgment, was just and equitable and represented
the value of their franchises separate and apart from their tangible
property. To this was added the market value of outstanding bonds
and stocks, thus converting a liability into an asset. This law was
hotly contested by the railroad corporations in the courts of the state,
but was finally decided to be constitutional.

In 1904 Lanham and Neal were renominated for governor and
lieutenant-governor, respectively, and J. G. Lowden, of Taylor County,
and Sam Davidson, of Tarrant County, were nominated by the repub-
licans for the offices of governor and lieutenant-governor, respectively.
At the ensuing election the democratic ticket received 167,200 votes,
the republican ticket, 51,242 votes.

The second administration of Governor Lanham was marked by
conservatism and without any feature of unusual public interest.

There was a spirited pro-convention contest in 1906, at which
Thomas M. Campbell, of Anderson County ; O. B. Colquitt, of Dallas
County ; C. K. Bell, of Tarrant County, and S. P. Brooks, of Mc-
Linnan County, were the candidates.

It was soon apparent that the following for Mr. Brooks was in
pronounced minority. It was not thought that his name would be
put before the convention, but the delegate who had been selected to

4"4 FORI WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

make the convention speech in behalf of Brooks insisted on placing
him before the convention. On the first ballot Campbell led by a very
large plurality, and Colquitt withdrew from the race. A second ballot
between Campbell and Bell resulted in the nomination of Campbell.

A. B. Davidson was nominated for lieutenant-governor and R. V.
Davidson for attorney-general. The republicans nominated Cary A.
Gray for governor. At the following election Campbell received
_>N.\;'4_> votes and Cray. 42.169 votes.

Campbell's administration was productive of more legislation of a
general nature than had been witnessed in Texas for a number of
years. Among the innovations advocated and carried into effect was
a diversion of a large sum of the permanent school fund for the con-
struction of a state railway from Palestine in Anderson County to
Rush in Cherokee County, in which latter place was a branch of the
Texas penitentiarv and an iron deposit which had been promoted and
operated with indifferent success for a number of years. Argument-
(if the proponents of this innovation were that it would afford trans-
portation of the products of the penitentiary and be instrumental in
the further development in the iron mines. The railway has been a
stupendous failure from its inception up to date. Ever}- year has
shown large and increasing deficits, which had to be met from the
general revenue of the state. Efforts have been made from time to
lime to dispose of the property by sale or long lease, without avail.
It served to demonstrate the fact that government management of
railroads is not a success.

Another prominent piece of legislation was the enactment of what
was known as the Robertson Insurance Law. which provided that the
insurance companies doing business in Texas should deposit a large
percentage of the securities derived from the investment of premiums
received on 'Texas policies in the state treasury. This resulted in the
withdrawal of twenty-one of the most prominent insurance companies
from Texas. Several efforts have been made from time to time to
secure the repeal of this statute, but without success.

In 1908 ( ampbell and Davidson were renominated for governor
and lieuteant-governor, respectively, and A. B. Davidson for attorney -
general. John N. Simpson, of Dallas, a life-long democrat, accepted
the nomination of the republican party for governor. R. R. Williams,
an obscure blacksmith living at Cumby in Hopkins County, was an-
nounced as an independent candidate for governor. This was looked
upon as a joke by many people, but as the canvass proceeded it be-
came evident that a very large number of the democrats of Texas who
did not approve of Governoi Campbell's methods of administration
wen- going to vote for the "village blacksmith," and Governor Camp-
bell and his friends proceeded to make a very spirited canvass in his
behalf. When the da) oi the election came a great many democrat^,
not relishing the idea of defeat, deserted the Williams* standard and
voted foi * ampbell, who was elected by the smallest vote that any
democratic nominee evei received up to that time. It was a severe
rebuke to Campbell, from which he has nevei recovered,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 495

Notwithstanding the personal popularity of Colonel Simpson, the
republican candidate, he received only about 70,000 votes.

One favorable result of this election was that Campbell's second
administration was more conservative than his first.

In 1910. O. B. Colquitt was again a candidate for nomination for
governor, at which time he was successful, having for his running
mates A. B. Davidson as lieutenant-governor and Jewell P. Lightfoot
for attorney-general. J. O. Terrell, of Baxer County, was the nominee
of the republicans. At the ensuing election Colquitt received 173,993
votes and Terrell 2(>, 107 votes. Colquitt's administration of his first
term was devoid of any special interest.

In 1911 the Thirty-second Legislature enacted a suspended sen-
tence law, by the terms of which a jury, finding the accused guilty,
might assess a penalty with the proviso that its enforcement should
be suspended pending the good behavior of the accused, and that in
the event he was accused of any other violation of the law that the
suspension would be abrogated and the sentence enforced.

There was a strong opposition to this law, and a test case was
carried to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which, however, sustained
the law. The result has been very unfortunate and a large number
of criminals convicted of crimes and misdemeanors have been turned
loose upon the community without punishment; many of whom failed
to profit by the leniency granted them and continued to violate the
laws.

After a spirited canvass in 1912, in which W. F. Ramsey, of John-
son Count}', was a contestant for the nomination, the latter running
on the prohibition platform, Colquitt was a successful candidate by a
majority of little more than 40,000 votes. Will H. Mayes of Brown
County, was nominated for lieutenant-governor and B. F. Looney for
attorney-general. C. W. Johnson, of Young County, was the nominee
on the republican ticket and Mr. Redden Andrews, candidate of the
socialist party, which for the first time made an organized effort for
recognition. The vote at the general election was Colquit, 229,176
votes: Johnson, 21.221 votes, and Andrews. 16,785 votes.

The second administration of Governor Colquitt's was spectacular
from start to finish. He endeavored to engraft upon the statute books
several innovations of a drastic nature. Among the most prominent
was an effort to establish a Texas State Bank.

He proposed that the gold bonds in the permanent school fund,
amounting to $17,800,000, should be the basis of the capital stock of
the bank. State banks were to lie required to become stockholder
to the extent of five percent of their capital. One half of the reserve
of state banks was to be deposited in the State Bank of Texas. Tin-
accounts of escheated estates, the current accounts of the secretary of
state, comptroller of state and school fund balances, the whole making
an aggregate of about $14,500,000, were to be kept in the State
Bank of Texas.

It provided that the bank should be controlled and governed by
nine directors, three to be chosen by the State Board of Education,
three bv the constitutional elective officers of the state and three to

496

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

be chosen by the State Bank and Trust Companies, who were re-
quired to invest a part of their capital stock in the State Bank of
Texas, these directors to select a manager and other employes. The
bill was presented at the first special session of the Thirty-first legis-
lature, but defeated by a very decided majority.

Another measure advocated by the government was the passage
of a law regulating the acreage of cotton by the farmers of the state.
The bill was prepared by the attorney-general and submitted to the
Legislature on October 6, 1914, accompanied by a message urgently
seeking the enactment of the law. The purpose was to bring about
a reduction in the cotton acreage in Texas for the year 1915.

As originally presented, it provided that farmers should not plant
more than 50 per cent as much cotton in 1915 as was planted in 1914.

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and prescribed that an\ violation of the act should be considered a
felony.

This penalty raised such a storm of indignation from the Red
River to the gulf that, on the ('tli of October, the governor submitted
another message, in which lie stated that the bill had been prepared
with great care by the attorney-general, but, on account of his absence
from the capital, he did not have time to read it carefully. In this
message he stated: "1 do not recommend, in fact, I am opposed to,
making any violation of the law providing for its object an enforced
reduction of the col ton acreage for 1(115 a felony." He recommended
thai sufficient misdemeanor penalties would lie far enough to go along
this line. Even with this modification the Legislature declined to pas-.
the bill, much to the discomfiture of the governor.

Vnothei measure of state wide interesl was an amendment to the
constitution to the state, which had been submitted to ;md adopted l>\

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES1 197

the people. It was what was known as the "Home Rule" law. The
purpose of this was to enable cities of more than 5,000 population to
frame charters and articles of incorporation for their government, and
which, when submitted to the people of the city and adopted by them,
should become the law without any action by the Legislature. The
proponents of this measure adopted a slogan, "let the people rule,"
and the constitutional amendment was adopted by a very large, in
fact, an almost unanimous vote. A few, who had made a study of
municipal government and were therefore more competent to form
a wise and unbiased judgment, opposed the amendment, hut they
were in a hopeless minority.

The Thirty-third Legislature when it met proceeded to enact a law
carrying this measure into effect. "Let the people rule" exercised as
great an influence over the lawmakers as it did over the voters of the
state, and the law was enacted. It provided among other things that
no city, having adopted its charter, could amend the same but once in
two years, which provision has returned to plague the administration
of cities. It would be manifestly impossible for any man or set of
men to prepare a charter that would cover and meet all conditions,
and any error of omission or commission would have to stand for at
least two years.

During the second administration of Governor Colquitt the attor-
ney-general, Mr. B. F. Looney, was very active in bringing suits
against corporations and business associations, the most prominent
of which was a suit instituted against the Magnolia Oil Co. and the
Corsicana Petroleum Co.. Texas corporations; the Standard Oil Co.
of New York, the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, John D. Rocke-
feller, John D. Archbold, H. C. Folger and a number of other indi-
viduals commonly known as the Standard Oil crowd, for violations
of the Texas Anti-Trust Law and to recover penalties amounting to
$99,275,000.00. It was known by all men and must have been familiar
to the attorney-general that the Standard Oil Companies and members
thereof, being non-residents of Texas, could not be subjected to the
jurisdiction of the courts in the case, neither of these corporations
having properties in the state or permits to do business therein, and
none of such individual defendants being or residing in the state. It
was therefore manifestly apparent that this suit, as far as it applied to
these foreign corporations, was instituted more for political effect and
to give prominence to the author than for an}' hope of collecting any
such mammoth sum of money from them.

This opinion was verified by the fact that the suits were never
brought to trial, and that the attorney-general compromised them and
gave the defendants a clean bill of health upon the payment, by the
non-resident oil companies, of the sum of $500,000, and that each of
the other defendants should be ajudged not guilty of violating the
anti-trust laws of Texas.

Another suit, which attracted much attention, was against the
Missouri. Kansas & Texas Railway Company of Texas for violation
of the law prohibiting consolidation of competing lines. This suit
was also compromised by the attorney-general. Another suit, and

498

FORT WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

one fur which there was possibly less excuse than for any other, was
brought' on June 27. 1°14. against the Texas Business Association, an
organization ostensibly for the promotion of the business interests of
the state. This organization was supported by voluntary contribu-
tions from the corporations in Texas interested in the development of
the state, by the banks, business houses, business concerns and indi-
viduals. It was charged with using its funds and influence for political
purposes. The court issued an injunction prohibiting am corporation,
for whatever purpose organized, from making any further contribu-
tions to this association. The Business Men's Association in its
answer made an emphatic and explicit denial that any of its funds
had been used for political purposes, or that any of its activities were
in the interest of any candidate or party. It agreed to submit, and
did submit, its books and accounts for the examination of the courts
and the attorney-general's office to substantiate its contention. These
books and vouchers are still in the city of Austin and the case has
never been brought to trial.

In 1914, lames E. Ferguson, of Bell County, entered the list as a
candidate for governor, appealing to the farmers and particularly the
tenant farmers of Texas for their support, promising that, if elected.
he would advocate and if possible secure the enactment of laws gov-
erning rents of agricultural lands, whether the same should be a cash
rent or a share of the crops. The Farmers' Union, under leadership
of Peter Radford, espoused Ferguson's cause, and, while contending
that the Farmers' Union was not in politics, advised its members to
vote for Ferguson. Ferguson announced that during his administra-
tion there should be no legislation on the prohibition question, if he
could prevent it, and that any bill or measure on this subject by either
pros or antis. if passed by the legislature, would receive his veto.

The prohibitionists had four or five candidates in the field, among
them being Thomas II. Hall, of Harris County; William Poindexter.
of Johnson County, and Cone Johnson, of Smith County. They recog-
nized the fact that with the prohibition vote divided among them,
flefeat was inevitable. A conference was arranged between the candi-
date-, and their friends to eliminate several candidates and unite on
one. and .Mr. Ball was selected to lead the prohibition host. At the
primarj election Ferguson defeated Ball by a very handsome ma-
jority. W. 1'. Hobby, of Jefferson County, was nominated for lieu
tenant-governor, and IT F. Looney for attorney-general. John W.
I'hilp. of I (alias ( 'ount\ . w as n< tminated b) the republicans and I lenrv
Faulk by the socialists. At the ensuing election, Ferguson received
229,167 votes; republicans, 21,291 votes; socialists, 16,785 votes,

Ferguson failed in hi-> effort to secure the legislation promised the
farmers and his administration was practically devoid of any signili
cant feature.

In T'lo, Ferguson. Nobby and Loonej were renominated bj the
democrats : R, B. * reager, of Bexar County, by the republicans,
and E, R. Metzer by the socialists. \i the ensuing election the demo
crats received 2X4,7(>7 votes, the republicans 47,<>.^1 and the socialists
18,870 votes.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 499

During the latter pari of 1915 the Normal Institute, at Canyon,
was destroyed by fire, and the insurance money, amounting to about
$106,000, was collected by the state, and, at the direction of Governor
Ferguson, deposited in a bank of which he was president, instead of
being deposited with the state treasurer, where it rightfully belonged.
When the Legislature assembled articles of impeachment were pre-
sented against the governor, and. after a long and warmly contested
trial, Ferguson was found guilty of malfeasance in office and deposed,
and Lieutenant-Governor Hobby succeeded to the office of governor.

In 1918, W. P. Hobby was nominated as a democratic candidate
for governor; W. A. Johnson, of Hall County, for lieutenant-governor,
and C. M. Curiton for attorney-general. Charles A. Boynton, of Mc-
Lennan County, was nominated by the republicans for governor, and
John C. Scott for lieutenant-governor. At the ensuing election the
democratic ticket received 148,962 votes, the republican ticket 26,713
votes.

The contest in 1920 was the most spectacular in the history of the
>tate. The candidates for the democratic nomination were: Pat M.
Neff, of McLennan County; J. W. Bailey, claiming Cooke County as
a place of residence; R. E. Thomason, of El Paso County, and B. F.
Looney, of Hopkins County. In the primary election to select dele-
gates to the national democratic convention at San Francisco, Mr.
Bailey devoted himself almost exclusively to an effort to secure dele-
gates to the San Francisco convention who were opposed to the ad-
ministration of President Wilson, and who should be in favor of
withholding any endorsement of the president and his policies by the
national convention.

It was contended by many that had Mr. Bailey refrained from
his assault upon President Wilson and confined his efforts to the
advocacy of state questions he would easily have been nominated at
the primary to select candidates for state offices. He made a brilliant
canvass of the state but was defeated overwhelmingly.

Notwithstanding this he continued his canvass for the nomination
for governor, and at the primary ran second to Mr. Neff; Thomason
and Looney following in the order named.

Under the primary laws of Texas a second election was held
between Neff and Bailey, and the former was an easy winner. Bailey
receiving about the same number of votes that his ticket had received
in the primary election for delegates to the national convention.

Listening to the speeches made by the rival candidates and their
friends in the second primary and reading communications from the
advocates of their candidates printed in the newspapers of the state,
one would be irresistibly forced to the conclusion that the vital issue
in the campaign was whether Mr. Bailey's home was in Washington,
D. C, or Gainesville, Texas, and whether candidate Neff was born in
1871 or 1872. At first flush it would seem that these were trivial and
unimportant questions, but under the surface there was some ground
for these issues.

If Bailey's home was in Washington, 1). t'.. and not in Gainesville,

500 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Texas, he was ineligible to the office of governor and could nol qualify
and be inaugurated, if elected.

The date of Candidate Neff's birth did not reach the question of
his qualification or eligibility for the office. It was contended and
endeavored to be shown by his opponents that on various, divers and
sundry occasions he had made the statement that he was born in 1872.
The application was that if he was born in 1872 he was subject to
draft for service in the World War then raging in Europe, that in
order to escape this draft, he asserted and offered evidence in support
of the claim that he was born in 1871 and therefore not subject
to draft.

The effort to make it appear that he was a "slacker" seemed to
have produced no effect on the public mind, and he was nominated
by a very handsome majority.

Lynch Davidson, of Harris County, was nominated for lieutenant-
governor, and C. M. Curiton, for attorney-general.

Ex-Governor Ferguson proceeded to the organization of what he
called the American party, with T. H. McGregor, of Travis County,
as a candidate for governor.

In the following election the democratic ticket received 289,880
votes; the republican. 115,640 votes, and the American party, 47.69Q
votes.

There have been several contests for senatorial and congressional
honors of more than ordinary interest. Among the earliest of these
was that between Throckmorton and Maxey. The latter had been
elected to the United States Senate to succeed tin- notorious J. W.
Flannigan. and he was a candidate for re election before the Seven-
teenth Legislature in 1881. Throckmorton, having been recent!)
defeated for tin- nomination for governor, became a candidate for the
United States Senate.

Both men canvassed the state before the election and were at
\ustin with a horde of supporters who zealously advocated the nomi-
nation of the man of their choice. Maxe) was elected by a hand
some majority in both houses, but. like many other politicians, he
sacrificed his friends to conciliate his enemies, and when his term
expired and he was a candidate for re-election he found himself con
fronted with a large number of those who had previously espoused
his cause.

I 'pon the ascension of Grover Cleveland to the presidency the
democratic party, having been out of power for a long time, had a
host of applicants for ever) public position at the disposal of the

president. Maxe\ bad neglected his friends and recommended men
for these positions who had hitherto opposed him. Candidates for the
United States Senate included Maxey, John II. Reagan, ]ohn Ireland
and Thomas I.. Nugent, all of whom had a number of followers in
each house. Maxey and his friends sent out a distress call to men
who had before that supported him. requesting them to come to
Austin and assist him in securing tin nomination. \ great main of
them responded to tin- call, but when the) arrived at the capital the)
used their influence for ome other man than Maxey. Balloting was

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 501

had in each house for thirty consecutive days, when John H. Reagan
secured the majority votes and was declared the nominee.

When the railway commission was formed, Governor Hogg ten-
dered the chairmanship of the committee to Senator Reagan, who
accepted the same and tendered his resignation as United States
senator. Governor Hogg appointed Horace Chilton, of Smith County,
to serve for the remainder of Reagan's term.

At that time Roger Q. Mills was the idol of the democratic hosts,
and a howl of indignation and remonstrance went up from all parts
of the state, from Red River to the gulf. Chilton's service was of
short duration, for when the legislature met they proceeded to elect
Mills with practical unanimity.

Cleveland's second term was practically a repetition of the clamor
for offices on the part of the democrats. The democracy of the Gal-
veston district nominated George P. Finley, a prominent lawyer of
Galveston. He was a brilliant man and very popular in his home
city, but, unfortunately for his political success, he endeavored to
carry water on both shoulders. His district ran along the gulf, nearly
to the Rio Grande, in which there were a large number of rice and
sugar planters, wool growers and cattle men. The national demo-
cratic platform had pronounced in favor of a "tariff for revenue only."
Finley said he was in favor of a "tariff for revenue" with incidental
protection for rice, sugar, wool and hides. Thomas P. Ochiltree, a
noted character in Texas politics, was his opponent and came out
squarely for protection upon the industries mentioned. The result
was a victory for Ochiltree. In the succeeding election Ochiltree was
again a candidate but was defeated by Walter Gresham. Finley was
appointed collector of customs at Galveston by President Cleveland.

Another interesting contest was in 1886, in the district composed
of Dallas, Tarrant, Kaufman, Ellis, Hill and Johnson counties. Olin
Wellborn, of Dallas, then a member of Congress, was a candidate
for re-election with Barnett Gibbs, of Dallas; Jack Beale, of Ellis;
H. M. Furman, of Tarrant,, as opposing candidates. Convention met
at Waxahachie and lasted an entire week, when the most sable of
"dark horses" in the person of To Abbott, of Hill County, received the
nomination. Wellborn served out his term, but never returned to
Texas. When Congress adjourned he went to San Diego. California,
and President Cleveland subsequently appointed him to the Bench of
the United States District Court, which position he still holds.

Another spirited contest was in the Fort Worth district between
Poindexter, of Johnson; Lee Riddle, of Flood, and O. W. Gillespie, of
Tarrant. The convention balloted for several days without success,
when Riddle withdrew and threw his strength to Gillespie, who was
nominated and served for three terms.

That the party collar has not fitted very snugly in Texas is
evidenced by the fact that for the census of 1910, and before con-
gressional apportionment was had, the state was entitled to two
additional congressmen to be elected from the state at large. At this
election, "Cyclone" Davis, who had been a pronounced and uncom-
promising opponent of the democratic party at every issue and at

502 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

every election, was elected as one of the congressmen-at-large from
the great Democratic State of Texas.

There were other contests, always within the ranks of the party,
hut the ahove are the most prominent.

Senatorial Contests

In the latter part of 1912 Senator J. W. Bailej resigned his .-eat in
the United States Senate. He gave as reason for this action that he
was weary of heing maligned and traduced by his political enemies, and
having his actions criticised and his motives impugned, all of which
made his further services undesirable to himself and greatly impaired
his usefulness as a senator from the great State of Texas.

Vccepting his resignation. Governor Colquitt appointed R. M. Johnston,
the then editor of the Houston Post, to serve for the unexpired term of
Senator Bailey which would come to an end the following March. This
would give Mr. [ohnston the honor for a period of about six weeks,
and it was thought that no one would object to this honor or conte-i
In- confirmation by the legislature.

The Honorable Morris Sheppard, then a member of the House of
Representatives in the United States Congress, who had gone before
the people in the primary held July 27, 1912, and had been nominated hi
the primary, was announced as candidate for the short term caused bv
the resignation of Mr. Railey. When the matter came before the legis-
lature on the 28th of January, 1913, Sheppard was nominated receiving
eighty-seven votes in the House and seventeen in the Senate as against
fifty-four fur Johnston in the House and twelve in the Senate. On the
joint ballot the following day this vote was repeated and Sheppard nomi
nated.

In the primary election held July 27, 1912, to -elect a candidate for
the United State- Senate, for the term beginning March. I'M.}, the candi
date- were Murri- Sheppard, Jake Walters, C. B. Randell and Mat
Zollner. All of these candidate- made a thorough canvass of the state,
and Sheppard was nominated bv a plurality vote of about 8,000. \-
already related, this result was confirmed bv the legislature bv a unani-
mous vote. This was the last time that the Texas Legislature would
have any voice in the selection of the United States senators, a law having
been passed for the election of United States senators by direct vote
nf the people.

In 1916 a primary election was held to select a United State- senator
in succeed the Honorable C. V Culberson, the then incumbent of the
i iffice

In tin- primary the candidate- were C. A. Culberson, nf Dallas, ( I. B
Colquitt, of Dallas. R, I.. Henry, nf McLennan County, S. P. Brooks, nf
McLennan County, and T. M Campbell, nf Anderson County. In the
primary election none id these candidate- received a majority, Culberson
uid < olquitt leading; and a second primary was therefore held to make
a choice between these two.

The principal argument made against Mr. Culberson was on the
ground nf hi- ill health. Hi- opponents endeavored to show that he was
physical!) unable to discharge the duties devolving upon him. but hi-

I'OkT WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 503

supporters and advocates were able to show that, while his physical con
dition was not robust, he had been in his seat in the Senate chamber at
all times, and voted and acted upon the measures coming before that
body. At the second primary Culberson received 165,182 voir- and
Colquitt 94,098 votes.

The I'.aii.kv Investigation

One of the most sensational episodes in Texas politics was the investi-
gation, by the Texas Legislature of the personal and political activities
of Joseph Weldon Bailey. It is designated as a political activity advisedly,
for it was apparent that the purpose was to discredit Mr. Bailey.

In January, 1907, Mr. Bailey was elected to the United States Senate
by the Thirtieth Legislature to succeed himself. Mr. William A. Cocke,
a member of the House of Representatives from Bexar County, pre-
sented to the House a series of charges, thirty-five in number, covering
every activity of Mr. Bailey, of a personal, business and official nature,
in a period of about seven years, during which time he was member ot
Congress either in the House or Senate.

Subsequently he filed seven additional charges. The House appointed
a committee of seven to investigate these charges. Similar charges
were presented in the Senate and a like committee of investigation ap-
pointed. The committees were consolidated and proceeded to the work
assigned them as one committee.

The House committee, which was given charge of the proceeding,
were H. A. O'Neal, T. H. McGregor, J. A. L. Wolfe. J. H. Robertson,
T. D. Cobbs, I. A. Patton and C. H. Jenkins. The Senate committee
sat with the House members, but the conduct of the case was committed
to the members from the House. Mr. Cocke was the prosecutor and
W. L. Crawford, M. M. Crane, J. E. Cockrell, F. M. Etheridge and R. C.
Porter of Dallas, political opponents of Mr. Bailey, tendered their serv
ices to aid in the prosecution.

Mr. W. Hanger of Fort Worth and J. W. Odell of Cleburne and
T. N. Jones of Tyler represented Mr. Bailey.

William Poindexter of Cleburne was employed by the Senate to
represent that body in the investigation.

It is unnecessary here to reproduce the charges. Suffice it to say
that they covered every activity of Mr. Bailey of a political, business
and personal nature. It was contended that the interests which employed
Mr. Bailey from time to time were influenced, not so much on account
of his legal attainments and business qualifications as for his personal
and political influence. This was stressed in the examination throughout
the entire proceedings.

The committee sat for about a month, and witnesses from all parts
of the country were examined and the books and correspondence of the
individuals and companies which he served were brought before the
committee.

At the conclusion of the hearing Mr. Wolfe offered a resolution
covering the salient portion of the evidence and concluding with the
following paragraph :

"Mr. Cocke filed some forty odd charges against Senator Bailey,
the most of which were of the gravest character, and many of which.

VOL. II— 8

5i>4 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

if true, would have constituted felonies. It appears that he made these
charges without personal knowledge of a single fact upon which to base
them. Thev were founded on rumor, and after having been given the
freest opportunity for four weeks to establish his charges and having
signally failed to prove a single one of them, I, for one, do not feel as
a member of this committee or as a representative of the people of Texas,
that I should gratify his desire for further notoriety.

Respectfully submitted,

J. A. L. Wolfe.
We concur in the above.

H. A. O'Neal. T. D. Cobbs, I. A. Patton.

There were three reports of the findings of the committee. The

\N Oil. 1'IELD

majority report was signed by H. A. O'Neal, T. D. Cobbs, 1. A. Patton
and J. A. L. Wolfe, and concluded with this language:

"That said findings entitle Senator Bailey to the further finding that
he is not guilty of the charges preferred against him, and he is hereby
exonerated therefrom."

There were three minority reports by Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Robertson
and Mr. McGregor. Mr. Jenkins reviewed the evidence, but failed to
< xprcs^ any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the accused, in which
Mr. McGregor concurred. Mr Robertson reviewed the evidence at great
length and concluded with the following: "It is my opinion that the
evidence fails to establish any act of corruption on the part of Senator
Bailey, or any act of malfeasance in office which would disqualify him
l Inked State Senator."

Thus ended this spectacular and sensational proceeding. Rut the oppo
iition tu the Senator did not end His political enemies continued to
arraign him before the bar of public opinion, until, as elsewhere stated

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 505

in this narrative, he resigned his seat in the senate and retired to private
life.

One of the most sensational episodes of a quasi-political character
ever staged in Texas was the prosecution of the Waters-Pierce Oil Com-
pany, a Missouri corporation authorized, in conformity with law. to
transact business in Texas.

The suit against this organization was based on the allegation that a
majority of its stock was owned by the Standard Oil Company and that
this was a violation of the Anti-Trust laws of the state. An order of
court was obtained placing the property of the company in the hands of
a receiver, who took over all the assets and machinery of the company
and proceeded to conduct its business along the lines which the company
had pursued. It was asserted, and seemed capable of proof, that it con-
tinued to practice descrimination as to persons and places, as the company
was charged with doing.

The company was fined the sum of $1,800,000, and its permit to do
business in Texas cancelled and the property ordered sold and was
bought, at receiver's sale, by the Pierce-Fordyce Oil Association. The
latter made application for a permit to do business in Texas. After
examination by the attorney-general, as the law provides, the permit was
granted.

It was out of the activities of Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey, in secur-
ing this permit, that the prosecution of Senator Bailey was founded.
This matter is presented elsewhere in these pages.

PROHIBITION

The campaign for prohibition in Texas has been peculiar and varied.
The first effort to secure a constitutional amendment prohibiting the
manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating liquors in the State
of Texas was made in 1887. The legislature passed an amendment for
this purpose, which was submitted to the people on August fourth of
that vear. The campaign was very spirited, led on either side by some
of the most prominent citizens of the state, preeminent among whom were
the Hon. George Clark of Waco, the Honorable R. Q. Mills of Corsicana.
When the ballots were counted there were found to be 129,270 for
the amendment and 229,627 against the amendment, being a majority
of 100,357 against the amendment.

There were prohibition candidates at almost every election in suc-
ceeding years, the vote varying from less than 2,000 in 1900 and never
reaching as many as 10,000 for a number of years until 1911. In July
of that year another election on the constitutional amendment was sub-
mitted and was defeated by less than 5,000 votes. Similar experience
was had in the following years. In 1912 the prohibition candidates
polled 1,130 votes, in 1916, 3,726 votes. Another constitutional amend-
ment was submitted in August, 1919, when the amendment received
159,723 votes. The majority in favor of prohibition was 19,622.

The succeeding legislature passed stringent laws to carry the amend-
ment into effect. During these years many laws were passed regulating
the liquor traffic, among them being statutes prohibiting the sale of
liquor to habitual drunkards and to minors and for closing saloons on

506 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Sunday at nine o'clock at night. All of these laws were flagrantly dis-
regarded by many of the liquor dealers, which, together with the fact
that main- persons voted against local option who favored prohibition by
the national government, accounts for the marked change of sentiment
as indicated by the result at the 1919 election.

WO M A N'S S U FFKAi . E

For a great many years a coterie of strong minded and public spirited
women in Texas have been advocating giving the vote to women.

Committees attended the state convention and endeavored to secure
platform endorsement of Woman's Suffrage, without avail. In 1919 the
nineteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States conferring
this privilege on women was submitted at a special election called for
that purpose, at which 141,772 votes were cast for the amendment and
166,983 against the amendment, an adverse majority of 25,210.

Notwithstanding the fact that one of the cardinal principles of the
democratic party is that the majority shall rule, the legislature in 1920
proceeded to adopt the amendment by a very large majority in both
Houses.

CHAPTER XXXVI
RAILROAD BUILDING AND GENERAL DEVELOPMENT

During the decade of the eighties the rapid building of railroads
transformed North and West Texas from an isolated region in which
cattle-raising was the only praticable industry to a country whose means
of transportation have enabled it to produce varied and abundant crops
and to reach as high a degree of material prosperity as can be affirmed of
any other part of this State or any other Western State.

During this decade Fort Worth became a railroad center. All the
important lines of Northwest Texas center at this point, and it is with
much pride that the citizens mention these eleven trunk lines, which
are : Texas and Pacific ; Missouri, Kansas and Texas ; Gulf, Colorado and
Sante Fe ; Houston and Texas Central (Southern Pacific System) ; Fort
Worth and Rio Grande (Frisco System) ; Trans-Continental branch of
the T. and P.; Fort Worth and Denver City; Chicago, Rock Island and
Gulf; St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) ; St. Louis and San Fran-
cisco ; International and Great Northern.

The M. K. and T. was extended into Texas no further than Denison
for six years. In the winter of 1878-79 what was at first known as
the Denison and Pacific Railroad began building from Denison west,
was completed to Whitesboro in March, 1879, and by November had
reached Gainesville. In January. 1880, this road was purchased by the
M. K. and T. company, which some years later pushed the line on to
Henrietta, and still later paralleled the track of the Fort Worth and
Denver City to Wichita Falls. Thus Gainesville was given a railroad,
and in December. 1879, the telegraph line between that town and Deni-
son was put in operation. Gainesville has for twenty years been con-
sidered the commercial metropolis for Cooke, Montague and'i W'ise
counties, and for the Chickasaw Nation of the Territory. Shortly after
the first railroad reached the town it put on municipal proportions,
and by the time the G. C. & S. F. completed its north and south con-
nections at that point it claimed a population of five thousand and was
a considerable manufacturing and trade center.

Until 1880 Sherman had remained the western terminus of the so-
called Transcontinental line of the Texas and Pacific from Texarkana,
but by rapid construction it affected a junction with the M. K. & T. at
Whitesboro and thence was extended south to Fort Worth, reaching
the latter city in May. 1880. Both the T. & P. and the M. K. & f.
trains were operated over this branch, as they are today, but when the
road was built it was known as a part of the Missouri Pacific system,
the M. K. & T. being in that combination during the early eighties.
This road had no sooner been completed between Fort Worth and
Whitesboro than the International Improvement Co., which was then
engaged in the extension of the Missouri Pacific lines through Texas,
began building south, toward Waco. The construction of this line is
thus explained by the Denton Press in May. 1881 : — "The Missouri
Pacific extends from Hannibal, Mo., to Sedalia. where it joins another

507

508 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

prong from St. Louis. From Sedalia the main track runs to Parsons.
Kansas, thence to Denison, which remained its terminus till two years
ago, when it was extended to Gainesville. It was then thought that the
road would be built from Gainesville south, leaving Denton on the east ;
but the Missouri Pacific formed an alliance with the T. & P. to build
a joint road from Whitesboro to Fort Worth, thus passing through
Denton and connecting with the Dallas and Wichita line. As yet the
Missouri Pacific is completed only to Fort Worth, but the line is mostly
graded to Waco, from there will be extended to Austin."

May 28, 1873, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad was
chartered by Galveston capitalists, and two years later construction
work was begun, with the intention of carrying the road northwest-
ward through the state to the capital of New Mexico, opening up a
country of splendidly varied productiveness. By February, 1881, the
line reached Belton and was in operation. This was evidently one of
the trunk lines which would bring prosperity and development to a
large portion of the state, and the citizens of the several counties
north of Bell considered it worth much effort and expense to get this
line constructed north toward Fort Worth rather than along the
original route. In September, 1880, over $75,000 were raised by the
public-spirited citizens of Fort Worth to secure the building of the
road through this point, and in a short time contracts were let for
the construction of the road between Cleburne and Fort Worth. The
citizens of Cleburne had also labored zealously for this road, and it
was due to the liberal contributions of towns all along the route that
the building of the line was made possible. Work between Temple
and Fort Worth was pushed rapidly during 1881. and on December 2.
1881, the first train ran into Fort Worth over this route, giving the
first direct connection with the gulf. The Gulf. Colorado and Santa
Fe was, originally, a distinctively Texas road, promoted by Texas
capital and the generous bonuses of citizens.

From Temple, the junction point of this road, what is known as
tin- Lampasas branch was constructed and put in operation as far as
Lampasas in May. 1882; extended to Brownwood in January, 1886:
from Brownwood to Coleman, March. 1886; Coleman to Ballinger,
June, 1886, ami I'.al linger to San Angelo in September, 1888. From
Cleburne the branch to Dallas was put in operation in 1882, and
thence extended to Paris by June, 1887. During the '80s. also, the
branch from Cleburne to Weather-ford was constructed.

In 1886 the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, having suffered severe
financial -traits, was bought by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Interests, this giving the great Atchison System a gulf connection and
allowing for an extension of its lines over the Southwest country.
With the aid of $45,000. subscribed by the people of Fort Worth, the
line was constructed between Fort Worth and Gainesville and put in
operation by January, 1887. From Purcell, Indian Territory, con
struction work was also being pushed, and Gainesville was reached,
and tin- Texas lines became an integral part of the entire Santa Fe
system Vboul the same time Chicago became a terminal of these

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 509

lines, and North Texas was permanently linked with one of the largest
railroad systems of the entire country.

The Fort Worth & New Orleans Railroad should always be
remembered as another of the home institutions of Fort Worth. To
build this line as far as Waxahachie a bonus of $75,000 was raised
in the city, and home capital and home enterprise were mainly respon-
sible for its building. By this line Fort Worth was given railroad
communication with a rich and fertile country whose trade was by
this means directed to Fort Worth, and, by subsequent developments,
found a place upon another of the great trunk lines of Texas. The
work of construction was commenced in September, 1885, and in a
few months was completed to Waxahachie. In January, 1887, the
Fort Worth & New Orleans was absorbed by purchase in the Southern
Pacific group and has since been operated as part of the Houston &
Texas Central, which had also held it under lease for several months
before the purchase was made.

In May, 1887, after the projection of various tentative routes and
after much rivalry between various towns along the route, it was
decided to construct a branch of the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas to
Fort Worth. This railroad, better known as the Cotton Belt System,
was originally a narrow-gauge line, beginning at Bird's Point,
opposite Cairo, Illinois. After undergoing a receivership it was re-
organized as the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas, the gauge was
widened and some important extensions projected. The Kansas &
Gulf Short-Line was acquired by purchase, and four branches pro-
jected: From the main line north of Pine Bluff to Little Rock; from
Texarkana to Shreveport ; from Sherman to Fort Worth ; from Corsi-
cana to Hillsboro, Waco and McGregor, and later on to Comanche.
The line to Fort Worth through Piano, Carrollton and other towns
was built, and the Cotton Belt — now the St. Louis Southwestern —
has Fort Worth as a terminal of its many important lines.

Within the past twenty years three other railroads have come to
Fort Worth from the East: The International & Great Northern,
one of the oldest Texas railroads, the first grading and track-laying
on which began in 1854; this line runs in from the southeast, from
Waco and points intermediate in Hill and Ellis counties. The Frisco
System operates its principal Texas road through Fort Worth, run-
ning in over the Cotton Belt tracks from Carrollton — thirty miles —
and furnishing one of the logical routes to the Mississippi Valley and
the East. The third road that might be mentioned is the Rock Island
Line between Dallas and Fort Worth.

The three railroad lines radiating from Fort Worth that have been
the most important factors in the development of that city and the
North and West Texas country conjointly may be named, in order of
building, the Texas & Pacific, the Fort Worth & Denver City, and the
Fort Worth & Rio Grande. A glance at a railroad map will indicate
the regions traversed by these lines and also how immensely valuable
they are in opening up the vast regions which till their advent were
useless except for limited industrial development. The history of the
Texas & Pacific has already been described.

510 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

A railroad line to the northwest, tapping the fertile Wichita Vallej
and connecting the great Panhandle Country with the farming and
commercial centers of North Texas, had been a fond dream of pro-
moters and enthusiastic citizens long before any railroads had been
constructed west of Dallas. The old Dallas & Wichita line was begun
with the intention of penetrating that district, but was never com-
pleted further than Denton, and has since become a branch of the
M. K. & T. The actual charter for the line that was finally con-
structed was issued under the laws of Colorado, May 26, 1873. at
which time the Fort Worth & Denver City Railroad came into
existence on paper and officially.

But more than eight years passed before the work of construction
began. The Texas and Colorado Railway Improvement Co., of which
Morgan Jones, of Fort Worth, later president of the road, was the
leading spirit, began grading at the place called Hodge, several miles
north of Fort Wrorth. on November 27, 1881. The first rails were
laid on February 27, 1882, and Wichita Falls was reached on
September 27 of the same year.

From the first, Fort Worth citizens had realized the benefit which
would accrue to the city and to all Northwest Texas from the con-
struction of this railroad, and requests for financial assistance from
the company met with the same generous responses as were given
similar previous undertakings, $12,000 being subscribed to purchase
the right-of-way through the county. As a local paper said, "it was
essentially a Fort Worth road. It was inaugurated in 1873, being the
conception of Col. W. W. H. Lawrence, who drafted and procured
the charter from the state, and had charge of the original survey. The
failure of Jay Cooke and the consequent panic caused a suspension
of work on this enterprise. During the years that followed, and when
miters forgot or abandoned the idea of building the road, Colonel
Lawrence kept the records intact, and when the time came for Jay
i iould and associates to take hold of the construction of this road, the
books and papers, thanks to Colonel Lawrence's forethought, were
found in proper shape and condition." Other well known men con-
nected with this enterprise as directors were. |. M. Eddv. |. 1'. Smith,
C. I.. Frost, Max Elser, R. E. Montgomery, W. A. Ross, W. A.
Huffman, Morgan Jones, of local note; and Jay Gould and Gen. G. M
Dodge, familiar names in all railroad circles.

This was the first line to penetrate the country to the northwest of
Fort Worth, and its results in the upbuilding of towns along the way
were remarkable, not to mention the really wonderful transformation
caused in the line of agricultural improvement and settlement. To
quote from the Tribune of Decatur, which had been connected with
Fori Worth by the driving of the last spike on April 15. 1882. "Decatur
is on a regular boom. At present (May, 1882) six large stone. iron-
Mont storehouses are being erected on the square by Colonel Lang
and the Terrell heirs; Partridge and Cartwright are beginning the
erection of a -.tone block on Main Street; Watson and Peters another
building on Main Street ; and new residences are springing up all over

town." The building of the railroad five miles east of the old town

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 511

of Aurora caused that tuwn to migrate bodily and concentrate its

two schools, four churches, twelve merchandising houses, three gins,
and other enterprises around the railroad station of Rhome. The
genesis of several towns in Wise and Montague counties dates from
the laying of tracks for the F. W. & D. C. A traveler over the road
in June, 1882. describes the village of Herman as consisting of a side-
track and several box cars; Cowen (named for E. P. Cowen, railroad
contractor ) distinguished by a sidetrack without any cars ; Sunset,
containing several business houses, and Bowie, now the metropolis of
Montague County, had just come into nominal being, but was as yet
without a business house. Such are typical origins for towns and
communities. It would be a fascinating study to search for the source,
of every North and West Texas town's history, the circumstances
under which it came into being and the men who were first connected
with it ; but such an investigation is beyond the limits of this work,
which can only indicate some of these beginnings and classify as far
possible the various towns as originating either before or during the
railroad era.

According to the terms of the charter, the Fort Worth & Denver
City should have been completed by Christmas Day, 1882. But
extension west from Wichita Falls was not resumed until May, 1885.
By April, 1887, Quanah was the western terminus, while the Denver,
Texas and Fort Worth, as the Colorado division of the road was
known, had been built 138 miles from Pueblo. The two lines met at
Texline and were connected March 14, 1888, and on that date the
shortest rail line between the gulf and Colorado and the northwestern
states was opened.

The building of this line worked nothing short of a revolution in
the Panhandle cattle industry. It struck the final blow to the great
trade movement, cattlemen henceforth finding the rail route the
shortest, most expeditious and the most economical for taking their
stock to market. Even the T. & P. line across the state to El Paso
was not followed by such general upbuilding and growth in the
country traversed as resulted from the building of the F. W. & D. C.
All the now flourishing towns west of Henrietta, including Wichita
Falls, Iowa Park, Vernon, Quanah, Clarendon and Amarillo, begin
their history practically with the building of this railroad.

Typical is the history of Quanah. November 1, 1885, one box
house, that of J. V. Johnson, was on the site. R. S. Simmons lived
one mile south; W. J. Jones, \)A miles west; Z. Hooper, four miles
southeast. In 1886 a corps of engineers located the town; in the
spring of 1887 the railroad came, the court house was moved up from
the place called Margaret, and by the beginning of 1890 the town was
able to claim 1,500 population, many of whom were farmers. A
historian of that time continues: "The man with the hoe, written of so
eloquently by J. D. Ballard, editor of the Quanah Quirt, has entered
the county and where a few years ago the Kiowa and Comanche
chased the buffalo, are now wheat fields lovely to look upon. But
men make cities, and Quanah has men devoted to her upbuilding. The
Colstons, Knotts, Goods, Smiths. Elberts. Johnsons. Swearingens,

512 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Sherwins, Combs, Faulkners, Ballards, Pardues, Carters, Reeds,
McDonalds, are all men after Fort Worth's own heart, and are city
builders."

"Many are called, but few are chosen." Mobeetie, the county seat
of the first county organized in the great Panhandle, on grounds
justifiable, aspired to be the metropolis of that region, and while the
Denver Road was being graded toward Decatur, we learn that the
"town is building fast through expectation of the railroad being con-
structed through this point." The railroad went many miles to the
south, the Choctaw, Rock Island & Gulf built along the southern edge
of Wheeler County, and Mobeetie has a present population of about 200.

Other places were more fortunate. Clarendon, in Donley County.
was laid out about 1878, as already mentioned, there being no railroad
within 300 miles at the time. Until the railroad came the place hardly
deserved a name, but within a few months after that event a revival
of business and influx of settlers gave the town a substantial and
increasing prosperity, which it still retains. Childress, Lipscomb,
Potter and Hemphill counties were organized in 1887 as a result of
settlement. The town of Claude in Armstrong County, where
eighteen months before not a house was to be seen, was a busy little
village in 1890, and the same story- was repeated again and again of
these Panhandle centers during the late '80s and early '90s.

Until the opening of the F. W. & D. C. the Panhandle cattlemen
had hauled all their supplies from Trinidad on the north or from
Colorado City on the T. & P. Line. Closely settled communities were
impossible under such a condition, with the source of necessary supplies
several hundred miles away, and in sketching the history of the Pan-
handle one is again brought back to the aphorism previously stated
that. "Transportation is the key to population." Without the railroad
the Panhandle would still be cattle range country, and Tascosa, of by-
gone romance, with its Boot Hill adjunct, might be the cattlemen's
metropolis instead of the little hamlet of two hundred people. From
no point of view can the changes in a country wrought by the railroad
be regarded otherwise than beneficial, for though its coming may doom
one village to oblivion, it raises up another with better facilities to
serve the purposes of social existence.

The land law which went into effect in July. 1887, did more to put
the settlement of the Panhandle on a substantial basis than any other
cause except the railroad. Although the people complained of the dela\
in classification of the lands and what they considered the arbitrary
powers given to the land commissioner, no serious troubles arose that
lime could not adjust. Forty years' time and five per cent interest induced
thousands to come, many of whom were without money or means to make
homes and carry on a successful enterprise in a new and dry country.
In consequence, when the dry years and the financial stringency of the
'90s followed, there was a general exodus from the Panhandle, and
only those who had means and were of the true pioneer stock remained
to reap the rewards that surely came Since then the limitations as
well as the possibilities of the Panhandle have been realized; instead
of subjecting the country to the sorl of farming pursued in the well

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 513

watered regions of other slates, agriculture has been conformed to
suit the country, crops adapted to the soil and climate have been planted,
and the settlers have sought to understand the real nature of the
country which they would make produce, and have been, in later years,
rewarded accordingly. ,

In recent years, the climax seemingly having been reached during
the year of 1905, population has flowed into the Panhandle at a faster
rate than ever before. The statement was made in November of that
year that 3,000 land-seekers a month visited the "Amarillo country,"
and that sales were made to a third of these. This would mean a
phenomenal development within the next few years. "This is a better
class of population than the Kansas and Oklahoma boomers of the
'80s and '90s," is the judgment of a man whose opinion carries weight.
"The land-seekers of those days were a drifting population, without
the anchor of property or provident industry, and a single crop failure
or any difficulty that could not be overcome by shiftless labor caused
them to pull away from their temporary moorings and drift, oftentimes
in a starving condition, back to the more settled communities from
which they had come. "The first wave of population is speculative,
and therefore less stable than those that succeed. The people who
are now going into the Panhandle are of a better class, they have some
money, most of them are buying land outright, they understand the
conditions on which farming must be conducted, and are in a position
to withstand a year of drouth without being discouraged and leaving
the country."

The following newspaper item, appearing in 1890. is worthy of atten-
tion : "Lipscomb County was organized two years ago, but the uncer-
tainty about the opening of the Cherokee and Neutral strips (in Indian
Territory) affect the settlement of this county as all other portions of
the Panhandle. The railroads stop on the Southern Kansas border
because they fear to cross the lawless and unorganized country." Thus
again the interposition of the Indian Territory between Texas and the
states to the north and east deters settlement and development. But in
recent years these obstacles have been removed, and no part of Texas is
isolated by lack of communication. The Fort Worth and Denver, as
the pioneer road, has been followed by several other railroads that
cross the Panhandle in various directions. From Kiowa, in Southern
Kansas, the Santa Fe extended a branch across Oklahoma ( the grading
of which had been done as early as 1887) and into the Panhandle to
intersect the Denver road at Washburn and thence running over the
Denver track to the terminal at Amarillo. Later the Pecos Valley &
Northeast Railroad was completed from Amarillo to Pecos on the Texas
and Pacific. This made Amarillo a junction point, and also the me-
tropolis of the Panhandle and a city of growing size and importance in
the Panhandle. Amarillo is also the terminus of the Choctaw, Oklahoma
and Gulf (now the Choctaw, Rock Island and Gulf, a part of the Rock
Island System), forming an extension from the network of Rock Island
and Frisco lines over Kansas and Oklahoma.

The Rock Island also built a line across the northwest corner of
the Panhandle, now the main line of that svstem from Kansas City to

514 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

El Paso, and connections have been made and this line is in operation
from Dalhart through Tucumcari to El Paso. Texas towns have
sprung up along this line, the most important of which is the junction
point of Dalhart.

The railroad history of Northwest Texas has probably only begun to
be told. The experience of the past suggests that it is easy to project
railroads on paper, and yet the fact that many such lines have been built
gives some of these forecasts actual worth in this historical investiga-
tion. Most notable of all such logical forecasting of railroad lines
was the railroad map, exhibited on the court house square at Fort Worth
and published in the Democrat in 1876, as elsewhere mentioned, and
in giving a brief history of the third railroad radius from Fort Worth,
which we have sponken of as a chief factor in the development of West
Texas and of Fort Worth, at the same time we describe the railroad
which fulfilled the prediction made on the map. This fulfillment of
the prophecv is best told by quoting from the Fort Worth ( iazette of
May 25. 1887 :

"In 1873 Capt. B. B. Paddock, then editor of the Fort Worth
Democrat, published a map of the future great railroad center of
Texas. It was laughingly alluded to by the state press as 'Paddock's
tarantula map.' At that time there was no railroad within fifty miles
of Fort Worth, but the map had on it nine roads entering the city,
and by strange coincidence, the man who conceived the map was presi-
dent of the last road that completes the 'tarantula.' Captain 1'addock
saw leg after leg added to the body ( Fort Worth), and under difficulties
that would have disheartened most men he undertook the building of the
Fort Worth & Rio Grande. A popular subscription of $40,000 was
obtained from the citizens of Fort Worth, and on November 23, 1886,
construction began with Brownwood as the objective point. 142 miles
away." The first division to Granburv was completed \ugust 2?<. 1SS7.
and Granbury remained the terminus until the fall of 1889. h was
extended in Stephenville by October, 1890. to Dublin in November, and
Brownwood was reached July 16, 1891. Since then Menard has become
the terminus, and the Fori Worth & Rio Grande is now a part of the
great Frisco System. The first effort to build this road was made in
1881 by twenty-six nun of Fort Worth, who organized with the follow
ing board of directors : I II Brown, W. I. Boa/.. Sidney Martin. S. W.
Lomax, T. A. Tidball, W. F. Lake, J. P. Smith. L. X. Brunswig, W. II.
Davis. Much time and money wire expended to secure sufficient capital.
but the enterprise lay dormant until 1885, when a new charter was ob-
tained and the work shortly afterward begun. The value of this road
to Fort Worth can be readily understood, ii traverses a vast and pro
ductive country that without t hi- railroad would not be tributary to Fort
Worth; Mood. Erath, Comanche and Brown counties are among the rich
est ot North Texas counties, and this railroad furnishes the most direct
route for the shipment of their products to the northern markets. With
the Fori Worth & Denver City tapping the region of the Panhandle, the
Texas and Pacific the central artery of traffic for West Texas, the Fort
Worth & Rio Grande was the third transportation arm, reaching out into
Southwest Texas, l>\ means of which Fori Worth became the gateway

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 515

for practically all the commerce that West Texas pours from its pro-
ductive area.

The Frisco System — which had its nucleus in the Southwest branch
of the Pacific Railroad from Pacific to Kolla, Missouri, built in 1861, and
purchased by J. C. Fremont and associates and went under the name
of the Southwest Pacific until 1868, and under the Pierce syndicate was
extended to Springfield, Mo., and named the South Pacific, in 1870
merged with the Atlantic & Pacific, in 1876 went into the hands of
receivers, and in 1878 reorganized as the St. Louis and San Francisco —
has pushed its lines across Red River at two other points beside Denison,
Vernon and Quanah both being terminal points for this road.

A typically North Texas railroad, with the building of which men of
prominence both past and present were connected, is the Wichita Valley
Railroad.

The Wichita Valley Railway Company was incorporated on the 4th
day of February, 1890, by E. W. Taylor, W. F. Somerville, W. A. Adams.
J. G. Jones, J. T. Granger, Morgan Jones, G. P. Meade, J. P. Smith.
G. M. Dodge and L. Tillman. The first board of directors was com-
posed of E. W. Taylor, Morgan Jones, W. F. Somerville, G. P. Meade.
J. P. Smith, J. G. Jones, G. M. Dodge, J. T. Granger and L. Tillman.
It was organized soon after its incorporation by the election of Morgan
Jones as president. During the year 1890 it built its line of railroad from
Wichita Falls to Seymour, a distance of fifty-two miles.

On the 21st of October. 1903, it organized the Wichita Falls & Okla-
homa Railway. The names of the persons organizing this company were
Morgan Jones, W. E. Kaufman, Frank Kell, N. Harding, J. G. Wilkin-
son, E. W. Taylor, A. M. Young, Ben W. Fonts, H. C. Edrington and

D. T. Bomar. The names of the directors of this company were Frank
Kell, Otis T. Bacon, J. G. Jones of Wichita County, George W. Byers
of Kansas City, Missouri, Morgan Jones, G. M. Dodge, N. Harding, W.

E. Kaufman and D. T. Bomar. Morgan Jones was elected president of
the company. During the same year it built from Wichita Falls to
Byers on Red River in Clay County a line twenty-three miles long, which
has since been operated by the Wichita Valley Railway.

On the 4th of October, 1905, this company caused to be incorporated
the Wichita Valley Railroad Company to build from Seymour southwest.
This company was incorporated by j. G Wilkinson, Ben W. Fouts, N.
I larding, K. M. Van Zandt. D. B. Keeler, W. C. Stripling, W. E. Kauf-
man, C. A. Sanford, Morgan Jones and D. T. Bomar. The names of
the first board of directors were G M. Dodge. H. Walters, B. F. Yoakum.
Edwin Hawlev. Frank Trumbull. Morgan Jones. W. F. Kaufman, D. T.
Bomar, R. V.' Colbert. L. M. Buie. F. G. "Alexander. H. G. McConnell.
and J. H. Glasgow. Under this charter the line was constructed from
Seymour through the towns of Munday, Haskell. Stamford and Anson
to Abilene in Taylor County.

The Rock Island, after building lines in Nebraska, Kansas and Colo-
rado, was extended from Caldwell, Kansas, south into the Cherokee
Strip to Pond Creek and through the Chickasaw Nation. Organizing
under the laws of Texas as the Chicago. Rock Island and Texas, it built
from Terral, Indian Territory, toward Fort Worth, and entered Fort

516 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Worth as another trunk line, and by its branch from Bridgeport through
Jacksboro to Graham gave the two rich counties of Jack and Young rail-
road connection.

The enactment of the Railway Commission law and the Stock and
Bond law put an end to the construction of railways in Texas for the
profits arising from construction. Since that time there has been but our
independent line built in Texas. Several roads have been built, notably
the Trinity and Brazos Valley, the Gulf Coast Line from Houston to
Brownsville, but when completed they were found to be in the interest
of and adjuncts of existing lines.

The exception noted is the Gulf, Texas and Western Railway, pro-
moted by Mr. B. B. Cain and extending from Jacksboro to Seymour.
This line is the property of Mr. J. J. Jermyn, of Scranton. Pennsylvania.
He owns all the securities on the road. It opened up a rich and pros-
perous section to the Northwest.

Since the oil "boom" there have been constructed several short lines
in the section covered by the oil development. Among these are the
Wichita Falls Ranger and Fort Worth Railway, extending from Wichita
Falls to Dublin, where it connects with the Frisco and over which rails
it enters Fort Worth ; the Cisco and Northeastern, from Cisco to Breck-
enridge, twenty-eight miles ; the Ringling, Fastland and Gulf, from Man-
gum to Wayland ; and the Wichita Falls, Graham and Breckenridge.
from Newcastle to Breckenridge, a distance of forty miles. While these
lines were constructed, primarily, to serve the oil interests, they serve to
open up a fine territory and afford transportation for the agricultural and
cattle interests.

CHAPTER XXXVI]
PUBLIC HIGHWAYS

The problem of transportation was one of the first that presented
itself to the human mind as it emerged from the darkness of absolute
savagery and inertia into a state of progressive activity manifested by
dissatisfaction with existing conditions and a striving after something
better. The invention of the first conveyance for transporting burdens,
though probably but a rude platform of boughs, bound together with
vines and supported on log rollers, which furnished the means of loco-
motion, marked the beginning of a new epoch. Perhaps it was many
centuries afterward before the first wheeled cart made its appearance,
and after it the war chariot ; but, however that may be, with the advent
of the wheel, even in its crudest form, came the necessity of road making.

Doubtless the first road was as crude a piece of handiwork as the
first cart, and was a mere trail from which the brush and small trees had
been removed, and holes or small depressions filled up with earth 01
stones. Swamps, lakes and marshes were avoided, if they lay in the way
by taking a circuitous direction around them; the smaller rivers were
crossed at fords, and the larger ones in boats or on rafts, for beyond a
log thrown across a small stream, bridges had not yet been thought of.

The taming of the horse and its use as a draught animal gave rise to
improvements in coveyances and in road building; but probably the great-
est stimulus in the latter direction, after some degree of civilization had
been attained, was war, the rapid movements of troops being impossible
without roads. Thus, coming down to historical times, we find that the
Romans, those builders of a vast military empire, were the greatest road
builders ; and that they knew their business is evidenced by the fact that
much of their work in this direction can still be traced and in some places
has not greatly deteriorated after a lapse of 2,000 years. But the
Roman empire fell and was finally dismembered, and for centuries n<
further progress was made.

In England, even in the later Georgian period, we read that many oi
the principal highways were in very bad condition, so that a coach jour-
ney, even for a comparativelv short distance, was more of an ordeal than
a pleasure.

The modern inventive era in which we are now living may be said to
have begun in the early part of the nineteenth century, though some
initial discoveries had been previously made. Probably the most impor-
tant event during that period was the construction of the first steam rail-
road, between Liverpool and Darlington, by the Scotch engineer, George
Stephenson. This immediately revolutionized the entire transportation
problem and gave an immense progressive impetus to almost every sort
of human activity. In the meanwhile McAdam and others were making
valuable improvements in methods of road construction.

These improvements naturally spread to our own country, where,
however, owing to its vast extent and the much greater distances separat
ing the chief centers of population, the work went on more slowlv.

517

518 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The pioneers of Nortli America in their early explorations usually, if
not invariably, followed the Indian trails, which gave them the shortest
and most practicable route for travel on foot or horseback. These trails.
as much as possible, avoided all natural obstacles, and remained for many
years almost the sole avenues of communication between the scattered
white settlements. Indeed, their advantages were so obvious that in
manv cases the routes the)' marked out have been retained to a large
extent by modern engineers, and are now among the principal highways
in the country. In the South one of the most ancient of these routes,
which has an important historical interest, is that known popularly as
"The Old Spanish Trail," leading from San Augustine. Florida, to San
Diego, California, which the Automobile Association of South Texas is
now proposing to develop into a practicable road, an organization for
that purpose having been recently developed. It would be hard to find
a route in the United States or Canada more replete with historical assn
ciations. dating back as they do to the earliest Spanish settlements on
this continent. In Texas this trail passes through Houston, San Antonio.
founded in 1718, and El Paso, founded in 1680, besides many places of
li ;sser note, but each with its wealth of history and local color.

It is the object of the organization, above mentioned, to open up the
south country, not that automobiles may sweep hurriedly through, but to
make it so interesting to the tourist that he will linger along the way and
open up a new avenue of wealth to the towns located thereon.

In Texas the road has been financed between Houston and San An-
tonio, except in Fort Bend County, west of Houston. Money has been
provided for 150 miles of the highway, while fifty per cent of the high-
way has been financed from San Antonio to El Paso. Five counties in
West Texas have been scouted and the cost determined. The other
states through which this old trail passes are doing their part or are
ready to do it. Florida is busy completing her roads connecting with
tlie Trail ; Louisiana is ninety per cent complete and east of New Orleans
bonds have been voted to put the highway across swamps in that sec-
tion, which will carry the road to the Mississippi state line, and when
that is completed Mississippi will do her part. Alabama has passed a
$25,000,000 bond issue law; and in Arizona a bond issue of $0,000,000
has been voted. The road program calls for the completion of the trail
in California in five years, and the road in that state will be of concrete
and other hard surface material. After the development of the main
highway it is proposed to add branch routes at various places to points
of interest, as. for instance, roads from Houston to Galveston, to the San
Jacinto battle grounds; and to the old Spanish mission ground of Nacog
doches

King's Highway

Another ancient road. The King's Highway, stretches across the State
of Texas from Eagle I'ass on the Rio Grande to the old mission of
Adaes, near Robeline, Louisiana, a distance of 409 miles. It was first
conceived b\ Sieur Louis Jucherean de St. Denis, a Frenchman of

noble birth, who, after an adventurous life in [he upper Mississippi and
the Greal Lakes, entered tin- service of \ntoine Crozat, the newh

PORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 519

appointed governor of Louisiana. Crozat, who had obtained a trade
monopoly of Louisiana for fifteen years, therefore listened willingly to
the proposal of St. Denis to open an overland trade route to the Spanish
province of Mexico from the Mississippi River, and gave him a com
mission to explore the route and negotiate a treaty with the Spanish
authorities. With twenty four men under his command St. Denis struck
out from Natchitoches on the Red River into the uncharted wilderness
in search of his goal. He seems to have spent about six months with
the Texas Indians on the Angelina River, where he found memories of
La Salle's presence in that vicinity some thirty years before, and also of
Father Hidalgo, a Spanish monk who had spent several years among
the Indians, and to whom they had become much attached. In the
autumn of 1714 St. Denis resumed his journey, accompanied by Indians
in search of Father Hidalgo, who was reported to be at the mission of
San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande. After passing the Brazos they
met and defeated a band of hostile Indians. Most of the party now turned
back, while St. Denis with a few companions pushed on and reached
the Rio Grande early in 1715. much to the surprise of the Spanish Com-
mandant at San Juan Bautista, Don Diego Ramon, who was obliged,
owing to the stringent Spanish laws which aimed to exclude all strangers
from the trade privileges in Spanish domains, to place him under arrest.
After awhile, however, the Commandant permitted him to go to Mexico
City to interview the Vice-Roy. St. Denis' efforts to establish trade
relations, however, were unsuccessful, and his expedition had so fright-
ened the authorities that they took immediate steps to establish a com-
bined mission and military post on the Louisiana border to prevent fur-
ther French explorations of their territory. St. Denis, who in the mean-
time had fallen in love with and married Don Diego's granddaughter,
accompanied the Spanish expedition to Texas as guide. Capt. Domingo
Ramon, son of the Commandant, was in charge and the party, which
included twelve friars under the charge of Father Antonio Margil de
Jesus and Father Hidalgo.

The departure from the Rio Grande was made on April 27, 1716, and
on June 30 the party arrived at the spot on the Neches where Father
Hidalgo had labored in 1690. Six missions were established, four among
the Texans, one in the allied tribe of the Aies at the present town of
San Augustine, and one among the Adaes near Robeline, Louisiana. The
Texas missions were San Francisco, on the east side of the Neches, near
the present town of Alto ; La Purissima Concepcion, near the Linwood
crossing of the Angelina ; San Joseph, on one of the tributaries of
Shawnee Creek, near the northern line of Necogdoches County, and
Nuestra Senora de Guadelupe at Nacogdoches. The three first men-
tioned were abandoned in 1727.

In 1718 the mission of San Antonio de Valero was established on the
San Antonio River to serve as a supply station between San Juan Bau-
tista on the Rio Grande and the distant settlement near the eastern border.

But though the Spanish had assumed possession of the territory, the
French had so maneuvered that their opponents had opened the overland
route, which St. Denis had proposed, and had planted a settlement with
which they might trade, even though they must do it clandestinely. In

VOL II— 6

520 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

after time.'", when traffic had become frequent between Mexico and
Texas, this great thoroughfare became known as the Old San Antonio
Road. For many years it was a mere trail, or succession of trails, from
one Indian village to another, but between the Neches and the San
Antonio there was for some time no settled trail. Different travelers
seem to have selected different routes. It is probable that the selection
between San Antonio and the Neches was settled by custom along the
trail which was afterward known as El Camino Real — the Royal Road
or King's Highway. Along its course would wind long trains of pack
mules bearing supplies from Mexico for the lonely missions in the East.
The journey was long and tedious, and the traveler was often in peril
from hostile Indians, and later from bandits who laid in wait for and
attacked trains conveying treasure. Woven into its history are stories
of buried gold that has never been discovered, and many a tragedy was
enacted that would form a good framework around which to build an
exciting mystery novel.

About 1805 the road was put in order by Spain and guards were
stationed at each of the crossings of the Trinity, Brazos and Colorado

For some time previous to this date the traffic on the road had beer,
mostly for contraband purposes. By 180C a few Americans had settled
on the road on both sides of Nacogdoches, though in so doing they risked
imprisonment or even death, and had opened productive farms.

After the settlement of Americans early in the nineteenth century
wheeled vehicles began to travel across the country. This necessitated a
considerable change in the road, as the old mule trail was in many places
impracticable, thus the old San Antonio Road came into being, traversing
the same general course, though often diverging widely from the orig-
inal mule trail.

Under the Republic that part of the old San Antonio between the Red
River and the Nueces was constructed as a military road, and an act of
January 21, 1841. provided for opening to settlement a reservation of
twenty-five miles wide along this military road, and also that certain
land certificates be issued in connection with the laying out of "The
Central National Road" from the Trinity to the Red River, which des-
ignation apparently applied to a part of this trail.

That the good roads question is one of the greatest public importance
is recognized to day by every intelligent citizen, even though he may be
reluctant to assume any greater burden of taxation in behalf of the
cause. The ranks of the progressives, however, are being constantly
recruited owing to tin- large and increasing use of the automobile, an
invention which has been perhaps the most potent factor in advancing
the cause ; and state and federal aid to a large extent equalize local bur-
dens and prevent road taxes from pressing too heavily on thinly settled
((immunities. Federal aid is confined to the construction or reconstruc-
tion of Free Rural Delivery and Star Routes, commonly known as post
mads, and in no case can exceed fifty per cent of the cost of construction.

State aid projects an- those on which money from the State High
way fund is allotted. It is confined to roads designated as state high

ways, and shall not exceed twenty live per cenl of the cost of construe

tion. Counties whose taxable properties arc not sufficient to warrant the

FORT WORTH AND NIK TEXAS NORTHWEST 521

construction of sections of the system of state highway may, at the dis-
cretion of the commission, be granted aid not to exceed fifty per cent of
the cost of construction.

In the State of Texas there were in September, 1919, fifty-nine fed-
eral aid projects and seventy-three state aid projects under construction :
and the work is still going cm in accordance with a five-year plan of
activity. The amount voted in bond issues by 105 counties since Janu-
ary 1, 1919, in accordance with the same plan is $47,125,000.

In twenty-two other counties a total of $27,565,000 in bond issuer
has been proposed but not yet (February 1, 1921) voted on, several of
these, however, being identical with counties included in the first category
as having already voted a certain amount, while in sixty-four counties no
action has yet been taken.

To trace the history of all the old trails and historic roads in the state
would be a task requiring much time and painstaking research, though
it might well repay the trouble. The present generation, however, is
rather building for the future than delving into the history of the past,
and it is chiefly the intimate connection, in special cases, of past, present
and future that gives interest to this retrospective view. The citizen of
today is alive to present needs and future demands, and is endeavoring
to supply the one and provide for the other. In most of the Texan
counties much voluntary road work has been done and large subscriptions
made by private citizens.

Many miles of smooth reliable highway have been constructed in
East Texas and in other sections where sand and clay are available by
properly mixing the two materials for surfacing after the road has been
graded and drained. This method is comparatively inexpensive.

In the coast country of Texas mud shell is largely used as a road sur-
facing. In many other sections limerock, granite or other grades of
stone for surfacing are convenient to the right of way, but there are
counties where much road work has to be done that have had to trans-
port their material many miles by rail, thus increasing the expense of
construction. In some sections drainage is also an expensive item. The
cost has increased with the improvement in methods and the general rise
in the price of labor and material. Plain gravel roads cost from $10,000
to $15,000 a mile; those of gravel with a bituminous top. $15,000 to
$20,000; and concrete roads $40,000 to $50,000 a mile. Concrete is
now used for all bridge work.

Fort Worth is on two National Highways, the Bankhead Highw.n
from Washington to San Diego. California, and the Meridian Highway,
to be hereafter described.

The Bankhead Highway, known by Government description as High
way No. 1, was named after the Hon. William B. Bankhead, member of
the United States Senate from Alabama, who sponsored the act of Con-
gress that provided federal aid in the construction of state roads. It is
the longest of the state designations. Its course through this state is as
follows : Commencing at Texarkana, it runs in a western and south-
erly direction to Dallas, thence to Fort Worth, west of which there will
he a northern and southern route. The southern route passes through
Weatherford. Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Strawn. thence closely parallels

522 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

the right of way of the Texas & Pacific Railroad, keeping north of the
railroad until it reaches Toyah in Loving County, where it crosses to the
south of the railroad and follows it on that side to El Paso. The north-
ern route goes to Weatherford. Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Caddo, Breck-
enridge, Albam and Abilene, where it unites with the southern route.

There is also Highway No. 1 A, from Texarkana to and through
Atlanta, Linden, Daingerfield, Pittsburgh, Winsboro, thence to the Hop-
kins County line northwest of Winsboro. thence to Sulphur Spring--,
joining No. 1.

Highway No, 1 B runs from Naples to Douglasville and over High-
way No. S to Maude, joining No. 1.

The Meridian Highway (Highway No. 2) begins at Burkburnett.
thence to Wichita Falls, thence to Henrietta over what is known as High-
way No. 5, thence to Bowie, Decatur and Fort Worth. From Fort
Worth through Cleburne, thence through the Bosque Hill, there is a
scenic route through Meridian, Clifton and Valley Mills, then almost due
east to Waco, following the meanderings of the Bosque and the Brazos
and going into Waco from the northwest.

At Waco the highway divides. One fork going to the Rio Grande.
passes Baylor University, thence south through several towns to Temple,
thence to Austin, from Austin to San Antonio, after that through Mediva.
Frio, La Salle and Webb counties to Loredo on the Rio Grande.

The Gulf division of the Meridian Highway from Waco follows the
Brazos River to Hempstead, whence it goes to Houston and thence to
( ialveston.

There are a number of branch route> connected with Highway No. 2.
one beginning at Henrietta, thence to Jacksboro, Perrin and Whitt, and
connecting with Road No. 1 at Mineral Wells: thence over Road No. 1
to Weatherford. thence through Granburv and (lien Rose to Meridian,
where it connects with Road No. 2.

Road No. 2 A lakes out from Highway No. 2 at Cleburne and passes
through Burleson, \lvarado, Grandview, Itasca to Hillsboro, where it
connects with Highway No. 6, known as "King of Trails."

Road No. 2 I) begins at a point one and a half miles north of Bowie
on No. 2, thence to Ringgold, thence north to Ringgold bridge, crossing
Red River.

Highway No. 5— North Texas Highway — begins at Texarkana and
runs west and slightly north to Wichita Falls, thence through Vernon,
Quanah, Childress, Estelline intersecting No. 13 near Memphis thence
northwesl through Amarillo to Texlinc.

No. 5 A takes out of No. 5 at Estelline and nuts in a somewhat irreg
ular westerly direction to Farwell.

Highway No. 7 — Central Texas Highway -begins at a point on the
Sabine River east of Newtnn, thence to Jasper, I.ufkin, Crockett, and
over Highway No. ]') to Palestine, thence through Fairfield to Waco;
thence west and northwest to Goldthvvaitc, Brownwood, Coleman, Sweet
water, Snyder and Lubbock to Farwell.

No. 7 A runs from Coleman through San Angelo to Fort Stockton.

Highway No. 9- Pugel Sound to Gulf Highway.— There are two
routes out of Corpus Christi for \\>. 9. One follows the San \ntonio.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 52.]

Uvalde & Gulf Railroad to San Antonio. The other follows the San
Antonio & Arkansas Pass Railroad into San Antonio. From these it
runs to Brady, then west to the McCullock and Coucha County line, north
with that line to the Coucha River, west through Paint Rock to San
Angelo, thence northwest through Sterling City, Big Springs, Lamesa
and Tahoka to Lubbock ; then through Plainview, Tulia and Canyon to
Amarillo.

Highway No. 10 start* southwest from Fort Worth, then to Gran-
bury, Stephenville, Comanche, Brownwood, Brady, Menard, Sonora,
Ozona, Ft. Stockton, thence to Alpine, Maria and to Sierra Blanca.

No. 10 A goes southwest from Dallas to Cleburne, intersecting the
main Highway at Stephenville.

Highway No. 13 — Ozark Trail. — This road begins at Texaco, thence
to Wellington, thence to a point in Donley County, east of Clarendon,
where it intersects Highway No. 5, and follows the route to Amarillo.
thence to Vega, and west to the state line.

Highway No. 18 — Albany-Bronco Highway — Commencing at Bronco
in Yoakum County, thence through Plains to Brownfield, thence north-
east to Lubbock, thence by Crosbyton, thence southeast via Spur, thence
to Aspermont and to Albany, then to Sedwick. Marion, Pueblo, to Cisco,
then via DeLeon, Hico, Iredell, to Meridian, where it connects with
No. 2 at Waco.

No. 18 A takes out from No. 18 at a point two and one-half miles
west of Spur, thence to a point north ten miles, thence northwesterly for
a distance of about five miles, thence following the well-marked road-
way to Crosbyton, being what will be known as the northern loop, and
passing very close to Dickens.

No. 18 B is a direct east and west line between Albany and Lamesa.
It takes out at a point ten miles west of Albany at the forks of No. 18
and No. 30. and goes through Jones, Fisher, Scurry and Borden into
Dawson, passing Anson, Roby, Snyder and Gail, to Lamesa. At Lamesa
it runs northwest to Brownfield, joining No. 18 main road.

Highway No. 22 — Roger Q. Mills Highway. — This road begins at
Wichita Falls, to Archer City, to Olney, thence from Olney to Graham,
thence to Breckenridge, thence south to Eastland, thence south to Carbon,
thence to Gorman, Kucker, DeLeon, Downing and Van Dyke, to
Comanche, thence via Fleming. Energy, Hamilton, Granfills Gap to Merid-
ian, thence via Ferguson ranch buildings via Chase and crossing the
Brazos River at Whitney bridge, thence to Hillsboro and to Corsicana,
thence via Wildcat crossing to Palestine, thence to Busk, Cashing and
Nacogdoches, and thence through Center to Logansport.

Highway No. 23 — Southwest Trail. — The Southwest Trail begins at
Burkburnett, following No. 2 to Wichita Falls, thence over No. 22
to Archer City and Olney. From Olnev it leaves No. 22, going
southwest to Throckmorton, thence to Woodson, Albany and Baird,
thence through Cross Plains to Coleman, thence along Highway No. 7 to
Santa Anna, thence to Shield, to Brady. From Brady it follows No. 9
into San Antonio through Mason, Fredericksburg and Boerne. and from
San Antonio to Laredo over Highway No. 2.

524 FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Highway Xo. 24 is a short cross-country connection. It starts at
Denton and runs in a northerly direction through Aubrey. Pilot Point
and Tioga, connecting with No. 5 at Whitesboro.

Highway Xo. 25 takes out from a connection with No. 5 and No. 2
at Henrietta, thence to Jacksboro, Perrin and Whitt and connects with
Road Xo. 1 at Mineral Wells ; thence over Xo. 1 to YYeatherford, then
via Granbury and Glen Rose to Meridian, connecting there with No. 2.
This is to be known as the Mineral Wells branch of the Meridian road.

Highway Xo. 30 — Wichita Valley Highway — This road starts at
Wichita Falls, thence to Seymour, Goree, Mundy, Weinert, Haskell.
Stamford and Anson to Abilene, thence south to Tuscola, through Cedar
Gap, thence to Ovalo, thence to Guion, to Bradshaw, to Winters, to
Ballinger, to Paint Rock, thence to Eden, to Menard, to Junction, to
Leaky, and to Sabinal.

Highway No. 34 starts at Fort Worth, through Kennedale, Mansfield,
Midlothian, Brittain, Cardis and Waxahachie, to Ennis.

Highway No. 39 — Throckmorton Highway. — This highway begins at
Arthur City on Red River in Lamar County, thence south to Paris, thence
to Cooper over No. 19, thence to Klondike, to a point on the Hunt County-
line approximately two and one-half miles north of the Texas Midland
Railroad, thence to Commerce, thence to Greenville, thence to the
east line of Collin County, thence near the town of Princetown to Mc-
Kinney, thence through Foote, Rock Hill, Denton, to Decatur, thence
to Jacksboro, to Graham, to Throckmorton, to Haskell, to Aspermont.
thence along Highway No. 18 to Jay ton, thence to Clairmont, to Post,
to Tahoka, to Brownfield, thence along No. 18 to Plains, thence to Rronco,
and then to the Xew Mexico line.

Highway Xo. 40 — The Hobby Highway. — The Hobby Highway be-
gins at the bridge on Red River in Cooke County, thence through Gaines-
ville, Valley View, Sanger, Denton, Dallas, Kaufman, Athens, Frankston,
Jacksonville, Xacogdoches. Woodville. Kountze, Beaumont, and thence
to Sabine.

The Fort Worth branch of this highway extends from Fort Worth to
Denton via Roanoke.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY

Forty years ago about all that took place west of the Mississippi
of a money making character was born of cattle. The cattle were
worked in huge herds and, like the buffalo supplanted by them,
roamed in unnumbered thousands. Cattle find a natural theatre of
existence on the plains. There, likewise, flourishes the pastoral man.
But cattle herding, confined to the plains, gives way before the west-
ward creep of agriculture. Each year beholds more western acres
broken by the plough ; each year witnesses a diminution of the cattle-
ranges and cattle herding. This need ring no bell of alarm concern-
ing a future barren of a beef supply. More cattle are the product
of the farm region than of the ranges. That ground, once range
and now farm, raises more cattle now than then. Texas is a great
cattle state. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri are first
states of agriculture. The area of Texas is about even wjth the col-
lected area of the other five. Yet one finds double the number of
cattle in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri than in Texas,
to say nothing of ten-fold the sheep and hogs. But while the farms
in their westward pushing do not diminish the cattle, they reduce
the cattlemen and pinch off much that is romantic and picturesque.
Between the farm and the wire fence the cowboy, as once he
flourished, has been modified, subdued, and made partially to disappear.
The range stock industry naturally rested upon the surface and
was not anchored in the soil, and, like the picturesque "tumbleweed"
of the plains, it was moved hither and thither by the natural influ-
ences of the seasons and topography. While the vast ranges were
free, when nature without effort provided her native grasses, the
stockman could herd his cattle on the free pastures, and, on similar
terms with the gold miner, could reap the profits produced by nature's
own bounty. For forty years West Texas has been undergoing the
changes incident to the forward march of agriculture and the break-
ing up of the free range, and the range cattle industry is now prac-
tically a thing of the past. Modern stock farming, which is still the
main source of wealth in West Texas, is a very different business
from the range industry, which forms the principal subject of this
chapter. The range industry preceded the railroad epoch and in
a sense was hostile to the approach of civilization ; the modern live-
stock ranching is co-efficient with the tilling of the soil, and both
are phases of the present era of industrialism. The settlers who came
in from the border states during the '40s and '50s, bringing with
them at least a small capital of live stock, carried on their farming
and stock raising in co-operation. There is no definite time to be
set when the stock industry became independent of farming and
was engaged in as a great enterprise requiring altogether different
methods of management.

525

526

■ORT WokTII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

In view of the Fact that the movement of cattle to market has
so generally taken an easterly direction, the West supplying the
East with meat, it is an interesting piece of information that during
the years immediately following the great gold discovery in Cali-
fornia thousands of beef cattle were driven from Texas and Missis-
sippi valley points across the plains to feed the hordes of gold seekers
and the population that followed in their wake. During the brief
period of the existence of this demand many herds passed through
El Paso, encountering the frightful difficulties of the trail and the
worse dangers from the Indians, and seldom did a party on thi>
drive escape the attack of Indians, and. too often, the loss of most
of their stock.

( )ki«,i \\w. Tex \s Steer

Although the range cattle business had attained sufficient im-
portance by the middle of the century to give Texas a reputation as
a great cattle state, the operations were still confined to the eastern
and southern parts uf the state. The driving of cattle to the northern
market--, which until less than Eort) years ago was the most picturesque
feature of the Texas cattle business, was inaugurated about 1856, when
several large herds were trailed into Missouri, some being taken to the
St. Louis market. During tin1 remaining years before the war St. Louis
and Memphis received large quantities of 'Texas cattle, most of them
from the northeastern part of the state.

The commencement of hostilities broke all commercial relations

between the North and the South. 'The drives across the country

topped, while the blockade of the gulf ports ended exportation to

foreign markets. Before tin- capture of Vicksburg in 1863 and the

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST ?2.7

interposing of that river as a barrier between the East and the West
Confederacy, there had been only a moderate demand for Texas
cattle in the states east of the Mississippi, and, as in the latter half
of the war, food supplies of all kinds became scarcer, so also to
transport them from the West through the federal lines became an
increasingly difficult task.

The paralysis of the cattle business during the war was coincident
with that which befell all other activities. Not only were the avenues
of trade blocked, but also the former active participants in the busi-
ness were now for the most part in the service of their country as
soldiers. Destructive drouths were also a feature of this period,
and all conditions seemed to conjoin in throttling the life out of the
young industry of stock raising. These conditions caused at least
one very noteworthy consequence. By stress of circumstances many
stock owners had been compelled to abandon their herds, and from
lack of sufficient guarding many cattle had wandered away from their
regular range. At the close of the war, therefore, many thousands
of half-wild range cattle were shifting for themselves in the remote
districts. Incursions <>f Indian and wild beasts had made them
almost intractable and had increased the qualities of ranginess and
nimbleness of hoof to a point where they were more than ever able
to take care of themselves. When settled conditions once more came
upon the country it is said that more than one poor but enterprising
cowman got his start by rounding up and branding these
"mavericks,"* and from the herd thus acquired built up a busine^
equal to that of main- who in the beginning had been more fortunately
circumstanced.

The revival of the cattle business after the close of the war was
swifter than that which followed in other industries; and perhaps
for the reason based upon facts already presented : Given a good
range on the one hand and an attractive market on the other, the
principal conditions of a prosperous range stock business are satis-
fied and the industry will spring into large proportions in a short
time. The reopening of the markets of the North for southern
cattle and the fact that war-time prices for beef prevailed in those
markets for some time after the war, gave a decided impetus to
Texas stock raising. To supply this northern demand a large number

*Edward King gives this version of the Maverick story: "Colonel Maverick, an
old and wealthy citizen of San Antonio, once placed a small herd of cattle on an
island in Matagorda Bay, and having too many other things to think of soon forgot
all about them. After a lapse of several years some fishermen sent the colonel
word that his cattle had increased alarmingly, and that there was not enough grass
in the island to maintain them. So he sent men to bring them off. There is prob-
ably nothing more sublimely awful in the whole history of cattle raising than the
story of those beasts, from the time they were driven from the island until the)
were scattered to the four corners of Western Texas. Among these Matagordian
cattle which had run wild for years were eight hundred noble and ferocious bulls ;
and wherever they went they found the country vacant before them. It was as if
a menagerie of lions had broken loose in a village. Mr. Maverick never succeeded
in keeping any of the herd together; they all ran madly whenever a man came in
sight; and for many a day after whenever anv unbranded and unusuallj wild cattle
were seen about the ranges they were called 'Mavericks'."

528 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

of cattle were collected in the spring of 1866 and driven across the
Red River to principal shipping points.

The general quality of these herds was greatly inferior even to
the general run of the old-time "Texas longhorn." In fact, many
of the cattle driven North in 1866 were recruited from the herds
of wild cattle then wandering in great numbers over the state. The
presence of these wild animals in the drove gave the cowboy no end of
trouble, for the least untoward event set the suspicious brutes on the
stampede, every such occasion meaning the loss of hundreds of dollars to
the owner of the herd. Then, there were other gauntlets of danger and
difficulty to be run by these drovers. The "Texas fever" was the bete
noir of cattlemen, not so much because of the actual destruction wrought
among the cattle bv the disease, as by the general apprehension excited in
the public mind that all Texas beef was fever tainted and that Texas
cattle were carriers of the disease among northern stock, all this
operating for some time as an almost effectual bar against the sale
of cattle from the south of the Red River. To resist this invasion
of disease some of the inhabitants of Kansas and Missouri whose
farms were along the general route of the Texas drives took exceed-
ingly rigorous methods of stopping the passage of Texas drovers
through their neighborhoods. Instances are known in which Texans
were several)' punished and their cattle scattered through the woods
and ravines beyond all hope of recovery. Originating in an honest
desire to protect their live stock against imported disease, this hos-
tility to Texas cattlemen became a cloak for the operations of gangs
of blackmailers and outlaws such as would put to shame the banditti
of the middle ages. Says one who wrote of that period from knowl-
edge at first hand : "The bright visions of great profits and sudden
wealth that had shimmered before the imagination of the drover
were shocked, if not blasted, by the unexpected reception given him
in Southern Kansas and Missouri by a determined, organized, armed
mob, more lawless, insolent and imperious than a band of wild
savages. Could the prairies of Southeast Kansas and Southwest
Missouri talk they could tell many a thrilling, blood-curdling story of
carnage, wrong, outrage, robbery and revenge, not excelled in the
history of any banditti or the annals of the most bloody savages." It
became necessary for the drovers to avoid these danger-infested
regions, and instead of going directly to the nearest shipping point,
which was then Scdalia. Missouri, they detoured to the east or the
west, reaching the railroad either at St. Joseph or at St. Louis.

The prejudices against Texas cattle and the dangers of the trail
gradually subsided, though not till many a cattleman had gone bank-
rupt or suffered worse injury. In 1867, however, a new status was
given the cattle traffic. Up to that time the Missouri River had
furnished the nearest and most convenient shipping points for the
Texas cattleman, and the trails thither were long and, as we have
seen, often dangerous. It was to relieve these conditions that, in the
year 1867, Joseph G. McCoy selected, along the route of the newly
built Kansas Pacific Railroad, the embryo town and station of Abilene
as the point to which all the cattle trails from the South and South-

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 52<>

west should converge and disgorge the long-traveled herds into wait
ing cars, thence to be hurried away over the steel rails to the abat-
toirs and packing houses of the East. Abilene was no more than a
name at that time, and Mc( O) and his assistants set about the build-
ing of immense cattle pens and the equipments essential to a ship-
ping point. These weir completed in time for the fall drive, and
Abilene was thus launched upon its famous and infamous career as
"the wickedest and must God-forsaken place on the continent," a
detailed description of which is, happily, no part of this history.

By proper advertising of its advantages as the nearest and most
convenient railroad station for Texas shippers, by the year following
its establishment all the trail herds were pointed toward Abilene as
their destination. There the buyers would meet the drovers, who.

1 [erd of Range Cattle

having disposed of their cattle to best advantage, would usually turn
their steps to the flaunting dens that offered iniquity in every con-
ceivable earthly form. It is estimated that 75,000 Texan cattle were
marketed at Abilene in 1868, and in the following year twice that
number.

As is well known, the Texas "longhorn" of those days had char-
acteristics of figure, proportion and disposition which were of equal
fame with his value as beef. Texas fever or almost any evil imputa-
tion could more easily lodge against this animal than against the more
sleek and docile appearing "farmer cattle," so that it is not strange
that on the cattle exchanges "Texans" were usually quoted distinct
and at marked disparity of price compared with those brought by
other grades. The process of grading which worked out from Texas
herds this longhorn breed was a long time in accomplishment, and
in time practically covers the epoch of the range cattle industry as

530 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

distinct from modern cattle ranching. Though the Texan cattle thus
labored against adverse influences both at the hands of the buyer
and of the consumer, none the less the range business, both through
the profits to be derived and through the nature of the enterprise
attracted thousands of energetic men to its pursuit as long as the
conditions necessary to its continuance existed. The decade of the
70s was marked with many developments in the cattle industry.
Prices were up, the demand for cattle from Texas was not so critical,
and it is estimated that 300.000 head were driven out of the state to
Kansas points in the year 1870. Another factor that made the cattle
traffic for that year profitable was a "freight-war" between the trunk
lines reaching to the Atlantic, the reduction in freight rates simply
adding so much extra profit to the cattle shipper.

In 1871. as a consequence of the prosperity of the preceding year,
the trails leading to the North were thronged with cattle, and the
constant clouds of dust that hung daily along the trail, the ponderous
tread of countless hoofs, and the tossing, glistening current of long-
horns presented a spectacle the like of which will never be seen again.
Six hundred thousand head of Texas cattle went into Kansas in 1871.
and these numbers were swelled by contributions from the other
range states. But the drovers were not met by the eager buyers of
the year before; corn-fed beef from the middle slates had already parti)
satisfied the market ; the economic and financial conditions of the
country were not so good as in the year before ; railroad rates were
again normal and as a result half of the Texas drive had to he turned
on to the winter range in Kansas. A rigorous winter, with much
snow following, and much of the pasturage having already been close
cropped, thousands of cattle perished, and the year goes down in

Texas cattle history as almost calamitous. 'The year 1872 saw onlj
about half tin- number of cattle in the preceding year driven North,
although better prices prevailed and tin- average quality of the stock
was better. About this time Texas stockmen began the practice of
transferring their cattle to the northern ranges for fattening, a method
which soon became one of the important features of the business.

Practically all the activities of North Texa> came to an abrupt
pause as a result of the panic of 1873. and the cattle business, being
more "immediate" in its workings suffered more severely than others.

The pall of depression hung over the business world even before the
colossal failure of Jay Cooke in September; so that the 400,000 'Texas
cattle that were driven North found the buyers apathetic, to say the
least. .Many held off for better prices in the fall, only to he met with
overwhelming disappointment when the crash came. Naturally, the
range cattle fared worse in competition with the farm cattle, which
was nearly equal to the market demand. Everywhere there was over-
supply and glutting of the markets. Main Texans were in debt for
money advanced by banks in preceding m';i-miis. and as no extensions
of credit could be made there were hundreds of enterprising cowmen
in 'Texas in thai v car who faced complete defeat, although 'Texas
pluck and persistence saved them from annihilation. To such straits

did the business come in thai year that a considerable proportion of

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS XORTHWEST 531

the cattle were .sole! to rendering plants, which were set up in various
parts of the state as a direct result of the depression ; the hides, horn-,
hoofs and tallow were more profitable for a time than the beef. Con
ditions warranted these operations only a short time, and since then
there has been no slaughtering of range cattle as a business proposi-
tion merely for the by-products.

Much interest attaches to the series of developments by which the
Texas cattle industry grew in importance during the years before
1873, and how from a limited and unprofitable market at the gulf
ports the tide of cattle was turned to the North and was even then
being directed toward new shipping centers with almost each succeed-
ing year. New Orleans and the lower Mississippi points were the
destinations for the earliest cattlemen. Then Memphis and St. Louis
received the bulk of the trade; still later Sedalia and Kansas City;
Abilene had its infamous "boom" as a cowtown ; and later Junction
City, Wichita, Fort Dodge and other railroad points in Southern
Kansas, but coincident with the construction of the M. K. & T. Rail-
road south through Indian Territory to Denison, which remained its
terminal point for several years, the trail-herds of West and South-
west Texas were directed in an ever increasing stream toward this
part of North Texas. Nevertheless, the railroad mentioned must not
be credited with establishing this general route for the drives, and
although it was a positive influence to this end and the Denison
terminal was a shipping point of more than ordinary magnitude, it
remains true that a great part, perhaps a majority, of the cattle . were
driven past this point and on to the popular herding grounds in South-
eastern Kansas. The true explanation seems to be that this "Baxter
Springs Trail," as it was long known, and which even in the sixties
had become much of the way, a well worn road, was a logical route
to the northern markets; that the railroad, in following its general
course, merely supplied an iron highway instead of the already
favorite trail and that the convergence of the cattle routes through
Fort Worth, which began to attract marked notice in 1874. and the
subsequent extension of the railroad facilities from the Red River to
that point, were a series of events, based in the first instance on
natural causes, that have raised Fort Worth to its pre-eminence as
the cattle market of the Southwest.

While Abilene held the renter of the stage as a shipping point, the
"Shawnee Trail" came into general use. This took its course through
a more westerly part of the territory than the Raxter Springs route,
crossing the Arkansas River near Fort Gibson, thence through the Osage
Indian Reservation to the Kansas line, and thence north to Abilene. The
promoters of Abilene in 1868 had this route shortened by surveying a
direct trail south to the present City of Wichita, marking the course by
small mounds of earth ; this being the only instance when a cattle trail
was located with anything like mathematical precision. The southern end
of this trail, terminating at Wichita, was long used after Abilene ceased
to be a shipping point.

There is a distinction to be drawn between the trails that were followed
primarily as a route to market and those which were established as a

i32 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES1

highway of communication between the southern and the northern ranges.
The "Baxter Springs Trail" seems to have combined both these features ;
while the "Shawnee Trail" was principally used as the most convenient
way to reach the railroad. Further to the west than either of these was
the famous "Chisholm" or "Chisum" trail, which took its name from
[esse Chisholm. a half-breed Indian, and one of the earliest stockmen
of the territory. This trail came into prominence after the custom had
been established of transferring the southern cattle to the northern ranges,
there to be held and fattened for market. Beginning at the Red River,
it crossed the western portion of the present Oklahoma into Kansas.
and during the seventies so many cattle were driven this way that il
presented the appearance of a wide, beaten highway, stretching for miles
across the country.

The other trail that deserves mention was the "Panhandle Trail,"
whose location is explained by the name, and which was likewise used
principally for the transfer of Texas cattle to the ranges in Colorado
or more northern states.

These trails, which were so called with laudable exactness of defi-
nition, though leading with sufficient accuracy to certain destinations,
were as sinuous in their smaller lengths as the proverbially crooked cow-
path. This was especially true of the more westerly routes, where it was
necessary for the drover to direct his herds so that a sufficient water and
s^rass supply was each day accessible, these prime considerations making
a meandering course, the only feasible one in the plains country.

Notwithstanding that the years immediately following the panic of
1873 was a time of depression in the cattle business as well as other
industries, there was a realignment of forces going on in Texas which
was to make its influence felt when the time of prosperity again arrived
The natural economic resources which had lain dormant during the war
and reconstruction period were just beginning to be touched by the wand
of enterprise when the panic came, and though this cause operated as
a serious check, it was onl) temporary, and when stability was once
more restored to financial affairs Texas literally bounded forward along
every line of progress. This fact is well stated in the following news
paper comment which appeared in April. 1S75: "But a very few years
ago the traffic in Texas cattle with the North was a very small affair.
The first herds were driven into Kansas about eight years ago. NearK
every succeeding year witnessed an increased number until the aggregate
of one season amounted in over six hundred thousand, and when esti
mated in dollars the aggregate for the past eight years will reach eight)
millions. The peculiar condition of our state and people during the
eighl years in question, immediately succeeding the close of the war.
rendered it necessary to expend the greater part of this sum in bread
stuffs, clothing, wagons, agricultural implements, etc.. so thai very little
of the money found its way back to Texas. A different state of affairs
is manifest today, and the balance of trade is slowly swinging in our
favor, being assisted In- the increase in home manufactures."

\Ko, about that time the movement became definite which has re
suited in the extinction of the longhorn range cattle, so that at this
writing one of tin- old time "Texas steers" is a distinguished rarit)

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 533

in the markets. The prophecy of this modern state of affairs was thus
couched in a Fort Worth democrat editorial during the spring of 1874:
"Several hundred head of blooded cattle have been imported into this
county (Tarrant) during the past twelvemonth. These will," the
editor states, "in a few years greatly improve the grade of cattle in the
county. Stockraising in considerable quantities will soon become obsolete
in this section, and fewer numbers, of much finer grades, will be raised.
It is conceded by stock-raisers of Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri that
more money is realized by raising a few good cattle than from large
numbers of ordinary breeds. Our farmers are beginning to appreciate
this fact."

The prices for range stock during 1874 and 1875 remained very low,
seldom rising above two dollars per hundred.

This continued disparity of the Texas cattle in competition with
other grades was no doubt a principal factor in convincing the Texas
stockmen of the necessity of improving his breeds.

The refrigerator car as an element in the cattle business of Texas
receives notice in May, 1877, in the following paragraph from the Fort
Worth Democrat: "The first carload of fifty beeves in quarters, in a
Tiffany refrigerator car, which is just now coming into general use.
was shipped yesterday from Fort Worth to St. Louis. Some two years
ago a company was formed at Denison for shipping beef in refrigerator
cars, but proved a failure. Tiffany has since improved the cars to com-
mercial efficiency, and has provided ventilation so thorough and adapted
to both summer and winter use as will enable meats to be carried almost
any distance without taint or loss of flavor." Another issue of the same
paper, commenting on this "wonderful discovery," goes on to assert that
"so soon as the various railroad lines can supply their roads with these
cars, beef and other meats will be slaughtered in the localities where
raised and will be sent to market in dressed form, saving transportation
fees on offal and useless matter."

But the climax of the range cattle business was now approaching.
Not only were the farmer .settlers crowding the cattlemen West, but
the stock industry itself was proving so attractive that during the earl)
eighties practically every square mile of the range country was utilized
to the point of crowding. The rush to the range cattle country during
those years was quite comparable to a mining rush, in the splendid
visions of the sudden wealth that actuated the participants, as also in the
later failure and disappointment that swept into oblivion the majority
of such fortune hunters. The glamour of romance and the gleam of
riches had been thrown over the cattle ratige. Its stern aspects, its hard-
ships, its sacrificing toil, were subordinated to its picturesque features,
which many an old cattleman will dispute ever having existed elsewhere
than on the pages of romance. The titles "cattle king" and "cattle
baron," coined probably by some zealous newspaper man, sounded im-
pressive to the uninitiated and were often an all-sufficient stimulas to
the ambition of an easterner plodding the slow road to prosperity. As
one miraculous cure will establish the world-wide fame of a relic which
thousands of other worshipers have adored in vain, likewise a few
examples of success in cattle ranching gave dazzling promise to all who

534 FORT \\()RI"il AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

would undertake its pursuit. The glowing reports of the western cattle
industry that were found current in all parts of the world resulted in a
large immigration to the range country, and the mania for investment
in cattle and for booming every department of the business stimulated
a false prosperity that could have but one end. Values rose beyond all
precedent, and those who marketed their stock during the first two or
three years of the "boom" realized profit- that, had they then withdrawn
from the business, would have left them well within the realm of wealth.
But the contagion of the enterprise seemed to infect the experienced
cattleman as well as the tyro. The season's drive ended, the accruing
profits were reinvested, and thus the bubble expanded till it burst.

To properly understand the culmination of the conditions which
brought the range cattle industry to its climax in the eighties, it is neces-
sary to go hack to the origin of the industry and state the "rules of the
game" which had obtained as unwritten law as long as free range lasted.

"For a decade or two after the Civil war the range country of Texas
was open and free to whosoever might go in and occupy parts of it.
and nature provided food for the cattle without labor, without money
and without price from their owners. The cattlemen of that period
thought they 'had struck it rich.' as indeed they had. so far as free gras>
and a range that appeared to be unlimited and inexhaustible could help
them on to fortune. They had also thought that they had a perpetua,
possession in which these conditions would continue, but little, if at all.
disturbed, and that their business would go on indefinitely independent
of most of the trammels and restraints to which men were subject in
the settled parts of the country. The country appeared so endlessly big
and its grazing resources seemed so great that it was hard for any man
to foresee its 'crowded' occupation by range cattle far within the period
of his own lifetime, to say nothing of serious encroachments upon it
by tillers of the soil. In these years the methods and practices* of the
western stockmen as they advanced into the range country were much
the same wherever they went.

"The first impulse of a pioneer cattleman who had entered a virgin
district with his herd and established his headquarters there was meittalh
to claim everything within sight and for a long distance beyond. Bui
when the second one appeared with his stock the two would divide the
di-triet. and each keep on his side of the division line as agreed upon.
\- other- came in. the district would be still further divided, until,
according to the very broad views our pioneer friends held as to the
length and breath of land each should have fur 'elbow room.' it had
become fully occupied. There was nothing to prevent them from appro
priating tin country in this manner and arbitrarily defining the boundaries
of their respective ranges, and with this practice there developed the
theory of 'range rights' that is. of a man's right to his range in eonsc
quence of priority of occupation and continuous possession, although none
asserted actual ownership of the range land, nor did any of them realh
own as much as a square yard of it. Still, under the circumstances, the
theory of 'range rights' was not an unreasonable proposition.

"For a district to become 'fully occupied' did nut at that lime impl\
that the cattle outfits in it were near neighbors, In making claim I" a

FORT WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 535

range each stockman kept far over on the safe side by taking to himself
a-plenty, and therefore their ranch buildings were anywhere from fifteen
to thirty miles apart, and sometimes even farther. As a common rule
each man recognized and respected the range rights of his neighbors in
good faith, but occasionally there were conflicts."

Such were the conditions up to the time of the boom. Then, in con
sequence of the immigration of farmers and the many new aspirants
for success in the range business, the old cattlemen became generally
apprehensive for the future of their business. It seemed that even the
vast range country, much of which, indeed, has since been proved agri-
culturally valuable, might at no distant day be filled up by the land-own-
ing, fence-building and generally troublesome farmer, not to mention the
restrictions of range freedom that were being set by the greater numbers
of cattlemen.

Therefore the majority decided to make their shortening days of grace
strenuous ones, and to this end began the practice of stocking their range-
to the very limit. Where the long-horn had hitherto grazed the grass
from twenty-five or more acres, he was now often limited to ten. This
practice of overstocking the ranges became increasingly general, and
the several inevitable results were not long in precipitating widespread
calamity.

The practice led first of all to an abnormal demand for stock cattle.
Prices quickly rose from $7.00 to $8.00 a head and $10.00 and $12.00,
and large shipments were even sent from the middle states to form the
basis for the range herds. Of course this inflation of values deepened
the veneer of prosperity which gilded the entire business and increased
the recklessness of those who hoped to catch the golden bubble before
it burst. The beef-cattle market continued strong, some Texas "gras>
fed" steers selling in Chicago in May, 1882, at $6.80 a hundred, and
upwards of $6.00 being offered in the corresponding month of the next
year. But the ranges were not capable of supporting the great herds
of hungry cattle that cropped their grasses so close and in many cases so
trampled them that their productiveness was permanently impaired. A
rainy season and an open winter alone could maintain the cattle industry
at the high pressure at which it was being driven, and those conditions
could not be depended upon. In the hard winter of 1882-1883 cattle died
by the thousands, and those that were not ruined by nature's penalties
did not have long to wait for the economic overthrow. Prices for market
stock remained high throughout 1883 and the early months of 1884.
but in the fall of that year the decline began and by the middle of 1885
range cattle sold high at $10.00 a head and thousands went for less. The
delusive value of "range rights" and "free grass." so often estimated
as assets, could not be realized on, and the unfortunate stockmen found
the returns from their herds to give them a mere pittance compared
with the original investments. A case is recorded in which a Texas
cattleman, who in 1883 had refused $1,500,000 for his cattle, ranch out-
fit and range rights sold them all in 1886 for $245,000.

With the collapse of the great boom of the eighties, it may be said that
the doom of the range cattle industry was sounded, and since then a
complete rearrangement has been taking place by which modern con

vol.. II— 7

536 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

ditions have been ushered in. The fiction of "range rights" gave place
to the purchase outright or the leasing of tracts of range land. The in-
troduction of wire fences into general use set definite boundaries to each
cattleman's possessions and largely did away with the "open range."
Railroads went West and South, and were intersected by cross lines,
which, more than any other influence, caused the breaking up of the
range into ranches and stock farms. The improvement of the grades
of cattle, and the gradual elimination of the long-horns, the beginnings
of which we have already noted, have been steadily working the trans-
formation which is now so complete that only the older stockmen have
any knowledge of the conditions that we have just described. The stock
industry is now a business, almost a science, and is conducted along the
same systematic lines with other departments of modern industrialism.
( attlemen no longer pursue their calling outside the borders of the perma-
nent settlements : receding before the whistle of the locomotive they
built their ranch houses along the lines of steel, and their industry has
become an organic factor in the world's activities.

During the sixties and early seventies Mr. J. F. Glidden, at his home
in DeKalb, Illinois, had been conducting the experiments which resulted
in the production of barb-wire, and it is worth while to turn aside and
give in some detail the history of the invention which has meant so much
in Texas. The first patent covering his invention was secured and bore
date November 24, 1874. Smooth wire had already been used to a con-
siderable extent for fencing purposes. It was cheap and answered the
purpose to a certain extent, but it was by no means proof against cattle.
and in consequence smooth-wire fences were constantly in need of repair.
It was while replacing wires that had been torn from the posts 'by cattle
that Mr. Glidden noticed some staples hanging to the wires, and from
this conceived the idea of attaching barbs or points firmly to the wire
at regular intervals, in this way preventing cattle from exerting pressure
On the fence. It was at first only an idea, and there were many things
in overcome in perfecting it, but it continued prominent in Mr. Glidden's
mind, and after considerable thought he began experiments in perfecting
a style of barb and firmly attaching it to the wire. He made his first
perfected coil barb by the use of an old-fashioned coffee mill, of which
he turned the crank by hand. Later on he devised better and more sub-
stantial machinery for this purpose, and would then string a number of
barbs on a wire, placing them at regular intervals, and laving another
wire without barb by its side, twist the two together by the use of horse
power. Thus by the twisting of the wires the barbs were permanently
held in place, and the result obtained in this primitive way was sufficiently
satisfactory to convince him of the ultimate success of his invention. In
the fall of 1874 Mr. Glidden gave, for a nominal sum. a half interest

in his patent to Mr. 1.1. F.llw 1. of DeKalb. and a factory was erected

in that city for the manufacture of the new wire. Machinery was designed
with which the barbs were attached to a single wire and then a smooth

wire twisted with it to a length of 150 feet ; this length was then wound
mi .i reel and the process continued until the reel was filled. Soon after
waul a machine was made which coiled the barbs upon one wire, twisted

FORT WOKI'll AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES1

537

them together and wound the finished wire upon the reels ready for
shipment, each machine having a capacity of twenty reels daily.

Such was the inventing and manufacturing side of it. But, as has
been the case again and again in the history of machinery, a really excel-
lent device may be lost to the world because sufficient aggressiveness
has not been employed in its introduction to the public. The man selected
by Mr. Glidden to show the merits of his barbwire was Mr. Henry B.
Sanborn. Conservation, if not prejudice, worked against the first sale
of this article, only two or three reels being sold at Rochelle, Illinois, and
some small orders coming during the following months. In the spring
of 1875 Mr. Sanborn and Mr. Warner both set out to introduce the wire
into the Southwestern and Western States, where its field of greatest
usefulness lay. In the meantime a half interest in the DeKalb plant was
transferred to the well known wire manufacturers, Washburn and Moen

Herefords

Manufacturing Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, the contract with
Sanborn and Warner being reaffirmed by the new partnership.

In September, 1875, Mr. Sanborn made his first invasion of Texas
territory in the interest of the barb-wire industry. He soon found out
that fencing material was much needed in this great cattle country, but
the prejudice against the use of barb-wire seemed to be very strong.
As a sample of the objection, one large cattle owner told Mr. Sanborn
that the barb-wire fence would never do; that the cattle would run into it
and cut themselves, thus causing endless trouble from the screw worm,
which invariably attacks cattle in Texas when blood is drawn. But
Mr. Sanborn was proof against all such discouraging sentiments, and
he knew that once a wedge of sales entered the entire people would be
in time brought over to the new fence. He had a carload of the new
wire shipped to various points in the state, had Mr. Warner to come on
and help him. and then took the field in the country for the purpose of
introducing it to the actual consumers. At Gainesville he sold the first

538 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

ten reels of barb-wire ever sold in the state. Thence he went to other
towns, and during a trip of eleven days in a buggy he sold sixty reels ;
Mr. Warner was at the same time in the country west of Dallas and
selling as much or more. At Austin Mr. Warner sold to a firm of ranch-
men for their own use the first carload sold to consumers. The aggressive
work of the partners soon introduced the invention to many towns and
outlying districts, and after a month or so of effective drumming and
advertising thev returned to the North. In January, 1877, they made
a new contract with the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company
for the exclusive sale of the Glidden barb-wire in the State of Texas,
and established their office and headquarters at Houston.

By this time barb-wire had reached the importance of an issue among
the pepple of Texas. Its sincere friends were many and daily increasing,
but many more from self-interest as well as conservatism opposed it
most vehemently. The lumbermen were unfavorable because its intro-
duction would mean a decrease of the use of wood material for fencing
purposes, and the railroads allied themselves with the lumbermen, whose
shipments would thereby be diminished. Injury to stock was common
ground for opposition, and bills were even introduced into the legislature
prohibiting its use, but happily a rallying of the friends of barb-wire
defeated the inimical measures, and the entire agitation worked for the
welfare of the wire fence movement. In a few years the barb-wire sales
of Sanborn and Warner in this state ran well up toward the million dol-
lar mark. Messrs. Sanborn and Warner continued their partnership
until 1883, when the former purchased the latter's interest, the name of
Sanborn and Warner, however, being still retained. The contract with the
Washburn and Moen Company continued until the expiration of the
original Glidden patent in 1891, since which time the company has con-
tinued its Texas business from their branch office at Houston. Long
before this, however, the work of introduction, so thoroughly undertaken
by Mr. Sanborn, was complete and the trade built up to a steady and
permanent demand.

The principal factors that brought the cattle industry to it* present
orderly and substantial basis were, improved stock, provident manage
ment, and individual control of more or less of the land upon which each
stockman operated, accompanied by the use of fences. The first attempts
to introduce better blood into the rough range stock were made in Texas
about 1875. and the first introduction of Registered Cattle was by James
A. Brock who had a small ranch in Shackleford County although all
that was done in this direction before 1885 was experimental and had
little effect in raising the general grade. In fact, there was some prejudice
in those days against the heavy farm cattle, which, it was believed,
would not thrive under range conditions nor have the hardihood to with
stand the hardships of winter and drouth. Bui after 1885 "a large item
in the expense account of every ranchman whose operations were of con-
iderable magnitude represented bis outlay for high-grade and registered
bulls. High bred breeding stock was brought into the range countr) in

numbers that aggregrated thousands of head, and that, it is no exaggcra
tion to say, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. These hulk came not

only from the stock farms of the East, but from England, Scotland and

FORT WoKTII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 539

continental Europe. Quality was bred into the herds, and the range beef
steer was raised to a high plane of excellence."

"So the process of improving and upbuilding the range herds through
the introduction of better stock and by selective breeding was undertaken
and soon became general. The long-horn and all its kindred were rapidly
eliminated.

"These slender, long-legged, narrow-faced, slabby, nervous animals,
that could run like a deer, that were subject to panic whenever they saw
a man not on horseback, and that had horns reaching far out from their
heads, within a few years practically became extinct creatures. Their
places became more than filled by broad-backed, thick-loined, wide-
shouldered cattle that in many instances yielded the largest possible
amount of beef from the least possible amount of food, that topped the
market, and that were as easy to manage as so many barn-yard heifers;
the short-horned and the no-horned, the red-bodied and white-faced,
and the black and the mixed-hued. the short-legged and the medium-
legged — but all fine beefers."

Instead of depending entirely upon having their cattle "rustle" a
living from the pastures the twelvemonth through, under any and all con-
ditions, the stockmen began providing a reserve supply of forage with
which to tide over the hard spells of weather. The pastures still remain
the chief dependence, and ordinarily the stock gets along very well upon
them; but the West Texas cattlemen have discovered that the soil will
produce more than the native grasses.

With the breaking up of the ranges some portion of each ranch is
devoted to the production of kaffir corn, milo maize, and other non-sac-
charine sorghum plants, with which the cattle are fattened at home,
instead of the old way of driving them from the range to the northern
feeding grounds. Instead of being left standing till the cattle cropped
them, the tall and succulent grasses are now cut with mowing machines
and stacked for the winter's use. Furthermore, the modern stockman
will not hesitate to import winter feed for his cattle, although such prov-
idence in caring for the stock would have been considered folly by the
old-timers in the business.

Ranch management in all its details is being systematized. Instead
of driving his herds from place to place in search of grass and water the
cattleman of today is fencing in small areas, driving wells and building
dams and reservoirs, and raising the food for his cattle, feeding them
with his own hands, watering them and looking after them closely, which
would have been considered absurd and effeminate a few years ago.

The "water holes" and surface streams that formerly furnished all
the water for stock are now supplemented by wells. Forty years ago
the average cattleman would have ridiculed the idea that he was driving
his herds over a vast lake of pure water or that it would be easier to
tap the supply and draw it to the surface than to continue to drive his
cattle to a stagnant pool ten miles away. But the underground lake
exists, as the plainsman finally realized, and he has since been working
out the problem of getting the water to the surface. For this purpose
windmills have been generally employed, and the traveler through the
plains countrv finds the numerous windmills the most impressive feature

540 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

uf the landscape, Midland and other towns being worthy the names of
"windmill cities."

As related elsewhere in these pages, the close of the Civil War
found the livestock industry in a greatly disorganized and chaotic
condition. The absence of the owners and employes, who had enlisted
in the array, left the herds without supervision or control and they
rambled without let or hindrance over the surrounding country,
frequently going great distances from their location. The war over,
adventurers and unscrupulous individuals, possessed of only a lariat
and branding iron as their entire capital, proceeded to put their mark
and brand on all of the stray animals which they found, and many of
them soon had quite respectable quantities of cattle. They were no
respectors of persons or property rights, and it was no unusual tiling
to see a calf in one mark and brand, following its mother in another
entirely different and distinct mark and brand. This entailed enor-
mous losses to the owners of herds, and every effort to check and
subdue it proved unavailing. It became so intolerable that the cattle
raisers in Northwest Texas decided to organize for their mutual pro-
tection. To this end, a meeting was called at Graham, Texas, on the
1 5th of February, 1877. In response to this call about forty-five cattle-
men assembled and proceeded to the organization of what was called
the Stock Raisers' Association of Northwest Texas. As far as the
writer has been able to ascertain only eight of these men are still
alive. These are J. H. Graham, L. T. Clark, Sam Glascow, W. C.
Hunt, S. P.. Burnett, B. R. Willet, W. S. Ikard and Tom Waggoner.
Ml of the others have passed over the divide. They proceeded to the
adoption of a constitution and by-laws for the government of the as--"
ciation and elected C. L. Carter, of Palo Pinto, president. J. 1). Smith.
vice president : J. C. Loving, of Jack County, secretary and treasurer.
Colonel Carter, who was familiarly known by his friends and asso
dates as Kit tarter, was elected president each succeeding year but
one to the time of his death in 1888. The term which he did not serve,
he was nominated, but requested that he be allowed to retire on account
of his age and that the office be filled by a younger and more active
member.

C. C. Slaughter was elected to take his place in 1885 and served
"tic sear. At the annual meeting in 1886. Colonel Carter was again
elected president by acclamation, without a dissenting voice, and was
president when he died. lie was a man of rugged integrity and
sterling qualities, universally respected and beloved by all who knew
him.

Mi-. Loving served as secretary until his death on November 21.
1902. Mr filled the position of both secretary and treasurer until
March. 1893. lie also served eighteen years as general manager of
tin- association, basing charge of all of its affairs, the employment of
inspectors and every other matter of business affecting the association.

Iii March, 1893, In- was succeeded a-- treasurer by E. B, Harreld, who

held the position until March. 1900, when S. I'.. Burnett was elected
treasurer and has been elected each succeeding scar since. Upon thi'

!■ iili "i Colonel Carter. I. \\ Colston was chosen by the executive

F< H

WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES'

541

committee to till out the unexpired term of Mr. Loving. At the
annual meeting in .March. 1905, John T. Lyttle was elected secretarj
and general manager, and held the position but a few months, until
his death in 1906. He was succeeded by H. E. Crowley, who served
for two years, when E. P>. Spiller, the present secretary, was elected
and has served continuously until the present time. The association
keeps a large number of cattle inspectors at the principal markets,
shipping points and on the trails leading out of the state, who look
after ranch depredations and sequester cattle which are not found in
the mark and brand of the shipper, and has succeeded in breaking up
organized bands of thieves and sent many of them to the penitentiary.
At the organization of the association at Graham the country was
divided into districts and each district assigned to the supervision

S rocK Farm

and management of one of the residents of that district, whose duty
it was to supervise the semi-annual "round-ups."

At each of these "round-ups," spring and fall, representatives of
the different ranches within the district assembled at a certain point
and proceeded to gather all of the cattle in the vicinity and to separate
the animals of different mark and brand, and when this was done the\
were driven back to the range where they belonged. This method of
procedure continued until the advent of the barbed-wire, since which
time it has become obsolete.

The success of the Cattle Raisers' Association of Northwest Texas
attracted the attention of the stock raisers in South Texas, and a
similar organization was formed there along the same lines and with
the same beneficial results. These two associations continued until
1893, when representatives of each association met in the city of
Austin, and under the direction and management of Mr. C. C.

542 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Slaughter of the Northern Association and Mr. Seth Mabrey of the
Southern Association, an amalgamation was had and one organization
was recommended, to be known as the "Cattle Raisers' Association
of Texas," which was approved by both associations at their subse-
quent annual meetings and has continued under this name until the
present time.

The association now has members not only in Texas, but in Okla-
homa and New Mexico, and numbers about 6,500. It is probably the
largest and wealthiest business organization in the country.

The protective and detective features were the prime objects of the
association at first, and while still insisted upon, they are of less
importance now than other questions affecting the interests of their
members, consisting, foremost, in agitating the question of govern-
ment regulation of railroad rates and the suppression of rebates,
which are among the most prominent economic questions before the
American people for solution. Its attorneys have been before com-
mittees of Congress, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the State
Railway Commission and in the courts, advocating and defending the
interests of the cattlemen.

Some years ago another organization was perfected in the Pan
handle, known as the Southwestern Cattle Raisers' Association. This
was not in opposition to the Texas Cattle Raisers' Association, and
the two organizations worked together in perfect harmony. It was
contended by some that the Panhandle was so remote from the parent
association that the interests of the Panhandle cattlemen were not
sufficiently protected.

At the meeting of the Texas Cattle Raisers' Association held at
El Past) in March, 1921, the two associations were amalgamated under
the name of Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers' Association. The
number of directors was increased so as to give the Panhandle men
representation, and the association is thereby strengthened and its
facilities for guarding the interests of the industry increased.

Free Grass

One of the most bitter controversies connected with the cattle
industry was that over use of the open range by people who had no
vested rights in the soil either in fee or leasehold.

The State of Texas donated large quantities of land to aid and
encourage the construction of railroads. It was provided in the grant
that the railroad should survey the lands, and alternate sections were
assigned to the public free schools. For a number of years the rail-
roads exercised no control or supervision over the lands thus acquired,
and the ranchmen used them for grazing purposes without let or
hindrance, They also proceeded to use and occupy the school lands
Subsequently the ranchmen bought or leased the lands belonging to
the railroads, and soon they thus acquired the rights to use the school
lands. This contention was strenuously contested by those who had
cattle mi the range. The Texas Live Stock Journal and the Fort
Worth Gazette, under the same management and control, espoused
tlie interests of those who contended for the use of the school lands,

FORT WORTH \.\D NIK TEXAS NORTHWEST 543

and what became known as a Free Grass War was bitter and
relentless.

The State of Texas cut the gordian knot about 1881 by enacting a
law putting the school lands on the market to actual purchasers at
50 cents per acre. The amount of purchase was limited to seven
sections for each person, but this limitation was easily overcome by
getting friends or employes to make application for seven sections,
which, when granted by the land office, was at once transferred to
their principals. In this manner some of the largest ranches in the
West were formed. Then it was that the installation of the barbed-
wire fence, which is related elsewhere, became an important factor in
range condition. The men who had occupied and utilized the free
range resented this invasion as strenuously and bitterly as they had
contended for free grass, and they cut the wire fences almost as
rapidly as they were constructed. Vigilance committees were organ-
ized, and the state rangers were utilized to run down these wire-
cutters and bring them to punishment.

Under the law property rights were soon established and the con-
troversy ended to the benefit of all concerned. At this time probably
ever)' ranch in the West is enclosed with substantial fences, divided
into pastures and the services of the "line rider" dispensed with. This,
while it required a large investment of capital, has proven of inesti-
mable value and the saving of enormous expense to the cattle raiser.

Horses

Prior to the advent of the barbed-wire fence and the acquisition of
land in fee by the cattle raisers the horse was an important and
necessary part of the equipment of every ranch. The principal animal
used was the Texas mustang, a hardy, fleet and sure-footed and
almost untamed equine. Each one of the employes of the ranch would
have his "string" of ponies, and the custom was to use one for each
day of the week, and the remainder of the time they were turned out
to graze and usually had to be broken anew when their turn for use
came. They seldom, if ever, had any food except the grass upon
which they grazed during the days when they were not at work.

As late as the decade of the '70s there were many large herds of
mustangs running wild on the prairies of West Texas, which were
captured and broken for use. After the ranges became fenced the
necessity for a large number of horses was not so imperative and a
better and more docile breed was utilized.

In 1890 there were about 6.000,000 horses in Texas, but the assess-
ment roll for 1920 showed there were 1,840,518 enumerated for
taxation purposes. That thev were a good class of horses is evidenced
by the fact that they were valued at a little more than $81,000,000.

Sheei-

This branch of the livestock industry has had such varied experi-
ence that it is difficult to ascertain authentic data relative thereto.
Prior to 1882 the cattle raisers were very much opposed to the intro-
duction of sheep on the ranches. At that time the Texas Live Stock

s44

F( >RT \\( >K'

AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Journal, the authentic and recognized exponent of the livestock
industry, inaugurated a campaign for the broadening and development
of the flocks. It established a paper called the Wool Grower, and
enthusiastically advocated the raising of sheep, portraying, in the
most glowing terms, the possible advantages and profits to follow
sheep raising. It attracted wide-spread attention throughout the
entire country, and, because of the usual equable climate, sheep raisers
in the northern and eastern states came to Texas and invested large
amounts of money in sheep, and the cattlemen themselves added
flocks to their herds. In 1809 there were something like 9,000,000
sheep enumerated bv the assessors in the state, and the number of
sheep and the amount of wool clipping reached fabulous sums.

Much adverse legislation on the part of the national government
admitted wool from Australia and the South American countries free

Sheep

of duty, practically destroying the industry, so that the returns for
P>20 show that there were only 1,640,610 sheep on the assessment roll
for the entire state.

There were many ludicrous and oft times pathetic incidents con
nected with the industry, in which persons, unacquainted with the
peculiarities of the Texas climate, suffered great losses. One instance
will suffice to show the extent of the misfortunes attending some of
the activities of the "tenderfoot."

A sheep grower from the State of Vermont purchased a large tract
• >i land in Erath County and imported a large flock of tine sheep.
\sked it' he had made provision for the protection of his sheep, he
replied that it was entirely unnecessary, as he had raised sheep in
Vermont and that he knew the Texas climate to lie SO much milder
that sheds and sheep folds were unnecessary. Me COuld not lie con-

vinced that In- was in error; but one night a Montana blizzard struck
hi sheep, the rain and sleet saturated their fleeces, there was not

FORT Wok III AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 545

sufficient animal heat to counteract the effect of the cold, and the next
morning he found himself possessed of some bitter experience, but no
sheep, they were all frozen to death.

There is a vast area of broken-up lands in West Texas peculiarly
adapted to the grazing of sheep, and, if the National Government
could be induced to afford the same protection to the sheep raiser in
the Southwest that it does to the manufacturer in the Northeast, it
would soon become a very profitable industry. Without this favor-
able legislation the industry cannot prosper.

The latest available statistics of the number and value of animals
in Texas are as follows:

Cattle, 5,308,920 in number and $100,989,967 in value.

Horses and mules, 1,840,518 in number and $81,102,614 in value.

Buffalo Herd

Sheep, 1,640,610 in number and $6,708,507 in value.
Goats. 1,301,646 in number and $3,335,429 in value.
Hogs, 882,063 in number and $4,517,780 in value.

The Buffalo

Prior to 1877 large herds of buffalo roamed the western prairies.
Early in the fall immense droves of buffalo would come from tin-
western prairies, down through Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma,
to feed during the winter on the nutritious herbage found in the
Panhandle and Western Texas. These herds would frequently num-
ber a 1,000 and extend for miles in a black mass over the prairie.
They were usually followed by bands of Indians, who slaughtered
them for the meat, and who also made incursions upon the frontier
settlers, murdering men, women and children and driving off their

546 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

horses. In order to check these depredations the general government
decided to exterminate the buffalo. Hunters were encouraged to kill
the buffalo for the hides and horns, and large parties were organized
for this purpose.

Fort Worth became the market for these hides, and long trains
of wagons loaded with buffalo hides came to Fort Worth. Storage
facilities were wholly inadequate, and at one time what is now the
Texas & Pacific Railroad Yards had as much as ten or fifteen acres,
live, ten or fifteen feet high, covered with buffalo hides and many
acres more covered with horns, hoofs and bones of the slaughtered
buffalo.

The largest herd of buffalo now in existence is in Donley County.
When Mr. Charles Goodnight enclosed the ranch of Goodnight &
Adair, known as the Palo-Duro ranch, a large number of buffalo
were enclosed and they and their progeny remain to this day. Mr.
Goodnight experimented in crossing the buffalo with the Texas cow.
producing an animal which he called Cattalo. The experiment has
not been a pronounced success, but he has many animals with large
and smooth bodies without the hump ; but his example has not been
followed very generally by other cattlemen. A case in point is the
following newspaper excerpt :

"Surrounded by a wolf-proof and hunter-proof fence the herd of
buffalo kept in the preserve of R. V. Colbert, twenty miles east of
Stamford, is gradually increasing in size until it gives hope of once
more restocking the Texas plains with the animals, all but extinct
Neither Colbert, nor any of his ranch employes nor friends have ever
killed any of the buffalo and it is seldom that one i> ever sold and
then only with the agreement that it shall not be killed.

''Colbert's preserve is on his famous River Ranch and it consists
of 12,000 acres. A high wire fence around the place is set upon iron
posts deeply imbedded in concrete. It is only occasionally that Col
bert or any of his men get a glance of the buffalo. They are fret- to
browse all over the tract without interference. Their only com-
panions are deer and wild turkeys, which Colbert also placed in the
preserve. Adjoining the preserve is a tract which contains 700 head
of high-class Hereford tattle "

CHAPTER XX XIX
MINERAL RESOURCES

Practically every mineral known to the geological world is found
in Texas, and much of it in paying quantities awaiting the magic
wand of capital to develop it.

In many instances these deposits are too remote from railway
transportation to justify their development.

Oil has been found in so many different parts of Texas that it i?
reserved for a special chapter.

There are inexhaustible quantities of brown hematite iron ore in
Marion and Rusk counties, which assays fifty-five or sixty per cent
metal.

Llano County is a veritable mine of magnetic iron, and large de-
posits of manganese ore are found in several places in the county.

Lignite coal is found in Rusk, Henderson, Bastrop, Williamson,
Robertson and Milam counties. There is salt in large quantities in
\ran Zandt and Mitchell counties. Silver in Presidio and quicksilver
in Brewster counties. Gypsum is found in Eastland, Hardeman and
other counties. Sulphur in Brazoria, Edwards and Pecos counties.
There are copper deposits along the double mountain fork of the
Brazos, which have been prospected to a considerable extent, but, as
is the case with other minerals, it is too remote from railway trans-
portation to be profitable.

It is asserted that the largest known deposits of kaolin are in
Edwards County, but this, too, is some seventy-five miles from the
nearest railway station, making its development impracticable.

Coal is found in Rusk, Palo Pinto, Eastland, Wise, Young.
Stephens and other counties, and large mines have been opened at
Thurber, Strawn, Bridgeport and New Castle. This coal is said to
be superior for steam purposes, as it burns with a long flame and
without any injury to the boilers. It is not suitable for smelting
purposes.

The largest deposit of sulphur is near Ereeport in Brazoria, where
S. N. Swenson & Sons, one of the leading financial institutions of
Xew York, is mining it in large quantities.

Full cargoes are dispatched from Freeport to all parts of the
world. Texas in one plant produces nearly half of the commercial
sulphur of the entire world. That statement relating to a mining
or manufacturing plant in any other country except the United States
would indicate that the business was one of long drawn out duration,
but the single plant in Texas upon which the whole world is largely
dependent for sulphur for war and commercial purposes is only eight
years old.

Eight years ago the sulphur deposits had been discovered in wells
drilled for oil on Bryan mound, three miles from what is now the
flourishing little city of Freeport. But the men. the means and the
money t < ■ bring the sulphur from the depths of the earth and provide

547

548 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

transportation to all points of the compass were not at hand. In the
brief eight years the men, the means and the money have built a city,
providing all modern conveniences, including a hotel worth}- of a
considerable city, a bank, electric lighting and water system, miles of
conduits for the large amount of water used in the production of the
sulphur, a modern loading and shipping plant at the mouth of the
Brazos, great storage tanks for fuel oil, and a line of steamers which
are constantly employed in bringing oil from the Tampico, Mexico,
fields.

All of these conveniences, in addition to hundreds of residences for
employes, had to be provided in addition to the plant for the extraction
of the sulphur from the ores far down in the earth. Approximate!)
five millions of dollars were expended in preliminary work before the
many millions were laid out in the thousands of tons of machinery neces-
sary to produce the sulphur.

In all probability there is not another mining or manufacturing plant
in all the world where so much money was expended before any of it
came back in profits on the investment. That represents the daring and
the courage of the men who made this mighty producer of wealth known
as the Freeport Sulphur Company of Freeport, Texas. It was the rea-
son why it took so long to find the men and the capital to interest in the
venture, and why when once thev did become interested, so much was
done in so little time.

The Method of Producing Sulphur

Sulphur on Bryan's mound is found associated with gypsum at vari-
ous depths ranging from 840 to 1,000 feet below the surface of the
earth. A decade ago, if it had been desired to get the sulphur out it
would have been mined, as other minerals are mined, by the means of
shafts, tunnels and cross cuts. But this would have been a dangerous
and hazardous business for the miners owing to the character of sulphur
and the fumes that it gives off in association with gypsum. By the
method adopted by the Freeport Sulphur Company the sulphur is ex-
tracted from the gypsum by being melted with steam, which is forced
under great pressure through one set of pipes, and the sulphur in a'
molten state is forced out of the ground by compressed air scut down
through other pipes.

Sulphur wells are eight and ten inches in diameter, that is. are of a
size to take an eight or ten-inch pipe. This outside pipe is set down in
the hole to the top of the sulphur bed. Inside of this pipe there is a
six-inch pipe which carries tin steam under pressure of 300 or more
pounds to the cubic inch. Another pipe three inches in diameter is
inserted, through which Hows the sulphur to the top of the wells and to
the bins. Again, within the three-inch pipe, is a one-inch pipe through
which the compressed air is forced.

To operate one well requires o.OOO horsepower, and in a day's run
of 24 bouts eaeli well requires the consumption of 1,335,000 gallons of
water and 770 barrels (,f fuel oil. Operation never ceases day or night.

there are no Sundays or holidays, and a well is continuously pumped

until all the sulphur is taken out of it. The continuous operation is nee-

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 549

essary from the peculiar fact that if the sulphur is once allowed i<> harden
after being heated by steam it cannot be made to flow again, and the
well is irretrievably lost. So the work is divided into three shift-, oi
eight hours each, and goes on without ceasing for a minute.

Wells produce various amounts of sulphur per day. and some are
worked out in a few weeks while others continue to give out sulphur for
several months. Fifty tons per day is a poor well, and. on the othei
hand, a well that will produce 500 tons per day is a good well, The sul-
phur is pumped into large open bins which are built up day by day of
heavy planks. These bins are approximately 400 feet long, 200 feet wide
and when filled are fifty feet high and hold about 120.000 tons of
sulphur.

Since the beginning of Operations about 230 wells have been ex-
hausted of their sulphur. Six wells are the maximum number pumped
at one time, and to provide the steam to melt the sulphur and the com
pressed air to force the sulphur out of six wells requires 36,000 horse
power and the consumption of 8,000,000 gallons of water and 4,200 bar-
rels of fuel oil per day. The water is brought in a canal a distance ol
four miles from the Brazos River, and 50,000 pounds of lime are used
daily in treating it. More power is required to operate six sulphur wells
than is required to operate all of the oil wells in South Texas, one well
using more power than the entire i loose- Creek field.

The sulphur is shipped from the loading station at the mouth of the
Brazos River and four miles from the plant, which is connected by rail-
road tracks. Special steel cars carry the sulphur from the bins and
empty it directly into the steamships. So perfectly organized is the load-
ing work that 3.000 tons have been brought from the plant and loaded
on a steamship between sun up and sun down. Sulphur is shipped direct
from the plant to all the ports of the world. What the monthly output
is, is not made public, but a contract to deliver 40,000 tons a month
could be filled without difficulty. When a bin is filled the side boards
are knocked off. a double line of railroad tracks are laid to it and the
sulphur broken up as desired by a low explosive and loaded directlv on
the cars. As fast as one bin is used up another is made ready for use
and vet another is started.

The sulphur as it comes from the earth is of a rich brown color, but
turns yellow on cooling. One man is stationed on the top of the bin
when it is being filled who breaks the crusts formed in cooling and
spreads the sulphur out so it will cool on a level. Each day the meas-
urements are taken and an estimate made of the production.

New wells are constantly being drilled and made ready to take tin-
place of those exhausted of their sulphur. As fast as one well is com
pleted the derrick is drawn to another place and another well begun. In
some places the sulphur deposits are found to be much richer than in
others, and wells are drilled within a few feet of each other, while in
other places they are a considerable distance apart. When one realizes
that only six wells are operated at a time the great astonishment is the
vast amount of machinery and the number of men required to operate
them. At Freeport there are 810 men on the pay rolls, equalling 135 men
to the well operated. All these men. with the exception of a few heads

550 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

of departments, live in Freeport and cars run at regular intervals to
transport them the three miles between their homes and work.

Another surprising thing about such a big business, which probably
represents an investment of $20,000,000, is the small number of general
office men. The general offices are located in three or four small rooms
above the little bank in Freeport. and a handful of men do the directing
of this big business. Mr. C. A. Jones is general manager, Mr. P. George
Maercky, assistant general manager, and in addition to "running" the
Freeport Sulphur Company they control the Townsite Company, the
Hotel Company, the Bank, the Electric Light and Water Company, the
Terminal Railroad Company and the Steamship Line. Mr. Jones also
finds time to manage the great landed interests of the Swensons in Texas,
consisting of about 600.000 acres of land, a half dozen towns, tens of
thousands of acres in cultivated farms, and many thousand head of
cattle and other live stock.

The Men Who Did the Work

In a new and undeveloped country as Texas, where there are vast
acres of unexplored and undeveloped resources, the spending of millions
to make millions out of natural resources is of interest to every citizen
We are "land poor" in Texas yet, even more so in this day of additional
demands in the matter of living, than a half century ago. when a very
few necessities and fewer luxuries represented the best of those who
had the most.

Failing in the men who had not only the money, but that far better
quality of daring to do something outside of the ordinary. Texas and
many Texans would be far poorer than they are. For this reason it is
worth while to say something about the men who did this great feat for
Texas, because in adorning a tale we oftentimes point a moral and get
other things done.

Fric P. Swenson and S. Albin Swenson, noted bankers of New York,
are the men who made the development of half the sulphur of the world
possible in Texas, and expended many millions of dollars in the endeavor
before a dollar came back in profits. Both of these gentlemen were born
in Texas, the sons of Swen M. Swenson, who in the early days of Texas
was one of our great merchants, the financial adviser of our Republic
and State and the close personal friend of ['resident and afterwards
Governor Sam Houston. As were Sam Houston. James W. Throckmor
ton. Flisha M. Pease. A. J. Hamilton and others. Mr. Swenson was a
strong Union man, and when the Civil war began he was compelled to
leave Texas and located in New York. Rut he never forgot the state on
whose coast he was shipwrecked in 1838. when emigrating from Lattarp,
Sweden, to the Lone Star Republic, just wrested from the toils of Spain.
a young man of excellent family with the bold, exploring blood of a long
line of ancestors pulsing in bis veins.

From the day that the elder Swenson was thrown in a storm from

a sinking ship on to Galveston Island, eight) one years ago, the family
of Swenson has been good and loyal friends of Texas. Today, the
owners of greal wealth, they can proudlj point to the fact that it was
made in developing the natural resources of an unknown domain, which,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 551

while having a lesser population than the big city of America, contains
more land than Germany and England combined, which support a popu-<
lation of a hundred million souls.

Carrying on the policy, which must have orginated by word of mouth
or token of the elder Swen M. Swenson, the sons, Eric P. and S. Albin
Swenson, have looked far afield to plunge their wealth into enterprises
where others and the body politic might prosper as well as themselves
in the utilization of the raw resources of Nature.

Thousands of homes had been made possible in Texas by Swenson
money and Swenson courage long before sulphur was thought of as a
commercial possibility. If there ever was a man or association of men
who thought of the trite and truthful aphorism of Dean Swift of regard-
ing the virtue of making even two blades of grass grow where only one
grew before, it was S. M. Swenson and his heirs. Would that Texas
had more of their kind and sinew.

Quicksilver

The principal operating companies in Texas are the Marfa and Mari-
posa Mining Company, with three 10-ton Scott furnaces; the Terlingua
Mining Company, with one 40-ton Scott furnace; and the Colquitt-Tigner
Mining Company, with one 10-ton Scott furnace.

Texas ranks second among the states in the amount of quicksilver
produced.

The cinnabar deposits of California Hill, Brewster County, near Ter-
lingua post office, ninety miles southeast of Marfa, were known to the
Comanche Indians, who used them as a vermilion pigment. The knowl-
edge of these deposits, however, was not recorded until 18^4. when sev-
eral Mexicans found a few pieces of cinnabar float and took them to San
Carlos, on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, whence they were sent
to Chihuahua and their mineralogical character determined. Mr. George
W. Wanless, of the Rio Grande Smelting Works, and Mr. Charles Allen,
of Socorro, New Mexico, under the direction of the Mexicans, found the
veins and located the first mineral claims. Shortly after this Prof. Wil-
liam P. Blake described these deposits under the title Cinnabar in Texas,
the first important article concerning this subject on record. Consider-
able prospecting work was carried on in the district, but it was not until
1898 that the metal was produced in commercial quantities.

The deposits of cinnabar at Terlingua are of two classes ; one occurs
in hard and durable limestone and the other in soft and friable argil-
laceous beds. The ores are cinnabar, mercury, yellow sulphide, and ter-
linguaite. and contain in addition several other mercury minerals, such
as calomel, eglestonite and montroydite, which, on account of their rarity,
are of scientific interest only. Cinnabar is the principal mineral and is
usually mixed with clay or iron oxide. Native mercury is present in
several localities in the district, occurring in the interstices of crystalline
calcite, and a single cavity in the calcite veins has yielded as much as
twenty pounds of the native metal. The associated gangue is composed
of calcite, aragonite. gypsum, and occasionally a little barite, iron
oxide, pyrite, and occasionallv arsenic and manganese minerals.

VOL. II— .8

552 FORI' WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Metal Mining i\ Texas in 1920

The Presidio silver mine at Shatter, Texas, was in continuous opera-
tion during the year 1920, according to Charles W. Henderson, of the
United States geological survey, department of the interior. Small ship-
ments of copper and lead ores weir made from the Van Horn and Sierra
Blanca districts. The metal production for the state for the year was
520,000 ounces of silver and small quantities of gold, lead and copper.

Lignite

The Texas lignite fields, which constitute almost one-half of the
known area of the United States, are estimated to have originally con-
tained approximately 30,000,000.000 tons. The total tonnage mined to
date is probably 19,000.000 tons. The lignite bearing formations of
Texas comprise a belt with a length of over 600 miles by a width of 50
miles. This belt begins near the Red River in the northeastern corner
of the state and extends entirely across in a southwesterly direction to
the Rio Grande or Mexican border. This belt is parallel to the Gulf
coast line, lying from 100 to 150 miles inland. Geologically these de-
posits belong to the Eocene series of the Tertiary period. While the
lignite bearing area is great in extent it must not be supposed that the
deposits are capable of being worked at all points over this area. As a
matter of fact the actual workable area is comparatively small in extent,
and for the entire distance across the state there are only five points
where mining is carried on successfully. Over a greater part of the
lignite area the seams are thin and irregular, are overlain with water-
bearing strata, or have other conditions which make mining of same
impracticable.

The first lignite was probably mined about thirty-five years ago in
Milam County near the town of Rockdale. The first mine was a very
small affair, the coal being hoisted by a windlass and mule power and
the coal delivered to the consumer via the wagon route. Since that time
the lignite industry lias gradually developed until today I 1921 ) there are
thirty-eight mines with a combined output of about 1.500,000 tons an-
nually. The principal mining operations are at present carried on near
the following towns : Rockdale, Milam County; Bastrop. Bastrop County:
Jewett, Leon County; Crockett. Houston County; Malakoff, Henderson
County; Alba. Wood County, and Como. Hopkins County.

Most of the mining in Texas up to the present time lias been along
or near the outcrop of the various seams ; the depth ranging from 20 to
Hl(l feet. In several pails of the state there ale two or mure workable
seams, one overlying the other. In thickness the seams vary from a
few inches up to twenty feel; the Overburden running from 20 feet to
860 feet. At the present time no seam is mined where the thickness of
tile bed is less than four feet, and in most of the mines the seams worked
run from seven In twelve feel. The lignite deposits have not been very
thoroughly explored,

I be lignite mines are winked mi the room-and-pillar plan, usually
"ii the double-entr) s\stem Mule haulage is used at practically all of
the mines, only a few mines being equipped with rope haulage or gas

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 553

oline motor. No gas is encountered in the lignite mines, and open car
bide lights are vised almost exclusively. Most of the lignite is pick mined
by hand, though it is blasted in some parts of the state. Serious acci-
dents are almost unknown. At the present ti.me there are probably not
in excess of 3,500 men employed at the mines, most of these miners being
Mexicans.

The fluctuating market and competition with crude oil has tended to
hamper the full development of the lignite industry. The development
of each large oil field has caused a corresponding decline in the lignite
industry due to the keen competition with the liquid fuel. Crude oil is
no longer the keen competitor of a few years ago, and lignite is becom-
ing better known. Its fine qualities as a fuel are being recognized, and
it is to be believed that the lignite industry will be developed on a broader
scale in the next few years.

The ultimate development of the lignite industry will doubtless be
similar to that of the oil industry, and will only be complete when the
lignite, like the oil, is passed through a process of refining and the valu
able by-products are recovered. The by-products of the lignite, like the
by-products of the oil, will be greater in value than the original fuel.
The lignites of Europe, which are similar to ours, have for years been
used to produce more concentrated fuels and made to yield their by-
products. At the present time practically all the lignite mined is used
under boilers in its raw state. Near the mines lignite is used extensiveK
for domestic purposes. In its raw state lignite is a very satisfactory
fuel, still it seems a waste to use it in this form and by so doing lose
forever the valuable by-products. Texas bituminous fields are very small
in extent, and quite a large tonnage has already been exhausted, so that
in the years to come Texas must look to the lignite for its fuel supply.

The Strawn Coal Mining Company

The progress and growth of Strawn and the surrounding section has
been largely the result of the development of the coal industry, which
began some twenty-five or thirty years ago. More recently the oil in-
dustry has come into prominence and added materially to the general
prosperity the initial impetus of which was due to coal.

The pioneer in the coal industry here was W. W. Johnson, who first
developed the mines at Lyra, later sinking the Mount Marion -.haft on
the edge of the town of Strawn. The Mount Marion shaft commenced
operations in the year 1903, and has been continually operated down to
the present time.

The mines at Lyra and Strawn were operated under separate organi
zations up to the beginning of the year 1914, those at the former place b\
the Strawn Coal Mining Co. and the mines at Strawn by the Mt. Marion
Coal Mining Co. In the year 1914 the properties were merged and have
since been operated by the Strawn Coal Co., which was organized by the
present management, and which took over the properties and holdings of
both the old companies.

During the past ten years alone these mines have mined and marketed
more than 1 .oOO.OOO tons of coal. This quantity of coal i- the equivalent

554 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

of 40.000 carloads, of 40 tons each, which in one train would span the
state from Sherman to the Gulf.

The payrolls of the company at this time are running above $75,000
per month, practically all of which is spent at home by the company's
officers and employes, the banks and business and professional men of
the town being the principal beneficiaries.

The company's force of employes at the present time number about
500 men at its three mines. Its new mine, Mine No. 4. commenced
operations near the close of 1920, and in a short time the number of
employes at that mine will be greatly increased.

In addition to the mines of the Strawn Company, the Thurber mines
are situated only a few miles away, and the Strawn merchants draw-
considerable trade from these mines.

It is stated that the Thurber Company is contemplating the sinking
of two new wells near Strawn in the near future.

The Strawn-Thurber Coal vein is known to be extensive enough to
guarantee that the mining industry will last, at least in this vicinity, for
several generations. While the full extent of the vein has not been dis-
closed by tests, enough diamond drill tests have shown conclusively that
the Strawn Company has coal bearing lands sufficient for the location
of several different mines: and inasmuch as it requires from fifteen to
twenty years to exhaust a mine, it is certain that the industry will con-
tinue to flourish for many years. The officers of the Strawn Coal Com-
pany are: \Y. Burton, president; E. B. Ritchie, vice president and general
manager; A. DefTebach, secretary-treasurer. The paid in capital of the
company is S500.000.

The Texas & Pacific Coal and Oil Co.

On the surface there is nothing in the Erath Mountains to invite
human activities. The winding, barren hills have stood for centuries
as frowning sentinels over waste plains where the wolf and cougar could
-circe make shift for a living. The stunted post oak and black jack
that fringed the red colored ridges were the only evidences it gave of
even scant fertility. The few cattle that browsed upon the land found
but a meager diet of roots, branches and leaves. He would have been
a bold dreamer who. thirty years ago, would have dared to predict that
in the heart of such a scene would arise one of the most important and
successful industrial enterprises in the State of Texas.

Puny attempts had been made, from time to time, to open coal mines
at several points in the state, but the results were not calculated to en
courage further experiment of that sort. Repeated failure had excited
general distrusl of the business among the capitalists, and the conditions
under which mining was attempted were distinctly unfavorable. No
man of ordinary mould could have brought success out of these conditions
All the circumstances considered the establishment and successful Opera-
tion of the coal mines and collateral industries that make the thriving
little city of Thurber, is undoubtedly the greatest industrial achievement
ever witnessed in Texas.

[Note The above introduction is taken from an article by E. ( i.
Senter, published in Texas Farm and Ranch, and reprinted in Texas
Mining \ I rade [burnal, published at Thurber, October 1. 1898, Editor |

FORI' WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 555

The notable transformation referred to began about 1886 or 1887,
when W. W. Johnson and associates sunk a mine at Thurber, which
they operated till the fall of 1888. The property was then purchased
and taken over by Col. R. D. Hunter, of St. Louis, Edgar L. Marston,
also of St. Louis, and H. K. Thurber, of New York, who with others
organized the Texas & Pacific Coal Co. These enterprising business men
immediately began the development of the property by sinking another
shaft, erecting houses for employes, store buildings and other necessary
structures, thus laying the foundation of the present industrial community.

From time to time, as the older mines declined, other shafts were
sunk, there never being more than five or six in operation at any one
time. These new activities gradually increased in output to as much as
.^,000 tons a day. During this time and for a number of years Col. R. D.
Hunter was president and manager of the company, and about 1896
he and James Green, of St. Louis, added to the activities at Thurber a
new industry by organizing the Green & Hunter Brick Co., which in a
year or two had become the largest enterprise of its kind in the South,
its capacity (in October, 1898) being over 75,000 brick per day. A
new and larger plant was then constructed for the manufacture of vitri-
fied brick for street paving, the quality of shale, the material used, being
the best that had been discovered for making this variety of brick, it
being absolutely free of lime. The brick plant subsequently came under
full control of the Texas & Pacific Coal Co. (now the Texas & Pacific-
Coal & Oil Co.). Mr. Green retired from the concern. It now turns
out 2,000,000 vitrified brick per month and gives employment to 125 men.

The general offices of the company were at Fort Worth, R. D. Hunter
being president and general manager and W. H. Ward, secretary.

In the meanwhile the main company, the Texas & Pacific Coal Co.,
had been enlarging its interests, and its landed possessions now comprised
some 40,000 acres. Fight mines had been opened and the town of
Thurber had a population of about 4,500. A description of it published
at that time applies in most essential respects today, and with some slight
modifications may be repeated.

Thurber is reached by stage from Thurber Junction (Mingus), which
is seventy-six miles west of Fort Worth on the Texas & Pacific Rail-
road, the distance from the junction to Thurber being three miles. The
buildings are clustered around the original coal shaft. The Hotel Knox
provides the visitor with all the comforts of a first-class city inn, and he
finds all the business and social needs of the community well supplied.
"Everything about the place forms a part of one harmonious whole.
Order reigns and law is respected. Law breakers are not wanted in
Thurber and cannot stay there. The town has its own code, which is
more rigorous than the statutes, and when that is violated a writ of
ouster is served and rigidly enforced.

"The town and people are well kept and evidences of thrift and com-
fort abound everywhere ; want and distress are unknown. The town
furnishes employment and wages sufficient to maintain all its toilers in
substantial comfort. Cognizance is taken of the workers' social needs,
and the ministration to these is on a much more liberal scale than is
usual in a town of this size. Churches, schools and varied amusements

556 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

are provided at its own expense. Care is taken that the life at Thurber
shall be made as attractive as it could be for the employe elsewhere, and
the coal operator who would endeavor to coax the employes to take em-
ployment at another mine would find his task a difficult one.

"A prettv little theater has been built, where performances are fre
quently given by companies passing to and from the West."

Today the more common form of entertainment is the moving picture
show. In former years there were two excellent home bands under skilled
professional direction which some few years ago were consolidated
into one, and public concerts are frequently given.

A large artificial lake was constructed, which now covers 155 acres
at high water mark, and affords good sailing and shooting facilities .
and there are also several smaller lakes. A capacious reservoir supplies
the town with water, and on its banks a cosy club house affords a tempting
lounging-place. At the present time there are two hotels, the Hotel
Plummer. of twenty rooms, which serves meals, and the Marston Hall
Dormitory, of thirty rooms, operated on the F.uropean plan. Nearby
is a good cafe, while there are stores for the sale of goods of all kinds :
also a Mexican restaurant, as in recent years a number of Mexicans have
been employed by the company. The other employes include men of all
nationalities, mostly English-speaking. The two restaurants are rented
out to individual proprietors, as are also several other of the smaller
industries, including a photograph gallery, a boot and shoe repair shop,
etc. The larger places of business are operated by men in the direct
employ of the company, which owns all the land and buildings consti-
tuting the town.

There are several churches of different denominations, including the
Catholic, Methodist. Presbyterian and Baptist. The Catholic Church
maintains a parochial school, established more than twenty years ago. and
has an enrollment of about fifty pupils.

There is also a church and a school for negroes.

The original public school building was built in l°-0(> and has been
enlarged several times. The most recent addition was made in 1920.
It has an enrollment of 900 pupils. The school is in part maintained
by the company, the state appropriation being insufficient to maintain
a nine months school of its size. The amount contributed by tin- com
pany amounts to about one third of the expense.

For many years the company has maintained a well equipped job
printing plant, installed with the most modern presses and machinery.
In 1K(H it established the Thurber Journal, the title of which was sub
sequently changed to the Texas Mining and Trade Journal. This paper
was conducted until 1916, when, mi account of an unfavorable ruling
by the postal authorities at Washington, whereby it was deprived of
second-class rates under the mistaken impression that is was conducted
merely to advertise the company, and also on account of the increasing
price of print paper, it was discontinued, to the great disappointment of
the population of the town.

Another local institution is an excellent volunteer tire department.

which has taken prizes at various state contests.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST ?$7

The town of Thurber enjoys, moreover, the advantages of cheap

coal and gas and a fine waterworks plant, with telegraph, telephones,
postoffice, express service and electric light plant among its public utilities.
Its population is now between ,?,000 and 4,000. A dairy, formerly
operated, has been discontinued, but the company has 2,000 head of range
cattle, whence they derive beef for the local market.

Among the general facilities are: A machine shop, a refrigerating
plant and meat market, a bakery and excellent stores for the sale of drugs.
hardware, groceries and other necessities. The most necessary profes
sions are also well represented.

After opening a series of mines, up to No. 12, the Texas & Pacific
Coal Company began a new series and have sunk three more, which are
numbered respectively one, two and three. Very few accidents have
occurred, the mines being remarkably free of both water and gas. Indeed,
it may be said that they have had the lowest percentage of accidents of
any mine in the United States employing an equal number of men.

In early years the coal was sold entirely to the railroads, as under
the then existing freight tariffs the Thurber and other Texas mines were
unable to compete with the product of mines of other states which took
the benefit of interstate rates, although the latter might be twice or thrice
the distance of the former from the Texas consumer.

With the readjustment of rates and an intelligent system of equali-
zation conditions in this respect have since improved and the company
sells its coal not only to railroads but also in the general market. It now
has two mines in operation, the output averaging from 10,000 to 12,000
per day.

Col. R. D. Hunter remained as president and general manager of the
company until he was succeeded by Edgar L. Marston, who had removed
from St. Louis to New York.

In 1914 new developments occurred. The company at that time owned
about 70,000 acres in fee-simple, and while prospecting on this land for
coal, five miles west of Thurber, it discovered gas at about 600 feet depth.
Following up this discovery it drilled in the first oil well in this field,
at a depth of 800 feet, three miles west of Strawn, near the right of way
of the Texas & Pacific Railroad Co. From this initial enterprise the
entire oil development of this region resulted.

This led to the re-incorporation of the Texas & Pacific Coal & Oil
Co., and the re-organized concern commenced leasing lands and developing
oil properties. In addition to its local interests it now has 225,000 acre*-
of leased lands in Stephens, Eastland, Palo Pinto and Erath Counties.
Texas; also some leases in Throckmorton County. It also has about
5,000 acres in Oklahoma and has, on sand land, three producing wells,
opened in 1920, near Bristol in Creek County, south of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In addition it owns a half interest in the Texas Panhandle north of
Amarillo, in Hartley and Dallam Counties, surrounding the town of
Channing.

Up to the present time it has not brought in any wells in the Pan-
handle, but in the Ranger field, where the larger producing wells were
first found, it has numerous wells yielding up to 5.000 barrels per day.

558 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

It also has a number of wells in the vicinity of Strawn, in what is known
as the "Strawn Shallow."

The properties of the company are enriched by a large production
of gas. which is piped into Strawn and Thurher for domestic and in-
dustrial use. Near Strawn the company has in operation two casing-
head gasoline plants for extracting gasoline from the casing-head gas
obtained from the oil wells. The gas for domestic purposes, however,
i< derived mostly from the dry gas wells.

In 1918 Edgar L. Marston retired from the office of president and was
made chairman of the board. He was succeeded as president by J. 1\.
Penn. In 1920 Mr. Marston resigned the office of chairman of the
hoard and is no longer active in the affairs of the company, though he is
said to be the largest stockholder. He was succeeded in the office of
chairman by Joseph Baldwin of New York, who is still serving. The
present officers are: Chairman of board. Joseph Baldwin; president, J. R.
Penn; vice presidents \Y. H. Gordon, who is also general manager, E. C.
Converse, and E. J. Marston, the last mentioned also serving as treasurer ;
secretary, N. W. Willett; assistant general manager. I-'.. S. Britton;
Cashier and paymaster, T. R. Hall. R. A. Sperry is in charge of the
oil operations; R. S. King is comptroller and auditor, and M. A. Williams
i- land and tax commissioner.

W. K. Britton, who with E. S. Britton and Thos. R. Hall, has been
with the company almost from the start is now on a prospecting trip
for oil in South America. He came to Thurber as a mining engineer,
and has risen to the vice presidency and become general manager of the
company. He is regarded in oil circles as the real discoverer of this nil
field.

Marble vnd Graniti

There are large deposits of marble and granite in Burnett and
Brewster counties.

The granite in Burnett County is gray and red, and has a strength
and density unexcelled. The Capitol building at Austin is constructed
of this granite and is decorated with marble from the quarries in
Burnett County.

Jourdan Marble Mountain, in Brewster County, twelve miles from
Alpine, aside from being easy to work, is of the very highest grade
and practically inexhaustible in quantity. It ranges in color from
[Hire white to ebony black, including all the fancy colors. It onlj
awaits the- magic touch of capital to make it extremely valuable.

1 1 1 1 ir.M Plant

A large plant has been established by the United States govern-
ment .about four miles north of the cits for the extraction of helium
from the natural gas brought hither from petrolia gas fields. This
product i- to be used for the inflation of dirigibles and was promoted
during the war for war purposes. Just what the process is it is im-
possible to state, as the plant i> surrounded by an insurmountable

fence and i> strictly guarded from approach by the public. The plant
i- -aid to have cs't between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000.

FORT WORTH VXD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST ~?5<)

I Ihl.U'M

The following account of the plant for the extraction of helium
from the Petrolia gas field is from the pen of Milton Everett, who
has made a thorough and exhaustive investigation of the subject. It
was written for the Fort Worth Record of December 26, 1920.

\ ery few people know that on January 1, 1921, there will be ready
for complete and maximum operation in Fort Worth an industrial
plant which is the only one of its kind in the whole world, and the
operation of which will mean a great deal not only to Fort Worth
but to Texas. And when I say the operation "will" mean so much, I
mean to say that while this plant in all of its ramifications cost the
huge sum of more than five millions of dollars, it is a government-
owned plant, originating in the demands of the world war, and its
operation after July 1, 1921. depends solely upon whether the Con-

Ihi.u'M Plant, Fort Worth

gress will make appropriations for its continuance. It will depend
considerably upon the backing of Texas people, their Chambers of
Commerce and Texas members of Congress whether or not this plant
is continued in operation or goes down and out in a mad scramble
in the Congress to "scrap" war-made institutions.

This plant is the permanent plant devised and constructed through
the co-operation of the United States bureau of mines, the navy
department and the war department to take helium out of the
natural gas originating in the Petrolia. Texas, gas pool. The build
ings and machinery now in place and soon ready for operation in
north Forth Worth cost nearly $2,000,000, and pipe lines and othei
items required bring the total of the expense of erecting the complete
works to more than $5,000,000. The plant will be ready to begin full
operation about January 1, 1921, and will require a force of 150 men.
most of whom will be picked in Fort Worth, while something like
twenty-five experts will be brought from the Linde Air Product-
Company of New York, which company will operate the plant for tin
federal government.

560 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

H. F. Sautter, of the above company, who has been in control of
the operations of his company here for some time, will be the general
superintendent of the new plant, and H. C. Smith, who has recently
come to Fort Worth from the Linde Air Products Company's plant
in Chicago, will be assistant superintendent, and the plant will be
put in shape to operate at a maximum capacity, which is 30.000
cubic feet of helium per day. But it. of course, depends entirely upon
what the new Congress, which meets in March next, will do in the
matter of making appropriations, whether the plant will continue in
operation after June 30th next. There are many reasons which can
not be enumerated here why- the Congress should continue the plant
in operation at its full capacity, but there will be in the air surround-
ing the next Congress a myriad schemes for "scrapping" government
plants primarily instituted for war purposes, and Texas' sole plant
will go down in the melee if we don't watch out.

What It Means Commercially

Decidedly the greatest romance of industrial co-operation of the
World war after America entered it was the co-operation of American
scientists in the production of helium on a commercial scale and at a
price which would permit its economical use. Prior to April, 1918,
there had never been produced in the whole world as much as a hun-
dred cubic feet of helium, and this, says the Bureau of Mines, cost
from $1,700 to $2,000 per cubic foot. The new Fort Worth plant will
produce it ready for use in airships for ten cents per cubic foot, which,
to say the least, is quite a "come down" in price. The story of the
work of the bureau of mines and the scientific men who co-operated
with it and the War and Navy Departments is the finest and most
splendid story of American brains at work for their country that any
one ever read, and to read it makes one feel proud of his countrymen.

Helium has been known for a long time by the scientists as a
small constituent of the air. there being one volume of helium in
each 250,000 volumes of air. Since 1907 it has been of knowledge in
tin- laboratory of the University of Kansas that a small quantity of
helium existed in certain Kansas gas fields. That was about all the
knowledge our scientific men had of helium when we went into the
war, except that it had the peculiar property of being inert — that is
to say. that it was different from the other gases in that it would not
burn or explode. Yet such quick progress was made that experi-
mental plants were erected in Fort Worth, and we actually had on
tlu- docks in New Orleans ready fur shipment to Europe 750 cylinders
ill 200 cubic feet each when the armistice was signed. The thing
"helium" was of course known by the scientific men of Germany as
will as our own, and the remarkable fact is that while Germany had
been experimenting with "Zeppelins" or airships for years, and
actually used them in commerce as well as war, their scientists were
nut astute enough to reckon with the one needed thing to make them
a real success as a war engine— a nun explosive and extremely
buoyant gas with which to inflate them,

Helium, tin- inert k',-^ and the only inert gas produced anywhere
in the world in commercial quantity, has a weight of one-seventh of

FORT Wok Til AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 561

that of air. or 1.378 of air. It is about twice the weight of hydrogen,
but, as explained by the bureau of mines, its buoyancy is nearly equal
to that of hydrogen, which lias been used in airships heretofore and
is highly explosive. The Petrolia natural gas produces .094 per cent
of helium, of which it is expected that the new Fort Worth plant
will separate about .08 per cent. The Fort Worth plant will use in
the separating process between 3,000,000 and 3,500,000 cubic feet per
day to produce 30,000 cubic feet of helium, and there is a wonderful
commercial opportunity behind the commercial production of this gas,
in the fact that it means the practicability of regular, safe and speed}'
air transportation to any and all parts of the world, and it will be
something to say that all of the possibilities in this direction come
from a Fort Worth institution.

Was Kept Secret

Knowing that German chemists had as much knowledge in 1918
of the gas "helium" as did the American chemists, our people took
great pains to hide from the Germans the fact that w^e were pro-
ducing this gas in commercial quantities, and during the war our
"helium" operations were carried on under an assumed name, that
of "argon," and the experimental plants were called "argon" plants.
No doubt many German chemists in the service of the government
puzzled their brains to solve the mystery of what was being done in
the American "argon" plants. We remember yet that our army
people during the war said that they could sail over Germany and
destroy their cities and bases of war supplies, and we wondered how
they were going to do this. If Germany had had a supply of helium
for their war Zeppelins which they sent over to England on raiding
expeditions, we know now that thev would have had the power to
wipe English cities off the face of the earth. We know now that the
airships using the highly explosive hydrogen did a great deal of dam-
age, although they were compelled to stay away up in the air because
of the danger of incendiary bullets, one of which, hitting the gas bag
of an airship, would destroy the whole ship in an instant, as indeed
a number were destroyed. If they had been using the inert helium
they would have had but little to fear from ground defensive plans,
and they could have destroyed city after city with comparative safety
to themselves. Probably when the truth leaks out in the years to
come it will be found that the Germans got a tip on our plans for
raiding their cities with airships using helium, which made them de-
termine so quickly to give up the fight. Just to show we mean
business, it may be said that there are now at the Fort Worth helium
plant 105,000 steel cylinders manufactured especially to ship helium,
each of which can hold 200 cubic feet of the gas. I expect it would
be a good plan now if we Fort Worth and other Texas people began
mixing a little war paint preparatory to preventing Congress from
stopping through a lack of information the operation of our Fort
Worth helium plant.

In dismantling "scrapping" war. which is sure to take place in
the new Congress which meets in March, we may not only get the
worst of it, but Congress may make a great mistake at the same time.

CHAPTER XI.
PETROLEUM

Petroleum was first found in Texas in Nacogdoches County, a
section famed for its pioneer lore and strongly fused with the history
of the Lone Star State. This discovery was made about thirty years
ago, the oil being found in shallow strata from 180 to 200 feet deep
and later on strata some 700 feet below the surface. The production
at that time was from one to two hundred and fifty barrels daily, and
a refining company and pipe line was constructed to care for the pro
duction. It did not prove very profitable on account of the difficulty
of transportation and the oil being of an inferior quality useful only
for lubricating purposes.

The second discovery was made near Corsicana in 1894 and has
continued in successful operation until this writing. About fifteen
million barrels of high grade petroleum have been taken from the
wells around Corsicana up to this time. Refineries and pipe lines
were constructed in 1898 by Mr. J. S. Cullinan, pioneer oil man of
Texas. This field has been very successful in that it has had a steadj
production of high grade oil. The field is being extended at this time
in a very conservative and business-like way, without any of the
excitement or wildcat projects that have attended other fields.

In 1901 Texas leaped into fame as an oil producing state by the
bringing in of a gusher by a man named Lucas, in what became
known as the "Spindel Top" field near Beaumont. The first well was
a veritable gusher, spouting oil to the top of the derrick and yield
ing about 75,000 barrels per day. Xo provision had been made for
storing or marketing the oil and an earthen dam was hastily con-
structed, across a ravine, and millions, of barrels of oil flowed into
this temporary reservoir, which afterwards sold for three cents per
barrel.

The excitement incident to this discovery was beyond words,
Every train brought great numbers of people to Beaumont, and the
little village became a seething mass of promoters and prospectors.
Millions of dollars were invested in leases and purchases of land, the
installation of rigs, construction of tanks and pipe lines, most of
which proved a total loss. In a very short time the well ceased to
flow. Several wells adjacent to the Lucas well found nil, and pumps
were installed to bring it t" the surface, but these, too, failed after a
brief period.

The oil was of a ver\ superior quality and found a ready market
at profitable price-. a> -ooii as means of transportation were provided.
The boom soon subsided, but the production in moderate quantities
continues to this day. and those who operated on a conservative basis
leaped large rewards.

After the excitement at I'.eaumoiit died out prospceli >rs moved to
Sour Lake, liaison, and other nearby points, hoping to repeat the

experience of "Spindel Top." < >il was finally discovered at Mumble.

562

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES

563

eighteen miles northwest from Houston, on the II. E. .V W. T. Rail-
way, and hundreds of wells were sunk and great quantities of oil
obtained. This is still a productive and profitable field.

The South Texas < In. Field

The geological formation in which the mineral oils of what is
known as the Coastal pools and the formations overlying these oil
deposits are different in many respects from the other oil fields of the
United States.

With a very few exceptions the oil is found in very loose sand
formations, similar in consistency to the quick sands in a river bed.
The strata encountered between the surface and the oil deposits are

A Typical Field

principally other loose sands, shales and hard clay, or gumbo, usually
a light blue in color.

These conditions require the use of the Rotary system of drilling
instead of the walking beam and cable tools, such as are used in the
northern and western part of the state.

Long before nil was developed in this region several efforts had
been made to that end, but had failed to get the prospect wells down
to the necessary depth for want of the necessary machinery and lack
of funds.

In 1895 the Savage Bros, of West Virginia undertook to drill a
lake at Sour Lake and failed.

In 1892 Patillo Higgins, of Beaumont, located the Spindle Top
field. He organized a company, of citizens of Beaumont, for the
purpose of development, and was so sure in his conviction that it
was an oil field that the letter heads of his company showed a fairly
accurate picture of what the field looked like ten years later. All

564 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

the tanks, loading racks and derricks were placed in this prophetic
picture with startling accuracy.

The company contracted with Mr. W. B. Sharpe, then of
Corsicana. to drill a well, but after drilling little more than 500 feet
he encountered difficulties both physical and financial, which forced
him to abandon the work. If he could have gone about 400 feet
deeper the Coastal oil held would have been developed eight years
earlier. It is an interesting part of this story that Mr. Sharpe after-
ward made a fortune in the Coast County oil business, and until his
death was one of the most active and successful operators.

The Spindle Top pool was finally opened by Capt. A. F. Lucas,
financed by Guffey & Gaily of Pittsburg.

The first well came in January 10, 1901, with a roar and shock
that surprised no one more than the men doing the work. It was
estimated to flow from 50,000 to 70,000 barrels per day, but since
none of the oil was saved it was impossible to know how much it
produced. It was afterward demonstrated, however, that other wells
in this field filled steel tanks at the rate of 50,000 barrels per day, so
this estimate was not excessive.

This discovery had the natural effect of creating a wild interest
in oil all over Texas, and later the whole country was reached by the
excitement and the oil stock salesman.

Literally thousands of oil companies and syndicates were formed
to drill for oil, of whom a very few did more than make a start before
the day was finished.

The first real organization to go into the business in a large and
practical way was the J. M. Guffev Petroleum Co., who owned the
discover}' well and surrounding leases.

In a remarkably short time this company was building steel stor-
age, a pipe line to deep water at Port Arthur and were moving their
production to market by tank cars. This company grew and pros-
pered and is now one of the largest producing and refining concerns
in the country, known now as the Gulf interests.

The Spindle Top pool was never extended to cover a great area.
but the formation was wonderfully rich and has produced more oil
per acre of proven territory than any other field in the country. The
bulk of this production came from the level between 1,000 and 1.100
feet in a very porous sandstone, but when this was flooded with salt
water much oil was produced from loose sands above, and this field
is -till producing about 1.000 barrels per day from these sands.

The second Coastal pool to be opened was at Sour Lake, which

definitely proved to be a real oil field in May of 1902. As stated be
fore, efforts to develop oil in this district were made in 1895, and it

had long been looked upon as a good oil prospect because of the large
\olmne of petroleum gas which was constantlj boiling up through
the wells and small ponds.

It was at this time and place that the Texas Company really began
to make itself fell in the oil business.

\ compan) had been organized at Beaumont to do a pipe line
business from Spindle Top during the previous \ear. and when the

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 565

Sour Lake field was proved they purchased for $900,000 the Sour
Lake Springs property of 850 acres. This was the first big pur-
chase of oil acreage in the Coast Country and this company has con-
tinued to grow and expand to its amazing proportions of the present
day.

This experience proved definitely that Spindle Top was not tin-
only oil pool in the Coastal region and set the "wildcatters" to work in
every direction. The results came slowly and only after much ex-
pense and labor, but one after another new fields were discovered,
of which the following are the dates of discovery of the most impor-
tant :

Saratoga June, 1903

Batson Dec, 1903

Humble Jan., 1905

Goose Creek June, 1908

West Columbia Sept., 1917

Hull July, 1918

In addition to these comparatively small pools have produced for
a varying number of years, known by the names — Markham, Dayton.
Hoskins Mound, Damons Mound, and at Blue Ridge, near Houston,
there is at this time an excellent prospect for a field of the first
magnitude. Indeed all of these small pools may develop large quan-
tities of oil by deeper drilling.

The total production from these various pools to December 31,
1920. is as follows:

Spindle Top 47,029,418

Sour Lake 58,555,909

Saratoga 20,418,192

Batson 30,342,255

Humble 83,851,829

Goose Creek 29,030,636

West Columbia 18,580,392

Hull : 5,197,689

Of these pools the first discovered is probably the most interest-
ing, because its great production comes from an area of producing
territory of not more than 150 acres. It is peculiar also in that this
oil has practically all come from one stratum, whereas most of the
other pools have producing sands at numerous levels.

At Humble for example there are at least seven different levels,
varying in depths from 600 feet to 3,500 feet.

It should be remembered in comparing the above figures that
these pools are not all of the same age. The Hull field is practically
in its infancy and at this time promises large results in the future.

The first real oil field that was discovered in North Texas was
near the town of Electra in Wilbarger County and near the west
line of Wichita County. The first well was the Texas Company's
No. 1 on the Stringer ranch, completed in August, 1911. This led
to other development, which extended the field through part of the
W. T. Waggoner ranch and farther cast into Wichita County. In

V.

V.

2

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES1 ~^<<7

1912 this pool was extended to the central north half of Wichita
County, and a number of excellent producing oil wells were dis-
covered. In July. 1918, the Fowler Oil Company completed then
No. 1 at Burkhurnett, a small town in Wichita County fifteen mile-
northwest of Wichita Falls. This opened up one of the most prolific
pools of light grade oil that was ever discovered in the South. Tin
oil was found at a depth of about 1,500 feet and completions ranged
from 200 barrels to as high as 4,000 barrels per well. This was known
throughout the country as the Burkburnett pool, as the little town ..i
Burkburnett was in the exact center and about the richest part of
the pool. In October, 191c'. a very large well was drilled about four
miles northwest of Burkburnett. on the Burk Waggoner farm. This
opened up a new pool, locally known as the Northwest extension of
Burkburnett. This oil was found at the same depth as wells in the
Burkburnett townsite, but the sand was thicker and much larger wells
were discovered. This is the richest shallow sand pool ever dis-
covered in Texas.

The experience of "Spindle Top" and Beaumont was repeated here
with a notable exception of the fact that there was no decrease in
the production within the area of the oil producing sands. Wild-
catting was indulged in to an alarming extent. .Men with vivid
imaginations, extensive vocabulary and an elastic conscience provided
themselves with blue prints, fountain pens and blank stock certi-
ficates, and with these as their total assets sold stock to unsuspecting,
confiding and gullible people without limit. Many persons parted
with their hard earned money for beautiful green stock certificates.
setting forth that they were the owners of so many shares in some
oil company, the location of which they, subsequently, were unable
to discover. Many of these promoters wilfully and maliciously de-
vised schemes which they knew could not and would not yield any-
thing to the stockholders. These men were not natives. Many who
had never seen Texas before set forth their extravagant claims.
reaped the harvest and moved on to new fields where the inhabitants
had not heard of their nefarious practice elsewhere.

Much of the froth has blown away, and oil production has de-
veloped into a stable, conservative and reliable business. The Burk-
burnett, Iowa Park, and adjacent fields are still producing oil in
large quantities.

Ranger was the next scene of exciting and visionary activities.
Here, too, oil was found in paying quantities, and people who were
so fortunate as to become interested in reliable companies have
reaped good profits. But the wildcatter, a necessary agency in all
mining ventures, and many of whom are honest men with the very
best intentions, without imposing upon the credulity of mankind, had
a large following of unscrupulous adventurers who reaped with suc-
cess the schemes of promoters which infested Burkburnett, and many
hard earned dollars were lost to their owners, as was the case in
other fields.

Development in Central North Texas began about 1911. when a
few shallow wells were found near Moran in Shackelford County.

vol. ii n

568 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

This development lead to a lot of drilling, and, really nothing of
consequence developed. In 1915 the Texas Pacific Coal & Oil Com-
pany discovered oil in the southwestern part of Palo Pinto County,
which is locally known as the Strawn pool. These wells were in the
shallow sand and did not produce in large quantities ; however, it
led to further development throughout the area, and in October, 1917,
the Texas Pacific Coal & Oil Company, drilling on the McClesky
farm near the town of Ranger, brought in the first real oil well in
Central West Texas. The completion of this well attracted the at-
tention of oil operators from all parts of the United States. During
1918 and 1919 acreage in Eastland and Stephens counties and all
adjacent counties was in very active demand and millions of dollars
were spent for leases and millions more for drilling wells, laying pipe
lines, etc. In March, 1918, The Texas Company completed the first
real oil well in Stephens County, a few miles southeast of the town
of Breckenridge. This led to active work in that county, and since
then the production has surpassed the wonderful production in East-
land County, known as the Ranger pool. In November, 1918, the
Tex-Penn Oil Company drilled in a well in the extreme northeastern
part of Comanche County, near the Eastland County line. This is
locally known as the Desdemona pool, and while developing some
prolific wells, that were short lived, the pool eventually did not cover
a great area.

Small local pools have been developed in Brown, Coleman, Calla-
han, Young and other adjacent counties, and in all of these counties
active development is now going on.

The discovery of oil in North Central Texas came at the end of
a three years drought, and the enormous amount of money spent for
leases and development relieved a very serious financial depression
throughout that portion of Texas. The millions of dollars spent has
brought prosperity, not only to the farmers and stock raisers of that
section of the country, but to the merchants, land owners and the
towns and cities in West Texas.

The following statement shows the enormous amount of oil pro-
duced in this section, which includes the year 1919. Figures for
1920 are not available at this time.

Petrolia, Cla\ County, 1904-1919 3,450,298 bbls.

Wichita & Wilbarger Cos., 1911-1919 87,078.566 "

Moran, 1914-1919 468.433 "

Strawn, 1915-1919 853.415 "

I oleman Omntv, 1918-1919 77,843 "

Eastland County. Ranger. 1917-1910 25,579,838 "

Desdemona. 1919 7,375,823 "

Brown County, 1917-1919 670,568 "

Stephens County, 1917-1919 1 1,340,678 "

The discovery of oil in West Texas necessitated the building of a
number of pipe lines to transport the oil to refineries and to seaport
points for shipment on vessels. All of the major pipe line companies
in the United States now have lines out of oil producing districts of

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 569

North Texas; the principal ones being the Prairie Pipe Line I om
pany, The 'Texas Company, Gulf Pipe Line Company, Magnolia

Petroleum Company, Humble Pipe Line Company and many other
smaller concerns. 'The carrying capacity of the lines out of the fields
is approximately 250,000 barrels per day. Many refineries have been
built in the fields and in West Texas towns, the refining capacity
in the immediate territory being considerably over lOO.OOO barrels
per day.

The North Central Texas field was handicaped in its earlier stages
of development for lack of railroad facilities, the Stephens County
field particularly so for the reason that there was no railroad in this
county, which necessitated transporting the heavy field material by
teams and trucks for distances of from twenty to seventy-five miles.
As a result of development and need for rapid transportation a num-
ber of railroads have been built for the purpose, largely for trans-
porting oil field supplies and hauling oil. Kemp and Kell, of Wichita
Falls, financed the building of a road beginning at Dublin on the Fort
Worth and Rio Grande extending through the Desdemona field,
thence north through the Ranger field and from the Ranger field to
the town of Breckenridge. This line is now being extended north
and will be built to New Castle and connected with the M. K. &
T. Railroad running to Wichita Falls. The Cisco & Northeastern
has just completed a line from Cisco on the Texas & Pacific and M.
K. & T. Railroads to the city of Breckenridge. It is now their in-
tention to go on to Graham to connect with the Rock Island Rail
road or extend it east to Mineral Wells. Another road is now under
construction between the town of New Castle and Graham, and will
be extended southwest through the Stephens County field and into
the town of Breckenridge.

There have been 1,695 failures, or what is termed dry holes, by
reliable concerns that have sunk wells in search of oil.

How many companies have been floated on paper without any
intention of the promoters to sink wells is unknown. 'The un-
scrupulous promoter having sold what stock he could to unsuspect-
ing individuals has taken himself to other fields, leaving no record
of his activities.

The wonderful and rapid development of Ranger was due to oil.
a word today of almost magical significance. In October, 1917. the
Texas & Pacific Coal and Oil Company brought in the McClesky well
at 3,260 feet, just outside the city limits, and the initial flow was be-
tween 800 and 1,600 barrels daily. At the time few comprehended
the extent of the Ranger field. It was thought to be a small reservoir
that had been tapped, and hundreds of wells were drilled over a
small area immediately about Ranger. Gradually they extended
farther and farther out until a real rush of development was on, and
"wildcat" operations covered not only all of Eastland County, but
extended into Stephens County, and, in fact, every other county,
north, east, south and west of Ranger for a distance of 100 miles, and
in some instances even more. The discovery of oil at Ranger started
an exploring era that has never been equaled in this country. During

570 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

the three years which have since elapsed Texas has become one of
the leading oil fields of the world, and ranks third to day among the
oil producing states of the country, being surpassed only by Okla-
homa and California, the difference being only a few thousand bar-
rels between Oklahoma, the first, and Texas, the third. Oil has been
found from the Red River to the Rio Grande, and the east and west
line of development extends over something like 1,000 miles, even
far into the interior of New Mexico. While wildcatting is at a low
stage now. it is still away above the normal status and may yet lead
to discoveries greater than any of the past.

The Ranger field embraces all of Eastland and Stephens Counties,
the Strawn district of Palo Pinto, and the Sipe Springs district of
Comanche. A number of the leading oil operating companies of the
world maintain operating headquarters in Ranger, namely: The
Prarie Oil and Gas Co.. Mid Kansas Oil and Gas Co., Humble ( )il
and Refining Co., Gulf Production Co., the Texas Co. and the Ranger
' >il and Refining Company. There are four oil refineries and a num-
ber of casinghead gas plants. In addition to the producing com-
panies Ranger has been made the center of the pipe line activities for
the Texas Co., the Prairie Pipe Line Co. and the Sinclair. Gulf, Pierce.
.Magnolia and Humble Companies.

The leading pools of the Ranger field are Desdemona, Sipe
Springs, Rising Star, Necessity, Gunsight, 1'leasant drove. Eastland.
Caddo, Strawn and P>reckenridge.

By August 30, 1920, there had been 2,371 completed wells in this
field. Of these 1.722 had produced oil or gas in paying quantities,
and 515 had been abandoned as drv on the same date there were 821
drilling wells in the field.

For the week ending August 2S. 1920. the daih oil production in
the Ranger field averaged 112.283 barrels. According to available
figures the output has varied considerably from time to time, and b)
November of the same year the flush production was apparently gone
and the daily output was down to 1.700 barrels. Just how fully
this field will be developed within the next five or ten years remains
to be seen. In the opinion of some leading officials of the big com
panics the field has just been scratched. The acreage is now to a
large extent in the hands of the big oil operators, and from now on
development will be the big man's game.

In January, 1916. four miles west of Strawn. the Texas & Pacini
Coal Company drilled a number of shallow wells, from 760 to 800
feet deep, the flush production of which averaged about 100 barrels
daily, after which they settled down to pumpers ranging from 10 to
25 barrels.

The next devevopment was that known as the Doublegates field,
on land owned by the Texas & Pacific Company, adjoining the Stuart
ranch. From there it extended to the Hohart and Warren tracts.
along the line of Stephens and Palo Pinto Counties, and at the same
time the Texas & Pacific ( ".d Co was developing the Stuart ranch
The product from wells mi the Hohart and Stuart properties was con
siderabl] greater than that of the discover) wells in the field, and

FORT WORTH AND Mil7. TEXAS NORTHWEST 571

several of them had an initial product ranging from 600 to as high
as 1,500 barrels.

The development on the Warren tract was done by the Lone Star
Gas Co., and they have a complete modern equipment, including
power plants. The Strawn Production Company is also operating
on a part of the Stuart property.

The New Pool

In June, 1('20, this field was extended east about three miles by
the bringing in of a well in the 1,550 feet sand on the Collett and
Robinson ranch seven miles north of Strawn ; and since that time-
there have been five other producers brought in in the shallow sand,
the last of which was drilled by the Texhoma Oil and Refining Co.
and is just now being completed (January 20, 1921). This well is
rated at about 300 barrels daily.

On the Collett and Robinson ranch there has been developed a
gas sand at 1,490 feet, and there are several wells completed and shut
in ranging from 3,000,000 to 20,000,000 feet capacity. Contracts have
been made with the Lone Star Gas Co. to connect this field with their
16-inch gas line, which supplies Fort Worth and Dallas. The prin
cipal operators in the territory are the Texas & Pacific Cord and Oil
Co., the Lone Star Gas Co., the Strawn Petroleum Co., Collett and
Lange, the Texas Co. and Henry S. Livingstone and associates. The
consensus of opinion seems to be that the new eastern extension of
this field will cover a large area. and. by reason of the development
of both oil and gas in comparatively shallow sands, will prove to be
a highly profitable field. This is borne out by the fact that some of
the original wells drilled over five years ago arc still producing oil in
paying quantities, and the pressure in the gas wells is still holding out,
notwithstanding continuous use for development purposes for several
years. Owing to the use of the most improved drilling machines only
about thirty days are required to drill and equip a well.

This field is being adequately equipped with pipe line facilities.
the Prairie Oil and Gas Company having two eight-inch lines along
the east quarter of the field, and the Humble Oil and Refining Co.,
as well as the Pierce ( >il Co., being in the western and southern por-
tions. These facilities, along with the pipe line of the Lone Star Gas
Co. and the Texas ec Pacific Oil and Coal Co.. both of which are used
exclusively for gas, furnish ample facilities for handling all the pro
duction of either oil or gas.

It is predicted by some operators interested in the field that an
extensive gas and oil territory will be developed through the south
ern part of Palo Pinto County lying to the east of this pool. Up
to this time the operators have confined their attention to the shallow
sands, but there is also a prospect of good production from the deep
sand in the same horizon as the Ranger production, and it is expected
that this deeper sand will be developed in the near future.

Among the large oil and gas operators at Breckenridge are the
Texas Company, the Gulf Production Company, the Prairie < >ii and
Gas Company, the Humble Oil and Refining Company, the Magnolia

572 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Petroleum Company, the Mid-Kansas Company, the Fensland Com-
pany, the Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil Company, the Sun Com-
pany, the Atlantic Oil and Producing Company and the Lone Star
Gas Company. There are also dozens of smaller concerns. The St.
Clair-Gulf Company has recently closed its operations in this field.

The following information is furnished by I). H. Freel of the
Humble Oil and Refining Company at Cisco.

The maximum output of the Breckenridge pool proper (including
an area of some twenty-five square miles ) is 100,000 barrels a day. At
present (January 15. 1921) the pipe lines are hauling 8°-,000 barrels
a day, which is the (present) approximate production. The storage
capacity of the field is approximately 250,000 barrels. For some time
storage oil has accumulated at the rate of 30.000 barrels a day, owing
tu inadequate pipe line facilities in neighboring territory, notabl)
Eastland and Comanche counties. Thus a state of congestion has
been rapidly approached, and soon the storage tanks will be filled
and runs will necessarily have to be cut. By the middle of February
I 1921 I. it is calculated there will be stored in Eastland. Stephens and
Erath counties about 11.000,000 barrels of oil. and the storage ca-
pacity will be exhausted. The remedy lies in a suspension of pro
duction, and the leading producers at Breckenridge. have signed an
order to shut down for thirty days. The total receipt of all pipe
lines in the three counties above mentioned, was approximately
4.500.000 barrels: the deliveries, 3.500,000 barrels.

Oil Production in North Texas Fields for the Year 1920

Mr. George 1\. Kellev, an expert on oil production, writes the following
resume of production for 1920 for the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

Nineteen hundred and twenty was a banner year for the oil fields of
North Central Texas.

According to figures just compiled more oil was produced in 1920,
by aboul 16,000,000 barrels, than was produced in I'M'', which was also
a record year. The annual production, estimating the output for Decern
her ai 5.750.000 barrels, is approximately 70.138,000 barrel-., compared
with an annual output in I'M') of 54.320.744 barrels.

The average daily production of the entire fields for the year was
a little less than 200.000 barrels, though it never fell below 132.000 barreN
daily at any time and was frequently as high as 225.0(H) barrels dail)
The average monthly output of tin fields was more than 5,800,000 barrels,
\ii month fell below 5.000.000 barrels. The lowest production was in
February, when the output was only 5,087,650 barrels. The peak of
production was attained in October when the whole North Central Texas
territory produced approximately 6,850,000 barrels

There were a total of 5.450 completions during the year, of which
3,600 were producing oil wells. 1,680 were drj holes and 175 were gas
wells. The 3,600 new producing oil wells had a new dail) production
of 776,000 barrels ,,f oil or an average of 215 barrels to the well. The
175 new gas wclK bad a total new gas production of 1,627,500,000 cubic

FORT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 573

More than sixty-six per cent of the wells completed during the year
were producing oil wells. Slightly more than thirty per cent were dry
holes and the remaining number were gas wells.

The total value of the crude oil produced in these fields during the
year, figuring an average of $3.50 per barrel, is nearly $250,000,000.
Operators say that $3.50 per barrel is a very conservative average for
the price of oil, as most of the oil has been bringing a premium of from
25 to 35 cents a barrel for the greater part of the year. At no time during
the year has there been a reduction in the price of crude oil, but ever)
change in the price has been an advance.

The following table gives the production for each month :

January, 5,902,800; February, 5,087,675; March, 5,360,475; April
5,226,025; May, 5,941,520; June, 5,791,600; July, 5,796,850; August,
6,031,700; September, 5,829,700; October, 6,825.050; November, 6.575,-
025; December (estimated) 5,750,000.

The Burkburnett field led all other districts in the field in annual
production, though it was run a close second by Stephens County. In
the month of August Stephens County passed the Burkburnett field in
production and has held the lead since that time, with little prospect
of losing it. Burkburnett produced during the year a total of 26,199,350
barrels as compared with a production last year of 31,604,183 barrels.
The annual production of Stephens County was 24,367,000 barrels as
compared with a production in 1919 of 4,091,045 barrels. The follow-
ing table gives the production by months for the Burkburnett field and
the same for the Stephens County field for comparison :

Burk Steph.

January 2,504,048 988,590

February 2,242,396 943,444

March 2,300,795 1,012,088

April 2,544,450 908,190

May 2,580,190 1,441.562

June : 2,218,280 1,708,770

July 2,180,258 2,089,741

August 2,077,000 2,431,082

September 1,919,800 2,448.000

October 1.951,140 3,427,050

November 1,821,000 3.403,500

December 1,860,000 3.565.000

Total 26,199,357 24,367,017

The year just passed brought about a large number of important
developments in the North Central Texas fields. It brought to light
many new producing areas, saw the decline of others and the gradual
settling of production in still others. It saw Ranger decline from an
average daily production in January of 41,500 barrels, to about 16,000
barrels daily in December. It also saw the sensational Desdemona field
decline from a daily production of more than 23,000 barrels in January,
to less than 10.000 at the end of the year.

574 FORT WORTH \.\l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

h also saw the Burkburnet) field drop off from more then 80,000
barrels in daily average to less than f> 1.000 at the close of the year, a
drop of about 20.000 barrels daily.

Nineteen hundred and twenty brought the sensational rise in Stephens
County, the big production at the town of Breckenridge and the opening
of the new fields in the Eliasville-Jvan territory in the extreme northern
part of Stephens County. It also brought the opening up of the South
Bend district in Young County, which, yet in its infancy, gives every
promise of being one of the real permanent producing districts of North
Central Texas.

The year saw the bubble swell and burst at Pecos, when the shallow
sand discovered there failed to come up to expectations. It saw the
opening of the Hilborn district northwest of the town of Rising Star,
which, although lacking in sensation, gives promise of considerable pro-
duction. It brought a revival interest in the Corsicana field which has
been producing for from fifteen to twenty years and brought the dis-
covery of oil at Mexia, the worth of which is yet to be proven. It saw
the opening of the K-M-A field southwest of the town of Iowa Park
in Wichita County, the opening of the Texhoma shallow field south of
the town of Burkburnett and a sensational flurry south of Vernon in
Wilbager County. It saw the price of crude oil advance from $2.75 a
barrel to $3.50, and then late in December the curtailing of runs by many
of the larger pipe line companies to 50 per cent of the production they
had formerly taken.

\\ bile at the beginning of the new year business in general is in an
unsettled state, the oil fraternity as a whole is optimistic and sees a
bright future for 1('21 The last few days of December brought a
noticeable strengthening of the market on refined oils which is very en-
couraging to the refining interests. There is no immediate prospect of
a material cut in the price of crude oil.

Producers say that it is certain there will be a reduction in the cost
of producing oil in 1921. Operations have been curtailed in some sections
and all the larger companies have made readjustments and thereby
reduced expenses. With the present price of crude oil maintained during
the new year, there is every promise that 1921 will be a more prosperous
(me for the oil producer than has been the past year.

CHAPTER XL]
TIMBER AND LUMBER

h is not generally recognized iliat Texas is the largest producer of
timber and lumber of any state in the Union. There are 43,000 square
miles of forest lying along the eastern border of Texas, having an average
width of about one bundled miles and extending from the Red River
to the Gulf.

The forests oi short leaf pine extend from Red River southward to a
point about one hundred miles north of the Gulf, and these will average
about 5,000 feet of merchantable timber per acre. From a point about
150 miles north of the Gulf southward and extending across the Sabine
River into Louisiana is the finest continuous area of long-leaf pine in

Logg] ng Scene

the United States. The average stand of merchantable timber in this
area ranges from 6,000 to 35,000 feet per acre.

Texas lumber is distributed by rail to points in nearly every state
in the Union, even as far as Washington, which is itself a great lumber
producing state Millions of feet are, annually, shipped to the Western
and Central State-, and during normal conditions the trade with old
Mexico is enormous. The famous long-leaf pine is exported to all the
Central and South American states, Cuba, Porto Rico and other Wesi
Indian islands and prior to the recent World war to Australia, New Zea-
land, Russia, Roumania, England. Ireland. Scotland, Germany, Holland,
France, Italy and Spain. It is peculiarly adapted to ship building, and
most of the masts and gunwhales of ships built on the New England
coasts are from Texas forests. During the recent World war millions
of feet of this valuable timber were shipped from Beaumont and Port
Arthur to the ship yards along the Atlantic Coast for the merchant
vessels constructed by the Shipping Board.

' 575

57 6

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Texas timber is not confined to pine. As an evidence of this Texas
look the highest award, a gold medal, for its exhibit of hardwood at
the St. Louis Exposition. During the recent war large quantities of
walnut were cut and shipped for use in the manufacture of gunstocks.
Hardwood does not occupy any specific area, but is found intermixed
with the pine and largely along the streams everywhere in the state.
White oak trees, five or six feet in diameter and producing several
thousand feet of board measure per tree, are not uncommon.

There are about 700 saw mills in the state, about 500 of which are
utilized in cutting yellow-pine timber and the remainder in cutting long-
leaf pine and the hardwoods.

During the era of active railroad construction these mills cut enor-
mous quantities of lumber for use in the construction of railways, in-

I ,OGS

Pond Sun

eluding bridge timber, ties and cars. < (wing to the cessation of railway
construction, car building and the erection of houses during and since
the war the lumber business in Texas has not been very profitable, but
the owners of timber lands and saw mills are looking with confidence
to a resumption of demand for these purposes and also for the export
trade.

When the contract was let in France for the reconstruction of houses
and factories it was specified in the contract that the lumber and timber
should come from Texas, evidencing the fact that its superior qualities
ivere well known to those having this work in charge.

The value of the timber and lumber production in Texas is second
to none hut that of agriculture. It is estimated thai the "stumpagc" in
fexas of both hardwood and pine will aggregate eighty billion feet.

CHAPTER XL! I
[RRIGATION

The semi-arid conditions which prevail in the extreme western and

southwestern part of Texas make the subject of irrigation one of vital
interest, not only to the people of that section but to the entire state.
The development and extensive cultivation of the valleys if supplied with
an abundance of water would add materially to the quantity and value
of the production of the soil.

Thomas U. Taylor, for several years in the employ of the Geological
Survey by the general government, and at present Professor of Civil
Engineering at the University of Texas, and who has given much time
and attention to the subject of irrigation, in a report to the directors
of this division of the department of the interior says: "The practice
of irrigation in Texas is of considerable antiquity, especally in the western
end of the state, along the Rio Grande, where the early Spanish con-
querors established settlement.

It is only in comparative recent years that any effort has been made
to foster and encourage irrigation in Texas by the state government.
Individuals who undertook to construct dams for the empounding of the
flood waters were often hampered by the inhabitants, lower down the
stream, who contended that their rights were infringed upon, and much
litigation ensued.

It was not until 1913 that the Legislature undertook to enact a law
conferring power and authority upon the owners of lands lying along
the streams to organize irrigation districts and to impound the surplus
water during the flood time. The law was found to be defective in that
the provision for issuing bonds, from the proceeds of which dams and
canals were to be constructed, did not authorize the levying of taxes to
meet interest charges and provide a sinking fund for the retirement of
the bonds at maturity. A constitutional amendment was found necessary
to authorize this levy.

In 1917 the Thirty-fifth Legislature submitted to the people of the
state an amendment to the constitution, conferring this authority, at an
election held in August of that year. The amendment was adopted and
the subsequent session of the Legislature inaugurated laws carrying it
into effect. These laws are said to be very comphrehensive and adequate
for the purpose, but the World war has prevented people from taking
full advantage of these provisions. However, a number of projects have
been inaugurated and are being put forward with the usual vigor of the
enterprising people who are interested in the subject. In the meantime
a large number of projects have been promoted, particularly in the south-
eastern part of the state, where irrigation is essential for the production
of rice, and along the Pecos River in the West, where fruits, vegetables
and alfalfa are successfully grown. This has also been done in the lower
Rio Grande, Nueces, and Guadalupe rivers, and large areas have been
irrigated, producing immense quantities of cabbage, onions and other
vegetables to the great profit of the people. There are at this time about

577

57S FORT WORTH WD I UK TEXAS NORTHWEST

two hundred thousand acres under irrigation, varying in quantity at
different places from two hundred to around thirty thousand acres, the
last being along the Pecos River. There are about forty projects of this
character in the western part of the state, and possibly as many more in
the extreme southwestern part of the state. Great volumes of water are
obtainable in the northwestern portion of the state from the Elephant
Butte dam reservoir, which was constructed by the general government,
and from the Rio Grande. All of these projects have been uniformly
successful and profitable to the promoters.

Statistics as to the acreage available for irrigation are not obtainable
at this writing, but it is estimated by those who have made a study of the
subject that there are many millions of acres, at present practically value-
less, that could be made productive and of great value by the establishment
of dams along the streams and impounding the flood waters, which are
now going to waste.

The Rio Grande, Colorado, Pecos. San Saba, Conchos, Canadian,
Arkansas, Wichita, Trinity. Neueces. Brazos and San Jacinto rivers all

1*>.

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'

* • -

-

is*

V - - -

' - - . — .

-• V- s- •-•■'. - at-

Irrigation Scenes in West Texas

have wide, fertile valleys on which these improvements could be made with
success and profit.

Up to this time the general government has given but little attention
and no encouragement to this development, but ha> confined its activities
to the Northwest. The movement recently inaugurated will endeavor
to secure a portion of the appropriation made for reclamation of the
lands along Texas streams.

When it is considered that irrigation was practiced in Texas as early,
if not earlier, than m am other section of the United States, u is evident
that development of this class of intensive cultivation has not set been
given attention and encouragement commensurate with its importance in
economic agriculture It is true that when lands are first irrigated in

Texas the territoi'N now embraced within the boundaries of this common-
wealth was not a part of the United States; yet the original Spanish
owners set an example for Americans by which we have not until recently

profited to the extent that ought to have been expected To learn of the
beginning of irrigation in Texas one is dependent upon tradition,
the provisions of tin- original Spanish grant- of land, and the

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 5/v

physical conditions in these sections of what is now Texas, where the
old ditches are still in evidence. In the territory around San Antonio
five mission ditches were constructed by the Franciscan Fathers between
the years of 1716 and 1744.

The existing statute that governs the Hoard of Water Engineers in
its administration of the Water Resources of the state has a provision
that invites individuals or an association of individuals to investigate
large projects for the conservation of storm and flood waters. It pro-
vides that any person, association, corporation or water improvement
district desiring to investigate the feasibility of an engineering project,
contemplating the construction of a reservoir for the impounding and
storing of 5,000 acre-feet of water, or more, per annum, may file a dec-
laration of such intention, satisfy the Hoard of Water Engineers that an
adequate engineering force is available for the investigation and by the
payment of a fee of $250. retain the priority right to such a project in the
watershed designated, and at the point selected, for a period of twelve
months from the date of filing. It is an invitation to men of means or
those who can secure underwritten capital to go upon the rivers of this
state and seek out the most available sites for dams and reservoirs, with
a view to saving to the state great quantities of flood water that annually
would pass beyond beneficial use

The increased demand for fuel has caused a preliminary examination
in be made of many available undeveloped waterpower sites, not only
to relieve the present condition caused by the war but to compile certain,
valuable data which will aid in developing the unused power now that
the war is ended. It is a known fact that there are many undeveloped
waterpower sites in Texas which should be developed as soon as con-
ditions permit.

It has been recognized for many years that preliminary data were
necessary for the study of power possibilities, but only recently has an
organized effort been made to collect and compile these most valuable
data. If an area is being searched for power sites, it is of great assistance
to have at hand data which have been collected for the purpose of showing
the location and size in a preliminary way of such possibilities. The data
compiled is only intended to show the location and size of sites and
simply paves the way for a more detailed examination of conditions.

This work has been carried on in connection with the regular stream-
measurement work on account of its close relation thereto.

Texas is fortunate in having many sites along its water courses where
the water has been harnessed and power developed. Although Gaudalupe
River is undoubtedlv the most important of Texas streams for water-
power value, many additional developments have been made along other
streams, the more important being Colorado. San Saba. Llano. San
Marcos and San Antonio.

Data showing the developments at each point have been collected and
compiled in a manner suitable for the use of the State and Federal
Governments. These data have recently been especially valuable to the
Fuel Administration in its study of fuel conservation.

580

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Many Thousand Acres Under Irrigation Today

Irrigation on a small scale is practiced in a large number of West
Texas counties. While the preponderance of these projects are insig-
nificant compared to the major enterprises now in the public eye. their
aggregate is sufficient to warrant tabulating them by counties. The figures
on acreage shown in this tabulation have been compiled from the latest
available statistics, and if any changes have been made recently they favor
an increase above the number shown.

Irrigation in these counties is shown as follows:

Andrews: About fifty acres. Inexhaustable supplies of water at
thirty feet in certain belts favor irrigation in the future.

Bailey County: While little irrigation now present, immense shallow
water insures great development in that line.

Brewster County : Along the Rio Grande and small creeks miniature
projects are under way. Some shallow wells furnish abundant supply
fur small truck farms.

1 KKICA It'll Kill. US

Brown ( ountj : Approximately 3,500 acres under irrigation In waters
from streams.

< astro County: Small farms ami orchards have been put under irri
gation from wells.

Cochran County : Abundance of water at from 30 to 200 feet Furnish
means for irrigation of truck farms.

Coke County: Small truck farms are getting water from the Colorado,
This stream offers some rare opportunities for large projects,

< olrmaii County : Approximately 1.500 acres are irrigated from wells
and small stream-. Main opportunities for large' projects arc found here

I bnicho Count) : 700 acres irrigated from the Colorado. Many more
hi. - might be with the development of streams

( rane Coimn : Preparations being made to irrigate 7.500 acres.

Culberson ( ount) Some little irrigation done. Engineers pro-
nounced several sites feasible foi damming to impound storage water for
man) thousand acres.

Deaf Smith Count) : approximately 5,000 acres are irrigated from
welN and the Tierra Blanca Man) •. d opportunities in ibis county,

FORT WORTH A.\l) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 581

Donley County: Wonderful opportunity f < >r irrigation of numerou
acres from waters of Lelia Lake, fed by 1,000 springs, is now present.
I Inly a few acres so far have been put under irrigation. Approx
imately 65,000 acres are under irrigation or have been contracted for.
Great volumes of water are obtainable from the Elephant Butte dam
reservoir and from the Rio Grande.

Gaines County: More than 200 acres receive moisture from the
shallow water sheets under them. Small irrigation projects will be
numerous with the development of the country.

Garza Count} : 2,500 acres of subirrigated lands lie along the Yellow
House canyon and the tributaries of the Brazos.

Hale County : Approximately 6,000 acres have been put under irri
gat ion from the waters of shallow wells. It is estimated that ninety-eight
per cent of the county may be irrigated from these wells.

Hansford County: 1.500 acres irrigated and much subirrigated land-
available.

Hamphill County: Inexhaustible supplies of shallow water make for
many irrigation projects in the future.

Jack County : Artesian water at a depth of 600 to 700 feet insure
future irrigation. Approrimately 200 acres now being irrigated.

Jeff Davis County: Approximately 3,000 acres are irrigated. Many
ideal reservoir sites are to be found in the county.

Kimble County: Approximately 4,500 acres now under irrigation.
Unusual facilities for irrigation are present here.

Loving County: Approximately 1.500 acres irrigated from Pecos
River waters.

Lubbock County : While no figures are available on acreage under
irrigation in this county, possibilities from the shallow wells are many.

Menard County : Ten thousand acres get water from the San Saba
River. Manv thousand acres can be irrigated with small outlay of funds.

Pecos County: The leading irrigated county in the West, has approx-
imately 33,000 acres under ditch, much of which gets its supply from the
50,000,000 gallon daily flow of Springs at Fort Stockton. Other acreage-
gets water from the Pecos River.

Presidio County: 13,000 acres ready for irrigation as result of build
ing of dam in Alameta Creek near Marfa.

Reeves County : Some development from the artesian wells about
Toyah. 25,000 acres irrigated.

Runnels County: 3,000 acres irrigated from the Colorado. Many
more acres in proximity to the Colorado could be irrigated.

San Saba County: 4,000 acres from the San Saba and Colorado
Rivers. About 200,000 acres to be put under ditch.

Schleicher County: 1,000 acres irrigated from the San Saba and
Conchos.

Stephens County: 1,000 acres from wells, creeks and storage tanks.

Sterling County: 300 acres from the North Concho. Many natural
basins susceptible to damming for impounding water for irrigation pur-
poses.

Taylor County : 20,000 acres to be irrigated upon completion of Lake
Abilene in Buffalo Gap Mountains. Minor projects in the sandy belt.

582 FORT WORTH AND Till''. TEXAS NORTHWEST

Tom Greene County: 5.000 acres irrigated from water from the
Conchos. Many other projects contemplated.

Uvalde County : 4.000 acres irrigated from waters from streams
Many irrigation opportunities will be accepted with better transportation
facilities.

Valverde County : 10,000 acres irrigated. Springs at Del Rio furnish
sufficient water to irrigate 17,000 acres. By damming Devil's River water
to irrigate 60.000 acres would be afforded. The project has been pro
nounced practicable.

Wichita County : 3,500 acres now under cultivation. By damming
Rig Wichita River water for 200.000 additional acres will be available.

Young County: 3.000 acres irrigated from streams in county.

CHAPTER XLIU
THE SOUTH PLAIN'S OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE

The 'Llano Estacado or the Greal Staked Plains of Texas are com-
posed of very fertile region <>f elevated plains lying north of 32 Lati-
tude and west of the 100 West Meridian. According to the old geo
graphies this section was the great American desert, hut the agri-
cultural development and prosperous growth of this entire section is
making it the leading agricultural empire of the Southwest.

State experiment farms, improved methods of cultivation and the

Jp

Buffalo on the Great Plains

development of crops adapted to this section have increased the pro-
duction of this area several hundred per cent on the individual acre
and has made it the center of the greatest migration move since the great
western migration recorded twenty-five years ago.

This section, becoming known as the South Plains of the Pan-
handle of Texas, consists of fifteen counties underlain by an inex-
haustible supply of shallow water of the purest test. They are
similar in soil composition, climatic conditions, rate of agricultural
and industrial development and have as the common market point
and industrial center the City of Lubbock.

The area embraces more than ten million acres of land, 95 pet-
cent of which is suitable for cultivation. Less than 20 per cent is
now under cultivation. The population, according to the 1920 census,
is 57,016 or a gain of 91 per cent for the past ten years. One trunk
line and five branch lines of the Santa Fe Railroad, together with four
designated and market state highways, serve the section and provide
outlets for the increasing production of the area.

583

\ in., ii in

5X4

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The State Experiment Farm No. 8, located two miles from Lub-
bock, in the heart of this area, serves the section as the advance agent
in improved methods of farming and has been of remarkable value
in the growth and development of the agricultural industry of this
section. The crops profitably grown include all of the small grains,
grain sorghums, alfalfa, clover and cultivated hays, leading the world
in the production of sudan grass for wholesale seed trade, cotton,
fruits, vegetables, melons and other diversified crops being profitably
grown in the Southwest.

Abundant water is available at moderate expense for irrigation,
but the method is little used, due to the economically profitable pro-
duction of all crops through the improved methods of cultivation with
the normal rainfall of 20.8 inches, seventy-five per cent of which

Type of Rural Schools in Lubbock County,

Where Boys and Girls Clubwork Flourishes. (Out of twenty-one
rural schools eleven are brick buildings )

falls during tin- five growing months of the season. The dairy, hog
and diversified stuck farming industry is rapidly growing in interest
and profit in this section, replacing the one crop production of either
cotton or the small grains, with the result that the farms are growing
smaller, returning more profit on the investment and providing better
Imnu-s and more modern rural schools over the entire section.

Lubbock County, with a population of 11,069 or an increase oi
206 per cent in the past ten years, reflects the rapid development of
tin- entire section to be expected for tlie next ten years. It is tin-
largest county in point of population, and further advanced agricul-
turally, has the largest ami most important city in the section, due

to its superior location both from a geographical and transportation
standpoint, bul is representative of the growth and development of
the entire section and i< the leader.

Hale County, with the countj --eat of Plainview, is next in point

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 585

of size and importance industrially. Other towns of this section are
Slaton, the Santa Fe shop center; Tahoka, the county seat of Lynn
County; Lamesa, county seat of Dawson County ; Seagraves, the end
of the Santa Fe branch line into Gaines County; Brownfield, county
seat of Terry County ; Kails and Crosbyton of Crosby County ; Lockney
and Floydada of Floyd County; Post City of Garza County; Olton and
Littlefield of Lamb County, and a number of smaller villages that are
rapidly developing into promising tmvns.

The following article by Paul T. Vickers, Associate Editor,
Amarillo Daily Tribune, Amarillo, Texas, was written for the Pan
handle Plains Chamber of Commerce:

Less than twenty-rive years ago the Panhandle of Texas was
called "The Great American Desert." Today this same vast domain,
comprising thirty-eight counties, produced in 1919 more wealth 1>\
$3,000,000 than the entire State of Texas produced in oil. Again tin
absurdity of such a statement that the Panhandle was a desert is
evidenced by the fact that a Panhandle County took second prize at
the Dallas Fair for having the second best agricultural exhibit of an)
county in Texas.

Amarillo, the Queen City of Plains, the hub of the Panhandle, m
the capital of the Panhandle, as it is variouslv called, was called "Rag
City" in 1887. That was the actual name of the little village, so
named because most of the inhabitants lived in tents. A few years
later a few shacks had been erected, and the present thriving city
of 15,494 people was called Old Town.

Amarillo was not even a wide place in the road then, for the road
was not wide. Nothing but cow paths tracked through the grass
of the Plains. Antelope grazed on the same spot where the high
school building now stands, according to Justice C. G. Landis,
magistrate of Precinct two of Potter County.

This detail of Amarillo is but the same story of the other prosper-
ous towns of the Panhandle. There was no Potter County then, nor.
in fact, were there any of the other thirty-seven counties of the Pan-
handle then in existence save only Wheeler and Oldham. Court for
all of these counties, or all of this territory, then undivided into
counties, was held at Tascosa in Oldham County and Mobeetie in
Wheeler County. Justice in those days was meted out summarily.
Still standing in "Boot Hill Cemetery," the actual name of the bury-
ing ground at Tascosa, are the tombs of numbers of cowboys and
desperadoes who died with their boots on.

This romantic history is given in brief to show that where thirt)
years ago Indians wandered and plundered, a country where tin-
land was regarded as fit only for the steer to graze on, where no trail
wider or straighter than a cow path existed, land now sells as high
as $100 an acre and grows anything from wheat at 40 bushels to the
acre, or onions that bring the grower $600 an acre, where the more
ambitious of all parts of the United States not contented with small
things in their own communities have gone West hunting larger
opportunities, and where cow paths have given wax to street car
tracks.

586

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The Panhandle of Texas in 1919 produced wealth estimated at
§135,000,000 in agricultural products alone. On top of this came
millions in cattle. The oil wealth produced in Texas for the same
year was $132,000,000. The wealth produced in 1920 was much
greater, so far as amount of products is concerned, though decreasing
prices may keep the monetary figures to about the same level.

The Panhandle is chiefly known for its production of wheat.
This section of Texas could feed the nation for a long while. The

A Canyon in the Plains

estimated yield foi the Panhandle for L920 is 20,000,000 bushels. The
federal government has accepted these figures. Three railway lines
in the Panhandle have been unable to handle the enormous wheat crop.
Thousands of bushels of grain remained for weeks piled in the fields.
Farmers were unable to construct granaries to bold their crops.

Wheat in some sections averaged twenty-five bushels to the acre
in 1920. < *n some few farms it averaged forty bushels to the acre.
I'hr acreage will probabl) be greatly increased this year on the
South Plain- because of the low pric of cotton.

FORT Wok III AND THE L'EXAS NORTHWES1 587

Maize crops, which Eor a lung while people thought were the onl)
cultivated grains that could be grown in the Panhandle, produced
in 1920 about 6,700,000 bushels, according to estimates of the Pan-
handle Grain Dealers' Association. Besides the grain, thousands of
tons of the fodder were stacked to feed to cattle in the fall and winter.

A large part of this maize is fed to hogs, cattle and work animals,
while a large part of it is shipped to California, where it is used
mainly as chicken feed.

Besides these crops probably more than a hundred thousand bales
of cotton are produced. Hall County alone having produced in 1919
about 35,000 bales. Oats are not raised as much as a few years ago.

The estimated yield for the Panhandle in 1919 was 10,000,000
bushels. This was probably overestimated by two or three million
bushels, and it is certainly much less this year.

When it is considered that these enormous yields are raised in a
territory where only twenty-seven per cent of a tillable seventy-one
per cent is actually in cultivation, some slight conception of the
enormous possibilities of this yet virgin territory may be seen. There
are about 25,000,000 acres of land tributary to the wholesale trade
territory of Amarillo alone. Forty-four per cent of this amount is
yet subject to cultivation, but is still in broad pastures and ranches.
Forty-two per cent of all the land in the Panhandle is owned by non-
residents, but this is rapidly being sold. Seventy thousand acres near
Farwell was recently put on sale in farms of 160 and 320 acres.

The average price of the land is $25, though some of it has sold
for as high as $125 an acre, while some of it, of course, sells as low
as $15.

Strange as it may seem in this "Great American Desert" thousands
of acres are irrigated in what is known as the Shallow Water Belt.
Hale, Deaf Smith, and part of Swisher counties are in the sure crop
section.

Geologists say a great underground river, whose length is un-
known, but whose width varies from eight to sixteen miles, flows
under the ground through this section, rising to within forty feet of
the surface in most of the section at present irrigated. This water is
raised to the surface by gasoline pumps, and many large farms are
now guaranteed against crop failure from drouth. Plainview and
Hereford are towns built on this solid basis of a never failing crop.

Visits to the various countv fairs held in the Panhandle counties
this year would have convinced any skeptic that he was in one of the
garden spots of America. Pumpkins weighing fifty pounds lay
alongside wheat that won the world prize in 1919. Squashes weigh-
ing forty-five pounds lay alongside onions that produced 6,000
pounds on a quarter of an acre. Corn that made forty bushels to
the acre stood beside sudan grass over nine feet high. Every variety
of vegetable known to the Texas horticulturist flourishes in the
South Plains of the Panhandle. Fruits also grow in abundance in
Lynn, Floyd, Lubbock, Hale and Deaf Smith counties, and of course
in other counties, which have not yet realized so well the advantages
of publicity.

588

FORT W'ok'l'JI AM) llll'. I I-.XAS NORTHWEST

( >vcr .500,000 people inhabit this territory. Few of them are poor,
is is often the case with rural people living in other sections of Texas
The large majority of the farmers own their land, and many of them
are in the well-to-do class. This population is at about the rate of
eight persons to the square mile. The population has increased forty
per cent in the last decade.

All wealth of the Panhandle is not potential. When figures for
total bank deposits for the twelve months ending in May are given
out as $61,109,039. it is evident that much of the wealth is actual. It
is evidenced by the fact that few towns in the Panhandle this year
had enough labor to supply the demands of building contractors.
Not only were an unprecedented number of residences erected de-

Corn Field

Spite hjgh price- of building materials, but scores of new business
houses went up.

Lubbock County showed an increased population of 167 per cent
in the last ten years, while the city itself -.bowed an increase of about
147 per cent. Hundreds of homes were 1 milt and thousands of acres
put into cultivation by these newcomers.

That old saying about there being only a barbed wire fence be-
tween Amarillo and the North Pole no longer amuses residents of
the city. The Panhandle of Texas is the coldest part of the state in
the winter, and it is the coolest in the summer. Comparison of
temperature records for any other city in Texas, and as for that mat
ter, with tlic majority of them anywhere in the United States shows
the mean ben- to be better adapted for human habitation than these oth<
towns.

The average summer temperature for the most of the Panhandle
i- 69 degrees, and the average winter temperature is 43 degrees.

The mean temperature in Amarillo for July during the past twentj

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 589

five years is 76 degrees. Those Panhandle winds still blow, it is true,
but they become quieter each year, as the country becomes more
thickly populated.

Thirty years ago, according to pioneers here, the wind sometimes
blew seventy-five miles an hour, and one occasion is recalled by Jus-
tice C. G. Landis when it blew at the rate of eighty-seven miles an
hour. There was so much static electricity in the air that house
wives were sometimes unable to use cookstoves for twelve hours or
longer at the time. The change in weather conditions during these
thirty years is amazing to Justice Landis, he says.

Mammoth ranches in the Panhandle still furnish many train loads
of beeves for the northern markets. Nearly all of the feed used is
raised on the ranches or on adjoining farms, if, indeed it becomes at

Potter County Court House, Amarillo

all necessary to feed the cattle on more than pasture grass. The
estimated wealth for a year in cattle of the Panhandle is above most
sections. Hereford is the home of some of the finest Hereford herds
in the world. Cattle from that section are taken every year to north-
ern fairs, and so often as they are taken do they win prizes.

But the days of the cattle baron are waning even this far West.
Big ranches are being cut into farms. Ranchers are beginning to
break up their pastures for wheat planting. More than 100,000
acres of ranch lands were put on the markets during the past two
months.

Agricultural and stock raising possibilities of the Panhandle were
proved long ago, and these sources of wealth are now actualities.
The great unproved source of wealth is the mammoth gas field thirty
miles north of Amarillo. Since this field was admitted to be the
greatest gas field in the world, it has been extended about ten miles
and geologists say its bounds are vet indeterminate.

590 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The total daily production of gas is 530,000,000 cubic feet. The
City of Amarillo. which is at present the only consumer of the gas,
uses not over 4,000,000 cubic feet a day. this leaves 526,000,000
cubic feet idle. Manufacturers are becoming interested in the field.

Optimists of the Panhandle see a manufacturing city of 100,000 or
more people in the Panhandle within ten years. Two wells drilling
within four miles of Amarillo are daily expected to bring in bi<,r
gassers, which would eliminate expensive piping.

Oil showings have been found in several of the wells drilling in
the Panhandle, and members of the oil fraternity confidently expect
producers to be brought in within thirty days. Hence, it can be
readily seen that the potential wealth in oil and gas is incalculable.
It is a safe assumption, however, that the high price of coal will not
bother Amarillo and other nearby towns for vears to come.

CHAPTER XLIV
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

When Texas was admitted to the Union the treaty of annexation pro-
vided that the Public Domain should remain the property of the state

This provided the foundation for the most splendid educational fund
of any state in the Union.

The Fathers of the Republic and the framers of the first constitution
of the state very wisely provided that a large portion of the public domain

Matn Buildin

Colleck

should be set aside for public free schools, institutions of higher education
and the eleemosynary institutions, and the legislature was directed to
apportion these lands according to the needs of the several institutions.
The constitutional convention of 1875 retained, and made still more ob-
ligatory, these provisions.

When the state donated public lands to encourage the construction
of railroads in the state it was ordained that the railway companies should
survey the public lands, and alternate sections were set aside for the
public schools of the state. Kach county was accorded a league and labor
of land, about 4,400 acres, for the public schools of the counties.

591

592 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The school lands were subsequently sold and leased, proceeds of the
sale was devoted to the permanent school fund, and the interest on such
lands as were sold on time and the money derived from leases to the
available school fund.

The permanent school fund now has to its credit the sum of $72,865,-
4L><>. on which there is an annual income of $10,252,619.

The county permanent fund has to its credit the sum of $12,751,493.
Furthermore additional annual appropriations are made by the legislature
to supplement the available fund for the maintenance of the educational
institutions of the state and the public schools throughout ; and an annual
levy is made on the taxable values for the same purpose.

The state, countv and local maintenance fund for the years of 1920
and 1921 aggregate $28,658,013.88.

The value of school buildings in the state is $51,828,963, the grounds,
$10,477,596; school furniture, $6,318,390; total, $72,824,694.

The number of teachers employed are. white, 24,530 ; colored, 3,820 ;
a total of 28,350.

The number of pupils enrolled is, white, 860,123; colored. 175,525:
a total of 1.035.648.

The total appropriations for the years 1920-21 is $18,564,507.49.

Free text books are provided for all the public schools of the state.

The institutions of higher education comprise the following: The
State University at Austin. Texas, the Medical School, which is a branch
of the State University at Galveston, Texas.

The Agricultural and Mechanical College at College Station, Texas,
with the following branch schools: The John Tarleton Junior A and
M College at Stephenville ; the Grubb's Vocational School at Arlington
and the colored A and M College at Prairie View.

State Normal Schools for the training and education of teachers are
the Sam Houston Normal at Huntsville; the North Texas Normal at
Denton: the Southwest Texas Normal at San Marcus; the West Texas
Normal at Canyon City ; the Fast Texas Normal at Commerce ; the Sul
Ross Normal at Alpine : the College of Industrial Arts for Girls at Denton.

Other educational institutions are the state schools for the blind at
Austin, one for white and one for colored pupils.

The Texas school for the deaf at Austin. The state training school
for girls at Gainesville. The State Juvenile Training School for boys
at Gatesville. The State School for feeble-minded at Austin. The State
Orphans' Home at Corsicana. The eleemosynary institutions are three
for the insane, located at Austin. San Antonio and Terrell. The Deaf
and Dumb Institute and the Blind Asylum at Austin.

Texas Schools in Pioneer Days

The following account of the early schools in Texas from the pen of
Alice B. Ballard, of Austin, will be of interest :

Early days in Texas saw few educational advantages for the pioneer
children. Although there were make-shift day schools conducted by
the Jesuit fathers as early as 1800, constant trouble with the Mexican
government and the neighboring Indians made these of short life. Nor.
indeed, were the perilous days over when the first real schools were

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 593

established. Certainly those men and women who left happy surround-
ings to come to the aid of the education of the children of the would-be
republic, the struggling young republic, and even the infant state deserve
prominent mention in the Texas Hall of Fame.

Among those who were instrumental in establishing educational insti-
tutions in the New West, as Texas was at first called, were T. J. Pilgrim.
J. W. P. McKenzie, Rev. William Carey Crane, Martin Kuter, (). X
Hollingsworth, R. C. Burleson, Father J. M. Odin, Dr. Ashbel Smith and
Daniel Baker and the noble women educators, Miss Trask "from Bos-
ton." Miss L. A. McHenry and Miss Melinda Rankin.

One of the first of these, T. J. Pilgrim, who came to Texas from New-
York in 1828. was first engaged in teaching a day school at San Felipe
de Austin. In January, 1829, Pilgrim opened the first Sabbath school in
Texas. Up until his death in 1877 Pilgrim was an active worker in
establishing both Sabbath schools and boarding schools in the Republic
of Texas and in the State of Texas.

The first young ladies' boarding school established in Texas, was
opened by Miss Trask "from Boston." on Jan. 31, 1834, at Independence.
It was called the Trask seminary. The academy building was of round
cedar and post oak logs and the room was eighteen feet square. Miss
Trask, it is said, was very cultivated and highly educated and as fearless
as any frontiersman in Texas. When it became necessary for her to do so,
she mounted her horse, "swung a six-shooter on one horn of the saddle
and unattended would ride to La Grange, Houston or Austin, a distance
of from fifty to seventy-five miles, the whole route infested with Indians
and other lawless characters. The academv continued under the super-
vision of Miss Trask until 1838-39, when Prof. Henry F. Gillette, a
member of the first faculty of Baylor University, bought out the school
and established Independence Academy, which he successfully conducted
until 1845. when it was transferred and became a part of Baylor
University.

Another woman who was prominent in education work about this time
was Miss L. A. McHenry, who, coming to Texas in 1833 with her
brother and sister. Rev. and Mrs. J. W . Kenney. established a school at
Mountville on the Brazos River in 1835. Here she taught in one room
at the home of Mr. David Ayres, another pioneer. While she was con-
ducting classes at this school, news came that the "Alamo had fallen."
For days she with her little band of children and several women camped
out in hiding from the Mexicans without a man to defend them.

In 1836 Miss McHenry was one of the most enthusiastic workers in
bringing missionaries to Texas. The next year she reopened her school,
this time only for girls. It is interesting to know that one afternoon of
each week was devoted to embroidery and fancy work of all kinds. In
April of 1838, however, her health failed and she was forced to give up
her school. She received a legacy in 1840 that made her independent for
life, and she traveled extensively in the interest of bringing Methodist
missionaries to .Texas. Her biographers say she had a very happy dis-
position, and that "even the symmetry of a tree gave her pleasure." She
died in 18(4, just when new hopes were aroused by the close of the wai
between states.

594 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

•Martin Ruter, who was sent to Texas as superintendent of the Texas

.Mission in the latter part of 1837, also deserves a place of mention among
the early educators. Although he did not really teach, he enterprised an
institution of learning which later bore his name. He went so far as to
draw up several articles of a charter to be presented to the next gov-
ernor, styling the contemplated school of Bastrop University. It is said
that a number of subscriptions for the erection of the proposed school
had been secured. Right in the midst of his plans, however, he took
pneumonia and died in May, 1838. On January 25. 1840, Rutersville
College was chartered. It was erected at Rutersville by the Methodists
in Texas and the I'nited States, near the location of Ruter's proposed
school, and the town derived its name from the great educator.

[ohn \Y. P. McKenzie offers probably the most interesting study of
early educators. Much has been written about him and his work in
Texas. He was a native of North Carolina and came to Texas as an
itinerant minister in 1836. Soon afterward he was forced to give up
his pastoral work. Moving to a small place about four miles from
Clarksville he began teaching school in a log cabin with sixteen pupils.
This was the beginning of what later was conceded to be the next pros-
perous school west of the Mississippi River prior to the war between
states. Soon it evolved into a boarding school and the log cabin gave
way to a two-story double-log house with a shed room and a row of small
cottages. In the early fifties these rather unpretentious buildings were
gradually supplanted by four large, three-story buildings, one for the
girls' dormitory, two for the boys' dormitory and the other for chapel
and recitation. The school took care of as many as three hundred stu-
dents from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indian Territory and Missouri.
Nine professors were employed. Although no financial aid was received
with the exception of tuition, McKenzie made the school pay for itself.
It is said, also that no bov or girl, however poor, was ever turned away
from the institution.

The discipline of the school seems unusual. Students were required
to get up by candle light at 4 o'clock in the morning to attend chapel.
McKenzie would come out on the coldest of mornings in his shirt sleeves
and slippers for his so-called "morning air hath." It is said that his
purpose was two-fold: That he might make stoics of the Students and
also as an excuse for the lack of lire. Failure to attend chapel had the
punishment of being forced to miss breakfast.

Environment of the school was kepi free from contaminating influ-
ences, or what were then thought contaminating influences, The Bible
was part of the course of Stud) and whisky, cards and oaths were barred.
McKenzie is said to have led an exemplary life for his students, and
kept school entirely under his control even if he did often have to resort
to the "birch." He engaged in their sports and required those engaged
in a tight to "kiss and make up." lie later became president of a
Methodist college at Waxahachic, for a few months. \\ hen the popula
tion migrated to the north, for the must part, the McKenzie Male and

Female College, a- In- school Was called, began to decline foi the want of
large attendance, h was later merged into Southwestern University,

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 595

The beloved teacher, for lie is said to have been loved and reverenced bj
all of his students, died at his old home at the age of 7(>.

The name of Rufus C. Burleson is more or less familiar because of
the part he played in the promotion of Baylor .University. Dr. Burleson
was horn in North Alabama in 182.3. In 1845 he consecrated his life to
Texas, having been ordained as a Baptist minister a few years before.
He preached his first sermon at Houston and won fame as an evangelist
in that part of Texas. When Dr. H. L. Graves resigned from the presi-
dency of Baylor University in 1851, Burleson was elected to succeed him.
Although the university had been established at Independence some five
years before, it was reported to be "dead" when Burleson entered upon
his duties.

Among the first things the new president did was to issue a catalogue
of the university, which was sent all over Texas and into other states.
He also made it a point to impress upon the trustees that they had ahead
of them a stupendous task of building up a first-class university. A
financial agent, also, was appointed to solicit subscriptions for the build-
ing up of the institution.

Mrs. Burleson, who was Miss Georgia Jenkins, was a helpmeet. She
had attended college and was qualified to help her husband solve some
of his most difficult problems.

When Dr. Burleson resigned as president of Baylor University in
1861, that institution, which was hardly known in 1851, was catalogued
by the London Times as among the leading institutions of learning in the
United States. Every facility for a complete education was offered and
a college code had been adopted as well as rules of admission and the
course of study.

In 1868 Dr. Burleson was made president of the Waco Universitv.
another Baptist institution. This school was combined with a part of
the old Baylor University which was moved to Waco in 1886 and Bur-
leson was made president. Another portion of the old Baylor University
was moved to Belton and became known as the Baylor Female College.
Dr. Burleson was made president emeritus of Baylor University in 18('7.
in which capacity he served until his death in 1901.

Another school which was established shortly after Baylor Univer-
sity is St. Mary's College of San Antonio. Father J. M. Odin, a Catholic
missionary from France, conceived the idea of establishing the instilu
tion and went back to France to obtain means for building and promoting
the school. On his return a room in the second story of a livery stable
on the west side of Alamo Plaza was rented, and here it was that the
school was first conducted. Father Odin was recalled to New Orleans in
a few years and died at his old home in France in 1870. The work of
St. Mary's College was taken up by his successor and the school sur-
vived both the war between states and the cholera epidemic of 1866.
Additions were frequently made and bv 1875 the college had a high rank.

Austin College antedates St. Mary's College some few years. It was
chartered in 1849 through the efforts of Rev. Daniel Baker, receiving its
name from the great pioneer of Texas civilization, Stephen F. Austin.
Daniel Baker first came to Texas as a Presbyterian missionary in 1840
After a few years in tin- wilderness, he returned to the United States

596

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

with the end in view of going back to Texas. This he did in 1848. For
several years after the establishment of Austin College, which was then
situated at Huntsville, he traveled throughout the United States securing
.S25,000 in donations for the college. Among those on the rirst board of
regents were Gen. Sam Houston. President Anson Jones and Henderson
Yoakum, the historian. The college was moved to Sherman in 1876.

In recognition of the services of the Rev. Daniel Baker as an educator
the Presbvterian college established at Brownwood in 188'' was named
in his honor.

Miss Melinda Rankin, another notable woman educator, established
the Presbvterian Ladies' College at Huntsville in 1850 in connection with
Austin College. Aiming at Mexico, she abandoned her work at Hunts-

low. \kh Payne College. Brown County

ville and went to Brownsville, where in 1861, she obtained a charter for
the Rio Grande Female Institute, which was conducted for several years.
before going over into Mexico, where she was the lirst Presbyterian mis
sionary in Latin American countries.

Coronal Institute C another college opened early in the historj ol
rexas. O, V Hollingsworth, a native of Alabama, who came to Rusk
with his mother in 1845. was the founder of this college which he con
ducted until 1872. lie made a success of his course of stud) and was
bailed as an educator of note. lie later served in tin- state legislature
.nid was elected state superintendenl of public instruction soon after that
office was first created.

The names of Ashbel Smith and William Carey Crane also stand oul
in the educational histor) of the state. Dr. Smith, who was the first
president of the board of regents of the University of rexas, was first
known in the state because of his excellence in survey, lie was also a

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 597

minister to France and England shortly after the Republic of Texas was
established and is said to have settled impending trouble between Eng-
land and Texas. He was always an ardent supporter and friend of
education in the state.

Rev. Mr. Crane succeeded Dr. Burleson as president of Baylor Uni-
versity, although he did not come into office until some two years after
the resignation of Doctor Burleson. He found that school in a state of
turmoil, it is said, and set about to work in opposition to a large majority
of Baptists in the state who regarded the university as useless, as a
failure. He succeeded. A patrimony which he received at the death of
his father in 1866, went to building up the institution. He was made
president of the State Teachers' Association in the early days of its organ-
ization and wrote a life of Gen. Sam Houston shortly before his death
on February 27. 1885.

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CHAPTER XLV
FORT WORTH BEGINNINGS

[In writing these chapters about Fort Worth no attempt is made
to adhere to the formal style of historic narrative, but the widest
latitude is observed. It will range from "grave to gay, from lively
to serene," from casual to vital as the spirit moves the writer. That
it may not be of interest to the average reader of history is conceded,
but that it will appeal to the citizen of the city, who is interested in
the men and measures that have made Fort Worth is the confident
hope of the Editor.]

First Settlement of Fort Worth

At the close of the war with Mexico, Gen. Winfield Scott sent
a troop of the Second Dragoons in command of Major Ripley A.
Arnold to North Texas to establish a post to protect the then sparsely
settled territory from the forays of the Indians which then inhabited
this section.

Major Arnold selected this as the most central point for this pur
pose.

The post was first called Camp Worth in honor of Brig-Gen.
William Jennings Worth. It was established on the sixth day of
June, 1849. On November 14. 1849, the name was changed to Fort
Worth, and it was abandoned on the 17th day of September, 185.-?.
and the troops stationed here were sent to Fort Belknap, about a
mile from the present site of the town of Belknap. There was never
a fort at this point, and the only buildings were the barracks at the
head of and a little west of Houston Street. Major Arnold died here
and his remains are interred in "Pioneers Rest."

The first settlement in the county of any magnitude grew up about
the military post, and on ' its abandonment the buildings were used
as stores by those who had settled near the post. Among those who
were in business here were Colonel Abe Harris. Nat Terry, M. T.
Johnson, James F. Ellis and G. P. Farmer.

When the soldiers left there was only a meager country popula-
tion in the vicinity ; barring a few supply trains no current of trade
had yet begun to flow through this section of Texas. There were no
cattle trains; nothing permanent to arouse enthusiasm for this
straggling settlement on the Trinity Blufr, and the seed of civilization
planted and protected during the brief military occupancy might, on
good relative grounds, have experienced the same blight that befell
Fort Phantom Hill and Fort Belknap.

This nucleus of citizens possessed a quality of enterprise not to
be found in the ordinary frontier village. Given the ordinary advan-
tages of location and natural resources, men of such stamp as E. M.
Daggett, C. M. Peak, J. P. Smith, W. H. Milwee. Milt Robinson and
their associates would soon have given distinction and prestige to
any hamlet of which they happened to he residents. Indeed, when

599
vol n ii

600 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

one has studied the historj of Fort Worth from its inception he is
impressed to the point of amazement by the tremendous energy and
magnificent civic spirit that have actuated the builders and promoters
of the city's real greatness; every advantage has been seized^ no
opportunities have been overlooked, and the place has risen to first
magnitude because of the vigilance and tireless endeavor of its
citizen-.

The count}' was created by the legislature in December, 1N4'1, and
the county seat was located at Birdville. The spirit of conquest was
rife in the veins of the early settlers, and at the instance of Captain
Daggett and others the legislature was induced to permit an election
to decide upon the count) seat. Birdville was at that time the larger
place. Had the election been untrammeled it would have probably
remained the seal of government for many years. The citizens of
Birdville charged, and there seems good reason for the charge, that
the selection of Fort Worth was brought about by the votes of Sam
Woody, the first settler of Wise County, and the members of his family.
Enough was shown to induce the legislature to order a second election.
About 1S55 \. J. Walker, who lived a few miles northeast of Birdville.
was a member of the State Senate; he was instrumental in having a bill
passed providing for another election. This occurred about the year
I860. The exact date i> not accessible to the writer. By this time the
population of Fort Worth had increased in sufficient numbers to enable
it to make good it- claim as the proper place for the court house. Bird-
ville abandoned it- claim and endeavored to defeat Fort Worth by cast
ing its votes and throwing its influence for "The center of the county,"
which would be a little nearer Birdville than Forth Worth. The vote
resulted in 301 for "the center" and 548 for Fort Worth, and the vexed
question which has cost the lives of some and the expenditure of about
$30,000 \\ a- settled for all time.

The town was built annmd the public square, after the common
fashion of Texas towns, and the court house was the huh of interest and
business activity, Even at this day the old-time citizens refer to the.
"public square" with a meaning inherited from early days when the
square was really the scene of all the business activity of the place. What
now constitute- the banking and commercial and hotel center was for
twent) years an unoccupied common, on which transient immigrants
pitched their camps for the night, across which the cattlemen drove their
herd- from the west, while still further south, in the vicinity of the Texas
and Pacific depot, Captain Daggetl had his farm buildings. When one
observes tin greal area to the south, west, east and north now covered
by the city of Fori Worth ii requires some effort of the imagination to
depict the town a- it was fort) years ago. There were regular sessions
of county and district court, at which time attorneys from all this part
of the -late convened to transact tin routine and special legal business

and, a-ide from this, to enJ0) them-elve- in the social manner common

to groups,

I 'i ro Whom Credii I- I'm

When it ^'Iim i- calling lh< roll ol patriots who worked so long and
faithfull) for the upbuilding of the cit) one ventures upon dangerous

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 601

ground. The memory is at times treacherous, and some of the best and
truest are liable to be overlooked. Bui that their names may be enshrined
in the hearts of the people and perpetuated by this modest record of the
time the chance will be taken. It would be well to dig up the tax rolls
of that day and make a copy of it, for every man in the city, with but
one or two conspicuous exceptions, was ready at any and all times to
spend and be spent for the good of Fort Worth.

But there were a few who were conspicuous by their liberality and
whose names may be mentioned without any invidious distinction as to
others equally worth}'. The first of these are the men who donated three
hundred and twenty acres of land lying along the southern border of the
city to the Texas & Pacific Railway Company. These men were E. M
Daggett. Major K. M. VanZandt. Thos. J. Jennings and H. G. Hend-
ricks. They were the ones to set the pace for their fellow citizens.

Of those who contributed of their time and money without stint may
be mentioned those whose names are recorded above, who did not stop
with this princely donation and claim that they had done their share; to
these should be added John Peter Smith, Walter A. Huffman, H. C.
Evans, Joseph H. Brown, C. M. Peak, W. H. Davis, William ]. Boaz,
fames F. Ellis, M. G. Ellis, H. C. Holloway, J. J. Jarvis, M. B. Loyd.
W. W. Dunn. W. P. Burts, E. J. Beall. George Newman, William B.
Young, W. B. Tucker, Stephen Terry, Jesse Jones, Dr. J. F. Shelton.
A. J. Chambers, B. L. Samuels, John Hanna, J. Y. Hogsett, Porter King.
W. A. Darter, Sam Seaton, Sam Evans, J. C. Terrell. John S. Hirsch-
field, W. W. Trippett, W. H. Davis, Jacob Samuels and others. These
are they who were here before the advent of the railroad and many of
them before there was any talk of a railroad. When it was definitely
settled that the road would be constructed to this city the people com-
menced at once to reach out after enterprises, and it may be truthfully
stated that every man, woman and child helped with time and money.
Their names are enshrined in the heart of every patriotic citizen of Fort
Worth.

Among those who came to Fort Worth prior to the advent of the
railroad and who remained and gave of their time and money to advance
the interests of the city to the best of their ability and who witnessed the
culmination of their desires may be mentioned : Thos. A. Tidball, Zane-
Cetti, C. K. Fairfax, J. J. Roche, F. J. Tatum, J. S. Godwin. R. E. Beck-
ham, R. N. Hatcher, Jas. H. Field. Dahlman brothers, S. P. Greene.
D. C. Bennett. Geo Mulkey, S. H. Hulkey, W. R. Ganse, T. C. Boulware,
the Penderv brothers, P. J. Bowdrv, J. Q. Sandige, John F. Swayne, T. |.
Peniston, D. B. Gardner. Z. E. B. Nash, I. Carb, J. M. Peers. John
Nichols, Jere Marklee, T. F. Cooper, John Bardon, A. B. Fraser, S. T.
Bibb. W. T. Maddox and his brothers, R. E.. E. P.. J. H., and a cousin.
J. M., who now resides in Jack County. There are others, but their
names do ndt occur to the writer at this time.

Upon the arrival of the railroad and soon after they came by the car-
load. Among the most prominent, and who were most active in the
upbuilding of the city may be mentioned W. G. Turner, J. B. Burnside,
A. J. Roe, Willard Burton, A. S. Dingee, T. M. Hartsfield, A. J. Ander-
son' J. L. Cooper, J. W. Spencer. A. E. Want, E. H Keller. Neil P.

602

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Anderson, W. G. Newby, W. F. Sterley. Martin Cases. J. M. \'incent.
M. P. Bewley, C. I. Swasey. Here, again, a lapse of time and defective
memory must be the excuse for not mentioning others equally worthy.

About the Indians

An effort was made in 1873 to remove all the hostile Indians from
Texas to the Reservation in the Indian Territory. The removal was
accomplished, but it was not easy to keep them there, and there were
occasional raids across the border and into the settlements. The exact
date of the last foray is not accessible at this writing, but it was made
as far south as Jack and Young counties, just west of Eos Valley, where
James C. Loving had a ranch and his residence. The foray was led by
two Indian Chiefs, Santanta and Rig Tree. They fell upon a wagon

1 NDIANS ON THE Movt

train conveying supplies to Fort Griffin, which stood about fourteen miles
northwest of the presenl town of Albany, It was owned by Capt. Julian
Feild, of this city, and Henry Warren, of Weatherford. The train was
destroyed; the wagons burned; the mules and horses taken away and
several men killed. A wooden monument marks the place where the
encounter took place. Troops were dispatched after the savages and the
two chiefs were captured. They were tried for murder at Jackshoro
and convicted and sentenced to death, hut the sentence was commuted
by Edmund J. Davis, then governor of Texas, to confinement in the
penitentiary for life. Santanta was afterwards pardoned and sent to the
Reservation near Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

On August It). 1874, another raid was made into Texas, coming as
far as Veal's station, about three miles west of the present town of

SpringtOWn, where one man was killed. Two others were killed by the
same raiders on the Weatherford and Jackshoro road, about half wa\
between the two towns. This was tbe last appearance of hostile Indians

in this part of tbe state There wen other Forays on the borders of
New Mexico subsequent to that time

FORT WOKTII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

603

!• [RST

'rominence of THE t II \

Fort Worth first came into prominence in the year 1872, when Col.
Thomas A. Scott, who had come into the ownership and control of the
Texas & Pacific Railway, in company with Col. John W. Forney, the
editor and proprietor of the "Chronicle" of Philadelphia, made a trip

Fort Worth National Bank, Fort Worth

across Texas for the purpose of selecting a route for this road across the
state. Colonel Forney wrote voluminous letters to his paper describing
in great detail what he saw and how he was impressed with the resources
of the state. He afterwards wrote and published a pamphlet entitled
"What I Saw in Texas," which had a wide circulation.

1.(14 FORT WORTH VND THE rEXAS NORTHWEST

In these letters and in the pamphlet he had much to say about Fort
\\ orth. In fact, he gave it more space than any other point in the state,
and predicted for it a brilliant future. He did not hesitate to predict
that it would be the most prominent place in the northern part of the
state. It being generally known that he was the guest of Colonel Scott
on the trip, it was quite natural that his readers should reach the con-
clusion that he reflected the opinion of the President of the Railway
i ompany.

A secondary purpose of the trip across Texas and the presence of
Mr. Forney, then among the foremost editorial writers of the day, was
to educate the public and to influence it in favor of a grant or subsidy
from the general government in aid of the construction of the road, such
as had been granted to the Union Pacific Railroad. A bill was then
pending in Congress for this purpose. Forney's paper, as well as others
in the East, set forth with great emphasis that this line would be of
greater benefit to the nation at large than the more northern route, inas-
much as it was in a more southerly latitude and would be open for traffic
every day of the year, and would not be snowbound, as it was contended
the more northern line would be at certain seasons of the year.

Colonel Scott commenced the active work of construction westward
from Marshall and Jefferson immediately on his return from the Pacific
slope and prosecuted it with all possible energy, lie had associated with
him Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, who was the chief engineer of the Union
Pacific, and Mr. Frank S. Bond, who was the financial director of the
same road. The road was constructed as fast as men and money could
do the work, and every argument that could hi' devised was put forth
to persuade representatives in Congress that this line was of prime neces
sity to the commerce of the country.

Representatives of the company attended every convention of impor-
tance that was held in the country, and resolutions were adopted urging
i ongress to grant the southern route the same concessions that had been
given tin- northern line.

Meanwhile Colonel Scott and his associates were bending every energy
to secure capital for the construction of the road. In the summer of
1873, Scott went to Europe on this mission. It was reported, from what
was regarded as reliable sources, that he had interested English capital
in the enterprise and every one in North Texas was rejoicing in his suc-
cess. It was stated that SO confident was Colonel Scott that he provided
a dinner at which all who were in London, interested in the enterprise.
participated in celebrating his success. While (he dinner was in progress
i cablegram was received announcing the suspension of the financial house
of Jay Cooke & Co. This firm was the financial house of the general
government at that time. It was they who had carried on the nego-
tiations for the I 'iiiled States during the war and who had handled and
marketed the bonds issued to support the armies of the United States in
thai great contest. Ibis had given il the widest reputation throughou
hi world, and its failure wrought havoc in financial circles everywhere
Verj naturally it put an end to Scott's negotiations, and he returned to
countrj verj much dejected but not at all dismayed or discouraged.

Il wa a dark day for Fori Worth I'he news fell upon this city

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 605

like a thunder boll from a clear sky. From the highest point of expecl
ancy the people descended into the lowest depths of despondency.

When the work of the road had reached a pomt west of its eastern
terminal, this side of Marshall, Fort Worth commenced to grow. People
came to the city from all points, lmt more numerously from Kansas and
Missouri. But they came from everywhere and bought property, built
houses and engaged in business. From the fall of 1S72 to that of 187.5
Fort Worth grew from a little hamlet of a few hundred into a bustling
city of three or four thousand. Rents were fabulous and business in ail
lines was active. Fortunes were made in real estate, and corner lots
would double in value in a night.

Hut the first day of September, the day of the suspension of Ja\
Cooke & Co., told another story. Values declined with as much rapidity
as they had advanced. People who had invested their money and paid
a part in cash and gave their notes for the remainder, who had com-
menced the erection of houses that they were never to see finished, who
had ordered and in many instances received slocks of goods for which
there was no market, saw bankruptcy staring them in the face. Profes-
sional men from all over the country who had left comfortable homes
and good businesses to come here and begin their fortunes anew, faced
inevitable ruin. The population dwindled as rapidly as it had grown.
Stores and dwellings were vacated by the score. Business was at a
standstill and gloom and despondency was everywhere visible. The road
to the eastward was rilled with people who were leaving the town in as
large numbers as a few days previously they had sought it.

.Meanwhile the road to which so many looked with expectancy and
hope was nearing Dallas. It was completed to about Forney, east of
Dallas, and the work was continued until the road reached F.agle Ford,
six miles west of Dallas, when it was discontinued and the forces dis-
banded. Eagle Ford, which had sprung into a town of more than a
thousand, was as quickly depopulated, the people for the most part mov-
ing back to Dallas. It was the opportunity for that city. Had the panic
broken thirty days later, so. that it would have been practicable to have
completed the road to Eort Worth before suspending operations. Fort
Worth would today have been a city of a quarter of a million population.

The decimation of Fort Worth left here about one thousand people.
Many of them stayed because they could not well get away. Others
remained because their faith in the ultimate growth and pre-eminence
of the city was not shaken bv this disaster. They went to work with a
grim determination to make a city of Fort Worth, and how well they
performed the task manv still living well remember. Their names are
household words with the older citizens and will never be forgotten. They
are inscribed on the tablets of their memories never to be effaced.

A great number of those who left Fort Worth at that time went to
Dallas. Some of them have become prominent factors in the develop-
ment of the city. There was little or no business left to Fort Worth,
except the spring cattle drive. That brought business to a few. The
town was dead as far as business and development went. The grass lit-
erally grew in the street. This was not a metaphor to indicate stagna-
tion, lmt a doleful fact. There were mmc empty stores and vacant

I & M . Bank. Fori Wori

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 607

dwellings than those that were occupied. The people busied themselves
principally with an effort to devise ways and means to secure a railroad
and with politics in which they took an interest that was keen and con-
stant. Town meetings were almost of weekly occurrence, and a suffi-
cient number of resolutions were adopted and committees appointed to
have built the embankments for a road to Dallas if they could have been
utilized for that purpose. The faith of the people never wavered for a
moment. It was with them constantly and under all circumstances. They
never failed to sing the praises of the city and to predict its glorious
future. Volumes were written and distributed telling of the glorious
future that waited upon those who believed and remained with the city.

The Panther City

At this place it may be well to answer the inquiry so often pre
pounded "why is Fort Worth called 'Pantherville' or 'Panther City'?'

Among those who left the place when the cyclone hit it was a young
lawyer who had come hither from Georgia, one Robert E. Cowart. He
went to Dallas, where he still lives, and is one of the promoters of the
scheme to get deep water in the Trinity at that place. Cowart was, and
is, a bright man. He has a keen sense of the ridiculous and verbiage that
can make an Indian's hair curl. He lived long enough in Fort Worth
to become acquainted with the peculiarities of its people. It was he who
furnished the story that gave Fort Worth the name of the "Panther
City." Knowing the conditions that prevailed here, he wrote a com-
munication for the Dallas Herald, then the leading paper of North Texas,
telling of the discovering of a panther in the streets of Fort Worth, and
the action taken by the people.

No attempt was made to deny or explain the charge. It was accepted
as a fact. The town was by common consent christened "Pantherville."
Every one named every thing "Panther." There were "panther" stores,
"panther" meat markets, "panther" saloons. The "Democrat," a weekly
paper being printed here, secured a cut of a panther couchant, which it
displayed at the head of the .paper. A fire company organized at about
that time named the engine the "Panther." Two panther cubs were ad-
vertised for and secured by the local paper and they were housed in a
handsome cage at the fireball. When, a little later, Dallas gave a big
celebration or demonstration of some kind the wagon with the panthers
were taken over there, drawn by four white horses and escorted by forty
good and patriotic citizens of the town clad in white uniforms. It was
easily the most attractive part of the procession on that occasion. Fort
Worth is still known as "Pantherville." or the "Panther Citv."

CHAPTER XLV1
FORT WORTH BECOMES A CITY

It has been stated that having nothing better to do — and there are few
better things to do — the people took an active interest in politics. The
first political movement of importance occurring about that time was the
incorporation of the city. The Thirteenth Legislature, in which Major
K. M. VanZandt represented this county, passed an act authorizing the
incorporation, and the people were active in the preparation of a charter.
Meetings were held almost nightly in the court house for this purpose.
The most active participants were John Y. Hogsett and Frank W. Ball,
who represented the conflicting opinion.

The charter was effective March 1, 1873, and the first city election
was held on the third day of April, following. Tin- opposing candidates

^■■■■■■B

•****>*»•**.**,■

Banking House, Loyd, Marklei & Co.. 1873-1877

foi mayor were Dr. \\ . P, Burts and P. M. ["hurmond. The election
was Spirited and exciting. Most of the more recent citizens were for
Thurmond, who was himself a "new comer." as they were designated.
When the votes were counted Or. Hurts was elected by a majority of 68
votes. The total vote being 366, The other officials were: Ed. Terrell,
marshal; X. M Maben, assessor and collector; Jno, S. Loving, treas
urer; F. W. Ball, cit) attorney, and j. F, Swayne, citv secretary. The
hoard of aldermen were: M. B. Loyd, M. 1 ). Mel 'all. A. Blakeney,
W. J. Boaz and A. (1. Rintleman, There wire twenty candidates for
alderman, all of whom have answered the last roll-call and passed over

the river

When the panic of 187. ^ fell upon the country the city government
suspended business as far as practicable. The city officials agreed to

draw no salaries and depended on the fees of the Mayor's Court for
whatever compensation they received. Ml ordinances were suspended
except those pertaining to the preservation of the peace. The citv election
was held at the proper lime, when Dr. Burts was re-elected The fol

wis

.OUT WORTH \.\l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 609

lowing comprised the official roster. T. M. Ewing, city marshal; John

S. Loving, treasurer; Thro. Hitchcock, secretary; (1. F. Parnham, col-
lector, and J. L. Chapman, city attorney. The aldermen were: l\. II.
King, A. B. Fraser, W. II. Overton, W, H. Williams and Joseph II. Kane.

Among the defeated candidates for aldermen were: W. J. Boaz and
J. P. Alexander, who stood for re-election and Col. J. I'. Smith. Kwing
resigned as city marshal the following December and at an election for
his successor T. P. Redding, N. M. Maben and H. P. Shiel were the
candidates. Redding received forty-seven votes and Maben and Shiel
sixty-eight votes each. Another election was ordered and Redding with-
drew and Columbus Fitzgerald, who had been the deputy of Ewing,
entered the race and went off with the goods.

At the succeeding election Capt. G. H. Day and J. F. Cooper were
the rival candidates for mayor. Day received 206 votes and Cooper
136. J. C. Scott was elected city attorney; C. McDougall, city secre-
tary; H. P. Shiel, city marshal; G. F. Parmer, assessor and collector;
J. S. Loving, treasurer. The board of aldermen were W. T. Maddox,
P. J. Bowdry, D. R. Cawford, Isaac Dahlman and J. J. Jarvis.

Much interest was manifested in this election because of the
alleged profligacy of the former administration. The city debt had
been run up to the mammoth sum of $4,952.91. and something had to
be done or the city would be financially ruined. There was also
a delinquent tax list of $19.85, showing a gross lack of attention to
city affairs by those in authority.

The next city election was probably the most exciting political
contest ever pulled off in this city. Captain Day. who had been twice
mayor, was not in favor with a large number of people and a hercu-
lean effort was made to defeat him. The aspirations of several good
men was a serious handicap to their efforts. The contest finally-
settled down to Day, Larry Steele and John D. Templeton. When
the ballots were counted it was found that Day and Templeton were
tied and Steele three votes behind them. A second election was
ordered and Steele was prevailed upon to withdraw. The result was
another tie and a third election was ordered. Interested parties
began to scan the poll lists to ascertain if any fraudulent or illegal
votes had been cast, when the discovery was made that B. B. Paddock,
who then lived where he now does, at the corner of Jennings Avenue
and Terrell Avenue, and Hugh W. Davis, who lived across the street,
both of whom were outside of the city limits, had voted in each
election. Both were and had been active in city affairs and it had
not occurred to them that they were not citizens of the city and
allowed to participate in the election, and Day was elected by three
votes. Paddock and Davis had to behave themselves for a season
and were threatened with prosecution for illegal voting every time
they became too active in matters that did not concern them.

At the succeeding election Day was beaten by Col. R. E. Beck-
ham, who held the place for two terms, when he declined to again be
a candidate. Col. John Peter Smith was chosen as his successor.
This is enough on this subject, although there were other and inter-
esting contests in the late '80s and early '90s.

FORT WOK ill AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 611

Railroads

A volume might be written upon the struggles that Forth Worth
went through in securing the railroads that have contributed so much
to its growth and success. Mention has already been made of the
failure of the Texas & Pacific to reach Forth Worth on schedule
time. A land grant had been given the road by the state conditioned
on its being completed to Forth Worth by the first day of January,
1874. Generous and public spirited citizens of the city, Maj. K. M.
Van Zandt, E. B. Daggett, Thos. J. Jennings and H. G. Hendricks,
had donated 320 acres of land lying along the south side of the city
upon the same conditions. As each succeeding legislature met, it
extended the time for the construction of the road for a year, and
the grant of lands by the above named citizens was renewed. This
continued until the Constitutional Convention of 1875, which passed
a resolution further extending the time until the adjournment of the
first legislature held under the new Constitution.

This session of the legislature convened on the second Tuesday
of January, 1876. Tarrant County was represented in that body by
the Hon. Nicholas Darnell, who had also been a member of the
convention that framed the Constitution. In the meantime the people
of this city, despairing of the road being constructed by the company,
undertook to build it themselves. They organized "The Tarrant
County Construction Company" and subscribed to the capital stock,
assuming to make payment in money, labor, material, forage, supplies
or anything the}- had which possessed a marketable value. A con-
tract was entered into with the railway company for the construction
of the road from Eagle Ford, its western terminus, to this city. The
contract was let to Roche Bros. & Tierney. The work was com-
menced in the fall of 1875. Maj. K. M. VanZandt was the president
of the company, John S. Hirschfield, vice president; Zane-Cetti, secre-
tary, and W. A. Huffman, treasurer.

When the legislature assembled the railway company made appli-
cation fur still another extension, but the opposition to it was very
pronounced and had a large following. It soon became evident that
a sufficient number of votes could not be secured to obtain the
extension. The company had expended large sums of money in
surveying and platting the lands in the West, which amounted to
sixteen sections per mile. It was too rich a prize to abandon without
a struggle. The company took the contract off the hands of the
Construction Company and put forth every energy to the construction
i if the road to this place, with a view to its completion to this city
before the Legislature should conclude its labors and adjourn. Gen.
John C. Brown, of Tennessee, was the vice president of the company,
and he was on the ground day and night, if his services were neces-
sary. Maj. D. W. Washburn, the chief engineer, was equally active,
and the contractor, Morgan Jones, is said not to have changed his
clothes or gone regularly to bed during that period of unexampled
activity. The Legislature had finished its labors early in July and
the Senate had passed a concurrent resolution of adjournment and
sent it over to the House. The rails of the Texas & Pacific were

612 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

many miles East of Fort Worth. An adjournment of the Legisla-
ture meant the sacrifice of the magnificent landed domain which it had
surveyed and platted. Then commenced the most strenuous parlia-
mentary battle recorded in the history of this or any other state.
The friends of the railway company refused to adopt the resolution
to adjourn. The vote was so close that the absence of a single friend
of the company might mean disaster. Gen. N. H. Darnell, the mem
ber from this county, was one of those who voted against adjourn-
ment and the General was sick. He was carried into the hall every
day on a cot, and voted "no" on the resolution to adjourn sine die ;
and voted "aye" on a motion to adjourn till the following day. This
was continued for fifteen days. The rails had reached Sycamore
Creek just east of the city. Here was a long bridge and a still longer
trestle. The latter has since been filled up. Bridge timbers and ties
were converted into a crib upon which the rails were laid. Then
the track left the grade and took to the dirt road, which ran nearly
parallel to the right of way. Ties were laid on the ground, sup-
ported at either end by stones picked up from the right of way, and
the rails spiked to them. It was as crooked as the proverbial ram's
horn, hut it bore up the rails. On the 19th day of July, at 11:23
o'clock a. m., the first train ran into Fort Worth. The train was in
charge i if Conductor W. R. Bell. Mr. L. S. Thorne. subsequently
vice president and general manager, had charge of the head brake.
Engineer Kelly, the father of Jack Kelly, who is now the travelling
engineer of the Forth Worth & Denver, was at the throttle. The
names of the rest of the crew are not obtainable at this writing.

It was a day of great rejoicing in Fort Worth, and the gallant band
who had manifested so much patriotism and faith and worked so
assiduously for the city came into their reward. A great demonstra-
tion was had. Lacking cannon, anvils were obtained from the shop
"f W, II. Williams — for whom E. H. Kellar worked as an apprentice
— Maj. J. J. Jarvis was chief of artillery, with P. J. Bowdry as his
able assistant. Business of every kind became active and the city
commenced to grow and prosper. Buildings of every kind and char-
acter were in great demand, and new ones were constructed as fast
a- men and money could erect them.

Pending the long wait for the Texas & Pacific, other roads had
been chartered and organized. The Forth Worth & Denver City
was the tirst of these. It was organized .August 12. 1873. Its per-
sonnel came from the active forces of the M. K. & T, and the Texas &
Pacific. The first president was I. M. Eddy, of the "Katy." W. W.
II. Lawrence was vice president and C. L. Frost, secretary and treas
urer. It maintained it- organization intact during the period of
depression, and was found ready for business when the effects of the
panic w ere dissipated.

Mi. Red River & Rio Grande from Denison to the Gulf was
chartered, a- was the Fort Worth, Corsicana X Beaumont, The first
of these was absorbed b\ the M. K X T. and the latter was nevet

■n vitality, hut lain the Fori Worth & \<w Orleans was organ

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 613

ized and built b\ Fori Worth people. It was later absorbed by the
Southern Pacific System, where the ownership still remains.

The Gulf, Colorado <.K; Santa Fe Railway entered Fort Worth on
the second day of December, 1881. In the meantime work bad com-
menced on the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway, which was char
tered as early as 1873. and the construction of which was delayed
by the same panic that had wrought such havoc to the fortunes oi
tlie Texas & Pacific. The grading was commenced on this road in
November, 1881. at or near the present station of Hodge. The first
rail was laid the following February and the work was prosecuted
with vigor until the road reached the state line at Texline, wliex- i»
met the Denver & New Orleans, which had been constructed from the
City of Denver.

The M. K. & T. came into Fort Worth over the rails of the Trans-
Continental Division of the Texas & Pacific in the early part of 1880.
It continues to use the same line, there being a joint ownership
thereof.

On November 23, 1886, work was commenced on the Fort Worth
iS; Rio Grande, a company organized and promoted by the writer.

In 1887-88 the "Cotton Belt" made its advent into this city, and in
the '90s came the Rock Island, the Frisco and the 1. & G. N. The
Trinity & Brazos Valley followed soon after, using the Santa Fe
rails between this city and Cleburne and later the Rock Island
between this place and Dallas.

During the last decade railway construction in Texas has been
practically suspended. A few short lines have been built from the
main trunk lines to adjacent territory, more for the purpose of con-
trolling traffic than for the development of the country.

Since the discovery of oil in North Central Texas several lines
have been constructed for the purpose of serving this industry.
Among these are: The Wichita Falls Ranger & Fort Worth Rail
road, from Wichita Falls through Breckenridge to Dublin, where it
connects with the Frisco System, thereby giving an entrance into
Forth Worth. The Cisco & Northeastern Railroad, from Cisco to
Kreckenridge, a distance of twenty-eight miles, serves the new terri-
tory in Stephens County. The Ringling Eastland &• Gulf Railroad,
from Manguni to the Texas Central Railroad, through Eastland to
Breckenridge. The Santa Fe constructed a branch line from Shat-
tuck, Oklahoma, to Spearman, Texas.

There is now under construction a line from Newcastle. Young
County, through Graham to Breckenridge, a distance of forty miles.
This, too, is constructed for the pupose of serving oil interests.

These constitute the only new lines of railway constructed in
Texas during the last ten years.

For four years, 1876-80, the town was typical of Western life ;
rushing business, noisy, boisterous existence, in which the cowboy
and his twin companion, the six-shooter, figured conspicuously. Cat-
tlemen— those pioneers of Western life — made the town their head-
quarters and drew their supplies therefrom, and a lew of the wiser

614 FORT WORTH AXL) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

men, with prophetic eye, saw a great future for the place and coin
menced to work to that end.

Progress and development have been so swift in obliterating the
primitive order of things and introducing all the accompaniments of
modern life that even old-time citizens have almost forgotten the
"wild and woolly" aspects of existence in Forth Worth during the
latter '70s. The railroad brought its evils as well as its benefits.
For several years Fort Worth was the clearing house between the
legally constituted society of the East and the free and untram-
meled life of the West. Here the currents of humanity met. and in
the swirling vortex that ensued could be found every class of man-
kind. Fort Worth was never in the same class with the Kansas
towns of Abilene and Dodge City; the substantial and better clas>
of citizens was always in the ascendant here, and license was never
allowed beyond the limits of control. But all descriptions agree that
"hell's half acre" formed an exceedingly lively, even if restricted, por-
tion of the city. Shootings and bawdy house riots are chronicled
with dailv regularity in the columns of the local papers of 1870-80.
The citizens worked under a high pressure of mental and physical
excitement and energy and action in producing the net result of
progress, at the same time produced that share of evil which inhuman
affairs can never be entirely dissociated from the good.

CHAPTER XLVII
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES

Fort Worth aspires and bids fair to become the Athens of the
Southwest.

The Texas Christian University, the Baptist Theological Seminary,
( >ur Lady of Victory Academy (Catholic), and the Texas Woman's
College, the latter fostered by the Methodist Church, are flourishing,
successful institutions representing an investment of several million
dollars, having large and commodious buildings with modern equip-
ment in every essential detail and which is being augmented from

,

Buildinc and Grounds, Texas Christian University

year to year as the requirements demand. The enrollment for the
current year is 2,137. An able corps of teachers in every branch are
provided, and their growth and development has been phenomenal.

Public Schools

The present school system is indebted for its inception and success
largely to the work of Gen. K. M. VanZandt and Dr. C. M. Peak, who
as earl)- as 1866 inaugurated and secured the first school in the city
and who have always been enthusiastic workers in the cause of edu-
cation. In 1866, together with W. H. Milwee and Milt Robinson, they
secured from the Masonic lodge the use of the first floor of the
Masonic building. These four men contributed the money to pur-
chase a load of flour and sent it to East Texas and traded it for lumber
with which to equip the room for school purposes. They secured the
services of Capt. John Hanna. a stranded Confederate soldier, to teach
the school. Thev followed this with the establishment of a Union

615

VOL. II— 12

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FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 617

Sunday School. This was the first step to bring about the co-operation
of the citizens of Fort Worth in matters of civic welfare, which has
endured to this day.

Fort Worth had no free public school system until 1882. In the
early days private schools furnished the greater part of the educational
advantages to the young. Professor Hanna's Fort Worth High School
was one of the noted institutions of the sixties. In the latter seventies
among the important schools should be mentioned : The Weaver
Male High School, in the northwestern part of the city, of collegiate
grade. The Arnold-Walden Institute, for young ladies, also having a
primary department, was at the west end of Fourth Street. Mrs.
Scribner's School, for young ladies, was also on Fourth Street. Miss
Alford's School, Second and Taylor, was a girls' school of first grade.
Mrs. Burchill's School contained primary, intermediate and grammar
grades.

In February. 1877, by order of the city council, an election was
held to determine whether the city should assume exclusive control
of the public schools within its limits. Ninety per cent of the tax-
paying votes were cast for this proposition, and thereby the city be-
came a separate school community, receiving from the collector of
taxes its proportion of the school fund, having power to construct
schools and to levy an additional tax of 1 per cent, provided a special
election showed two-thirds of the taxpayers in favor of the levyr. In
July of this year, the levy was voted by the necessary number of tax-
payers, but an adverse ruling of the attorney-general prevented for
some time the diversion of the public funds to this purpose, and for
this and- other causes the public school system of Fort Worth was not
inaugurated until 1882.

In February, 1882. the council was again appealed to. This time
to have a special census taken to ascertain if the requisite number of
people lived in Fort Worth to authorize an independent district. The
council objected to this on account of funds. The writer of these lines
agreed to do the work of supervision and Colonel Smith and Major
VanZandt furnished the money to pay the enumerators. The work
was done efficiently for the sum of $300.00, and there were found in
Fort Worth 11,136 people. A. E. Want was one of the enumerators
who took this census. An election was then ordered to levy a special
tax to supplement the school fund. Doctor Peak was on the streets, in
season and out of season, urging the tax. and it was approved by ;i
very handsome majority. There were only thirty-five votes cast
against the proposition, but from the noise made by the opponents
many more were anticipated.

The first school trustees were J. J. Jarvis, Tohn Hanna and W. H
Baldridge. The school opened in October with about 650 pupils.

An advertisement was inserted in the local papers and those in
Saint Louis for a superintendent. There were thirty two applications
filed, and some of the applicants came in person to interview the
trustees. After much deliberation and discussion. Professor Alexander
Hogg, of Marshall, was elected at a salary of $1,200 per annum. He

018 FORT WOK I'll AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

entered upon his duties at the fall opening of the school.-. The follow
ing teachers were selected:

Principals: Mrs. Clara Walden, Miss Sue Huffman and Thos.
Lacey.

First Grade: Miss Jennie Oliver, Emma Hildebrand. Pinka Jones.
Ida Rich and Mrs. M. L. Pearcy.

Second Grade: Miss Bessie Foute, Jennie Howard, K. Madder, Eva
Haywood, Clara Burnham, Maud P. Johnson. Lula Dial and J. X.
Lacey.

There was in the Available School Fund $3,906 and the hoard
announced that with the special tax levy a school could be conducted
ten months in the year.

From this modest and unpretentious beginning has evoked one
of the best and most successful school systems of any city of the size
of Fort Worth in the country.

At this time there are in the city and belonging to the city, twenty
nine school buildings, twenty-one for white and eight for the colored
pupils. These are all commodious, substantial and pretentious build-
ings, thoroughly equipped with the most modern and approved facil-
ities for the education of the youth of the City.

The value of this property, including equipment, is $2.252.°14.14.
The High School Buildings, of which there are three, are the pride
of the Citv and the admiration of every one who sees them. For the
current year four hundred and eighty-nine teachers are employed, four
hundred and thirty-seven for the while pupil- and liftv-two for the
ci dored.

Tlie enrollment of pupil- for the year approximates 18,000,, and the
expense for the year will be $800,000, of which $180,000 will be for
tin- interest and -inking fund for the several issue- of bonds for the
establishment of the schools. It i- asserted, without fear of success
fill contradiction, that no city in the country of like population can
make a more satisfactorj exhibit of its activities in the line of i-,\\\
ration

t Colleges \m> Sem i \ vries

In addition to it- unexcelled facilities for instruction provided b>

the public school-, there are -e\ era I colleges and seminaries that went Id
be a credit to a much larger city.

I he first in date of organization and construction is the

Texas Wom an's Coi i eg*

Tin- college l- the successor to Polytechnic College, which was
founded December Id, 1890, bj the people of Fort Worth, who eon
tributed fortj acre- of ground and a cash donation. The first prc-i
dent of tlie Board of Trustees was Bishop Jos. S. Key. lie resigned
in 1906 and was succeeded 1>> Rev. I I. F. Sensabaugh.

The first presidenl of the school was Rev. J. Watkinson, who con

tinned to serve till 1894, when he wa- succeeded b\ Rev. M . I\ Lloyd,
who, after serving for six years, resigned, and Rev. R. II. McSwain
ed as acting president until October, P'tKi. (,. |. Xunn succeeded
I loyd, and in \pril, 1('02, II. \. Boaz became the presidenl and con

FORT WORTH AND THE J l-.XAS NORTHWEST 619

tinued until the cullegc was converted intu a Woman's College in 1915.
It is now owned and directed by the five Conferences in Texas of the
M. E. Church South.

The Texas Woman's College is located about four miles east of
the business section of Fort Worth in the thriving suburban city of
Polytechnic and upon a beautiful eminence that overlooks Fort Worth
and the surrounding country. The college has connection with the
city by an efficient three-minute car service; by a splendidly paved
street leading directly to the city and by an excellent road leading to
the Fort Worth-Dallas pike. This gives easy access to churches,

Main Building, Texas Woman's College

business and other industries of a great city and at the same time
retains the advantages of the open country.

As a woman's school, the college is an outgrowth of old Poly-
technic College and has been running in its present capacity for six
years. The attendance of students of college grade has rapidly in-
creased from 101 in 1915 to more than 300 during the present year,
and the total attendance in all departments with no names repeated
has increased from 317 in 1915 to more than 500 during this session.
Only two degrees were conferred in 1915, but the number has increased
year by year until this year it has reached thirty-two. In fact, the
most rapid growth of the school has been in the junior and senior
classes, which speaks well for the academic standing of the institution.

620 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

From the beginning the Texas Woman's College has had the
highest rating given the senior colleges by the classification commit
tees of the State Teachers' Association and the State Department of
Education. Her students are admitted to post-graduate work in all
the great universities in the United States.

The campus contains forty acres of land, upon which are found four
large dormitories, a main administration building, a conservatory
building, a high school building and a gymnasium. Two modern
church buildings are just off the campus. The property of the college
is estimated to be worth $800,000.00, and with subscriptions, now
being paid by the Methodists of Texas and the business men of Fort
Worth, the school will soon have gathered an endowment of about
$300,000.00 and at the same time will be out of debt. The income and
expenditures reach about $200,000.00 annually.

Many families in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico are attracted
to the city by the daughters in college.

Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University is a child of a lofty purpose and heroic
endeavor of two early educators in Texas : Addison (lark and Ran-
dolph Clark.

In the autumn of 1873 in the village of Thorpe Springs, Texas,
Randolph Clark leased a three-story stone structure and opened the
first session of what became Add-Ran College. A Charter was ob-
tained under the general laws of Texas and became effective April
11. 1874.

In 1895 it was determined to move the university from Thorpe
Springs to a more advantageous location. On Christmas, 1895, the
university was moved to Waco.

The name Texas Christian University was adopted in 1902 to suit
the enlarged purpose and work of the school, while the name Add-Ran,
with its multitude of historic associations, was retained as the designa-
tion of the College of Arts and Sciences, the central college of the
university.

On the evening of March 22, 1910, the main building of the univer-
sity burned, depriving the school of class rooms, library, museum,
chapel and much valuable furniture, besides the rooms of the young
men, which occupied the third and fourth floors. The loss was esti-
mated at about $175,000.00 and the insurance was only enough to pay
indebtedness. After the disastrous lire, the university accepted the
invitation and the gift of $200,000.00 and a campus of fifty-six acres
from the citizens of Fort Worth and began to erect new buildings in
the fall of that year. Today the campus is adorned by six great build-
ings of brick and concrete of symmetrical architecture, and the campus
has been beautified by walks, shrubbery, flowers and athletic courts.

In addition to a property now valued at $1,500,000.00, the univer-
sity has accumulated an endowment of $300,000.00. is receiving $10,-
000.00 a year from the general Board of Education and has enrolled
over 700 students and a faculty of fifty members, who are the products
of the greatest American universities. The institution, as organized

FORT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 621

at present, can minister to at least 1,000 students. The institution is
offering recognized college work in at least fifteen departments.

As the standards for colleges have been more definitely determined
and have risen, T. C. U. has faithfully tried not only to maintain them
but also to lend its influence in forming better standards. The com-
mittees from the Department of Education of the American Medical
Association inspected the school in 1916 and approved jt for pre-medic
work. Formerly, it was insufficient to meet the known standard of
Texas' group, but recently it has become advantageous to find connec-
tion .with organizations representing larger sections in the nation.
T. C. U. already holds membership in the following associations : Asso-
ciation of Texas Colleges, American Association of Colleges, Board of
Education of the Disciples of Christ, Southern Association of Teacher
Training Colleges.

The institution has recently completed a $175,000.00 gymnasium,
which is reckoned to be one of the most complete buildings of its kind
in the entire South and Southwest.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as its name implies, is
under the auspices of the Baptist Church. Its field of endeavor is to
educate men for the ministry.

It has a capital of $1,600,000.00 and an endowment fund of $375,000.
It owns about 400 acres of land, a donation from the public-spirited
people of Fort Worth, who have also contributed large sums for the
erection of buildings and the installation of equipment.

It has three large seminary buildings and twenty-eight cottages for
students, erected at a cost of $845,000.00.

The faculty comprises thirty-eight teachers and there are 580
students in attendance.

Colleges and Seminaries

The Catholics have two colleges and seminaries and three parochial
schools.

The first of these in the order of establishment is the Saint Ignatius
Academy, situated in the heart of the city, established in 1885. It is a
girl's school, with accommodation for 400 pupils, including boarders
and day pupils. Fourteen Sisters are in charge. It is valued at
$300,000.00.

Our Lady of Victory College

This college is located on South Hemphill and is under the manage-
ment and direction of the Sisters of St. Mary. It was established in
1910. Is affiliated with the Texas University and the Catholic Uni-
versity of Washington, D. C. It has a large campus occupying an
elevated plateau. It can accommodate 125 boarders and 200 day
pupils. There are twenty Sisters in the faculty. Its valuation is
$300,000.00.

The parochial schools are :

The Holy Name, at New York and Terrell Avenues, established in
1910. with accommodation for 100 pupils and a valuation of $25,000.00.

622 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The Sisters of the Incarnate Word, Located, 2006 North Houston
Street. Valuation, $25,000.00.

All Saints' Academy, on Rosen Heights, established in 1905. It has
accommodation for forty boarding and fifty day pupils. Valuation,
$25,000.00.

The Laneri College

This is a non-sectarian school, erected by John R. Laneri as a
memorial to his deceased wife. It is located on Hemphill Street, in the
residential section of the city. It has fine grounds, and an imposing
structure with an auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,200. It has
twelve class rooms and can accommodate 500 pupils. It is a boys'
school and is open to all. Boys desiring an education will be received
and taught without compensation if unable to pay tuition. The build-
ing and equipment represent an expenditure of around $100,000.00 h
was dedicated October 30th, 1921.

CHAPTER XLV11I
PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

Water Supply

Id the early days water for domestic purposes was supplied from
shallow wells and delivered by wagons from cold springs on the Bird
ville Road and the Clear Fork of the Trinity River, and kept in barrels,
a very primitive and unsatisfactory method. There was no water for
protection from fire or for sprinkling streets. The necessity for fire
protection was imperative, as the city was composed almost exclusively
of wooden buildings. Cisterns were sunk in the middle of the streets
and kept filled with rainwater when it rained.

Lake Worth Dam. Fort Worth

In May. 1878. Mr. J. J. Peters made the announcement that artesian
water could be had in abundance under the city. He sunk a well in
the southwestern part of the city, near the corner of Florence and Sixth
Streets. His prediction was verified by an abundant flow of pure, soft
water. He proceeded at once to sink a second well, on Peach'Street,
near Hampton, on the property of John Nichols. This solved the ques-
tion of a water supply for domestic purposes. Over 200 wells were
sunk in the city, and at one time it was thought that sufficient artesian
water could be had for all purposes ; and in 1892 and for several years
thereafter the city endeavored to develop the artesian system and spent
many hundreds of thousands of dollars in a fruitless and unavailing
effort to furnish artesian water for all purposes.

Numerous propositions were submitted to the city from time to
time to install a water works system, which varied in cost from $24,000

623

624 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

to $50,000, and provided for from three-quarters of a mile to one mile
of pipe line.

In May, 1882, Capt. B. B. Paddock organized a company, of which
M. B. Loyd, Zane-Cetti. John D. Templeton and W. P. Wilson were
incorporators. He secured a franchise from the city and made a con-
tract with the Holly Water Works Company of Lockport, New York,
for the construction of a waterworks plant with six miles of pipe line
and pumps with a capacity of 4,000,000 gallons per day. He trans-
ferred the franchise to Morgan Jones. E. P. Cowan and Henry
McLaughlin, who constructed the works, which they afterwards sold
to the city.

In the fall of 1891 the city entered into a contract with McArthur
Brothers of Chicago to construct an extension of the system, at a cost
of $687,500, and with a pumping capacity of 8.000,000 gallons per day.
In April, 1892, Captain Paddock became mayor of the city and was
charged with the duty of carrying out this contract and perfecting a
system which he had inaugurated ten years previously. By 1910 it
became evident that the artesian system was unreliable and inadequate,
and surveys and investigations were made during the administration
of Mayor W. D. Harris and the first City Commission, which later
resulted in the construction of a dam and impounding the waters of
the West Fork of the Trinity River — Lake Worth is the result and
Fort Worth can now confidently boast of being the possessor of the
finest artificial lake in the country capable of supplying a city of a
quarter of a million people.

Stage Lines

Prior to 1880, all the passenger business and transportation of the
mails for the entire country west of Fort Worth was conducted by
stage lines, which radiated from this city in all directions, as the rail-
roads do now.

The first line of importance, and one that attracted the attention of
the entire country, was the Fort Worth & Yuma Stage Line. This
was what was known in postoffice parlance as "Star Route" service.
In 1877 a contract was lei by the Postoffice Department for a daily
mail line from Fort Worth to Fort Yuma, Arizona, a distance of 1,560
miles, being the longest daily stage line in the world.

Fori Worth shouted itself hoarse when the announcement was made
and a banquet was given Mr. J. T. Chidester, the manager of the line.
Robert McCart, who had but recently come to the city from Bloom-
ington. Illinois, was the principal speaker on this occasion, and any
one who heard him must have been impressed with the fact that this
was the greatest commercial enterprise in all history, up to that time.
Tin- stages wen- to run through to Fort Yuma in seventeen days. But
this was found to be too long. The coyotes, jackrabbits and horned
frogs that wen- the principal inhabitants of the country beyond the
Conchos could not afford to wait thai long for their mail, and the
Second Assistant Postmaster-General, at the earnest solicitation of the
inhabitants, and the contractors, agreed to increase the compensation
100 per cent if tlir trip Could be made in thirteen da) s, which was

FORT WolMll AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST (.25

easily accomplished. This contract was one of the matters of con-
gressional investigation of the "Star Route Steal" during the adminis-
tration of President (Irani. Deputy United States Marshals scoured
the country for Chidester to summon him as a witness, but were never
successful in finding him. The mail left Fort Worth in a Concord
coach drawn by six horses and ran to Thorp Spring in Mood County,
where it was transferred tO a surrey with two horses. These went
as far as Rrownwood, where a buckboard and two bronchos took it
the remainder of the wa\ . if the) were not interrupted by Indians and
outlaws, which at that time infested the country.

Stack Coach

This stage line continued in operation until the extension of the
Texas & Pacific Railway west of Fort Worth, when it was dis-
continued.

Street Railways

On September 6, 1876, a franchise was granted to a company com-
posed of J. P. Smith, K. M. VanZandt, W. A. Huffman, Morgan Jones
and George Noble for a street railway from the court house to the
Texas & Pacific Depot. The contract for its construction was let to
Morgan Jones and the work commenced on November 17th. The first
car ran over the line on Christmas Day, and Mr. Walter A. Huffman
officiated as conductor. The cars were about the size of an ordinary
street omnibus and were propelled by one mule something larger than
a West Texas jackrabbit. That the business was not very profitable
is gathered from the report of the first year's business, which shows
that the gross receipts were $22 per day. showing the transportation of
440 persons each day.

In 1882 there was a spurt in street railway construction that is
probably without a parallel. Everyone that had any money, and some
who had none, undertook to build a street railway. The two most im-
portant lines were the Queen City Street Railway and the Rosedale

FORT WoRTll AMi I 111: [TEXAS NORTHWEST

Street Railway, with the road to Mistletoe Heights as a good third.
The latter was constructed from Jennings Avenue out Thirteenth
Street to Ballinger, thence south across the railway to Terrell Avenue,
or in that neighborhood, and thence west under the Fort Worth &
Rio Grande to the Heights. These were where Westmoreland Place
is now located. Then there was the Polytechnic Heights Street Rail-
way and another across the river and way out towards Decatur some-
where. The present traction company runs over these two latter, and
it owns all that was found of value of the Rosedale and Queen Citj
lines. Then, there was the "nine-mile belt" that ran all around over
the South Side, crossed the Katy and Santa Fe tracks on Magnolia
\ venue and wandered around through the Seventh Ward somewhere.
This was promoted and operated by J. T. Voss.

In 1900, all of the street railways in the city worth having were
acquired by the Northern Texas Traction Company, which is owned
li\ the Stone-Webster Company of Boston. It now owns and operates
about eighty-rive miles of street railway, and the interurban electric-
railways to Dallas and Cleburne, embracing sixty three miles. The
construction and equipment is of the modern and substantial character
and is said to be the most profitable electric railway in the country.

Fort Worth has the distinction of being the first city in the United
States tfi be electrically equipped throughout.

Fire Department

The first attempt to organize a lire compan) in the city occurred in
April, 1873. A meeting for that purpose was called at the court house
by tile 'Democrat. When the night arrived it brought with it a "blue
norther." There was not sufficient interest in the matter to justify
tlu- people in facing the storm, and the only person present was the
editor of the paper.

A second attempt, made about a month later, was more successful
A goodly number answered the call, and a compan} was organized,
with (apt. S. I'. Greene as president. U. I!. Paddock, secretary, and
William T. Field as foreman. There were about sixty members, mostly
clerks and mechanics, on the roll, and they made up a purse and
ordered a hook and ladder truck with all the necessary accoutrements.
\ -erics of entertainments were given to raise the funds, at one of
which a vote was taken at so much per vote for the most popular young
ladj in the city, who should have the privilege of naming the com
pany. The leading contestants were Miss Sallie Johnson, daughter of
Col. M . T. fohnson, and Mis-. \nna T. Harper, a sister of Mrs, B, B.
Paddock. Miss Johnson was the successful candidate and the com
pany was named in honor of her father, tlu- M. T. Johnson Hook and
Ladder Company. It remained as No. 1 until 1893, when the paid lire
department was organized, when it passed off tin stage, There was
never a more enthusiastic and successful band of firefighters.

On October 1". 1876, when citj airs were assumed, an engine com

pany was organized, of which (apt. M. I'.. Loyd was president. lie
was also the first president of the Tort W orth Fire I >epartment, which
was organized after the second compan) came into existence, and was

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

627

the accredited delegate to the meeting of the State Fire Department.
Other companies followed as the necessity arose, and Fort Worth long
enjoyed the reputation of having the finest department in the state.
When the city took over the management of the fire department and

W

Waggoner Building, Fort Worth

put the men on the pay roll, the volunteers were given preference
over all applicants and some of them are in service at this writing.
When it became a paid fire department Mr. N. H. Lassiter was the
president, and the last meeting was a most affecting occasion. Many
of the old "fire-fighters" were opposed to disbanding the volunteer
service, and laid down the responsibility with great reluctance.

Fort Worth now has one of the best, if not the best, fire depart-
ments in the Southwest. It is fully provided with motor-driven
equipment.

628 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The Telephone

When the telephone came into existence as a means of transmitting
communication. Fort Worth eagerly embraced the novel method of
business and social converse.

The first line was constructed by Or. W. B. Brooks and ran from
his residence at the corner of Weatherford and Pecan Streets to his
drug store on Second and Houston Streets. Naturally, it was a crude
affair. It had no bell or batteries, and consisted onlv of a can-like
apparatus, which was both receiver and transmitter. Attention was
attracted by tapping on the cans. The second line ran from the office
of the Democrat on Houston Street to a saloon on Main Street, the
latter being a prolific source of local news. Instead of tin cans, tam-
bourines were utilized for receivers and transmitters. Very soon the
Bell Telephone people established an exchange with about forty sub-
scribers, having three employees in the office, two girls and a manager.
Subsequently the Pan-American Telephone Company constructed lines
and opened an exchange. Fort Worth did not take kindly to a dual
system, and the activities of the Pan-American were short-lived.

The Bell system continued to grow and expand. Numerous propo-
sitions were made to the city government to grant franchises to an
additional and rival company. The city insisted that if a charter was
granted, that it should contain a provision that the new company
should not sell or lease to or consolidate with the existing company.
This had the effect of destroying all desire for a franchise.

About 1900. a franchise was finally granted to the Fort Worth
Telephone Company, and for a brief period the city had two telephone
companies. But the venture was not successful, and the franchise was
surrendered and the enterprise abandoned at considerable financial
loss to the promoters.

The Bell Southwestern Telephone Companv now possesses a
monopoly of the business. It has three exchanges, one in the center of
the city, one on the south and one on the north sides of the city.

It now has in commission 21,000 telephones, and a great and grow-
ing demand for additional connections, which, on account of its in-
ability to obtain material, it cannot supply. It is making additions to
the exchange- and making ever\ effort to keep pace with the growth
of the city.

Postal Matters

The general government recognizing that Fort Worth. In reason
of it- facilities for distribution, was the logical point for the establish-
ment of headquarters of the eleventh division of the Railway Mail
Service, Congress passed an act creating a division composed of the
-tate- of Texas. Arkansas. Louisiana and Oklahoma, locating the
headquarters in this city, on November 15. 1888. The quarters were
unpretentious and then- were less than 4(K) men in tin- service of the
division. The first superintendent was Mr. George W, Hunter, who
was succeeded l>> J. 5. Weaver, he l>\ < '. I. Teachout, who in turn
was succeeded bj Mr. S. K. Gaines in November, 1897, ami who has
held the positii hi up lo this dai e,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 629

There arc at this time 1,356 employees in the division, about 250
of whom reside in Fort Worth. The annual salary of these employes
is $580,000.

More than 100 railway trains and interurban cars handle mail into
and out of the city daily. The Fort Worth postoffice is wholly inade-
quate for the volume of business transacted, and a supreme effort is
being made to secure more commodious quarters.

The growth of the city is reflected in the postoffice receipts, which
have shown a healthy and continuous increase. The receipts for 1910
were $307,261. There is a ((insistent increase every year, and in 1910
there were $947,220, in 1920, $1,166,688.

The regulation of the postoffice department precludes giving the
number and salaries of the employes, but, including the rural deliver-
ers, mail and other employes, the number of employes runs into the
hundreds.

It may be of interest to the early settlers of Fort Worth to read
the following list of those who have served the city as postmasters from
an early date to a time within the memory of those now living:

1st. Julian Feild 1856

2nd. M. |. Barrison 1857

3rd. H. C. lerven 1857

4th. Oldham 1859

5th. [no. M. Murchison 1859

6th. Geo. Boon 1860

7th. Mrs. Dorcas Williams 1866

8th. C. |. Louckx 1867

9th. H. S. Johnson 1868

10th. 1. A. Clark 1869

11th. !'. 1. Bowdry 1873

12th. A. ( i. Mallov 1874

13th. J. P. Alexander 1875

14th. I ulian Feild

15th. Mrs. B. M. Birchill

16th. Geo. W. Buroughs

17th. Mrs. Ida L. Turner

18th. L. M. Barklev

19th. Kobi. E. Speer

CHAPTER XI. IX
THE COURTS. BENCH AND BAR

hi 1872. when the writer came to Fort Worth, the Judicial District
of which Tarrant County was a part included the counties of Denton.
Parker. Wise and Dallas. Hon. Hardin Hart was District Judge. He
was an appointee of Edward J. Davis and was not very popular with
the bar or the people. He was about as rough a specimen of the genus
homo as ever graced the bench. His habits were said not to be very
exemplary, and this contributed to his unpopularity. He was accus-
tomed to use the vernacular of the barroom and the poker game in
his announcements from the bench. At one time Capt. J. C. Terrell
proposed to amend his pleadings and the judge responded. "Now, Joe.
you know you cannot raise at this stage of the game. Gause stands
pat on his general denial and vou will have to call or lay down your
hand."

Mr (lid nut hold in very high regard the rules of the higher courts
or their decisions. At one time. James H. Field was arguing a case.
when the judge interrupted him and proceeded to render a decision
averse to Field's contention. Field, opening a law book, said: "If
your Honor pleases, the Supreme Court says — " Field was not per
milled to tell the court what the Supreme Court said. Interrupting
him. the judge announced: "Well, let the Supreme Court say it agin,
if il wants to." It was Stated his rulings were usually correct, not
withstanding his manner of delivering them

\t the March term of the District Court in 1873, C. C. Cummings,
11. 1'.. Paddock and Mr. Albritton were admitted to the bar. The latter
was easily the brightest and best of these, but he could not stand tin-
pressure of the hard times that soon set in. and left the city, going to
San Diego. California. Mr. Paddock is the only surviving member of
the bar at that time. Major J. J. Jarvis, recently deceased, was a close
second, he having come to the city in April and formed a partnership
with John Peter Smith.

Owing to the vast amount of business consequent upon the large
commercial interests and litigation with the numerous railroads con-
verging in this city, it became necessary to create three district courts
for Tarrant County, of which Fort Worth is the countj seat. These
are presided over at this time by lion. Bruce Young, Hon. B. X. Ter-
rell and Hon. R. E. I. 'Roy. 'There are two County Courts, one with
criminal jurisdiction in misdemeanor eases and one with limited civil
jurisdiction and probate matters. At this time II. I.. Small is judge
of the Civil County Court and he also presides in the County Com
missioners' < ourl Hon W P. Walker is judge of the County ('rim
inal Court.

63(1

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 631

A branch of the Federal Court of the Northern District of Texas
is located here, Hon. E. R. Meak and Hon. J. C. Wilson being the
presiding judges. A branch of the United States Court of Civil
Appeals also holds regular sessions here.

The Fort Worth bar is conceded to be of as great, if not greater,
ability than that of any other city in the state. Some of its members
have graced the benches of the higher courts, of the Railway Commis-
sion, and have been employed by the general government in the man-
agement of important litigation relative to the commercial and trans-
portation business of this section.

vor.. II IK

CHAPTER L
INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Banks

The hrst bank in Fort Worth was the banking house of Tidball &
Wilson. Tidball came to the city early in January, 1873, from Saint
Charles, Missouri. Associated with him was John F. Wilson, of Vir-
ginia. Wilson furnished the money and Tidball the experience.
George B. Hendricks was the sole employe of the bank. Tidball and
he constituted the entire force.

In August, 1870, Major K. M. VanZandt, John Peter Smith and
J. J. Jarvis bought the interest of Wilson and put in some more money,
and the firm became Tidball, VanZandt & Co., until it was finally
merged into the Fort Worth National Bank. The second bank was
that of Loyd, Marklee & Co., consisting of M. B. Loyd, Jer. Marklee
and John Nichols, the latter two being new citizens of the city, coming
from California. This continued but a few months, when Loyd sold
his interest to W. J. Boaz, and the bank became Boaz, Marklee &
Co., which was in turn succeeded by the City National Bank, which
continued in business until the panic of 1893, when it was discontinued.

In the summer of 1873 the bank of G. Van Winkle & Co. was
opened. It was composed of G. Van Winkle and A. P. Wroten. It
was short-lived. The panic of 1873 closed its doors.

After disposing of his interest in the bank of Loyd, Marklee & Co.,
Captain Loyd proceeded to the organization of the First National
Bank, of which he became president, and so continued until his death
in April. 1912. D. C. Bennet was the first vice-president and C. H.
Iligbee, cashier. Of the directors, Zane-Cetti and S. B. Burnett remain
at this writing.

The situation remained unchanged until the year 1882, when H. C.
Kdrington came to Fort Worth from Bryan and established the Trad-
ers National Bank, of which he was president and W. J. Boaz vice-
president and George H. Mulkey cashier. In October, 1876, John E.
Barlow and Nelson McCrary opened a private bank and continued in
business until the extension of the Texas & Pacific Railway to the west,
when they followed it to Abilene, where the bank was discontinued
and the proprietors engaged in other lines of business.

In 1889 Mr. John Hoxie, who came hither from Chicago, organized
the Farmers & Mechanics National Rank, with a capital of $1,000,000.
Mr. Hoxie was evidently a poor judge of credit, and loaned money to
whosoever he took a fancy, and it was not long before the resources of
the bank were exhausted. It was reorganized with J. W. Spencer as
president and Ben O. Smith as cashier. Its doubtful assets were
charged off and the capital reduced, and the new management pro-
ceeded to build it up until it became one of the solid and reliable insti-
tutions of the section.

Other banks were organized and established, among them the
American National and the Live Stock National banks. The latter
«a- of short duration, but the American continued in business until

63 2

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 633

about two years, when it was merged with the Farmers & Mechanics
National Hank.

At this time there are fourteen banks in the city, five of which are.
National Banks, with a capital and surplus of $6,600,000. There are

First National Bank, Fort Worth

eight State Hanks, with a capital and surplus of $9,384,758.58. There
is one unincorporated bank, owned and managed by negroes, with a
capital of $100,000. There are three mortgage and loan companies, all
doing a thriving and successful business.

Life Insurance
About the year 1907. the State of Texas enacted a law requiring all
insurance companies doing business in Texas to invest a certain per-

634

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

centage of the premiums received in Texas securities and deposit them
with the State Treasurer. This resulted in the withdrawal of a large
number of "'Old Line" insurance companies.

Prior to this time, in the year 1906, a number of the enterprising
public-spirited citizens of Fort Worth organized the Fort Worth Life
insurance Company, with a capital of $100,000. The subscribers paid

Burkburn mi Building, Fori \\ orth

in 125 per cent of their subscriptions, thus creating a surplus of
$25,000.

For the year ending Decembei 31, 1920, this company had insurance
in force amounting to $15.4SO.OOO. had a reserve of $1,442,300, a surplus
to polic} holders bl $244,006, and had paid-up policj holders and bene
ficiaries since organization of $712,022.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 635

Its officers, directors and stockholders are among the most promi-
nent and substantial business men of Fort Worth.

Its present offcers are: N. H. Lassiter, president; J. W. Spencer,
vice-president; Dr. J. W. Irion, vice-president and medical director;
P. V. Montgomery, secretary, actuary and general manager ; C. W.
Nelson, agency director.

Fire Insurance

The Millers' Insurance Company, a mutual institution, was organ
ized in Fort Worth in the year 1900 by Mr. Glen Walker and asso-
ciates. It has been conservatively managed and has been a pro-
nounced success from its inception.

It has recently erected a handsome and commodious office building
for its business home.

Mr. Glen Walker and E. K. Collett are secretary and assistant sec-
retary and manager, respectively.

It has a surplus fund of $450,000. and is one of the substantial and
progressive institutions of the city.

Real Estate Promotions
Arlington Heights

The rapid growth of Fort Worth and the surrounding country has
made this an attractive field for the real estate promoter.

The first enterprise of this nature of any considerable magnitude
was Arlington Heights, which the Chamberlain Investment Co. of
Denver started about 1889. This company had had successful ventures
in Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake and other Northwestern cities, and
selected Fort Worth as an another field for their activity.

It purchased between 4,000 and 5,000 acres of land west of the city,
constructed a magnificent boulevard and a street railway, built a beau-
tiful hotel, waterworks and all the other conveniences for a suburban
addition. The panic of 1893 caused the suspension of their activities
and a disastrous failure of the enterprise. The phenomenal growth of
this suburb and its present success is evidence that the judgment of
Mr. Chamberlain was good, and but for the panic he would have made
an immense sum of money.

North Fort Worth Town Site Company

When the packing houses and stock yards were located here, men
who had invested capital in these enterprises organized the North
Fort Worth Town Site Company, of which Mr. J. B. Googins was vice-
president and F. P. Hopkins manager. It had a capital of $500,000
and purchased about 1,200 acres of land adjacent to the packing plants,
and commenced the erection of houses for their employes and others.
The venture was a complete success. One thousand and forty houses
were built by the company and sold on easy terms to willing purchas-
ers. The company has been liquidated, having disposed of its hold-
ings.

Rosen Heights

About 1904 Sam Rosen, a retail clothing merchant, "an Israelite in
whom there is no guile." bought a large tract of land lying northwest

636 FORI WORTH \.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

of the packing houses and promoted a suburb known as "Rosen
Heights." It was a success from start to finish and is now the most
thickly settled section of that part of Fort Worth.

Hemphill Heights

Mr. William Capps, one of the leading attorneys of the Fort Worth
bar, astonished his friends and acquaintances by the purchase of tin-
major portion of the Warwick Survey and laying it out in streets and
blocks and putting it on the market at from $250 to $400 per lot.
Everyone predicted a disastrous failure of this enterprise, but time has
shown that Mr. Capps had a broader vision than his friends, as the
entire tract is almost entirely covered with substantial homes of the
residents of the city.

Ryan Addition

Mr. John C. Ryan purchased a large tract of land south of the city,
a long distance from the nearest improvements, and laid out a re
stricted residential suburb. A magnificent boulevard, known as Eliz-
abeth Boulevard, extends across the northern portion of the tract. lie
constructed wide sidewalks, planted trees and made other improve
merits before selling a lot. The success of the enterprise demonstrates
his good judgment, for this is one of the most beautiful suburbs of the
city, and his many friends and admirers congratulate him on his
success.

Sycamore Heights

This suburb was promoted by Mr. F. R. Scott of Toronto, Canada.
and the late D. T. Bomar of the Forth Worth Bar.

It is a delightful and attractive residential district and a credit to
the enterprise of its promoter.

M istletoe Heights

This is the latest of the successful real estate ventures in the cit)
It is on the elevated plateau southwest of town and is the home of mam
of the prosperous and successful business men of the city.

Xot a large but a very attractive addition to the mam beautiful resi
dential additions to the city is Chettenham.

It comprises only forty-three acres and lies just east of the entrance
to Forest Park. The promoters bought the land from Mis. Cynthia
Sisk, who bad owned it for more than lifts years. Her deed of acquisi-
tion does not mention Forth Worth, but describes the land as lying seven
miles southwest of Birdville.

More than one hundred and tiftv thousand dollars has been expended
in construction of paved streets, sidewalks and curbs and the installation
of water and sewer mains. It is a "restricted" addition, and a number
of high class homes have ahead} been erected. It lies on a beautiful
plateau overlooking the valley of the Trinity and the southern and east
em portions of the city

l HURCHES

Fort Worth is an important center of religious activities, It is
recognized throughout the Southwest a- " \ Cit) of Churches." There

I()UT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 637

are in the city and its immediate suburbs 111 churches, embracing all
the more prominent and well-known sects and denominations, and sev-
eral that are more obscure. There is approximately a church for each
1,000 inhabitants. Many of these are handsome, commodious and
substantial structures, costing from a few thousand to many hundreds
of thousands of dollars. One of them has the largest auditorium in the
South and boasts of the largest Sunday school in the country. This is
an indication of the high moral character of the people who call Fort
Worth home.

The first church edifice in the city was that of the Christian Church.
It was a modest, unpretentious structure, which occupied the entire
block bounded by Main, Houston, Fourth and Fifth streets. Although
its proportions were small, it was sufficient to accommodate the small
congregation that met there for worship. Elder J. A. Clark was the
minister.

The Presbyterians had no organization until 1873. The five mem-
bers who formed the organization met once a month in the court house
and was served by an evangelist who lived at Waxahachie. Soon after
Rev. W. M. Kilpatrick, who was traveling in a covered wagon through
North Texas, was called, and thereafter regular service was had in a
room over Knight's Livery Stable, at the corner of Third and Calhoun
Streets.

The Methodists, with Rev. J. R. Masters as pastor, met on the first
and third Sundays, at the Masonic Building, which stood in the middle
of Belknap Street, near the corner of Elm.

The Cumberland Presbyterians held service once a month at the
same place, with Rev. W. D. Wear as pastor.

The Catholics met on the last Sunday of the month at the resi-
dence of Mrs. Louise Scott on Main Street, between Third and Fourth
Streets.

The Baptists, with Rev. R. H. H. Burnett as pastor, worshiped in
the court house once a month. This congregation started the con-
struction of their first church edifice on the fifteenth day of August,
1874, on the grounds where the City Hall now stands.

On May 15, 1874, the Methodists commenced the construction of a
church edifice at the corner of Fourth and Grove Streets, where they
continued to worship until the erection of their present pretentious
and commodious building at the corner of Seventh and Taylor Streets,
and which is easily one of the finest and most attractive church build-
ing in the South.

In May, 1877, the Presbyterians commenced the erection of what a
local writer described as a large and commodious building at the cor-
ner of Fourth and Jones Streets. That it was commodious is evi-
denced by the fact that the same writer, that he might verify his
statement, gave the dimensions as being 30 bv 50 feet and would seat
350 people.

The Episcopalians seem to have left no record that is accessible to
the writer, but they were in small numbers, making up in enthusiasm
what they lacked in numbers. In November, 1877, they purchased a
lot at the corner of Third and Fifth Streets for the munificent sum of

638 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

$325.00 and announced that they would soon proceed to build a church
edifice that would be a credit and an ornament to the city. They kept
the promise and erected a building with a seating capacity of 280,
which was dedicated on April 15, 1878. From these small beginnings
has grown the present unequalled facilities for the people of Fort
Worth to worship in their own church homes.

Fraternities

In keeping with all other activities for the advancement of moral and
civic improvements and advancement Forth Worth occupies an enviable
and prominent position in the matter of fraternal organizations.

There are at this time in the city and its suburbs five Masonic lodges ;
five Knights of Pythias; five Macabees ; four Woodmen of the World;
three Hybernians ; five Sons of Hermann ; two Royal Arch Chapters ; two
Eastern Star Chapters ; two Odd Fellow Lodges ; one of the Knights of
Columbus; Red Men and Eagles, and one Temple of the A. A. O. N. M.
S., which is known as "The Shrine." Places of meeting of the Shrine
are called temples as distinguished from lodges. The Temple of Fort
Worth is known as "Moslah Temple." It was instituted "under dis-
pensation" in May, 1914, and chartered in June, 1915. It now has a
membership of 3.806 and has the only "Mosque" in the Southwest.
This, as its name implies, is of Arabian style of architecture. It is sit-
uated on a promontory overlooking Lake Worth, and is a very imposing
and pretentious structure and has every facility and convenience for the
purpose for which it was erected. Its cost up to date is about $165,-
000. and the expenditure of many thousands additional to beautify and
ornament the grounds is contemplated.

The first Potentate was J. F. Zurn, who has been followed by Wil-
liam James, R. A. Massey, E. A. Levy, Geo. Stapleton and John A. Wal-
drop in the order named. This much space has been devoted to the
"Shrine," and it is the pride of every Mason in this jurisdiction.

Fort Worth Lodge No. 148, A. F. and A. M., is the largest and
wealthiest lodge in the state. It was constituted April 14, 1854. "under
dispensation" by M. W. ('.rand Master William M. Taylor and chartered
Januaiy IS. 1854. Julian Feild was the first worshipful master and
John Peter Smith it> first secretary Its first home stood in the street
at the present intersection of Elm and Belknap streets. The lower story
was used for church and school purposes, as is mentioned elsewhere in
these pages

The Masonic Home ami School is the pride of every Mason and the
admiration of every citizen "f the state. It was located in Fort Worth
in 1899. The Administration Building, dormitories for boys and one
for girls, the chapel. laundry and all Other buildings are commodious
brick and concrete structures equipped with all conveniences for the pur
pose contemplated. There arc at this writing 265 inmates. 134 boys
and 131 girls, the sons and daughters of deceased Masons.

The Home for aged Masons and Widows of Masons is located a
few miles west of Arlington, and is provided with ever) essential for the
comfort of its inmates,

FORT WnkTII AND Till-: TEXAS NORTHWEST

6.5')

The editor of these volumes is the senior past master of Fort Worth
Lodge. The lodge now owns and occupies the three-story building at
the corner of Main and Second streets.

The present worshipful master is ( i. \Y. Bell, and the secretary, E.
S. Nelson.

Knights of Pythias

The first meeting to perfect an organization of a Lodge of Knights
of Pythias in this city was held on July 23, 1877. It was organized
August 17, 1877, with G. M. Otten, P. C. ; F. S. Levy, C. C; Max
Klser, V. C. ; Chas. Gay, M. of A. It was christened Queen City No. 21.

Red Cross Lodge No. 14 was organized February 26, 1881, with S.
Rosenfield, P. C. : Parnell, M. of A.

Home of Fort Worth Lodge No. 124.

O. E., Fort Worth

These lodges at once took up the matter of the erection of a Castle
Mall, and the money was subscribed, the building erected and on the 6th
day of June, 1881, the cornerstone of the first Castle Hall to be built
in the world was laid. The ceremonies were conducted by Justin H.
Rathbone, the founder of the order, who came from Washington, D. C.
for that purpose, and who delivered an address that was entertaining
and instructive.

Elks' Lodge

Fort Worth Lodge No. 124. H. P. O. E., was instituted in 1906. In
1910 it purchased a lot at Seventh and Lamar streets and erected the
magnificent building which it now occupies, and which with the furniture
and equipment has an approximate value of $175,000. and is free of
indebtedness of any kind.

Its present membership is 1,340. Its contributions to benevolent and
charitable purposes have been very large and liberal, but the laws of
the order prevent any mention of the same.

640 FORT WORTH VND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Space will not permit of a detailed account of the formation and
activities of the lodges of other orders. Suffice it to say that all are
successful and useful in their several fields of endeavor.

Labor Organizations

Forth Worth is one of the most thoroughly unionized cities in the
country.

There are eighty-four Union Labor Organizations in the city, repre-
senting every trade and branch of skilled labor.

There are a few "open shops," but they are in a small minority. The
Federation of Labor, which includes all of the organizations, is con-
servatively managed and there is a minimum of friction between em-
ployer and employe. A few ill-advised, hot headed create an occasional
disturbance, but they are of short duration and the matters in dispute
are usually adjusted without serious loss or inconvenience.

The carpenters, the strongest union in the city, is erecting a building
of its own at a cost of around $75,000, which, it is contemplated, will
provide quarters for all the unions with offices and place of meeting.

Carnegie Library

The Carnegie Library is an institution in which the citizens of Fort
Worth feel a just pride and an absorbing interest. It was organized on
the 2nd day of April, 1892, and every means and device known to the
originators were applied, including teas, dances, dinners, cake walks and
earnest solicitation, to secure the money for the foundation of a public
library.

One of the most enthusiastic workers was Mrs. 1). B. Keeler.
Among other devices resorted to by this good woman to secure money
was to solicit from every man who smoked the price of one cigar each
clay as a contribution to this fund. Following this means she addressed
a letter to Mr. Andrew Carnegie asking him for the price of one cigar,
or, possibly, two. On July 25th she received a letter from Mr. Carnegie,
in which he offered to give the Forth Worth Public Library Association
.S50.000 for a library building, provided the association would furnish
a site for the building and the city would appropriate $4,000 annuall)
for its maintenance.

At a meeting of tin- association Capt. B, B. Paddock made a
motion that a mass meeting of the citizens be railed for July 2(>th, when
resolutions were adopted conveying to Mr. Carnegie the heart-felt thanks
from the entire community for bis generous gift and promising to com-
ply with the conditions stipulated.

At that time the association had a fund of about $12,000, and a con
tract was immediately entered into between that body and the Cit\
Council for the appropriation of S4.(XX) annually for the maintenance
"f the library, a certified copy of which was forwarded to Mr. Carnegie.

The cornerstone for the library building was laid by the Masonic
Grand Lodge of Texas on June 13, 1900, and the construction of the
building was prosecuted with energy until its final completion.

The library was opened to the public on Thursday, October 17. 1901.
Mrs. Charles Scheuber was appointed librarian on Max 10. 1000, and

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Ml

Mir and a corps of assistants worked diligently and assiduously for more

than a year collecting, cataloging and preparing the books for the library.
It now has about 35,000 volumes, including many valuable and ini

portanl text and reference 1 ks, with the usual complement of fiction.

history and other works. It has hern a pronounced success from the

Texas Hotel, Fort Worth

day of its opening to the present. Its reading rooms are almost con-
stantly rilled by students and others who enjoy its facilities. It has
seven branches, located at convenient points throughout the city, where
a large number of books are kept, and they undertake to supply all
demands from the parent library with the least possible delay.

In addition to the thousands of volumes and current magazines kept
on the shelves, the association has fostered the Fort Worth Art Associa-

M2 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

tion, dedicating a room for its use, in which' are many valuable and
attractive paintings, sculpture and other works of art. A loan exhibit,
consisting of rare and valuable articles, has also been established, which
is of great interest and affords much entertainment for visitors.

The association has about 500 members, all of whom are vitally inter
ested in the success of the library, giving their time and labor to the
necessary work for which it was organized.

Fort Worth Parks

Fort Worth has one of the most complete and comprehensive systems
of public parks of any city in the Southwest. Aside from the Hyde
Triangle, a small park on Tenth Street between Houston and Throck-
morton, the initial work of providing Fort Worth with parks was in
1909 and 1910, since which time every year has seen some addition to
the park system. At this writing there are twenty-eight parks in the
different parts of the city and suburbs, comprising in the aggregate
approximately 4,500 acres.

The largest of these is Lake Worth Park, to which the surplus lands
acquired in constructing the lake have been dedicated for park purposes.
The second largest is Trinity Park, south of Seventh Street and west
of Clear Park, which embraces a little more than 200 acres; then conns
Forest Park, with seventy-five acres ; Sycamore Park with fortv-eight
acres; Rock Springs Park with thirty-seven and one-half acres and
Marine Park with twelve acres.

All of these parks are improved to Mime extent. Forest Park, Syca
more Park and Trinity Park having wide, beautiful and improved drive-
ways and other attractive features.

Forest Park has a zoological garden, in which there are specimens
of almost every kind of animal and bird life produced in Texas,

These parks have been acquired and improved from a fund provided
by the city charter of five cents on each hundred dollars of the assessed
valuation of the city. The parks are managed by a Board of Park Com-'
missioners, appointed by the city government, with a competent superin
tendent, who looks after the expenditures of the money under the direc
tion of the park commissioners.

Lake Worth Park already has many utiles of broad driveways of
grave! with bitulithic surface

Fori Worth is justly proud of its park system and enjoys its advan-
tages tn the fullest extent.

Young Women's Christian Association

In the fall of 1906 Mrs, Ralph Smith and Mrs. Q. T. Moreland
undertook to furnish a rest room and serve lunch to ladies in town at
noon. They had in mind the organization of a Y \\ t '. V and solicited
furnishings and other necessary articles. Rooms were rented at 702
Houston Street, and with the aid of donations and loans the) installed
there, in about one week's time, the first Y. \\ . C. Y in Texas. Mrs
Ralph Smith guaranteed the payment of the rent for a year. Mrs. \\ .

Y Duringer and Mrs. \\ . R. Thompson each furnished a room. < >n
[anuary IS. 1(»07. a temporary organization was effected, with Mrs,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 643

Moreland as president and Mrs. T. R. Thompson as vice-president,
Mrs. Pfeffer, secretary, and Mrs. I\. P. Smith, treasurer. In March.
1907, permanent organization was effected with Mrs. R. P. Smith as
president, Mrs. Moreland, vice-president; Mrs. J. W. Spencer, second
vice-president ; Mrs. John F. Swayne, treasurer, and Mrs. C. C. Pfeffer.
corresponding secretary.

A cafeteria was opened in 1906 and served twenty people the first
day. Now more than 800 are served daily ; while more than 200
patronize the North Fort Worth branch.

On October 1, 1907, under the direction of Miss Stella Evans, phy-
sical culture classes opened with an enrollment of 100. Since Septem-
ber, 1920, there have been 250 registrations.

Other classes were organized in 1907, among which was the Current
Event Club, under the direction of Mrs. R. E. Bushannan.

A boarding house directory was established for the use of the women
and girls who desired comfortable rooms at moderate prices. Also an
employment bureau, which had for its object the securing of positions
for girls, and a religious department, including Sunday afternoon Vesper
services and Bible classes.

The first year's receipts and expenditures were $10,097.77; in 1915,
$24,897.00, and in 1920 more than $164,000.

The membership the first year was 619, in 1920 it was more than
3.000. The association owned no property at the close of its first year.

In 1913 it bought the residence and lot located at 602 Lamar Street
at a total cost of $16,000. At present it owns a recently purchased lot
on the corner of Seventh and Taylor streets, valued at $100,000, upon
which a building for new and extensive activities will be erected in the
near future. The entire resources, including fund from the campaign,
will pass the half million dollar mark.

The present work of the association includes the general headquar-
ters at 212 West Seventh Street, the Recreation Hall and Activities Cen-
ter at 407^/2 Main Street, the Nort Forth Worth Branch, on Exchange
Avenue and the branch on Sixth and Grove streets, where work among
negroes is carried on.

There are a number of classes and clubs in progress and others being
organized.

The new building will be well equipped with modern cafeteria, gym-
nasium and swimming pool, clubrooms and an auditorium.

In addition to the educational, religious and recreation feature* tin-
Traveler's Aid alone assists about 1,100 each month.

The work of the professional forces has been ably supplemented by
that of volunteers, and the two forces are mutually interdependent.
There are numerous ways of contributing to the support of the organiza-
tion, one of which is the life membership plan. The life membership
fee is $100, all of which goes, at present, to the support of the local as-
sociation. Among the life members today are: Mesdames D. T. Bomar,
W. A. Duringer, S. B. Hovey, J. J. Jarvis, Geo. Manning, J. T. Pember-
ton. George Reynolds, B. K. Smith and Dan Waggoner, all of this city.
Many of these arc also contributing time and work, and it is through

644

FORT WORTH AND THE TKXAS NORTHWFST

tin* efforts of such women as these- and other contributors that the as-
sociation has attained its present standing.

Young Men's Christian Association

The initial Young Men's Christian Association organized in Fort
Worth was about the year 1880 by ( ieorge B. Loving. It held its meet
ings in the Northern Presbyterian Church, which stood at the corner
(if Ninth and Houston streets. It had a precarious existence for a few
years, when Mr. W. T. Fakes was elected president and J. (i. Reeves,
recording secretary, and Harry W. Stone, who has since developed into
i >nc of the foremost general secretaries of the United States and who

!i!;!l»ii!!

1

hi "iiii 'U 5 SI "

" ill I

llll

"•ST

\\ I SI BROOK I [OTEL, FORT WORl II

i~ now a general secretary of the Y. M. C. V at Portland, Oregon, was
tin- general secretary.

During tin period between i i > date of organization and the year 1905,
when it moved to it~ present home, the Y. M. ('. \. occupied successivel)
quarters at different places in the city.

While the Y. M. ('. \. has not made the progress in Fort Worth
that n has made in other cities, yet it has progressed steadily. It now
occupies a building valued at $6o,000; .1 building adequate to bouse the
program of the Y. M. ( \ when the structure was completed over
sixteen years ago but entirely too small for a cm ol Fort Worth's present
1/' I1h present inadequacy "t the plant has caused the Board of Direc
ior-> to announce a campaign i'" \pril. 1921, fur the purpose of securing
pledges ami making possible the erection of a new building in keeping

FORT WORTH AND THK TEXAS NORTHWEST 645

with the city's progress along other lines. The present membership is
1,200. This is about one-half what it should be in a city of 125,000
population, but the present plant and equipment cannot efficiently handle
a larger number.

In September. 1919, a separate organization was inaugurated to work
among the negro population. This branch has today nearly 700 mem
bers and is at least 75 per cent self supporting.

In the winter of 1919, a vocational school for negro men and boys
was started at Seventh and Calhoun streets. Courses in automobile
mechanics, carpentry, shoe-repairing, electric wiring and stenography
were given to about seventy-five students. Ever since the beginning of
this work it has maintained a free employment bureau, actually placing
in employment over 3,000 men, women, boys and girls during the past
one and one-half years. The present location of this branch is at (|12
[ones Street.

In March, 1920. O. B. King was added to the Central Y. M. C. A.
staff as educational secretary. His first work was the outlining of a
scholarship policy for ex-service men. Through the co-operation of the
National War Work Council of the Y. M. C. A. over 200 ex-service
men were helped during 1920 to a better education. These men engaged
in varied study, some attended the Y. M. C. A. classes of Spanish, book-
keeping, accounting, business arithmetic and auto mechanics. Others
entered the various colleges and universities of the state, and still others
are taking correspondence courses. Other courses have been added until
now a student may get auto mechanics, electricity, acetylene welding,
vulcanizing and battery building at this school. It is the most thoroughly
equipped school of its kind south of St. Louis, and the instruction is
very thorough. The plan of the Y. M. C. A. is to develop its school*-
so as to supplement the splendid work of the public schools and college--
of Fort Worth. Many civilians as well as ex-service men are handled
in these schools and the under-privileged bov is given an opportunity t<>
recoup himself.

Boy's work also has taken the form of community service largely,
owing to the inadequacy of the present building. Through most of the
year 1920 R. M. O'Hair directed the work. On September 1, 1920.
he went to St. Louis and was succeeded by O. S. Burkholder, a man with
eight years experience in this kind of work. These men have, through
the courtesy of the public schools, organized Hi-Y Clubs in the North
Side, the Central and Junior High schools and in the Polytechnic High
School. These clubs are emphasizing clean living among the students
of those schools. A boy's employment club, a newsboy's club and
several church clubs have been organized and a street boy's club is the
prospect of the near future. Among all of these boys a better physical
body, a better education, a better social life and Christian decision are
emphasized. The building boy's work, under direct supervision of O.
S. Jones, is promoting gymnasium classes, Bible classes, socials and some
educational work. Boy's camps will be a big feature of the coming year.
In addition to the above, the Y. M. C. A. co-operates closely with the
Boy Scout's movement in the city in its excellent program. Great de-
velopments lie ahead of our boy's work.

646 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Last, but not least, our physical program, under direction of W. L.
Peterson, assisted by J. C. Roberts, is filling a great need in Fort Worth.
This department, with its gymnasium classes, its swimming pool, it >
basket ball, volley ball, hand ball and indoor baseball, its wrestling and
boxing, its outdoor games and its mass play at community points, i>
always popular with boys and young men. But in addition to all the
above the Y. M. C. A. gymnasium offers longer life and greater efficiency
to the older business man who will use it.

When the new building is provided it is the plan to have two gym-
nasiums, so that this institution can more effectively co-operate with the
various churches of the city regardless of denomination or sect, provid-
ing space and skilled direction for church athletics. The physical direc-
tor has always held himself ready to promote the city's amateur athletic>.
and the Y. M. C. A. has for several years maintained an outdoor athletic
park where community, school, church and even college games may be
played.

Hospitals

Fort Worth is well provided with hospitals for the care of the
sick, but additional facilities are in process of foundation to provide
for the future needs of a rapidly growing city.

Chronologically Saint Joseph's Infirmary is the pioneer institu-
tion. In the early '80s the city- donated a tract of land overlooking the
city- and built a hospital for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway
Company. That company sold the hospital to the "Sisters of the
Incarnate Word," who have since controlled and managed it. The
buildings are commodious and fully equipped with the latest and most
approved appliances for the care of the sick.

All Saints' Hospital

This hospital was erected and equipped by the benevolent people
of the city. It is supported by voluntarv contributions. Its man-
agement is under the direction of a board of trustees composed of the
public spirited and philanthropic women of the city. It is open to all
practicing physicians. Its location is picturesque and the buildings
of modern design and construction.

Johnson & Beall Sanatorium

This is located near the business center of the city. It is owned
by a firm of well known physicians, is of recent foundation and there-
fore modern in construction and equipment.

Till-. PROI ESI \s r I [OSPITAL

This is the latest addition to the institutions of this character. Il
is a three story building with about forty rooms well equipped for
the care and comfort <>f its patrons. It is managed by Johnson &
Totton, but all reputable physicians have access to its portals and may
practice therein.

City and Coin i y I Insi'i i \\i

This hospital, as i t > name implies, i-- under the control of the
count) artd city jointly and is sustained bj public funds. The city

FORT WORTH AND INK TKXAS XORTHWEST 647

physician and county physician manage its affairs with the aid of
physicians, who serve without compensation. Primarily it is an
emergency hospital for the cure of persons injured by accident, or who
are unable to provide medical care and treatment for themselves.

The Harris Sanitarium

This was privately built and owned by Dr. C. H. Harris, who
recently deeded it to the Methodist Church conditioned that it be
enlarged. The church has purchased a handsome block of ground
and raised a substantial sum of money in order to comply with the
terms of the deed of gift. It will, when completed, be one of the
finest if not the finest institutions in the Southwest.

Fort Worth Free Baby Hospital

This, one of the most worthy benevolent institutions of Fort
Worth, originated with Mrs. Ida L. Turner about the year 1912.
Mrs. Charles Scheuber co-operated with her in every way in present-
ing the suggestion for the foundation of a Free Baby Hospital to the
public. It was taken up, endorsed and advocated by the Federation
of Women's Clubs under the direct management of Mrs. J. H. Strayer,
chairman of the Social Service Committee of the Federation. Every
means known to social workers was adopted to secure money, and
when the fund was sufficiently large active operation was begun.
The Fairmount Land Company donated a site, between Forest Park
and the Texas Christian University, for the hospital. The project
received such an enthusiastic reception by all of the people of Fort
Worth that lumber dealers, furniture dealers, hardware merchants
and, in fact, every line of business in the city donated the material
for the building, and the carpenters, brick masons, plumbers, painters,
decorators, electricians and all other trades donated their services
and erected a building without cost to the association. Furniture
dealers donated the furniture, hardware merchants the queensware
and others donated all that was necessary to completely equip the
institution. The doctors volunteered their services to care for the
occupants.

Facilities for the care of fifty babies were provided. A mainte-
nance fund was subscribed by the patriotic and benevolent citizens
of the city, and nurses, a housekeeper, a cook and other domestics
were employed.

The building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the
12th day of May, 1913, at which Bishop A. C. Garrett, of the diocese
of North Texas, pronounced the invocation, and addresses were made
by Captain B. B. Paddock, Rabbi George Fox, Rev. Dr. F. P. Culver
and the Rev. Dean Robert M. Nolan.

The institution cares for sick and destitute children from infants
to children of ten years of age.

Fort Worth is amply supplied with every benevolent institution
known to philanthropic activities.

VOL. II— H

648 FORT WORTH ANT) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

These comprise the Y. M. C. A.. Y. W. C. A., Salvation Army,
Welfare Association, Relief Association, Benevolent Home, Cumber-
land Rest and the Humane Society and the Baby Hospital.

Benevolent Home

This institution was founded by Mrs. Belle M. Churchill many
years ago. For a long time she cared for it from her own means
and such voluntary contributions as her friends made. It finally
became large enough to attract the attention of benevolent people,
and a house was erected, superintendent employed and a home insti-
tuted for unfortunate waifs. A handsome two-story brick structure
was built at Sycamore Heights, where from forty to fifty inmates
were cared for and educated. Recently the county has taken over the
institution, relieving the citizens of further demands upon their
purses.

Cumberland Rest

This is a home for friendless and destitute old women. The
society owns a comfortable home on Sixth Avenue, where these
unfortunate women are made comfortable and as happy as the condi-
tions will admit.

Relief Association

This is an organization of the charitable people of the city, who
contribute their time and means for the relief of the sick and destitute
who drift to the city or who, by unfortunate circumstances, require
the assistance of the charitably inclined public.

Humane Society

This organization looks after every species of animal creation;
abandoned women and children: lame and uncared for animals and
every other praiseworthy work receives its attention. It is supported
by the voluntary contribution of charitable people.

There are three organizations in Fort Worth which challenge the
admiration of every citizen. The first of these is the

Fort Worth Cluh

The Fori Worth Club was organized in 1885 under the name of
Commercial Club. The name was changed some years ago to make
it a more distinctive social organization. Its initial membership was
limited to 100, and it occupied rented quarters on the second floor
of the building at the corner of Main and Second streets. In 1889 it
purchased the lot at the corner of Main and Sixth streets and erected
thereon a four-story building. The ground floor and the third and
fourth floors were rented, and only the second floor devoted to club
purposes.

In 1913 this building was demolished and the present magnificent
six-story building was erected. The club now has a membership of
around 600. with a waiting list of nearly 100 more. The club rooms
are beautifully and substantially furnished, and the dining room, on
tin sixth floor, is the most attractive and complete in every respect

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 649

to be found in the Southwest. The financial condition of the club
is all that could be desired.

It has recently purchased a lot 200 feet front by 100 deep on
Throckmorton Street, between Sixth and Seventh streets, on which
it proposes to erect a much larger and more commodious building,
when labor and material conditions will justify the investment. It is
probably the most popular social organization in the city.

Next in importance is the

River Crest Country Club

In the late '90s a club was organized known as the Fort Worth
Country Club, located at Arlington Heights, but it was not a success.
During the early part of 1910 some of the members of this club
became thoroughly convinced that it was essential that the Country
and Golf Club be organized with suitable and sufficient grounds upon
which to maintain a standard eighteen-hole golf course and that the
club should own the grounds outright.

This conclusion being reached the next question was to locate and
if possible, purchase at least 100 acres of land. A self constituted
committee composed of about half a dozen men, among whom were
John W. Broad, David T. Bomar, W. T. Humble and Morris E
Berney, after several weeks' search finally found the site of the pres-
ent club; but in order to obtain 100 acres, suitable for the golf course.
it was found necessary to purchase 625 acres, of which more than 400
acres were river bottom land, unsuitable for the purpose contemplated,
and that it would require $125,000 to purchase the same. Several
interested parties agreed to help finance the project, and after a brief
canvass about twenty-five or thirty people subscribed for from $500
to $5,000 each, which was deemed sufficient to carry out the deal.

Immediate steps were taken to organize and incorporate the River
Crest Company, which purchased the land, and shortly thereafter
the golf course was surveyed and #ie present golf course was laid
out. This work was supervised by Mr. J. W. Broad, who practically
donated a year of his time to the work.

One hundred acres of the land was allotted to the club, which was
chartered as the River Crest Country Club, with about 100 members.
Plans for the club house were drawn by Sanguinette and Staats. and
the River Crest Company undertook to furnish the money with which
to build and equip the club, the total cost of which was $50,000. The
actual construction of the club house began in August, 1911, and it
was completed and formally opened in June, 1912.

The original membership was limited to 200 active members, and
this limit was maintained until 1915 when, owing to the increased
growth of Fort Worth as well as interest in golf and country club
life, the membership was increased to 300 active members. The club
is now full, with seventy-five on the waiting list, seventy-five junior
members and fifty associate members.

In the early part of 1915 the River Crest Company, having disposed
of practically all its holdings, decided to present to the River Crest
Country Club its net earnings, which amounted to $50,000. This club

650 FORT WORTH AXD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

now owns 155 acres of land, a modern and completely equipped club
house and an eighteen-hole golf course, equal to any in the state,
against which there is not a dollar of indebtedness except $75,000,
representing the capital stock of the club.

More credit for the successful promotion of the River Crest Coun-
try Club is due to the late David T. Bomar than to any one person.
He worked out and carried into successful execution the entire
financing of the River Crest Company as well as of the River Crest
Country Club, the total amount in both being well above $250,000.

John W. Broad personally supervised the laying out of the
grounds, building of roadways, water mains, construction of club
house, etc., and to him and Air. Bomar are due the biggest part of
the success of the River Crest Country Club.

This club occupies a beautiful location on an elevated plateau
west of the city, and is one of the most attractive institutions of the
city.

Glen Garden Country Club

This club is located about three and a half miles southeast of the
city on the Forth Worth & Cleburne Interurban road.

It was organized in 1913 and now has 340 members. It owns its
nun grounds, consisting of 111 acres, and besides its club house,
which cost $20,000, its golf course is conceded to be one of the most
beautiful in the country. It also has four of the best tennis courts in
the city.

Because of its accessibility and its splendid appointments man)
clubs and organizations give their parties there during the winter
months.

This club was promoted by Messrs. L. D. and II. II. Cobb, who
are entitled to great credit for its establishment and success.

Me ujowm ere Club

The last candidate for social recognition is the Meadowmere Club.

This club is located in Arlington Heights, in buildings which were
built by the Government and the Red Cross during the war. There
are approximately fifteen acres in the club site, and four substantial
buildings, the club bouse, bachelor quarters, swimming pool and
garage. These buildings have been remodeled and fitted up for club
purposes.

There are at this time 140 members, the limit of membership being
200. All of the appointments arc first class in every particular,
including the tennis court, swimming pool, stables for equestrians,
and other opportunities for the members to display their skill and
enjoy the pleasures incident to out door life.

Mr. T. E. I >. Hackney is tile managing director and gives his
undivided attention to the club, which promises to be an attractive
social feature of the community.

Women's Clubs

The number of Women's clubs m Fort Worth is legion. Every
field of endeavor, including literature, music, art, home economics
and amusement, is represented,

FORT WORTH AND NIK TEXAS NORTHWEST 651

In literature the Woman's Wednesday Club is the oldest. It was
organized in 1889, with a membership of fifty, which number has
never been changed. Its activities are exclusively of a literary char-
acter.

The Monday Club is composed of the younger set of matrons.
Its activities are also literary. Its membership is limited to fifty,
and it has been a pronounced success from its inception to date.

The Harmony Club is the leading musical organization, has been
in existence for a number of years and has been a potent factor in
the development and encouragement of musical talent. It brings
to the city every year noted artists, both vocal and instrumental,
including such as Caruso and Calli Curci and other artists of inter-
national renown.

Chamber of Commerce

In the year 1900 Mr. J. W. Spencer and Capt. B. B. Paddock took
the initiative in the organization of the Fort Worth Board of Trade.
They secured a membership of 100, with dues at $5 per month. An
organization was perfected with the late Paul Waples as president
and Talbot O. Bateman as secretary.

The income was not sufficient to enable the Board to engage in
many activities, but it formed a nucleus around which public matters
gathered. It took the lead in securing subscriptions to defray
expenses at conventions, public gatherings, excursions, etc.

After the first year the membership was increased, and Mr. Spencer
was elected president and Captain Paddock secretary, and it became
very active in advertising the city, securing industries and performing
other public services. The presidency was changed annually, but
Captain Paddock remained secretary until 1910. when he was com-
pelled on account of failing health to retire from every activity.

In the year 1912 the name of the organization was changed to that
of Chamber of Commerce and its field of endeavor broadened to
embrace the management of every public service. Instead of annual
dues members were solicited to make contributions which would
cover all calls made upon it of a public nature except that of charity
and churches. It took over the management of the freight bureau,
grain inspection, expenses of the fat stock show and every other
public service requiring work and money. It organized a company
for the construction of the present Chamber of Commerce building,
with its splendid auditorium and offices.

After the retirement of Captain Paddock. .Mr. R. O. McCormack
was elected secretary. He served for three years and was succeeded
by Dr. C. C. Gurani, who held the position for four years, during
which time it promoted and financed the military cantonment and the
three aviation fields for the general Government. This stupendous
work was conducted successfullv and satisfactorily, and is a tribute
to the business efficiency of the then secretary-manager.

In 1920 Dr. Gumm resigned to engage in private business, and
the Chamber was successful in securing the services of the present
secretary, Mr. Eugene S. Shannon, of Nashville, Tennessee, a man
of wide experience in work of this nature.

652 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

In 1919 the then president, Mr. William Monnig. conceived the idea of
the junior directorate, composed of the younger element of business
men, to aid and assist the officials of the Chamber in the performance
of their duties.

This has proven a most efficient adjunct to the Chamber of Com-
merce and has been instrumental in securing the services and co-oper-
ation of a large number of young men who might not otherwise be
interested in public work.

One of the most conspicuous and serviceable branches of the
Chamber is its agricultural department, which has been successful in
influencing the farmers throughout Tarrant County to a more inten-
sive cultivation of their lands and a diversification of crops, the
organization of Farmers' Clubs, Boys' Corn Clubs, Baby Beef Chilis.
Girls' Canning Clubs and Domestic Science. This department is
managed by Mr. H. M, Means, and has been instrumental in bringing
about a more harmonious feeling between country and city.

The present membership of the Chamber of Commerce is 1.875
and its annual income is $125,000.

Rotary Club

The Fort Worth Rotary Club was organized on Friday, March
13, 1913, with thirteen members. Notwithstanding this handicap of
superstition it has been a pronounced success from its inception. It
now has 237 members, who meet at luncheon every Friday at 12:15.
giving one and a half hours to luncheon, entertainment and business.

The Rotary Club has been a potent factor in every movement for
the upbuilding and advancement of Fort Worth and its business activ-
ities. It was enthusiastic in its work in the sale of Liberty Bonds.
raising funds for the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A. and all other benevolent
organizations. It selects and gives a four-year course to a young
woman at the T. W. C, paying all expenses, including clothing,
during the entire course. It has fostered and assisted the Boy Scouts.
the Young Brother Movement and every other worthy subject pre
sented for its encouragement and assistance.

Other clubs of a like nature and comparatively equally successful
are the Lions Club and the Kiwanis Club, each of which has a large
membership and are energetic and active in the same line of work as
the Rotary Club.

In addition to these there are the Advertising Men's Club, the
Salesmanship Club, the Knights of Columbus and the Doctors' Club.

All of these organizations exercise great influence in bringing
business men together, enabling them to become acquainted and to
assist each other in every proper manner.

Newspapers

It would be an almost endless task, and one that the writer will
not essay, to tell the history of all the newspapers of this city. Fori
Worth has been the graveyard of the hop< s and aspirations of ambi
tious men who, without capital, and oft times without experience.

have undertaken the work of furnishing the public with a newspaper
in Fort Worth.

FORT WOK I'll AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 653

It was in March, 1860, that Fort Worth had its first paper. It
was started by a man by the name of Cleveland and was called 'nit-
Enterprise. How long it continued and what became of it the writer
has been unable to ascertain. It went out of business during the
war between the states.

The second attempt was made in October, 1871, when Maj. K. M.
Van Zandt, John Hanna, W. H. Overton, Sam Evans and Junius
Smith bought from Maj. J. J. Jarvis the press and material of a paper
at Quitman in Wood County and moved it here and started the Fort
Worth Democrat. It was edited by John Templeton, a young lawyer,
who subsequently became attorney-general of the State of Texas.
In October, 1872, the paper was sold to Capt. B. B. Paddock, who
assumed management and control on the first of January, 1873. He
continued its publication until June 30, 1882, when it was merged
with The Live Stock Journal, owned by George B. Loving, and
changed to the Fort Worth Gazette, which, during its continuance
confessedly was the best paper ever printed in Texas.

Captain Paddock retained an interest in the paper and was the
managing editor.

On July 4, 1876, The Democrat started the first daily paper,
coming out as a morning paper on the morning of the Centennial
year, unannounced and unheralded, without a single subscriber or a
line of advertising. The audacity of the enterprise made a favorable
impression on the public-spirited and generous people of the city,
and they rallied to its support with enthusiasm. But there was
neither room nor a patronage for a daily paper in a city of 3,000
people, and the patronage, however liberal, would not furnish it with
the necessary nourishment, and it was a financial failure from start to
finish. It was a wide-awake, enterprising little sheet, advocating
with zeal and enthusiasm every measure that its owner considered
for the upbuilding of the city.

In 1873 the Fort Worth Standard made its bow to the public.
It was owned and managed by Mr. J. K. Millican, who came hither
from Homer, Louisiana. It was followed the same summer by The
Epitomist, established by Will H. Lawrence, who came from Law-
rence, Kansas. The panic of 1873 sent it to the happy hunting
grounds. On its demise L. R. Brown, who had been associate editor,
leased the material and started The Post, which lasted about three
weeks. The public realized that there was not room enough tor two
papers, much less three, and failed to accord it any patronage. The
Standard lasted for several years, but finally succumbed to the inevit-
able.

The Evening Journal, The Mirror, The Evening Star, The Eve-
ning Mail, The Tribune, The News and many others came and went
down in the years that followed. The experience of one seemed to
have no effect on the ambitions of the men that knew how to run a
paper.

In the spring of 1885 The Gazette, which had been run under high
pressure, was forced to suspend. It was purchased by a stock com-
pany, organized for that purpose by Major Van Zandt, Walter Huff-

654 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

man, Morgan Junes, W. L. Malone, B. B. Paddock and others who
desired to have a good morning paper in the city. The ownership
finally passed into the hands of Mr. Walter Huffman, who during his
life time kept it up at great sacrifice and financial loss. But its stand-
ard never faltered. It was a good paper, published every day in the
week. After the lamentable death of Mr. Huffman his widow essayed
to continue the publication of the paper. It was still conducted at
great financial loss, and during the panic of 1893 Mrs. Huffman
realized that she could no longer stand the strain incident to its pub-
lication, and sold the paper to Captain Paddock. He had neither

Star Telegram Building. Port Worth

desire nor .-1111111111111 to continue in the business, and was only actuated,
by a wish that the paper should not suspend, lie proceeded at once
to organize a company to take over the property. He associated Mr.
W. L. Malone. Mr. E, ' i. Senter, who was publishing an afternoon
paper, Hon. Barnett (iibbs. Mr. Sawnee Robinson, Mr. ( >. H. Colquitt
and some others and turned the plant over to them. It proved not
to be a very happy family.

With the most harmonious efforts its success was not a cer-
tainty. With discord in the management it was doomed to disaster.
Mr. Paddock transferred his interest to Mr Malone in order to give
linn control, hoping therein to bring about a solution of the trouble.

FORT WORTH AND I' I II-. TEXAS NORTHWES1 655'

Soon thereafter Mr. M alone died, and with his death the paper was
doomed. Mr. Senter associated with him his cousin, Selden Wil-
liams, who came from Tennessee to engage in the business. They
could not make it a success. In the late summer of 1897 they sold
The Associated Press franchise and the subscription list to the Dallas
News, and suspended publication without a word of warning to the
city. For a long time thereafter Fort Worth was without an organ or
an advocate in the way of a daily newspaper. It felt the loss keenly,
but there was no one to step into the breach and assume the respon-
sibility of the publication of a paper. There had been such a fatality
attending every effort that men hesitated to put their money into
another venture. Finally a man by the name of King, from Boston,
came to the city and proposed, on certain conditions, to start a morn-
ing paper. The people wanted a paper so much that the conditions
were eagerly accepted, and Mr. King started The Herald. It lasted
about a month. The promoter pocketed the money that had been
advanced him and hied himself to new and fresher pastures. When
The Gazette was sold to The News it left a large number of men out
of employment. They proceeded to organize a co-operative company
and published The Register. They got what business they could at
whatever prices they could obtain, and on Saturday night divided the
proceeds among the working force. Among those interested was
A. J. Sandegard, who is still an honored citizen of the city. The
Register rapidly grew in business and favor. The public applauded
the nerve of the promoters and gave it such liberal patronage that it
soon had money in the bank. The first time such a thing had hap-
pened to a Fort Worth paper. It was finally merged into The Fort
Worth Record, under the management and control of Mr. Clarence
Ousley, who subsequently sold it to Mr. William Capps and he in turn
to the present owners of the paper.

The present owners of the paper and its active management are
Messrs. W. H. Bagley. president and publisher, |. H. Allison, vice
president and manager, Hugh Nugent Fitzgerald, editor. Its equip-
ment is of the latest and most approved known to the publishing
business. It has justly earned an enviable reputation and is regarded
as one of the best morning papers in the state and is destined to
become an influential factor both in local and state affairs.

In December, 1905. Messrs. Wortham, A. G. Carter and Dorsey
started an evening paper, called the Star, the initial number of which
was issued February 1. 1906. Mr. Wortham was president and
editor and Mr. Carter, business and advetising manager. It was a
live, enterprising sheet but was a financial failure. It continued
for nearly three years, at the end of which time it purchased another
evening paper, called the Telegram, and moved into the building at the
corner of Eighth and Throckmorton streets, where it remained until
the 5th of December, 1920, when it moved into its present commo-
dious and substantial building which has been erected at Seventh
and Taylor streets, at a cost of around $600,000. and the present
building, plant and equipment represent over a million dollars, nearly
all of which has been earned by the paper, and is among the most

656 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

complete newspaper plants in the country. It is owned and managed
by the active members of the company, Mr. W. C. Stripling and
Mrs. W. G. Burton being the only two stockholders who are not
actively engaged in the publication of the paper.

It now has a larger circulation than any paper printed in Texas.
Its gross business for 1920 approximated $2,000,000. It has at the
present time about 200 employes, with a payroll of approximately
$30,000 per month. Its bill for white paper exceeds $100,000 per
month. Its equipment is of the highest character and its new home
is the finest, most modern and most complete in the Southwest.

All-Church Press

Another publication worthy of note is the "All-Church Press,"
which publishes the Fort Worth Tribune, Houston Times and Dallas
World. It has but recently constructed a magnificent plant on Fifth
Street at the cost of $150,000. It is the largest weekly newspaper
organization in Texas. They employ about 100 people in the Fort
Worth plant alone.

It contemplates, as soon as the news print situation makes it pos-
sible, to extend the field of its activities and to establish "All-Church
Press" newspapers in every available city in this section. Mr. Doug-
las Tomlinson is president of the company and Homer Tomlinson,
general manager.

Other publications in Fort Worth are : The Fort Worth
Anzeiger, Jewish Monitor, Oil Field Review and the Western Oil
Journal.

The Live Stock Reporter, as its name indicates, is devoted to live
stock interests and is recognized as the official and authentic advocate
of that interest. It is published by Ray H. McKinley, an energetic,
enthusiastic newspaper man, and covers the field of its activities in a
thorough, comprehensive and intelligent manner.

The "Fort Worth Press," the latest candidate for the patronage of
the public, made its entry into the field of journalism October 1, 1921.
It is an evening paper, belonging to the Scripp-McRae syndicate
and chain of papers throughout the country.

Statistical

The census for 1920 gave Fort Worth a population of 106,482.
There are the suburbs of Riverside, Sycamore Heights, Polytechnic,
Mistletoe Heights, Arlington Heights, Niles City and Diamond Hill,
all lying adjacent to the city and are practically a part of the city,
but which are not included in the census returns.

These suburbs have easily a combined population of 30,000, which
do business in Fort Worth and are practically a part of the city,
making the actual population of the city 135,000.

The assessed valuation of the city for 1920 was $128,203,419. The
tax rate, including the special school tax, is $2.17 on the $100, pro-
viding an income of $2,781,814.

The total bonded debt is $7,888,000, but by a provision of the
Charter the bonded debt of the waterworks system of $3,362,000 is
cared for bv revenues from the waterworks, and there is in the sinking
fund $1,175,501, leaving a net debt of $3,352,499.

CHAPTER I.I
M IR I VV< >RTH INDUSTRIES

Next only to the transportational facilities of Fort Worth the
packing houses and stock yards are the most potent factors in tin-
business and economical life of the city.

That this has long been recognized by the city builders is demon
strated by their persistent and enthusiastic effort to secure these
industries.

Prior to the advent of the railroads the cattle trails from all sec-
tions of the state converged at Fort Worth. Here the herds from
South and Southwestern Texas came by the hundreds of thousands
every year, where they were "outfitted" for the long march across the
Indian Territory and Southern Kansas to the shipping points in
Kansas, Missouri and Iowa, and the pastures of Nebraska and the
Dakotas and Montana.

This furnished an immense and profitable business to the mercan-
tile firms engaged in the sale of such supplies as the herdsmen needed
for the long drive.

Cattle in unnumbered thousands passed through Fort Worth to
Northern markets for twenty years before it dawned upon anybody
that here was logically the point to turn into dressed beef the surplus
of the vast ranges of Texas. The owners of cattle, using the open
range, were content to drive their herds over the long trail to the
nearest shipping points in Kansas and Missouri, satisfied with the
small profits gained because the range was free and expenses were
small.

But the growth of the markets at Omaha, St. Joseph and Kansas
City fired the imaginations of men of vision, and they began to plan
for cattle killing establishments that should be to Texas what the
Missouri River markets had been to the states that sheltered and
encouraged them.

The Fort Worth Democrat, which had earned a reputation for
"seeing things," first made the prediction on April 25, 1875, that some
day Fort Worth would be a large producer of refrigerated meats for
export. It harped on this in season and out of season and watched
for every opportunity to advance the project. The editor, learning
that a man was in Dallas negotiating to establish a plant there, went
to that city and formed his acquaintance. It was learned that the
Dallas people did not regard the project with much favor. The man,
whose name was Richardson, only asked that the city make a dona-
tion of six acres of ground for the plant. He was told that if he
would come to Fort Worth that he could select the ground and that a
deed would be delivered to him in an hour. He came and looked
over the situation and selected the lands where the Bewley Mill now
stands. Fortunately the land belonged to John Peter Smith and it
was only necessary to tell Smith what was in the wind and the deed
was forthcoming. He erected a small packing plant on the land now

657

658

I ' IRT \\< iKTll AM) T

TEXAS NORTHWEST

occupied by the Bewlej Flouring Mills. As he only essayed to kill
and refrigerate hoys, and as there were very few hogs in Texas, the
plant was shortlived. He soon sold it and went out about Cisco and
put in a plant to make plaster from gypsum.

Shortly after this a man by the name of Higgs came to the city

•■--'•

.•

X. P, VNDERSON & COMPAN\ BUILDING, FORT WORTH

and iii a few days secured capita] to erect a refrigerating plant in the

southeast part of tile city. lie killed a cargo of cattle and sent them
to St. LOUIS, hut that proved like sending Coals to Newcastle, and his
venture was doomed to failure. lie sold his plant to Mr. Isaac I )ahl-
man of the firm of Dahlman Bros., the first clothing merchants in the
City, He killed cattle ami sent (hem to Liverpool by was of (ialves-
ton, hut the\ were s.. long on the wa\ that they did not arrive in

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

659

good condition. This ended the third attempt, but did not dismay the
people of Fort Worth. They believed that this was to become a
packing house center, and in 1890 thirty men got together and agreed
to put in $1,000 each and purchase some lands and put up more
money, share and share alike, as it was needed. Mr. H. C. Holloway
was selected to manage the affairs of the company, and he bought
lands where the present plants are situated and proceeded to build
fences and lots and later on a small packing house. It had a capacity
of 250 cattle and 1,000 hogs per day. About this time John R. Hoxie
came to Fort Worth from Chicago, and as it was thought he knew all
about the industry he was induced to put in more money, buy more
land and increase the capacity of the yards.

Elevator of Smith Brothers Grain Company

He too made a failure, and the plant after a precarious existence
was sold to Messrs. Simpson and Niles of Boston, neither of whom
were practical packers. Mr. Niles was a business man, and under his
management, with the assistance of Mr. H. A. Judd, still a citizen of
Fort Worth, the plant earned money. The owners recognized the
fact that the plant did not meet the requirements of the times, and
with the assistance of some of the public spirited people of the city
they enlisted the interests of Armour & Co. and Swift & Co. and
secured the establishment of these concerns. Most of the thirty
men who put the first money into the plant surrendered their holdings
to make the deal go through.

The corner-stones of the buildings were laid on the 13th of
March, 1902, in the presence of a large concourse of the citizens of
the city. Just a year thereafter the first cattle were slaughtered.
The packing plants, stock yards, horse and mule barns, hog and sheep
pens cover an area of about 100 acr<--~.

660 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The business at unci- began to make great strides and has since
had a wonderful growth, subject to variations due to natural causes,
but with an ever expanding tendency.

The following figures show the number of animals of different
kinds received from the beginning of operations by the Fort Worth
Stock Yards Company in 1902 up to and including the year 1Q20:

Horses
and All

Year Cattle Calves Hogs Sheep Mules Classes

1902 132,174 79,293 9,767 4,872 226,106

1903 375,799 70.999 150,527 125,332 10.094 732.741

1904 549.772 93,022 280.840 103,650 17.895 1.045,179

1905 663.660 148,427 462,766 125,270 18.033 1,418.156

1906 603.615 234,269 550,661 97,514 21,303 1,507,362

1907 707,631 314,442 486,679 112,853 18.507 1,640,112

1908 839,774 229.591 702,844 120,499 12,435 1,905.143

1909 883,353 314,022 868,333 188,066 20,732 2.274,44h

1910 784,987 285,545 541,190 162,980 34,445 1,809,147

1911 690,840 192,713 556,201 186.535 37.361 1,663,650

1912 775,321 263,958 387,579 283,914 49,025 1,759,797

1913 965.525 219.629 403.761 327.527 56.724 1.973,166

1914 990.763 185.536 515,003 407.796 47.712 2.146,810

1915 794.505 149,926 463,879 363,003 54.640 1,824,953

1916 905,345 175,177 968,024 430,<>n 79,209 2.558,666

1917 1,646,110 313.427 1,062,021 405.810 115.233 3,542,601

1918 1,384,194 280,525 761,886 334.598 78.S72 2,840,075

1919 1.031,342 235.292 587,904 453,292 50,275 2,358,105

1920 873.476 258.847 412.637 493,929 45,362 2.084,251

On January 1. 1906, Fort Worth ranked fifth among the cattle
markets, coming after Chicago. Kansas City, St. Louis and Omaha,
and not much behind the latter two.

The above figures show a grand total of 36,730,066 animals, includ-
ing horses and mules, received at the Fort Worth Stock Yards in the
past nineteen years. The increase to be noted in the several years
after 1915 were the effect of the strenuous effort to keep pace with the
unprecedented demands of the Food Administration,

Expansion of int. Stock Y \ki>s

When the stock yards wen constructed, their capacit) was about
5.000 cattle, 10.00D hogs, 5,000 sheep and 1.500 horses and mules. The
accommodation for cattle was soon found In In- insufficient, and in
the spring of 1904 a new section of pen-- was liuilt. making room for
3,600 more. Even this extension soon proved inadequate and work
was begun on another section of pens, which when completed increased
the capacity to about 12.000 or 13,000 head.

\ new horse and mule barn was also completed, which doubled

the capacit) for that kind of stoek

\liMiit two miles wen- added to the line of the I'eli Railroad and a

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 661

roundhouse was built. Four new locomotives were also added to its
rolling stock equipment.

The post-office building was put up by the Stock Yards Company
at a cost of $3,500.

The Stock Yards proper cover about 100 acres, not including the
site of the packing plants, while to the north and east the company
owns a considerable tract of additional land, on which are located some
seventy rent houses for employes.

A. G. Donavan is General Manager of the Stock Yards and also
Vice-President and General Manager of the Belt Line Railway, with
W. C. Walker as Secretary and Treasurer of both.

Previous to 1902, there was an old Belt Line here, but the system
has been much improved. It now includes about nineteen miles of
tracks, connecting all the railroads entering Fort Worth with the
Stock Yards and packing houses. Seven locomotives are used for
handling the cars, and the line gives employment to about 100 men.

Horse and Mule Department

The horse and mule department of the Stock Yards has had a steady
and prosperous growth and has now a business of considerable propor-
tions. In the summer of 1903, Messrs. Cooke & Simmons and R. C.
High took possession of their brick front barn, with accommodations
for nearly 1,000 head, and a year later Hicks and Anson of the Fort
Worth Horse and Mule Co., took possession of the eastern barn, with
capacity slightly larger than the older one. Within a year or two
changes occurred, and in January, 1905, there were five other firms in
good standing: W. O. Rominger, Robinson it Nance, R. G. Brown & Co..
King & Whittington and I. B. Edwards & Co., each of whom was
handling from 100 to 500 head of mules a week during the season and a
proportionate number of horses, and in addition, William Barry was
dealing exclusively in high class driving horses.

The visitor to the Stock Yards, alighting from the car at North Fort
Worth, at once finds himself in a hive of industry bearing all the marks
of a separate and distinct community. Half a block east from the car
line is( the entrance to the Yards, Exchange Avenue. The avenue is
wide and brick paved, as also are the sidewalks. The first half block-
is flanked with stores and hotels. The Y. W. C. A. has a lunchroom
and recreation rooms there, while across the avenue, on the north side,
is the Stock Yards National Bank of concrete construction, as are all
buildings along the avenue. Next to the bank is the office of the Fort
Worth Live Stock Reporter, now in its twenty-fifth volume and under
the proprietorship of R. H. McKinley. and which is devoted to the
publication of stock and farm news.

The Coliseum and Exchange Buildings set back some distance from
the avenue, the intervening space, except in each case for a central walk
leading to the main entrance, being laid out in grounds planted with
shrubs and trees.

Beyond these buildings on both sides of the avenue are the stock
pens, which continue for a considerable distance until the Belt Line
Railway is reached.

662 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

On the other side of the tracks, on somewhat higher ground,
reached by a short flight of steps, are the towering brick buildings of
the Armour and the Swift packing plants; the Armour plant lying to
the north and the Swift to the south, in front of each plant being the
company's main offices and the reception rooms for the visitors.

In 1908 and 1909, the Armour and Swift companies made extensive
additions to their plants, with the effect of practically doubling their
capacity, hi 1908 the Swift Company increased the killing capacity
twenty per cent by the addition of other killing beds. The hog cooler
department was also enlarged thirty-three and one-third per cent,
which furnished storage for a killing capacity of 5.000 head daily.
Other notable increases in capacity were connected with the refrigera-
tion, the freezer storage room for the handling of chickens,
turkeys, etc.. which by this time had grown to be a good sized depart
ment of the packing trade, the lard manufacturing plant and tank
house. A four story building, 55x45 feet, was also put up to provide
dressing rooms for the employes, and a restaurant fitted up, intended
chiefly for the Swift employes, though outsiders were not barred.

Armour & Co. in 1909 spent half a million dollars in enlarging and
improving their plant, their additions including : A beef cooler house,
160 feet long and five stories high, doubling the storage capacity of the
plant; a house for the manufacture of oleo oil, 160 feet long and three
stories high ; an ice house of the same width as the original building. 160
feet and five stories high; and an addition to the fertilizer plant. 250
feet long, all the buildings being equipped with the best and most up-
to-date machinery. With the completion of these additions Armour &
Co. was enabled to slaughter and dress .i,000 cattle a day and 5,000 hogs
in the same time.

During the same year, 1909, the Stuck Yards Company spent fulh
$60,000 in improvements and planned a further expenditure of S100.000
for 1910, Extra pens were built in all departments of the yards, and
the unloading facilities increased. Improvements were made with a view
in encouraging the National Feeders and Breeders Show and assisting
it to develop into an exhibition of fat stock second in none. To this
end a large number of covered sheds were erected to the north of the
Coliseum building and south of them were pens for fat cattle. The
sheds had a capacity of fiOO cattle and 108 horses ; the pens thirty-two
loads of cattle. These pens ami sheds were equipped throughout with
electric lights, water and sewerage, a forty-seven carload capacit) was
also made to the northern yards, and in the hog yards a twenty-eight-car
addition was built. Xew railroad crossings were installed throughout
the entire Bell system, and an additional locomotive purchased, this
making the sixth, another mile of track was added, anil a new concrete
and steel [deal track scale was installed, to replace the old one. at a cost
of $6,000 ; an air system was installed for the pumping of water; also
a more modern system of heating the Exchange building. Twenty rent
houses were also erected for tin benefit of yard employes.

The improvements begun in 1910 included tlie erection of the bridge
across Marine Creek on Exchange Wenue. This structure, costing
approximate!) $50,000, was ,„„• ,,f the fines! of its size in the state The

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 663

southern yards were also paved at considerable expense, and an $18,000
addition was made to them in the shape of eighty carload pens, seventy-
nine catch pens and a new scale house. The sewerage, water and elec-
tric light systems were also extended, to keep pace with the increased
capacity.

Both packing plants made a good showing for this year. An impor-
tant feature added by Armour & Company in 1910 was the demonstra-
tion department, occupying a large room in the basement of the office
building. In this room a neat display of the various products manu-
factured by the company was shown, making a most interesting and
instructive display.

Two fires visited the yards in 1911, the first destroying the horse and
mule barns and the second making practically a clean sweep of the entire
Stock Yards. This made it necessary to entirely rebuild, and the very
best that could be obtained was contracted for. The entire Stock Yards
district was rebuilt as nearly fire-proof as possible, and as an extra
precaution fire-walls were constructed in the various divisions. Steel,
concrete and brick were used in the place of timber, and absolutely no
attention was paid to cost.

Absolutely fire-proof, Fort Worth's new horse and mule barns, erected
during 1911, at a cost of approximately $300,000, are without doubt
among the finest sales stables in the world. These barns are 540 feet
long and 350 feet wide and have a capacity of fully 3,000 animals.
Their foundation is concrete, all outside walls are of brick, all columns
of steel, and the girders beams and roof slides are of reinforced con-
crete. The feed storage houses are veritable vaults, with automatic
closing doors. Even the heat of a lighted match will prove sufficient
to close these doors. All mangers are of steel construction, and the
water troughs are of concrete. The only lumber in the entire building
is found in the gates, food troughs, office fixtures and in the floors. The
barns are divided into two general sections, each of which faces a sixty-
five foot street, running from Exchange Avenue southward. This
thoroughfare is paved with macadam and is devoted exclusively to the
horse and mule barns. It serves as a show ground and display park
for the many fine horses and stallions that are housed in the barns and
thus relieves the main street. Exchange Avenue, of this traffic.

There is also a side street thirty feet wide, which may be used for
show grounds. One feature in connection with these barns is the inde-
pendent fire system. In addition to the pipe lines from the Stock Yard
Company wells there are four fire hydrants in each division, these getting
their pressure from the city water works plant. The city water is
reserved exclusively for protection in case of fire. All feeding is done
overhead, so that it is not necessary to enter the pens. Concrete walks
lead from each feed storage room, and the feed is carried in wheel-
barrows and dumped off into the mangers and troughs. Water may
also be turned on in the mule barns without having to enter the pens.

There are five divisions for mules and two for horses. The horse
barns are 78x190 feet, each with a total of 240 stalls. The mule divisions
are 165x190 feet each, there being twenty-one pens to each section.
One barn was erected exclusively for stallions, ii having an accommoda-

VOL. 11—15

664 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

tion for ninety-nine. Each mule barn has a comfortable capacity of
450, though manv more may be accommodated if desired. Each barn
is equipped with well furnished offices, sleeping rooms, etc. The light-
ing system is so arranged that each section is under the command of a
touch button or switch, and the entire barns may be lighted by the mere
move of the hand, or darkened in the same manner ; but each section of
the barn is so well lighted by long rows of windows that it is not neces-
sary to use electricity except on very cloudy days. In addition, the
ventilation is ideal.

The new hog yards erected after the fire are divided from the sheep
house by means of an immense fire wall extending from one end to the
other. The posts and roofing are of solid concrete, reinforced. This
division of the yards alone represents an expenditure of $75,000 or
SI 00,000.

With the exception of that portion of the Exchange building the
cattle yards were entirely rebuilt in 1911, and were made better than
before. In doing so an expenditure of about $150,000 was called for.
The yard office, a handsome structure of brick and cement, and the hay
barns of the same material, absolutely fire-proof, are among the most
modern to be found anywhere.

One feature in connection with the rebuilding of the yards is the
underground chutes. These chutes run from one end of the yards to
the other and lead to the packing houses. By putting them underground
an unsightly construction was avoided, they are more convenient to
drivers, afford a quicker way to the plants, and form another link in
the chain of fire-proof structures at the yards. Concrete was also used
here to good advantage.

Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show

The predecessors of this organization were instituted by a few
advocates of the better breeds of animals. Among the promoters were
I!. C. Hollowav. F. J. Ilovenkamp, Stewart Harrison, John I. Burgess,
L. B. Brown of Smithfield and B. C. Rohme of Rohme.

The first annual exhibits were held under the trees about where the
packing houses now stand, there being no buildings or enclosures, and
the show was open to the public without cost. Small premiums were
offered by the business men of Fort Worth, and the show increased in
interest and attractions from year to year. Finally, when exhibitors
came from Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, the scope
of the show was enlarged and an organization perfected, larger premiums
offered and inducements extended to exhibitors to bring their cattle.
sheep, horses and hogs to the annual meetings. The Fori Worth Fat
Stock Show was finally Organized and incorporated, modest, unpretentious
buildings erected and additional inducements in the way of enlarged
premiums were offered exhibitors. This continued for a few years,
when the citizen^ of Forth Worth raised a fund of $50,000 as in induce-
ment to the Stock Yards Company to erect the Coliseum, guaranteeing
by this fund that the show would continue for ten consecutive vears.
and that the people of Forth Worth reimburse the Stock Yard Com
pan) foi anj deficit accruing for the annual exhibitions. This contract

FORT WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 665

was strictly complied with, and the Fort Worth Fal Stock Show became
a recognized institution throughout the country. Large exhibits of all
kinds of animals, including poultry, were added from year to year.

Subsequently the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show
was organized, with S. B. Burnett as President, Marion Sansom as vice-
president, the secretary and general manager being changed from year
to year as circumstances demanded. The present secretary-manager is
Marion Sansom. Jr., who has made it a pronounced success during the
years of his incumbency of office. It is now recognized as among the
leading exhibitions of this character in the country, and Blue Ribbons
are eagerly sought by breeders throughout the Middle and Western states.

In connection with this enterprise has been the Horse Shows. These
were originally inaugurated by W. P. Galbreath, the Live Stock Agent
of the M. K. & T. Railway in Texas, O. W. Mathews, formerly secre-
tary of the Union Stock Yards, and other equine lovers and admirers.
The first show was held under a large tent on the T. & P. Reservations,
and most of the exhibitors were professionals, who came from Kansas
City and other points and carried away the ribbons and the premiums.

The Horse Show was finally merged with the Fat Stock Show and
held the arena at the Coliseum for matinee and night exhibitions. This
branch has also proved a decided success, and exhibitors come hither
every year from distant points to compete for premiums and purses.

It is the hope and aspiration of the management that very shortly
large grounds and buildings will be secured on the banks of Lake Worth,
as soon as transportation facilities to that point can be secured.

Automobile Factories

Among the most extensive and successful industries in Fort Worth
is the Chevrolet Motor Company. It celebrated its fourth anniversary
on November 4, 1920, on which occasion about one hundred and twenty-
five of the prominent business men of the city rode to the plant in new
Chevrolet cars which they had purchased during the preceding thirty
days. They were royally- entertained at luncheon bv the management
and shown through the plant.

The company owns about twenty acres of land just west of the cor-
porate limits of the city, on which is erected a three-story, fire-proof
structure 125x300 feet in dimension.

The company is capitalized at $60,000, of which $250,000 is owned
by Fort Worth business men. During the four years that the company-
has been in existence it has manufactured and sold about forty thousand
cars. It employs on an average of five hundred skilled mechanics, who
live in Forth Worth, contributing their income to the business of the city.

The Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Texas is an adjunct of the
General Motor Car Company, which is a guaranty of its substantial
character aside from the business of the local company.

The Texas Motor Company is another enterprise established in Fort
Worth which has constructed a large number of cars and trucks. It
has a large plant in the southwestern part of the city, and has as an
adjunct the Southland Tire Company. This has not been as successful
as its promoters and stockholders could wish, from the fact that it did

666 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

not provide, in its organization, for a sufficient amount for working
capital. It has recently undertaken a reorganization of the company,
and as there are men of large wealth connected with it the hope is enter-
tained that it will overcome its financial difficulties and hecome a success-
ful and profitable enterprise.

In addition to the automobile plants above described there are 1 1 1
dealers in automobile accessories. There are thirty-six public garages
and an almost innumerable number of filling stations and eight manufac-
turers of bodies and tops. There are twenty-four oil well supply houses,
which find a ready market for their wares in the oil fields to the north
and west of the city.

Georck \\ . Armstrong & Company, Inc.

This enterprise is entitled to more than ordinary mention because
of the many vicissitudes attending its development and the obstacles it
has encountered and overcome.

It is a pioneer in the iron and steel business in the Southwest, and
like all pioneers has had many troubles and tribulations. The initial plant
was brought here from Alliance, Ohio, in 1904, where, by reason of
active competition in that vicinity, it had not been a success.

The stockholders of the Alliance Company put in their machiner)
and subscribed to some of the capital stock of the Fort Worth Company.
which was never paid for. and the citizens of Fort Worth put in con-
siderable sums to establish the plant. Upon the failure of the Alliance
people to comply with their contract additional capital was secured in
Fort Worth and another effort was made to put the concern on a paying
basis.

Prior to the panic of 1907 Messrs. George W. Armstrong, William
Capps, William Bryce and others put up mure money and borrowed
money from the banks on their personal endorsements, but it was soon
consumed and the company again became bankrupt. The principal
stockholders, appreciating that Fort Worth was a good point for an
industry of this character, continued to put up money and endorse the
noils of the concern.

The first six years ()f its operation was a period of los>e> varying
from S25.000 to $50,000 per year. None of the stockholders were
familiar with the business, and every new manager wanted to change
what his predecessor had done and to put more money into the plant.
These managers were one disappointment after another. During these
years it was establishing the value of its products and was also training
young men in the organization as skilled mechanics and as business men.
and the stockholders themselves were learning something about tin
business, which is now firmly established. It is capable of unlimited
development. It is owned entirely by Mr. Armstrong and members of
his family and by its employes, the latter constituting its officers and
board of directors.

Its sales for the year 1920 will amount to about $2,000,000, most of
which are mill products and oil well supply products, Its product is
now accepted b) all the railroads of tin- state and bj all the engineers
and architects without question,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 667

]t employes around 400 skilled men, and the payroll is approximately
$500,000 per year.

It is contemplated to add at an early date a gray iron foundry, an
electric furnace, two open hearth furnaces and a cotton tie mill. The
present management is entitled to, and enjoys the appreciation of every
citizen familiar with its history and is congratulated upon its success.

Flouring Mills

The first flouring mill was established by Mark Evans and was located
about where the Fort Worth & Denver freight house now stands. It
had a capacity of about 100 barrels per day. Mr. Evans left Fort Worth
about 1880 and the mill was suspended.

The next enterprise was that of Wolcott & Blandin. Work com-
menced on this mill on November 28, 1874, and the first flour was ground
June 26, 1875. Later Joseph H. Brown, then a leading grocer in this
section, bought an interest in the mill and secured the expert services of
James W. Swayne as manager. Swayne, who was called "Jim" by his
friends, was educated for the law and of course knew all about the
manufacture and sale of flour. The second mill was built by M. P.
Bewley, whose worthy son, E. E. Bewley, is at this writing the manager
of the Medlin Mills. This was followed by the Cammeron Mill & Eleva-
tor Company, which is now known as the Burros Mill. Then followed
the Medlin Mills, of which Frank M. Rogers was the promoter. This
mill was subsequently acquired by Mr. Bewley and is now known as the
Bewley Mills. There are now four flouring mills in the city, with an
aggregate daily capacity of about thirty-two hundred barrels of flour
and six hundred barrels of corn meal. The total value of this produc-
tion, together with the feed products, is around $40,000 per day.
Invested capital represents about $1,500,000.

There are about 200 men employed, with an average monthly pay-
roll of approximately $20,000 It is well known that Texas flour, because
of the dryness and hardness of the wheat from which it is produced,
is better adapted for export than any other flour in the country, and in
normal times there are large shipments of flour to foreign countries.

Grain

Fort Worth is conceded to be the largest grain market in the South-
west. There were received, up to the first of December, 1920, 14,881
cars of grain, which was largely purchased and handled by grain mer-
chants, mills and elevators in the city.

The first grain elevator in the city was erected by Mark Evans, and
stood about where the present depot of the Fort Worth & Denver Citv
is now located.

There are at present fifteen grain elevators, representing an invest-
ment of $4,000,000, that have a capacity of 3.000.000 bushels of grain.

Full cargoes of grain are received here from Argentine and dis-
tributed from this point to the various flouring mills throughout this
section.

The grain business accounts in a large measure for the great volume
of business transacted in Fort Worth.

668 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Ralston Purina Company

The Ralston Purina Company of Texas, known as the Purina Mills,
and operating a large plant in Fort Worth, is a subsidiary company of
the Ralston Purina Company of St. Louis, Mo., which has branch mills
at East St. Louis, 111.. Nashville, Tenn., and Buffalo, N. Y. This cor-
poration is the largest factor in the livestock feed business in the world ;
capitalized for $9,000,000 and doing a $26,000,000 yearly business.

The Fort Worth Mill was built in 1917 to keep pace with the rapid
agricultural department and expansion in Texas. The plant, which
represents an investment of over half a million dollars, is the most mod-
ern and best equipped feed mill in America. It consists of a six-stor\
mill, a ten-story grain elevator and two cisterns for molasses, with a
capacity of 75,000 gallons each, or a total of twenty tank cars. The
building is fire-proof and constructed on the unit basis so that it may
be enlarged from time to time to handle several times the large original
tonnage output. The spout from the public elevator of the Fort Worth
Elevators Company handles 1,500 bushels of grain an hour. The capac-
ity of the mill is fifty-five hundred 100 pound bags of Checkerboard
Chows per day. which can be loaded in seven freight cars at the same
time.

The company maintains a research department, which keeps in touch
with the feeding problems in Texas and carries out special experiments
and research work. Educational literature is distributed throughout the
state, keeping the feeders in touch with all tin- latest scientific develop-
ments in the farm stock industry. Fourteen salesmen cover Texas, and
the number is being increased as fast as territories are developed and
capable men are found to fill them. Special courses on animal nutrition
are being given to Texas feeders by experts who have given their lives
to the study of hogs, steers, dairy cows, horses and poultry. The Ralston
Purina Company is educating the farmers throughout the state as to the
best methods of handling their farm crops and produce. Timely advice
is given regarding the best disposition of their crops. Specialists show
how to supplement home grown products with manufactured products
m> as to get maximum results.

( Hi ION

Fort Worth is one of the leading cotton markets in Texas and prob
ably purchases and handles more cotton than any interior point in the
State. The direct purchases for the last \r.ti l>\ the cotton factors in
this city amounted to over 600,000 bales. This is below the normal
amount handled b\ Fort Worth interests, as the cotton crop was unusualK
short in 1920. < hdinarilv Fori Worth will handle around one million
bales of cotton per year.

There are several large linns engaged in tin- business both for domes

tic and export trade. Several large, exclusive cargoes have been pur
chased here for export to Japan.

The first cotton compress erected in this city was b\ Col. E. W,
Mmion and was located near tin- foot of Commerce Street. The first

bale of COttOn was compressed on the 17th dav of September, 1877. with
appropriate ceremonies. On September 2, 1878, a second compress

FORT WORTH \.\l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 669

was erected, which now stands on Pecan Street, near Tenth Street. It
is now owned by the cotton firm of Neill P. Anderson & Co., and has a
capacity of 100,000 bales per annum.

This firm is now erecting, and has near completion, a cotton ware-
house on the Denver & Rock Island Railroad, in the northeastern portion
of the city, with a storage capacity of 10,000 bales.

Cotton Seed Products

Fort Worth has four of the most modern cotton seed oil mills in
Texas, with a combined investment of about $1,500,000, and a daily
crushing capacity of approximately 500 tons of cotton seed.

The combined purchases and crush of the four mills for the season
of 1919-20 were 16,000 tons, which, at the average price of $70 per
ton, aggregate $4,200,000 paid to the farmers for cotton seed.

The four mills employ 150 men, with an annual payroll of $250,000.
Fort Worth is the greatest distributing point in Texas for cotton seed
cake on account of its proximity to the cattle trade of West and North-
west Texas and because of its favorable location and transportation
facilities offered by the many railroads that center here.

Cotton Oil Mills

Among the many industries which contribute to the prosperity and
business activities of Fort Worth and its tributary territory that of the
Cotton Oil Mills occupies a prominent place. The)' furnish to the
farmer a ready market for his cotton seed and about $4,250,000 are
annually paid for this one product of the farm.

There are four of the largest and most modern Cotton Oil Mills in
the South located in Fort Worth, representing an investment of $1,500,-
000, with a daily crushing capacity of five hundred tons of seed of the
value of $5,000,000. It is the largest cotton seed market in Texas, owing
to superior transportation facilities and because of its proximity to the
vast cattle raising and feeding, area.

Women's Ready to Wear

The largest factory for the manufacture of "Women's Ready to
Wear," outside of Cleveland and New York, is that of the Stripling-
Jenkins Company of Fort Worth.

They manufacture coats, suits, dresses, waists, middies, in fact any-
thing that women wear.

This concern was started in April, 1910, with one machine. It was
then called The Goodtex Company. It was incorporated in May, 1912,
under the name of Stripling-Jenkins Co., with a capital of $25,000.
employing eleven operators and had ten machines. It is now using 150
machines and have 175 employes. It occupies a four-story "all day
light" factory, with 20,000 square feet of floor space.

It is one of the most successful and prosperous enterprises in the
city. It is taking advantage of the prospective closer business relations
with Mexico and is sending representatives there to solicit orders. The
initial order lias been received and was reported to the Directors of the

670 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Chamber of Commerce as evidence that it is worth while for Fort
Worth to encourage commercial relations with Mexico.

Men's Garments

There are at present five concerns in Fort Worth engaged in the
manufacture of overalls, jumpers, pants, middy blouses and ready to
wear for men. The capital invested is approximately $675,000, they
employ 500 people with a payroll of $10,000 per week.

The first successful enterprise of this nature in Texas was organized
in Fort Worth in 1902 with Byron Miller as president and general man-
ager, and practically all of the overall industry in Texas has been the
outgrowth of this one concern.

The Fort Worth plant had extensive contracts with the government
during the war for the manufacture of uniforms for the soldiers.

Acme Brick Company

This enterprise is one of the most successful in this city where indus-
trial enterprises have been a pronounced success.

It was organized in 1893, with a capital of $50,000, and with a "Face
Brick" capacity of a little over a million brick per year. It has grown
to an institution with capital stock of $600,000, with capacity of twenty-
five million brick per year.

1 1 > officers are W. R. Bennett, president; William Bryce, vice-presi-
dent, R. E. Harding, treasurer, and J. E. Fender, secretary.

It has plants at Milsap and Denton, and offices are maintained in
all the principal cities of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, and its prod-
ucts are distributed in other states through the medium of agencies.

By the use of the most up-to-date machinery known to the ceramic
industry practically any kind, color or texture of facing brick is manu-
factured by this concern.

The number of men employed varies from 275 to 325. with a monthlv
payroll running from $35,000 to $50,000.

Cobb Brick Company

In the year 1907 the International & Great Northern Railroad pur-
chased three acres of gravel in the southeastern suburbs of the city for
ballast for their road. In taking this gravel off they uncovered a bank
of blue shale, which, on being tested, showed that it was suitable for
brick, tiling, etc.

The Cobb Brothers started a brick plant with a capital of $30,000,
with a capacity of 20,000 brick per day, which was subsequently increased
to 40,000. The dry press is used in the manufacture of these brick.
The factory now manufactures fire brick, face brick, mantel brick and
tile, and enjoys a good trade in Fort Worth and in the territory con-
tiguous thereto. It employs thirty-five men, with a payroll of $750 per
week .

Athens Pottery Company

This is an unincorporated, joint stock association with capital to
the amount of $500,000. It was originally located at Athens, Texas,
where it still has a factory. Recognizing the superior facilities for

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 671

transportation enjoyed by Fort Worth, it established its principal factory
here, with branches at Wichita Falls and Mexia. Its main factory is
75x270 feet, two-stories high, and it turns out all kinds of stoneware,
consisting of churns, jars, flower pots and kitchen utensils.

It employs seventy-five people and its average weekly payroll is
around $2,250.

Anaconda Gravel Company

This is a new enterprise recently installed on the east bank of the
Trinity River. Its mission is to furnish washed gravel used in making
concrete for streets and buildings. It is equipped with the most modern
machinery and devices for this purpose. It has a capacity of 200 cubic-
yards per day and represents an investment of around $40,000.

Lumber

There are eleven wholesale and thirty- four retail lumber dealers in
the city, and the rapid growth of town and country afford them a good
market every day in the year.

The Alexander Lumber Company

This company is the manufacturer of "Circle A" interchangeable
unit buildings, for which patents are pending. It also manufactures
sash, doors, interior finish, boxes, crates, paints, stains, roofing and other
articles of the building trade. Its plant is on the I. & G. N. Railroad
Company's tracks in the southeast portion of the city. Its investment
is about $500,000. It employs 150 men, with a payroll of $5,500 per
week.

Gas Works

On August 31, 1876, the first gas company in the city was organized
and a franchise granted the company, with J. P. Smith as president, John
Nichols, treasurer, J. G. St. Clair, secretary. On November 26th a
contract was entered into with John Lockwood, of New Jersey, to con-
struct the works and lay the mains. Some idea of the extent of the
plant can be gathered from the fact that it was to cost $20,000. The
plant was added to from time to time until the entire business section
was supplied with gas. The works were finally sold to a new company,
of which Mr. H. C. Scott, of St. Louis, was the principal owner; and
it remained under his control until sold to the Fort Worth Light &
Power Company, and it in turn transferred the property to the Fort
Worth Gas Company, which is the present owner.

The mains and service pipes now reach to every portion of the city,
and natural gas is supplied its patrons, coming from the petroleum fields
in Clav County, from Ranger and Oklahoma.

Electric Licht and Power

The Fort Worth Power and Light Company, confessedly the largest
concern of its kind in the Southwest, was organized in 1911.

A party of Cleveland, Ohio, capitalists, recognizing the importance
of Fort Worth as a great distributing center, organized this company
taking over the Citizen's Light and Power Company and the Consumer's
Light Company.

672 FORI WoRTIl AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Its plant is one of the most prominent industrial enterprises in the
city, and being located at the north end of the Paddock viaduct, which
connects the main city with North Fort Worth, it stands out
prominently and cannot fail to attract the attention of the thousands of
people who daily pass through this part of the city.

Its capital stock is $4,360,000. It employs 27? people and its pay-
roll averages $10,000 per week.

It supplies electric power and light to the cities and towns within
a radius of a hundred miles from Fort Worth.

Marble and Granite Works

The Fort Worth Marble and Granite Works is the oldest enterprise
of this character in the city. They manufacture mausoleums, monu-
ments, marble, granite, stone and bronze. It has about $25,000 invested
in the plant, and its annual production averages about $65,000. It has
several traveling salesman besides its employes in the factor)-, and its
business reaches many of the Southern and Western states. Its average
weekly payroll is around $600.

The Fort Worth Monumental Works
The Fort Worth Monumental Works, manufacturers of monuments,
mausoleums and memorials in granite, marble and bronze, represents an
investment of about $20,000. It employs twelve skilled granite cutters
and its production for the year 1^20 was about $80,000.

Industries

One of the most recent industries established in Fort Worth is a fac-
tory for the manufacture of galvanized service hangers, of which Mr,
John F. Shelton is the inventor.

lie has invented a machine so absolutely free from irregularities thai
it is able to turn out the hanger as fast as the wire can be fed into the
machine, and is capable of making 8.000 hangers a day. The battery
of machines in the factory turn out on an average, over 7.000.000 hangers
annually, representing a value of $200,000.

The factory is unique in the fact that it is more like a home than an
industrial establishment. It has a nicely furnished reception room, and
the office, work rooms, lunch rooms, bath rooms and store rooms are
more like a large home than a factory.

Oil Refineries \m> Pipe Lines

There are eleven refineries in bori Worth converting the crude
petroleum, found in such inexhaustible quantities in the territory tribu
tary to butt Worth, into gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oils and other
petroleum products. They have a dail\ capacity of 130,000 barrels.
Information as to the amount of investment in these industries is not
obtainable, but it will aggregate ten or fifteen million dollars, and the
daily expenditures for crude oil and the payroll of the hundreds of
employes will approximate a half million dollars per day.

There an eleven pipe lines converging here extending from the Okla-
homa, Burkburnett, Ranger and Breckenridge fields to ibis place and to
!T ivatei ii Beaumonl and Porl Arthur.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 673

Pipe lines to the Oklahoma, Petrolia and Ranager fields bring hither
natural gas for industries and domestic consumption.

The Texas Cyclone Fence Company

The Texas Cyclone Fence Company, successor of the Texas Anchor
heme Company, has a large and successful factory in this city.

The latter company was organized about 1902 and has grown and
expanded beyond the dream or ambition of its founder. It manufactures
ornamental fences, wire cages and other fixtures for banks or offices,
elevator cages and almost every other article made of galvanized wire
or iron of the most attractive and substantial character. It has branch
factories at Waukegan, Illinois. Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Rochester,
Philadelphia, New York, Oakland, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco.
Statistics as to the amount of capital invested, annual product, number
of employes and amount of payroll are not available.

Ca n n i n i . Factory

One of the most modern and best equipped canning factories in the
country is located just inside of the east line of the city limits on the
T. P. and I. & G. N. Railroads. It owns twenty-seven acres of land
with two two-story brick buildings, one of which is 50x100 feet and the
other 50x130 feet. It is devoted to the canning of pork and beans,
sweet potatoes, and manufactures jellies, jams, catsup and other condi-
ments, and to the packing of teas, shredded cocoanut, cocoa, currants,
nuts and other fruit products. It has its own printing plant producing
the labels for the several brands, which are beautifully ornate. It also
has a box factory completely equipped, 60x100. which manufactures all
the boxes used for the canning plant, roaster, etc. There is a machine
shop, 50x125 feet, thoroughly equipped to care for all the machine shop
work, autos and trucks.

It gives employment to from 50 to 225 people, varying with the sea-
sons. The factory is owned and operated in the interest of the Waples-
I Matter Grocery Company.

Nissley Creamery Company

Nissley Creamery Company, manufacturers of Mistletoe Creamery
Butter, represents an investment of $258,000. Its annual product is
around two million pounds of butter per year. Its average number of
employes is eighty, with a payroll of $2,500 per week. In addition to
this it has a plant at Amarillo and other points in Texas. The amount
mentioned above does not include investment in other cities.

Cigar Factories

There are four cigar factories in Fort Worth, representing in the
aggregate a capital of around $50,000. The largest of these is the L.
E. Peters Cigar Manufacturing Company, which makes 150.000 cigars
a month. It has a weekly payroll of about $800. This is the largest
factory making union-made cigars in the state, and its trade extends over
all of the territory contiguous to Fort Worth.

674 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The Rurdett Oxygen Company

The Burdett Oxygen Company, manufacturers of electrolytic, hydro-
gen gas welding and street cutting apparatus and carbide supplies, has
a capacity of 10,000 feet of oxygen and 20.000 cubic feet of hydrogen
every twenty-four hours. The investment in the plant and equipment
is $238,000.'

Candy Factories

There are two successful factories for the manufacture of all kinds
of candy in this city. The most prominent of them is the King Candy
Company, of which John P. King is the founder and president. Its
capital stock is $150,000 and it has a surplus from earnings of $400,000.
It distributes its products through all the Southern and Western states
and the slogan, "King's Candies for American Queens." are household
words throughout that section.

The second most successful enterprise is that of the Pangbum Candy
Company.

Peanut Factory'

The company inaugurated some years ago to encourage diversified
farming resulted in the planting and cultivating of thousands of acres
of peanuts in the territory contiguous to Forth Worth. The Bain Pea-
nut Company of Texas established a factory at Fort Worth some years
ago, which has been of great benefit to the former and of profit to the
owners. Their normal business runs as high as one and a half million
dollars per annum, and gives employment to from 75 to 100 men and
women, with a payroll of between two and three thousand dollars per
month.

The cultivation of peanuts is increasing every year and is proving a
profitable adjunct to agriculture.

Jersey Creme

The Jersey Creme Company was organized in 1906 by the late V\
' i Newbee and Mr. Howell.

Its capital stock is $50,000 and it has branch plants at Chicago and
Toronto, Canada. Jersey Creme is its principal product, but it manu-
factures all kinds of soft drinks and sonic flavoring extracts. Its annual
production from this plant is around $450,000. which is distributed
throughout the South and Southwest

It 1 i.-i ~. twenty-two employes and its weeklj payroll is about $800
Its present officers are W. C. Stripling, president, |. B. Hogsett, vice
president, and A. M. Luckett, secretary and treasurer,

Ui Factories

Notwithstanding the fad that Forth Worth is located in latitude
36.30 degrees, and snow and ice are infrequent visitors, the inhabitants
of the city Ought to be able to keep coo] There are thirteen ice fac-
tories in the city, with a production of around one thousand pounds of
ice per day. 'This is an average of about twenty pounds to each man,
woman and child in the city, which should be more than sufficient for
all domestic purposes, I'm tin- people are not tin- only consumers of

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 675

ice in Forth Worth; large quantities arc required for the refrigeration
of meats at the three packing houses, and the train loads of fruit coming
from California, for which F'ort Worth is the distributing point of the
Southwest, require many tons of ice daily for refilling refrigerator cars
for their journey North and East.

In addition to the local and refrigerating demands for ice Fort Worth
supplies many of the nearby towns and villages. Arrangements are now
in contemplation for increasing the output of ice during the incoming
year to a very considerable extent.

Huiw. Furniture Company

Fort Worth has for many years enjoyed the distinction of being the
largest distributing and manufacturing point for furniture of all kinds
in the Southwest. Desiring to take advantage of this fact and to in-
crease the output of household and office furniture a number of the
public spirited, enterprising citizens of Fort Worth organized this com-
pany in August, 1907, with W. G. Turner as president, W. E. Austin,
vice-president and general manager, E. Coombs, secretary and treasurer.
These, with George E. Cowden, N. H. Lassiter, and Dr. J. W. Irion, con-
stitute the Board of Directors.

Its capital stock is $215,000 and its annual output is around $500,000.
Plans for an increased capacity are about ready for announcement, when
the output will be increased by at least fifty per cent. It will have 200
employes, with a monthly payroll of approximately $20,000.

The Art Preservative

There are twenty-one publications and thirty-six printing establish-
ments in the city. These comprise every branch known to the trade, in
eluding engraving, lithographing, embossing, blank books and commercial
printing of all kinds.

The largest and most complete printing plant in the Southwest is
that of the Stafford-Lowden Company. This company is capitalized at
$360,000, with net assets to more than cover the capital. It occupies
a brick structure, two stories and basement, covering 200x200 feet. The
amount of product for the year 1920 was about three quarters of a million
dollars. It employs on the average 150 people, with an average payroll
of $5,060 per week. It is one of the many prosperous institutions of the
city.

Artesia Bottlixc and Ice Cream Company

Thi> company manufactures ice cream and pure drinks, including
soda waters, ciders and other beverages. Its capital stock is $20,000 and
its annual production about $150,000. It employes fifteen men. with a
weekly payroll of $500.

Mail Order Houses

There are three mail order houses in Fort Worth, those of Mont-
gomery Ward & Co. and the Sears-Roebuck Co. being the largest in
the country, while that of Kress & Co. is but an adjunct to their retail
business.

676 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The Sears-Roebuck Co. has but recently acquired several huge ware-
houses, which were erected for the use of Camp Howie during the war.
and from there they distribute their wares to all parts of North Texas.

The Fort Worth Drilling Tool Company

This company has recently established a factory in this city for the
manufacture of drilling and fishing tools for oil, gas and artesian wells.

They have erected a large plant near the tracks of the M. K. & T.
Railway, south of the city, and are now employing about seventy-five
men and have a weekly payroll of $3,500. At present they are working
about fifty per cent of their contemplated capacity, but expect to get to
their full capacity within a few months.

The Axtell Company

This company manufactures windmills, drilling machinery, tanks, mill
and water supplies, drinking troughs, cisterns and other equipment for
the farm, ranch or industrial enterprises.

It lias about $125,000 invested in its factory and employs some fifty
or sixty skilled mechanics. The payroll is around $35,000 per year.
It is one of the successful industries which has grown from small begin
nings.

Agee Screen Company

Thi> has been one of the most successful industrial enterprises of the
city. While not large, it has been constantly on the increase from its
foundation. It manufactures door and window screens, with which it
supplies all the territory contiguous to Forth Worth and reaches into
the adjoining states as far east as Georgia. It employes about thirtv
skilled mechanics and has a payroll of $800 per week.

Telegraph Finks

The firsl telegraph line was constructed into Fort Worth in the sum
mi r of 187n. It was owned and operated by Max Elser and ('. I.
Frost. After the advent of the railroad it was sold to the Western
Union. In 1886 the Baltimore \ Ohio Telegraph Co. built into the
city, but it soon sold to the Western Union.

The Western Union, the Postal and the Maekcv Telegraph and ( abli
Company are now serving the public in Fori Worth.

Coffee and Spices

\ot a very large but a verj successful industr) is thai of the National
Coffee Company, importers and roasters of high grade coffee and spices

The company is capitalized at $45,000. lis monthly payroll is $1,260.
Since these goods are manufactured almost exclusively by machinerj
very few men are employed.

Fri us ami Flow ers

There are half a dozen nurseries in Fori Worth and its suburbs where
bade trees, t mil trees, vegetables and flowers of all kinds are cultivated
for the market.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 677

These arc all equipped with the most modern devices and appliances
for the cultivation of fruit trees, shrubs and flowers. The products of
these nurseries are shipped to all parts of the Southwest in large quanti
ties in addition to supplying the home market with everything useful
and beautiful that could be desired.

< ! EANLINESS

Forth Worth has every facility for keeping clean. Ii has an inex-
haustible supply of pure water from Lake Worth, and there are a dozen
steam laundries and forty-seven cleaning and dyeing establishments,
which ought to enable the residents of Fort Worth to keep clean.

COLLINSVILLE MANUFACTURING Com Iwn y

This Company was organized in Collinsville, Texas, in 1904, with a
capital of $5,000, for the purpose of manufacturing Acetylene Gas Gen-
erators. In 190() it moved to Fort Worth and enlarged its business to
include sheet metal work of everv character, including Tire-proof doors
and windows, cornices and sheet metal rooting. 'The capital was
increased to $10,000. It has been a phenomenal success in every way.

It now employs about forty mechanics and does an annual business
of more than S200.000 and has a weekly payroll of $2,000.

Mr. S. A. Menczer is the president and general manager of the
( ompany.

Tin-. Double Seal Ring Company

'The Double Seal King Company began business in a 25x100 foot
garage in Fort Worth, 'Texas, in 1915, with two machinists and two
salesmen. 'The machinery consisted of one borrowed lathe and a sur
face grinder.

At the present time the Fort Worth factory of the Double Seal King
Company employs more men in the manufacture of piston rings than
does any other piston ring manufacturing company in the world. 'Then
are two modern factorv buildings, 80x200 feet, which are the propert}
of the company free of any -incumbrance or debt.

The general sales offices of the company occupy a three-story, 25x160
foot office building at 23?i5 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, which is owned
by the Double Seal King (.'ompany. A permanent sales force of over
150 men is employed throughout the United Slates and in Canada, with
headquarters in thirty-five of the principal cities of both countries.

This company is the product of Fort Worth men. Fort Worth enter-
prise and Forth Worth genius. The general manager is Kirk D. Hol-
land, reared in Fort Worth and a product of the Fort Worth schools.

An effort has been made to give in full the industrial activities ol
•he city. That success has been only partial is conceded. "The indus-
tries of F'ort Worth are so numerous and varied that the space allotted
this subject will not admit of specific mention of many of them.

The following list will serve to corroborate this statement:
Ammonia Automobiles

Artificial Limbs Automobile Lens

Art Glass Automobile Tires

Artificial Stone and Monuments Automobile Tire Machine^

678

FORI WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Automobile Tops

Automobile and Truck Bodies

Automobile Windshields

Awnings

Bags and Sacks

Bar Iron

Barrels

Batteries

Beverages

Blank Books

Bran and Shorts

Bread and Bakery Products

Brick

Brass Products

Brooms and Mops

Blue Prints and Maps

Boilers

Books, Book Binding

Boxes

Brushes

Butter

Buttermilk

Cabinets

Calf Feeds

Candy

Canned Meats

Canned Vegetables and Fruits

Carriages

Cement Staves

Chemicals

Chili

Cigars

Coffee

Cooperage

Confectionery

Corn Meal

Cotton Cleaners

Cotton Choppers

Cotton Mill Machinery

Cotton Seed Cake

Cotton Seed Meal

Cotton Seed Oil

Cow Feeds

Creosote

Culverts

Cup Grease

Cylinder Oil

Distillate

Dolls

Drilling Machinen

Drilling Tools

Drugs

Electricity

Engines

Engravings

Feather Goods

Fence

Flavoring Extracts

Flavoring Syrup

Floor Sweep and Disinfectants

Flour

Flour Mill Machinery

Fuel Oil and Kerosene

Furniture

Garbage Cans

Garments

Garment Bags

Garment Hangers

Gas

Gas Machines

Gasoline

Glass Equipment

Glue Stock

Gray Iron

Grease

Hardware

Hog Feed

Hominy Meal

I [orse Feeds (ground I

Iron Products

Ice

Ice Cream

Ice Cream Cones

Ice Cream Supplies

Jacks

Kerosene

Lard and Cooking Compounds

Lime

Lithographs

Lubricating Oils

Macaroni

Machines

Mattresses

Meat Products

Metal Goods

Mill Work

Millinery

Mirrors

Naphtha

\.

Publications

FORT WORTH AND THK TEXAS NORTHWEST

679

Oil Mill Machinery-
Oil Well Supplies
Oleomargarine
Ornamental Iron and Ware
Overalls
Oxygen

Packing House Products
Paint

Patent Medicine and Compounds
Patterns
Peanut Butter
Peanut Oil
Picture Frames
Pigeon Feeds
Piston Rings
Planing Mill Products
Plating

Portable Houses
Potato Chips
Pottery-
Poultry Feed

Pumps, Pump Valves. Floats, etc.
Refinery Equipment
Rendered Products, Fats
Roofing
Rugs

Rubber Stamps
Saddles and Harness
Sash and Doors
Screens

Seals and Stencils
Semi-Steel
Serums
Sheet Metal
Show Cases
Signs

Silos

Smoke Stacks
Soft Drinks
Structural Steel
Stuffing Boxes
Syrups
Table Sauces
Tallow

Tanks, Cypress
Tank Flanges
Tanks, Steel
Tarpaulin
Tents
Tinware
Tile-
Tires, Steel
Toilet Preparations
Tools
Trunks

Umbrella Covers
Upholstering
Vaccines
Varnishes
Vinegar
Violins

Vulcanizing Machinery
Wagons

Wagon Sheets and Cotton Duck-
Products
Wax, Petroleum
Well Machinery
Windmills

Wire and Wire Goods
Women's Garments
Wood Saws

Many of these have been treated more or less elaborately. There are
others, worthy of special mention, of which the management have failed,
and in some instances declined to furnish the details necessary to a
proper description of the enterprises.

Enough has been said to indicate that Forth Worth is a manufacturing
city of no mean proportions.

VOL. 11—16

CHAPTER LI I
WAR ACTIVITIES OF FORT WORTH

Jt was natural that Fort Worth should be selected by the Government
as the location for great military activities during the war.

The great railroad facilities of this city reach directly all the larger
cities of Texas, and those of the adjoining states, hence, the city naturally
came to the notice of the Government for its excellent distribution facili-
ties. The great packing houses and grain elevators made this city a
concentration point for bread and meat.

The Government had full cognizance of the city's strategic location
for locating here the Bureau of Grain Standardization for North Texas.
' )klahoma and Louisiana ; the Bureau of Markets for Texas, New Mex-
ico and Arizona; the Bureau of Federal Grain Inspection; the Depart-
ment of Grain and Hay, and the Country's Federal Highway Depart-
ment for the states of Texas, Oklahoma. Arkansas and New Mexico.
These departments made Fort Worth the greatest United States Agri-
cultural Exchange in the Southwest.

The Government doubtless made recognition of the facilities of the
city by establishing at Fort Worth as early as July, 1916, an Army
Supply Base for the United States Army operating in Mexico. This
depot, however, was only short-lived, but was revived in a more varied
extent at the outbreak of the World war.

In June. 1917. a Military Committee, headed by Major General Mor-
ton, visited Fort Worth and other cities of Texas, relative to the location
of an Army Cantonment. The citizens of Fort Worth offered to this
committee, without rental, a tract of land immediately outside of Fort
Worth and adjacent to the city, consisting of approximately 1,410 acres.
The Fori Worth Chamber of Commerce, acting for the citizens of Fort
Worth, agreed to give this tract of land water and sewer connection,
with a two-way hard surface road, double street car track, railway spur
connections, light and telephone connections, all without cost. This
tract of land was divided into lots and was estimated to include approxi-
mately a thousand owners, and hence the Chamber of Commerce in
pledging this same tract of land to the Government showed supreme con-
fidence in the loyalty and patriotism of the people of Fort Worth, that
they would surrender the use of their land without charge. In July of
the same year the Government notified the Chamber of Commerce that
their offer of the cantonment site was accepted

The construction of the camp was begun immediately and was ready
tor occupancy about the first of September following. The physical
improvements of the cantonment were estimated to have cost $2,225,000.

A full division of the army was maintained at the cantonment, which
approximated in number 30,000 men, under the command of Major
General St. John Greble, who remained in command of the division
throughout the training period, The troops that constituted this division
consisted solel) of boys from Texas and Oklahoma.

680

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 681

Further additional training facilities were provided by the Fori
Worth Chamber of Commerce, Mich as a target range, comprising 750
acres, located just west of the cantonment; a trench training area, some
two miles southwest of the cantonment site, along the Stove Foundry
Road, comprising 125 acres; and an artillery range, located west of Fort
Worth, on the old Weatherford Road, comprising 2,000 acres. These
additional facilities were likewise furnished to the Government by the
citizens of Fort Worth through its Chamber of Commerce without
rental.

The aviation construction program at Fori Worth was probably the
greatest in the entire country with the exception of San Antonio. Three
regulation aviation fields were located in the proximity of this city.
The first field, originally known as Hicks Aviation field and later

Paddock Viaduct

changed to Talliaferro field, was located on the Forth Worth and Den-
ver Railroad, nine miles north of Fort Worth, at a station known as
Hicks. This field consisted of 688 acres and was considered one of the
best flying fields in the entire country. The second field was located
on the International & Great Northern Railway, nine miles southwest
of Fort Worth, near Everman. This field was originally known as the
Kverman field but later changed to Barron field, and consisted of 633
acres.

The third field was located six miles west of Forth Worth, on the
Texas & Pacific Railroad, near Benbrook. This field was originally
called Rail field but later changed to Carruthers field.

These fields were provided by the Chamber of Commerce at a rental
of approximately six dollars per acre per annum, which was in one
instance less than one-half the actual amount in rental that the Chamber
of Commerce was obliged to pay for same.

Railroad and telephone connection and good roads to the several fields
were provided by the Chamber of Commerce. In addition to these three
Aviation fields the Chamber of Commerce provided some three or four

682 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

additional tracts of land, which were used as special training areas,
located adjacent to the several Aviation fields. One such area was the
Aerial Gunnery range at Hicks, adjacent to Talliaferro field. This range-
consisted approximately of 11,000 acres and was used as a Target train-
ing area, being the only one of its kind in the Middle West.

The construction of these fields began about August 1, 1917, and were
occupied about the first of October. The total cost of these fields was
estimated at three and one-half million dollars. On the completion of
these fields the British Government transferred from Canada its Avia-
tion training to Fort Worth. Major General Hoare was in command.
Approximately 3.000 Canadian aviators were trained at these fields in
addition to a large number of American aviators, who were placed under
the direction of the British officers for military training.

About April 1, 1918. the British aviators returned to Canada and the
fields were occupied by American aviators under the command of Col.
David Roscoe. Approximately 5,000 American aviators were in con-
stant training at these three fields.

At the conclusion of the war these fields were abandoned by the Gov-
vernment and sold at public auction.

The Government located at Fort Worth, about three miles north of
the city, the Argon Gas Plant, at an added cost of approximately $500,-
000. and connected it by a 12-inch gas main to the Petrolia Gas Fields
at an added cost of $1,500,000. This plant manufactured helium gas for
balloons. This gas was a closely guarded secret and even the people of
Fort Worth scarcely knew that the plant was located so near the city.
The great value of the gas is that it is not inflammable and hence it was
of great military importance.

The Army Camp Cantonment area after its dismantlement was rapidly
built up as a fashionable residence section. The water and sewer lines.
bard surface mads, excellent street car facilities, which were placed there
for the benefit of the camp, afforded immediate inducements to the
owners of the land to build residences.

The activities of the citizens of Fort Worth in war work was no less
extensive than in their co-operation with the Government in providing
facilities for the training of troops. The various quotas assigned to the
iitizen> as subscriptions to Libert] Loan Campaigns, Red Cross, United
War Activities, Knights of Columbus, Salvation Army, Y. M. C. A. and
V. W. C. A.. War Saving Stamps and the like were all promptlv sub-
scribed and in every instance over-subscribed.

The method of subscribing the Liberty Loans quota was unique
enough to mention here, and will likewise serve as an illustration of the
loyalt\ and Americanism of its people. At the beginning of every Lib
erty Loan drive a dinner was served at the Metropolitan Hotel by the
Chamber of Commerce, to which the public was invited. At this dinner
the allotment of Fori Worth was explained and the people were called
upon to subscribe. In most cases every citizen present, and there were
usually some four or live hundred, arose in his turn and announced the
amount of his subscription before the gathering and it was very seldom
that any man went away from the dining-room that evening that had not
subscribed, This method of raising war funds was adopted in raising
the quotas of all war drives

CHAPTER LIU

"There is properly no history, only biography." — Emerson.

"Biography is the most universalis- pleasant, universally profitable, of
,ill reading." — Carlyle.

"As it often happens that the best men are but little known, and con-
sequently cannot extend the usefulness of their example." — Fielding.

The following biographical sketches are of men who came to Fort
Worth when it first attracted general notice, and who aided by their work
and money to lay the foundation of the city — and most of whom have
answered the last "roll call."

It is considered appropriate that this record should be made of their
activities, their public spirit and generous contribution to the upbuilding
of the city.

It is a matter of regret that they could not have lived to witness the
consummation of their efforts, hopes and aspirations.

John Peter Smith

Among the many progressive public spirited citizens of Fort Worth
who assisted in laying the foundation for its present prosperity, Col. John
Peter Smith stands pre-eminent. In all its history Fort Worth has not
had a citizen more enthusiastically devoted to its material welfare than
he. He contributed liberally to every public enterprise and was always
ready to assist every worthy individual even to the extent of his personal
financial embarrassment.

Coming to Fort Worth in 1853, he acquired a considerable amount
of lands in the city and county when it was comparatively cheap, and its
increase in value brought him a considerable fortune for that time. He
was of a generous disposition and never knew how to say no to anyone
who solicited pecuniar)' aid. He went on every man's bond and signed
every man's note who applied to him for financial assistance.

Colonel Smith was born in Owen County, Kentucky, September 16.
1831. He was raised on a farm and after the deaths of his father and
mother, in 1844, went to live with his cousin, W. H. Garnett, of Owen
County, whom he selected as his guardian. Here he worked on the farm,
attending school during the winter months. His guardian kept him in
the best schools in the neighborhood and in 1849 entered him in Franklin
College, Indiana, where he remained ten months. In September, 1850.
he went to Bethany College, Virginia, where he remained for three years.
Sharing the honors of his classes in ancient languages and mathematics,
he graduated from Bethany with the class of 1853, and in July of that
year returned to his home in Kentucky. He left Kentucky in November.
1853, for Texas. He visited Fort Worth and was so fascinated with
the beauty of the place and surrounding country that he determined to
make it his future home.

In January, 1854, he opened the first school taught in Fort Worth
but after three years he closed it on account of failing health. He needed
outdoor employment and a more active life than the school afforded and

683

684 FORT WORTH AND THE HAAS NORTHWEST

turned his attention to surveying, an occupation which he pursued at
intervals until the year 1860. While engaged in surveying he also read
law, and without attending any law school was admitted to the bar and
was a successful practitioner in the city and Federal courts.

In 1861 he opposed a vote against secession but, when war was de-
clared, deemed his allegiance due first to his state and her people. He
enlisted in the Confederate Army and served until the close of the war.
He assisted in raising a company of 120 men in Tarrant County, and
with them was mustered into service at San Antonio as Company K,
Seventh Texas Cavalry, which served during the war in New Mexico
and Western Louisiana. He participated in the principal engagements
of the Army of West Louisiana, was at the capture of Galveston from
the Federal forces in January, 1863, was severely wounded June 23, 1863.
near Donaldsonville and slightly wounded at the battle of Mansfield,
Louisiana.

In 1864 he was promoted to the rank of colonel of his regiment,
which position he held until the close of the war, when he disbanded his
regiment on the Trinity River in Navarro County in May, 1865. He
returned to Fort Worth and resumed the practice of law in association
with Judge H. G. Hendricks. In 1874 he joined Major K. M. Van
Zandt and J. J. Jarvis in the purchase of the interest of James B. Wilson
in the banking firm of Tidball & Wilson, and participated in the organ-
ization of the firm, Tidball, Van Zandt & Co., which firm was finally
merged into the Fort Worth National Bank.

Colonel Smith was a charter member and the first secretary of Fort
Worth Lodge No. 148, A. F. & A. M. Me was never a candidate for
any political office except that of mayor of Fort Worth, which office he
held for two terms.

He was married in Tarrant County, Texas, October 10, 1867, to Mary
E. Fox, widow of Dr. F. A. Fox, of Mississippi. They had four chil-
dren, James Young, Peter. Florence and William Beall. Both Colonel
Smith and his wife were earnest working members of the Christian
Church and were liberal contributors to church charities and enterprises.

Colonel Smith was the promoter and owner of the first gas works in
the city, a charter member and part owner of the first street railway, a
large stockholder in the El Paso Hotel, the first hostelry of any impor-
tance in the city, a director of the Fort Worth National Bank and man}
other industrial and commercial enterprises

Colonel Smith died in St. Louis on April 11, 1902. A number of the
early settlers of the city raised a fund for the erection of a simple monu
ment to his memory, which stands opposite the City Hall, at the inter-
section of Jennings Avenue. Throckmorton and Tenth streets.

Walter A Huffman

One of the early citizens of the city worthy of mention in this chapter
is the subject of this sketch. Unfortunately he has no descendants living
in the city from whom his activities and achievements can be obtained
I lis widow and son now live in Siam.

He was a man of great energy and activity. lie was engaged in the
agricultural implement business in the early days, but this field afforded

FORT WORTH USJD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 685

him limited scope for his activities, and he disposed of his holdings and
engaged in larger enterprises, lie acquired the Street Railway on Main
Street and extended it for many miles across the river to the North Side.
Under his direction the city of Fort Worth was the first in the United,
States to be equipped with electricity. In this connection he acquired
large land holdings on the North Side.

He owned large real estate holdings in the city and erected many sub-
stantial business houses on Main Street and other parts of the city. He
was a liberal contributor to every public enterprise calculated to promote
the interests of the city.

These extensive operations necessitated the borrowing of large sums
of money, and the panic of 1893 was his undoing. Being in feeble health
at the time, he was unable to give that personal attention to his affairs
that their importance demanded. He died in Chicago. Had he lived
and retained his health and vigor he could have weathered the storm and
amassed a large fortune.

He is remembered with high regard by all who knew him.

Joseph H. Browx

Among the many who contributed of their time, talent and money to
laying the foundation of this city was the subject of this sketch. He
was born in Scotland, November 22. 1842, the son of J. William Brown,
a grain merchant. He received his education at Dundee. In 1859 he
came to America and located in Chicago, where he was a clerk for James
Duffee, a cigar and tobacco merchant, until 1863, when he engaged in
business on his own account. From there he went to Fort Scott, Kansas,
where he remained till 1873, when he came to Fort Worth and estab-
lished a retail grocery store, which grew and prospered until it developed
into the largest wholesale grocery establishment south of St. Louis at
that time ; and his name, as a business man. became known and honored
over the northwestern part of Texas.

He was a liberal contributor to every enterprise for the promotion
of his city ; he never thought how small a contribution he could make
but what was his share.

He was twice married. His first wife was Mrs. Mary Oliver, who
died in Fort Worth. He was married a second time, to Nellie M. Chick,
of St. Louis, a daughter of W. H. Chick, a wholesale grocer of that city.

He had three brothers, George, James and William, the latter of
whom still resides in Fort Worth.

He died in December, 1890.

William Henry Davis

William Henry Davis was born in Mecklenburg County, Kentucky.
September 13, 1820.

He went to California during the gold excitement in "49," and re-
mained there about two years, when he returned to Missouri.

He was married to Sarah Ellen Peyton in Calloway County, Missouri,
near Fulton, January 21, 1852. They had one child, Sarah Elizabeth,
who is now the wife of Newton H. Lassiter, of Fort Worth.

686 FORT WORTH ANT) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Mr. Davis moved to Henry County. Indiana, in 1853, where he re-
mained until 1866, when he came to Texas and settled at Fort Worth
and engaged in a general merchandise business. For many years his was
the largest business in the city. His store was located at the corner of
Weatherford and Main streets.

About 1875 he removed to Oak Grove in the southern part of Tar-
rant County, where he continued in business for several years, when he
retired. He had made fortunate investments in real estate, the enhance-
ment of which provided a handsome competency for his family.

He was one of the original stockholders and directors of the first
National Bank, which position he held until his death.

He was a man of strong convictions on all public matters, and was
universally admired and esteemed by all who knew him. His death
occurred February 13, 1905.

Dr. William Paxton Burts

The subject of this sketch was born in Washington County, Ten-
nessee, December 7, 1827. He was the third of a large family of eleven.

He attended school at the Martin Academy at Jonesboro and subse-
quently at Washington College, Greenville, Tennessee. He chose the
profession of medicine for his life work and graduated in 1852 at Geneva
Medical College, Geneva, New York.

In 1858 he came to Fort Worth and pursued his profession until
1872. when he engaged in merchandising under the firm name of New
man, Young & Burts.

This did not appeal to him as a life work, and he soon returned to
the practice of his profession, which he continued until his death.

lie was married on October 23, 1852, in Green County, Tennessee, to
Mi^ Anne G. Henderson. They had five daughters and one son. Two
of the daughters are still living in Fort Worth.

lie was one of the most cheerful and affable of men. His manners
wen- easy and free from arrogance and his address attractive and
assuring.

In 1873 he was elected mayor of the City of Fori Worth and re-
elected in 1874. being the first mayor of the city

lie died on the 5th day of September, 1895.

R. E. Beckham

R. E. Beckham was one of the most forceful of the early citizens of
Fort Worth. He was born in Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky,

\pril 13, 1844.

In April. 18(>1, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving under
Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, lie was made prisoner at one time and
spent four months at Alton and mi Johnson's Island. After his exchange
he was in Buford's command, with whom he served until the surrender
at Selma, Alabama, in April, 1865.

When the war closed he began the Stud) of law and in 18(>(> was

elected clerk of Calloway County, Kentucky, where he continued the

-•tudv of law and was soon admitted In the Bar.

FORT WORTH \M) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 687

He came to Fort Worth in 187.\ where he followed the practice of
his profession.

In April, 1878, he was elected mayor of the city in one of the most
hotly contested campaigns in the history of the place. The campaign
was waged on the question whether law and order should reign in Fort
Worth or the city be overrun by the lawless and vicious. The better
element prevailed in the election, and he soon placed many restrictions
on gambling and other lawless pursuits.

He was married June 18, 1871, to Miss Mary W. Godwin, daughter
of J. S. Godwin, of Murray, Kentucky, who came to Fort Worth at the
same time as did Judge Beckham.

During the Greenback craze, which swept over the country Judge
Beckham was an ardent advocate of sound money, and by his influence
Tarrant County was kept in the sound money column. He died June 9,
1910.

No man ever enjoyed the full confidence and esteem of his fellow
citizens more highly than Judge Beckham.

Dr. Isaac L. Van Zandt

Dr. Isaac L, Van Zandt was one of those who came to Fort Worth
in the early days and aided in laying the foundation upon which the city
of Fort Worth was builded.

He is a native of the Republic of Texas, the son of Isaac Van Zandt
and Frances Cooke Lipscomb and was born January 5, 1840, in a one-
room log cabin in what is now Harrison County, about eighteen miles
east of the now prosperous city of Marshall. He was educated in the
schools of Marshall and completed his academic acquirements at Franklin
College, Nashville, Tennessee, at which institution he graduated in 1857
Returning to Marshall, he began the study of medicine. In 1861 he
enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Company D, Seventh
Texas Infantry. After two years' service in the ranks he was trans-
ferred to the Medical Department, and continued therein until the close
of the war. Returning home, he resumed his medical studies and was
graduated at the University of Louisiana in New Orleans in 1867. In
April, 1867, he was married to Miss Ellen Henderson, of Marshall.
Texas, and immediately thereafter he left Marshall and settled in Dallas.
Texas, where he remained one year. In 1868 he came to Fort Worth
and engaged in the practicing of medicine, being associated with Dr. W.
P. Burts and later with Dr. E. J. Beall.

Dr. Van Zandt is an honored citizen of Fort Worth, whose life has
been full of good works. His children are: Frances, the only daugh-
ter; Claude. Luther, William L., John H. and Isaac L.. Jr.

Capt. M. B. Loyd

The subject of this sketch was a peculiar character. He disliked
notoriety and consequently has left no record of his activities. He was
born in the State of Kentucky, and claimed to be the only Kentuckian
who did not come from the "Blue Grass" region. He went from Ken-
tucky to Missouri and thence migrated to Texas in the fifties; the exact
date is not obtainable. He engaged in cattle and horse raising and

688 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

amassed a comfortable competency. In the war between the states he
served as captain of a company of cavalry doing duty on the border
between Mexico and New Mexico.

In 1873 he engaged in business, being the senior member of the firm
of Loyd, Marklee & Company. He soon sold his interest in that con-
cern to W. ]. Boaz and J. F. Ellis and proceeded to organize the First
National Rank in 1877. of which he was president until his death. He
was always a friend of the poor and needy if worthy of aid and assist-
ance. Numerous men in Fort Worth were the recipients of financial aid
in times of stress. In his own way and without ostentation or publicity
he was charitable and benevolent. He died on the 16th day of April.
1912. leaving an estate of over a million dollars, which was divided
between his daughter, Ruth, and her two children, Thomas L. and Ann
V. Burnett.

Major J. J. Jarvis

Major J. J. Jarvis, who was one of the most able jurists of the State
of Texas, was born in Surry County, North Carolina. At the age of
seventeen, he migrated with his parents to the State of Tennessee, where
he remained three years, ami then removed to Nebo, Illinois, and there
studied law with Judge W. D. Sawers, a very able and prominent lawyer
of that city. Major Jarvis was admitted to the bar in 1856, and was
licensed by the Supreme Court of Illinois, after which he removed to
Texas in 1857. and was licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas in the
same year, and immediately entered upon a large and remunerative prac-
tice, and at the same time wielded the editorial pen for a popular paper
of his town. Major Jarvis' ability, both as a lawyer and a journalist,
when a young man. won for him the applause and admiration of all who
knew him and the stranger who read his paper. As an editor be was
brilliant, firm and fearless.

Actuated by the ethics of journalism. In- struck with vim the offenders
of public policy. For two years Major Jarvis dictated to the public
through the silent medium of the pros, after which time he vacated the
editorial sanctum and devoted himself exclusively to the practice of lawT
until the War of 1861. Major Jarvis. being devoted to the interests of
his country, and realizing the fact that his services were needed, enlisted
in the Tenth Texas Cavalry, and served in the capacity of Adjutant
Major. He was a brave, gallant and commanding officer, was in several
battles, and was slightly wounded at tin- battle of Murfreesboro, Ten-
nessee. At the close of the war he was appointed by Governor Hamilton
district attorney of the Sixth Judicial District of Texas, in which posi-
iion he served for two years, with much credit to himself and honor to
the court- \boiit the close of his term of office he was married at
Marshall to Mi--- Ida ('. Van Zandt, youngest daughter of Isaac Van
Zandl and Frances ( Van Zandt.

Major Jarvis came to Fort Worth in June. 1873, and entered the law
firm of Hendricks \- Smith, and at once tools a leading position at the
bar in this district. When the firm of Tidball. Van Zandt & Co. pur-
chased lite interest of Wilson in the Tidball & Wilson Bank, Major Jarvis
took bis share and remained with the firm until it was merged into the

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 689

Fort Worth National Bank, when he was elected a director and vice
president, which positions he continued to hold until his death.

He became one of the largest real estate owners in the city, having
purchased a large acreage of the Toombs & Crawford's holdings along
the west fork of the Trinity, and in city and suburb properties. He also
purchased extensive ranch properties in Hood and Erath counties.

When Add-Ran College was moved from Thorp Springs to Waco
Major Jarvis acquired the Thorp Springs property, enlarged it, endowed
it and was its ardent supporter.

He was a large contributor to every public enterprise calculated to
advance the business interests of the city. He represented Tarrant
County for two terms in the- State Senate, and his only other political
activity was that of alderman of the city in the early '70s.

Major Jarvis died on the 20th day of January, 1914, leaving a widow,
two sons, Van Zandt Jarvis and Daniel Jarvis, and a daughter, Mrs. John
I. Burgess.

Dr. Carroll M. Peak

The subject of this sketch was the earliest settler at the post of Fort
Worth except those who came with the troops.

Dr. Peak was born in Gallatin County, Kentucky, in November, 1828.
The ordinary schools of the country afforded the principal means of
education in those days, as in these, and a grammar school subsequently
taught in the county town was where his education was acquired. Choos-
ing the medical profession as his life's work at the age of twenty, under
competent preceptors, he entered on the regular study of that profession
and in March, 1851, graduated at the University of Louisville.

In the spring of 1852 he came to Texas and settled at what was then
known as the Three Forks of the Trinity, which has of late years grown
to the city of Dallas.

In the spring of 1853 he returned to Kentucky, where he was married,
and with his wife returned to make Texas his home and settled in Fort
Worth. He was a surgeon of the Post under Major Arnold, and his
eldest child, Howard W. Peak, was born in one of the rude buildings
which constituted the barracks.

Dr. Peak was a man of more than ordinary ability and judgment and
was always at the front in every enterprise calculated to upbuild the
city. The most conspicuous service rendered by him was his advocacy
of public free schools. When this question was presented to the people
of Fort Worth Dr. Peak was an ardent worker for the cause. His
advice and assistance was sought by those who believed with him in the
public free school system. In season and out of season he presented
arguments in favor of making Fort W^orth an independent school district.

He did not acquire much of this world's goods, but, being the pos-
sessor of some property on upper Houston Street, he was enabled to
leave a competency for his widow and children.

Besides his son, already mentioned, he had three daughters. Clara.
Lilv and Ollie, the two latter of whom are still living.

Dr. Peak died Februarv 28, 1885.

WO FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

I UDGE (i. A. EVARTS

Among the most prominent members of the bar who came to Fort
Worth when it was a frontier village was the subject of this sketch.

He was born in the northwestern territory, (now Ohio), in the month
of August. 1797. His father died when he was about five years of age,
leaving a widow with seven children, the training and education of whom
devolved upon her. She was a fine scholar and had had every advan-
tage that means and position could give, under the guidance of Dr.
Wheelock, president of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, and was
therefore capable of directing the education of her children.

In the spring of 1812 Judge Evarts entered the state university at
Athens, Ohio, from which he graduated. In 1818 he went to Kentucky
and taught in a seminary for four or five years, reading law at the time.
In 182.? he was licensed to practice law. In 1828 he moved to Indiana,
settling at Fort Wayne. In 1833 he was elected district judge in tin-
district comprising several counties north of the Wabash. He moved to
Platte City, Mo., in 1843, but, owing to the ill health of his family he
decided to move to Texas, which he did in the spring of 1844, and settled
at Bonham, Fannin County, of which Bonham was the county seat, then
embracing the territory which is now Collin, Denton, Cooke and Gray-
son counties, the whole number of inhabitants of which was represented
by 300 voters. In 1845 he was elected to the convention which framed
the constitution for the State of Texas, and served in that body with
such men as Hemphill, Lipscomb and Rusk.

He was opposed to secession, and in his speeches told the people that
they were sowing to the wind and would reap the whirlwind, that tin-
secession movement would result in freeing the slaves, and that the ver\
first gun tired would be the death knell of slavery, that the South would
finally be subjugated and the slaves set free, which prediction was
verified.

In 18()5, after the close of the war, he was appointed Judge of the
Fourteenth District, composed of the counties of Hill, Navarro and five
or six additional counties, He resigned thai position in 1867, and shortlj
thereafter moved to Fori Worth and resumed the practice of law with
his son-in-law, Mr. 11. (1. Hendricks.

He was universally respected both for bis personal character and legal
attainments.

I I \RRISON ( I. I [ENDRICKS

( in. oi the citizens of Fort Worth who faithfully co-operated with
others struggling to build up the town «.h Harrison ( I. Hendricks. He
was burn in the State of Kentucky in 1819. hi his youth his father moved
from Kentucky to Illinois and settled mar Quincy. After a brief sojourn
in Illinois the family continued its march to the W esi and settled in Jack-
son County, Missouri, His school opportunities wen- few and bis earl)
education limited. He removed from Missouri in 1846, settling in Fan
nin County, where he soon afterwards was elected districl and count)
clerk of that county. In 1847 lie was married to a daughter of G. A.
I Mils, a lawyer of distinction then living in Bonham, Texas. II. (i
Hendricks, having prepared himself, as opportunity offered, was admitted

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 691

to practice law. Aboul 1 S4* ' or 1850 he removed from Bonham to Slier
man. In 1861 he removed to Hill County, Texas, and settled on a farm
near the Brazos River, where he remained until 1866, when he removed
to Fort Worth and formed a partnership with Col. J. P. Smith in the
practice of law. Me united heartily with those who were laboring to
secure the building of the Texas & Pacific Railroad to Fort Worth, and
was one of the four men who gave 320 acres to secure that end. Judge
Hendricks was a man of fine character. He died March 13, 1873.

Cut. J. C. Terrell

Capt. Terrell, one of the most prominent lawyers, capitalists and real
estate owners of the city, was born in Missouri in 1831. His parents
were among the pioneers of Missouri, having migrated at an early day
from Virginia. Captain Terrell's early days were spent upon his father's
farm and in hunting and fishing, of which he was very fond.

Studying law in the office of his brother, Hon. A. W. Terrell, he was
admitted to the bar in 1852, in the State of Missouri. In the same year,
true to the instincts of a pioneer family, he sought his fortunes on the
golden sands of the Pacific slope, and though but a stripling he under-
took the perilous feat of crossing the plains in company with some bold
adventurous spirits like himself. After encountering almost incredible
hardships, an account of which would fill a volume, these adventurers
reached California. Captain Terrell entered at once upon a large prac-
tice in this new field, and soon accumulated a handsome little fortune.

In 1857 he went to see his mother, who had now returned to Vir-
ginia, to the home of her childhood, and in the winter of 1857-58 came
to Texas, visiting among other towns Fort Worth, then in the swaddling
clothes of earliest infancy. Attracted by the beautiful location of Fort
Worth and its surroundings, he determined to locate here permanently.
Opening an office, he and his partner. Col. D. C. Dade, did a lucrative
practice in Tarrant and surrounding counties.

Captain Terrell was a zealous Union man. and though he did not
take the stump in opposition to secession, he exerted himself against it
in every other honorable way. Notwithstanding his devotion to the
Union, when he saw that the war was inevitable he was unable to stand
an indifferent spectator whilst his country was being invaded, and in
1862 he raised a cavalry company in Tarrant County and joined Waller's
Battalion, General Green's Brigade. Captain Terrell remained with his
company as captain until the close of the war. He refused promotion
frequently, as it would have necessitated a separation from his company.
He participated in all the battles fought in Louisiana, when General
Banks invaded that state, and achieved for himself an enviable reputa-
tion as a military officer. No captain in the Trans-Mississippi depart-
ment was more beloved by his men, for while he always bore himself
with becoming dignity toward his soldiers, his head was not turned by
a little brief authority, as was unfortunately the case with too many
officers during the war. After the war Captain Terrell returned to Fort
Worth and resumed the practice of law. to which he gave his exclusive
attention.

i>'>2 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

In 1872 Captain Terrell married Mis> Mary V. Lawrence, a most
estimable and accomplished lady, whose parents came to Dallas county
at a very earlv day. and. like Captain Terrell's parents, belonged to a
race of pioneers.

To this union there were born five children, two >on.-, John L. and
Alexander \\\. and three daughters, Josie C. Sue and Mary. The eldest
son and daughter are dead.

His wife died November 23, 1885. and on November 30, 1887, he
married Miss Mary Peter- Young, of Marshall. She died on the 16th
day of October. 1920. Captain Terrell died on the 15th dav of Octo-
ber. 190Q.

William Garland Newby

William Garland Newby. banker, was born at St. Charles, Mis-
souri. March 11, 1858, son of John Henry and Mary Ann Newby.
His father, a native of Virginia, removed to Texas in 1874 and
settled on a ranch in Parker County. The son received his educa-
tion in public and private schools. He began business life in 1876
with the wholesale grocery house of Joseph H. Brown, Fort Worth,
then the leading concern of its kind in Texas, and eventually became
its general manager. In 1890 he became cashier of the Trader's
National Bank, and although he had been without previous bank-
ing experience he was soon rated one of the most dependable
financiers in Forth Worth. In 1899, upon the organization of the
American National Bank, he was made president of that institu-
tion, and remained in that relation until his death. He was also
president of the Burdette Oxygen Co. ; vice president of Forth Worth
Life Insurance Co., and the Ward-Harrison Mortgage Co.; treas-
urer of the Wortham-Carter Publishing Co., and director of the
Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Co., Trinity & Brazos Valley
Railroad Co., Thurber Coal Co., and the Jersey-Creme Co. He
was ever a serious student of the teachings of Masonry, held the
most exalted stations in the fraternity, and had attained the thirty-
third degree. He was a life member of many Masonic bodies; was
past grand commander of the Texas Grand Commandery ; member
of the Red Cross of Constantine, and was treasurer of the Masonic
Orphans' Home. He was also a veteran in the Knights of Pythias,
and held membership also in the River Crest Country and the Fort
Worth Clubs. Fort Worth, in which be had been steward and
trustee for mure than a quarter of a century. He was a commu-
nicant of the First Methodist Church, and politically was a democrat.
He found his chief recreation in fishing, bunting and golf.

For years Mr. Newby enjoyed the deep seated esteem of the
men who directed Fori Worth's progress on the onward and up-
ward path of municipal advancement, As a business man and
banker he exemplified those qualities which we like to regard as
particularly American. He made his way by his own intelligent
industry and perseverance, lb- was one of Fort Worth's most
progressive and liberal citizens, and few men of his day did more to

foster development and Upbuilding of the line citj in which he

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 693

labored to goodly ends, lie married at Fort Worth, Texas, Decem-
ber 14, 1882, Etta O. Price, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. W. S. Price,
and a native of Mississippi. She survives him. Mr. Newby died at
Port Worth April 29, 1916.

James Franklin Kllis

There has been some contention among early settlers of Fori
Worth as to who was the first settler at this place. This distinction
if such it be, has been between "Uncle" Press Farmer and the subject
of this sketch.

Mr. Ellis came to Fort Worth prior to the location of the Post.
He was born at Mexico, Missouri, April 28, 1838. He came to
Texas with his parents in 1846 and settled in Denton County, where
both his parents died in 1847. Soon thereafter he moved to Fort
Worth. He was married on September 12, 1860, to Delilah Jane
Asbury, the daughter of Jerimiah Asbury, who lived just south of
the present corporate limits of the city. To this union five children
were born : William Jaspar, deceased ; Henry Merrill, who died in
infancy ; Jerry Franklin, who is deceased ; James Merida and Fannie
Alta, who is the wife of L. H. DuBose. the latter two still living in this
city.

Mr. Ellis enlisted in the Confederate Army in Company H, Seven-
teenth Regiment, Texas Cavalry, on March 8, 1862, and served to
the end of the war and was discharged at Galveston May 24, 1865.

He returned to his home at Fort Worth and engaged in the gen-
eral merchandise business with William J. Boaz, under the firm
name of Boaz & Ellis. About 1875 they closed out their business
and engaged in the lumber trade and later purchased the interest
of M. B. Loyd in the California &• Texas Bank, with which they re-
mained until that institution was merged into the City National
Bank, when they both retired. Subsequently they joined in the
formation of the Traders' National Bank.

Mr. Ellis died in Fort Worth January 2.^. 1899, leaving a private
and business record unblemished and without reproach.

Merida G. Ellis

Merida G. Ellis was born in Denton County, three miles northeast
of where the town of Denton now stands, in 1847. His parents, who
had come to Texas from Missouri in 1846, died a few months after
his birth, and his uncle and aunt, S. P. and Elizabeth Loving, assumed
charge of him and brought him to Fort Worth in the fall of 1849.

In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate Army, under Capt. John
Brinson, at Johnson's Station, went to Fort Scott, Kansas, and
entered into battle with the northern "Hay Cutters"; from there he
was transferred to Arkansas, thence to Memphis, Tennessee, and
to a point in Mississippi where he was engaged in a battle in which
the Confederate Army was repulsed and sent back to Tupelo, Mis-
sissippi. Here his health gave way and, being under age, he was
discharged and came back to Texas. Later he re-enlisted under
Capt. Archer Hart, Colonel Martin's Regiment, and remained in the

694 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

army until the close of the war, when he was discharged at Rich-
mond, Texas. At the age of eighteen he faced the world without
any educational advantages. His first employment was on the ranch
of William Moseley, at fifteen dollars a month. At the end of six
months he applied his wages on an education, and then began clerk-
ing for Boaz & Ellis, subsequently buying out their business. He
moved to Wise County after closing out the stock, but returned to
Fort Worth in 1875 and went into the agricultural and implement
business, having on hand six plows to be sold on commission. In
the spring of 1876 Lieutenant Governor Pendleton bought from him
a carload of plows, and between then and Christmas he had sold six
carloads of plows. He then branched out. adding to his stock, and
in the spring of 1877 formed a partnership with W. A. Huffman, with
whom he conducted the business for four years, at the end of which
time he. upon the doctor's orders, retired, selling his interest in the
linn to his partner. The}- were then doing a business of $250,000
a year. Confident that Fort Worth had a future, he bought 1,500
acres of land where North Fort Worth now stands, at a cost of
from one dollar to four dollars eighty cents an acre. After acquiring
this land he built a residence on it, fenced it, stocked it with cattle
and horses and established four dairies, which were very successful.

In 18l'l the land came in demand for a town, and he laid out an
addition, which is now known as the M. G. Ellis Addition, and with
two other citizens built the first schoolhouse in North Fort Worth
where the M. G. Ellis Schoolhouse is now located.

In 1868 Mr. Ellis married Miss Jinkie Darter, who was born in
Randolph County, Alabama, in 1848, and was the daughter of Frank
and Mary Darter, her father being a large land owner. In 1859 the
family came to Texas and settled in Erath County, within six miles
of Stephenville, where he engaged in the cattle business.

They have five children, one of whom, Elnoro, died in infancy.
The other four, who are all living in Fort Worth, are M. G. Ellis
Jr., who is engaged in the real estate and railroad business, Mrs.
J. W. Lynch, Mrs II. C. McCart, wife of a former city attorney.
and Mrs. II. K. McCollum.

Mr. Ellis is, in point of residence, the oldest living inhabitant of
Fort Worth. Hi- cousin, Mrs. Henry C. Ilolloway. whose maiden
name was Margaret \nnr Loving, and who came here at the same
time, is -til! living.

[nomas J. Jennings

The fact that Mr. Jennings was one of the largest contributors
to the land donation- to the Texas & Pacific Railway makes it appro
priate thai hi- name should appear among those who aided in laying
the foundation of Fort Worth. He was horn in Shcnadoah County,
Virginia, on the 20th of October, 1801. When he was ten years of
age his father moved to Indiana, but remained there but a short
time, when he moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where the subject of
tin- sketch was engaged in clerking and going to school until he
was about seventeen years old, \\<- attended Transylvania College

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 695

at Lexington, Kentucky, where he graduated in 1824 with the highest
honors of his class. In 1836 he went to Yazoo City, Mississippi,
where he had a large and lucrative practice until 1840, when he
moved to Texas, first settling in St. Augustine and subsequently
moving to Nacogdoches. In 1852 he was elected attorney general
of Texas and re-elected until 1856, when he declined to again he a
candidate. He was a member of the company that passed the ordi-
nance of secession. In 1X77 he moved to Forth Worth, where he
died, after a long and painful illness, on September 23, 1881.

Isaac I >uke Parker

The subject of this sketch was never a citizen of Forth Worth.
Tie lived just a few miles east of Birdville and was the owner of
one of the most splendid farms in the county.

He was a most unique character, a primitive old-school Baptist,
strong in his convictions, earnest in the advocacy in any question
presented, and if he went down in defeat in any contest he never
lowered his flag or admitted it.

In the county seat contest in which Fort Worth was successful
Mr. Parker was an enthusiastic, uncompromising advocate of Bird-
ville as the appropriate place for the county seat, and never, during
his life time, did he admit that Birdville was fairly and honestly
defeated in that contest.

He was born in Crawford County. Illinois, on October 23, 1821,
and came to Texas with his parents in 1833. Reared on the frontier
as he was, he had all of the peculiarities of frontier people, generous
to a fault, with an open door to every stranger or visitor, generous
to his friends and unrelenting to his enemies.

He belonged to no church or to any society or organization, but
his conduct as a citizen and a man was always above criticism and
reproach.

He was always a democrat, representing his county and district
at state conventions and served as a representative for one term.
He voted for secession and never had anything to explain or take
back relative thereto.

Jo i ix Y. Hogsett

John Y. Hogsett was born July 11, 1843, in Anderson County,
Tennessee. He attended school at the Union Academy. Clinton, Ten-
nessee, and, although he did not take a classical course, he acquired
a very thorough education. At the age of sixteen he left Tennessee
and came to Texas, where he remained until 1866. when he returned
to Tennessee and began a study of the law and was admitted to
practice in April, 1869. In 1872 he returned to Texas and engaged
in the practice of the law with Capt. John Hanna, under the firm
name of Hanna & Hogsett, which continued until December. 1880.
when it was dissolved by mutual consent.

He was married November 21, 1869. to Mrs. Anna M. Long, in
Roane County, Tennessee. Five children were born to this marriage.

In 1861 he enlisted in the Company K, Fifth Texas Regiment,

VOL. II— 17

696 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

under Col. Tom Green, and continued in the service until the sur-
render in May, 1865.

His habits were of strict sobriety and patient industry. He was
one of the organizers and the first president of the Fort Worth Life
Insurance Company, but he subsequently sold his holdings in the
institution and devoted his time and energy to his farm and ranch
and to real estate investments.

He died September 12, 1912.

Dr. J. T, Field

The subject of this sketch is claimed as a native citizen of Tar-
rant County, but the truth of history requires that the fact be recorded
that he was born just over the line in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, a
plantation on which his father lived, it being both in Texas and Louisi-
ana. His early education was acquired in a school in Fort Worth
of which the late Col. J. P. Smith was the teacher.

At the age of seventeen he entered the Confederate service, was
elected the lieutenant of Company H, Fifteenth Texas Cavalry, with
which he served during the war, at the close of which he began the study
of medicine, in Fort Worth under Dr. C. N. Peak, and in 1867
entered the University of Louisville. Kentucky, where he graduated
in March, 1869. He took a post-graduate course at Belleview Hos-
pital College, of New York, and in 1873 located in Fort Worth.

In 1869 he married a schoolmate of his boyhood days. Miss Sarah
M. Ferguson, daughter of William T. Ferguson, a druggist in Fort
Worth. By this marriage they had four daughters, Fannie, Bessie,
.Mary and Willie, all of whom are still living. The first is the wife
of W. R. Edrington, temporarily residing in New York; Bessie is
the wife of John W. Sandidge; Mary is the wife of Dr. G. V. Morton,
and Willie is the wife of Joe M. Collins. Doctor Eield's wife died July
1'', lr>18, and he was married to Mrs. F. L. Jordan in June, 1919.

Doctor Field was one of the most successful practitioners engaged
in active practice and many of his early patients still call on him
for service.

William T. Ferguson

The subject of this sketch was born in Marine, Madison County,
Illinois, June 4, 1820. His father was Issac Powell Eerguson. who
came to Texas in 1846 and marched with the Texans under the leader-
ship of General William Jennings Worth and entered the halls of the
Montezuma-. lie died in Mexico City and was buried with military
honors by the Masons in that city.

William T. Ferguson married Editha Davis in Louisville, Kentucky,
in 1844. They came to Rusk County, Texas, in the days of the Lone
Star Republic, and later moved to Williamson County. In 1856 they
rami- lo h'ort Worth, and wen among the few that came to the "Fort"
as early as 1856.

That he was among tin- most respected and honored citizens of the
town i- evidenced by the fact that he was the treasurer of the count}
for twentj Eoui consecutive years.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 697

They had three children, two daughters and a son. The eldest daugh
ter, Sarah, became the wife of Dr. J. T. Field, and the second, Justine
the wife of Charles Turner. Both are now dead. The son, O. B. Fer-
guson, is still living. There are six grandchildren now living.

Captain Julian Feild

Captain Julian Feild was among the earliest settlers in Fort Worth.
coming here in 1853. He was born in Virginia in 1826, came to Texas
in 1844 and settled in Harrison County. When he settled in Fort Worth
he purchased a log cabin from one of the officers then stationed at the
Post. It was situated at the corner of what is now Belknap and Throck-
morton Streets. He lived there ten or fifteen years. He erected a stone
building at the corner of Belknap and Taylor Streets and engaged in
general merchandise, having a large trade with the Indians. He built
the first mill making flour and corn meal in this section. It was located
near the confluence of the Clear Fork and west fork of the Trinity. He
had also a saw mill at the same place. It was the only mill in this sec-
tion of the state, and people came from long distances for their flour,
meal and lumber. He, in company with R. S. Man, also built a mill
at Mansfeild, and the town was named from these two "Mansfeild."
He was active in the campaign for changing the county seat from Bird-
ville to Fort Worth, was the first postmaster here, in 1858, and was the
first master of the Masonic Lodge of this city. Was also postmaster
in this city under the first administration of President Cleveland.

Thomas A. Tidball

Thomas A. Tidball was born in Lafayette County, Missouri. His
mother was Rose Orrick, of Morgan County, Virginia.

Mr. Tidball grew up without educational advantages other than those
afforded by the country schools. At the age of fourteen he entered
the employ of Lightner & Miller, a mercantile firm in Jackson County.
Missouri, where he remained until the fail of 1860, when he returned
to Virginia to look after some interests there. Being in Virginia at the
outbreak of the war, he espoused the cause of the South and in May.
1861, enlisted in a Cavalry Company. He served from the beginning
to the close of the war. taking part in the numerous battles, and sur-
rendered at Appomattox.

At the close of hostilities he returned to Missouri, where he re
mained until the fall of 1872. when he came to Texas, choosing Fort
Worth as his home.

In January, 1873, in partnership with J. B. Wilson, of Virginia, he
opened the first bank in Fort Worth. Mr. Wilson remained with the
firm but a short time, when he sold his interest to K. M. Van Zandt,
J. P. Smith and J. J. Jarvis, and the firm became Tidball, Van Zandt &
Co., the predecessor to the present Fort Worth National Bank. He
was made vice-president of this bank, which position he retained until
his death.

He was married October 21. 1873, to Miss Lelia F. Arnold, daughter
of Dr. Edward Arnold, of Lexington. Missouri. Thev had three chib

698 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

dren. Anna. Virginia and Edna. Virginia died some years ago, but the
other two are still living.

Dr. John Foster Shelton

The subject of this sketch was born February 20. 1820. in Sumner.
Tennessee. He graduated from the Louisville Medical College at a
time when that institution was one of the chief schools of its kind in this
country.

In 1851 he married Martha Bronaugh, of Christian County, Ken-
tucky, and in 1855 moved to Texas, settling first in Collin County but
moving to Fort Worth in 1856.

During the war Dr. Shelton served with the forces of Gen. Sterling
Price in Arkansas as a surgeon. He returned to Fort Worth in 1868.
where for many years he was engaged in the drug business. He had
four children, two sons and two daughters. John M. Shelton. the eldest
son, lives in Amarillo; James B. Shelton died in 1888; Belle Shelton died
in 1911 : the youngest child. Anna Shelton, still lives in Fort Worth.

B. C. Evans

H. C. Evans was born in Chesterfield County. South Carolina, De-
cember 25. 1844. His father was a large planter in that county with
the usual complement of slaves. He had a large family of sons and
daughters.

B. C. Evans was educated at Columbia Military Academy and at
The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He was at this school when
the war began, and although he was only a boy of sixteen, when all of
his brothers volunteered to serve in the Southern army, he too, volun-
teered, and was allowed to go as aide to one of his brothers, who was
an officer in the artillery, and with whom he served until the end of the
war, when he returned to his home in South Carolina, of which there
was but little left except the "Big Mouse" and a large body of worn-out
land.

During the prosperous days before the war bis father had given to
each of his sons and daughters, a negro whose sole duty it was to attend
and serve them in any capacity desired. The boy given to B. C. Evans
followed him through the war. and when he returned and went to work
this boy stayed with him. and working together they raised a crop of
cotton on the old place. He then engaged in merchandising in Cheran.
a small town in his native county. He was successful in this venture,
and when he bad accumulated a little money be came to Texas, set
tling in Forth Worth in 1872, and engaged in business there. He was
among the tirM merchants doing an exclusive business in dry goods,
notions and clothing.

On October 25, 1877. B. C. Evans married Miss Ella Dryden, a
daughter of Dr. P. W. Dryden, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. They bad
three children, a son and two daughters, all of whom are still living.

Mr. Evans was a successful merchant and amassed a comfortable
fortune lie was a liberal contributor to every enterprise looking t<> the
promotion of the cit) and was highh esteemed In all who Knew him
He died InK 6, 1889

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 699

Henry C. Hollow. \y

Henry C. Holloway was born near Edgefield, South Carolina, in
1838. His education was very limited, but he possessed a strong and
vigorous mind, which served to compensate in some degree for the lack
of education.

He came to Texas in 1858, and was the manager of the plantation
of Captain Ward south of Fort Worth. His frugal habits and self-
denial enabled him to accumulate some money, which he invested in
Tarrant County lands, and owned one of the finest farms on Village
Creek, just south of the present town of Handley, as well as some vacant
lots in Fort Worth which subsequently became very valuable.

He was a man of strong convictions on all subjects to which he neve
hesitated to give expression.

He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1862 and served until the
close of the war.

He was elected a county commissioner in 1894, and was a member
of the Commissioner's Court when the present courthouse was erected.

He was one of the most active and prominent in the formation of
the Fat Stock Show, which held its first exhibition under the trees about
where the packing houses now stand. He was one of the organizers
and the first manager of the Stock Yards . Company, the predecessor
of the present organization.

Physically he was a splendid specimen. He was over six feet tall
and strong and rugged. He died very suddenly in April. 1895. leaving
a widow and one daughter.

Jeremiah Marklee

The subject of this sketch was one among the first to come to Fort
Worth when it was a struggling hamlet.

He was a Canadian by birth, but came to the United States at the
age of sixteen years.

In 1850 he was among .the numerous horde that crossed the plains
in a wagon in response to the call of fortune in the gold diggings of
California. He remained there a number of years prospecting in the
mountains in search of the precious metal. He was so fortunate as to
discover a gold deposit, and had the good judgment to dispose of it at
a good sum and come to Texas.

He arrived in Fort Worth in the fall of 1872 and engaged in bank-
ing, organizing the California & Texas Bank of Loyd, Marklee & Com-
pany. This was finally merged with the City National Bank, and he
continued with that institution until the panic of 1893 put it out of
business.

He died in 1882. A widow and one daughter, the latter the wife of
A. H. Bauer, survive him.

Dr. Klias James Beall

Dr. Elias James Beall was born in Macon, Georgia, February 5, 1834.

He received his medical education at Tulane University, New Orleans.
Louisiana, the foremost medical institution of the South. He settled in
Marshall, Texas, in 1860.

700 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

He entered the Confederate Army soon after hostilities began, as
surgeon of the Seventeenth Texas Regiment, and later became chief
surgeon of Walker's Division, which position he held until the close
of the war.

Dr. Beall came to Fort Worth in 1870. and at once took a leading
position in the practice of his chosen profession. This he maintained
till his death, which occurred on October 20, 1914.

David Chapman Bennett

David Chapman Bennett was born July 7. 1830. at Mount Pleasant.
Pennsylvania.

His father was David Bennett, the son of John Bennett, a Revolu-
tionary soldier born in Connecticut. His mother was Sarah Boyle,
daughter of Philip Boyle, a Protestant Irishman. She came to America
with her parents when she was eight years of age.

David Chapman Bennett was educated at Binghamton, New York,
and early in life was employed by a New York Railroad. He went
West and opened a general merchandise store with his brother in Wis-
consin. He moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where he engaged in the
dry goods business. He bought out his brother's interest early in 1873.
moved to Fort Worth and opened a dry goods store, which he continued
until 1876.

He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Fort
Worth, and was its first vice-president, continuing in that position until
his death on July 19, 1910.

In politics he was a democrat and was a member of the Congrega-
tional Church.

He was married, November 28. 1869, to Mary Carolyn Joy, the
daughter of Hiram and Alice Merrill Joy. His wife's father was a
state representative from Augusta, Maine, and her mother was a cousin
of John Greenleaf Whittier.

His children were: Helen Mary Bennett, married to W. V. Newlin ;
Edith Adel Bennett, married to Charles E. Nash; Bertha Alice Bennett,
deceased; Mildred Yida Bennett; Crace Agnes Bennett, deceased;
and David Morrison Bennett, deceased.

Mr. Bennett was one of the most highly respected of the pioneer
citizens of Fort Worth

THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

COUNTY SUBDIVISIONS

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 703

Andrews County

Situated in the southwestern corner of the Plains country and adjoin-
ing the State of New Mexico on the west, Andrews County has had
practically its sole use as a grazing section, and though the county lines
were formed in 187(>, county government was instituted only in 1910.

While the county is in the semi-arid section of far West Texas, its
rolling prairies comprise a rich soil, the grasses furnishing a fine pas-
turage for cattlemen, and it has been lack of railroads perhaps more than
any other thing which has delayed the progress in agriculture and in
general settlement and upbuilding. At the present time the railroad
enters the county to Seminole. To these points cattle are driven for
shipment, and such products of the farm as are without local market
are transported by teams. While the old ranch life may continue in this
section for a number of years, the vanguard of farmers has already
crossed the border and farming is being undertaken on an increasing
scale. There is abundance of water underground, although the county
has no running streams. For a number of years the ranchmen have
raised gardens and some fruit by means of irrigating with windmill
power.

At the census of 1890 only twenty-four inhabitants were found in
the county ; in 1900, eighty-seven; in 1910 the population was 975, and in
1920, 350. The county's area is 1,001,600 acres, about twice the size
of a normal West Texas County. The last census reported 324.490
acres included in farms, but only 1,105 acres as "improved land," as
compared with seventy acres in 1900. The number of farms or ranches
in 1910 was eighteen, and twelve in 1900. At that time hardly two
hundred acres were in cultivation in the staple crops of corn and kafir
corn, and practically the only resource, as shown by the census statistics,
was cattle, 54,322 of this stock being enumerated. The county has one
small town, Andrews, which is the county seat. In 1913 the propertv
valuation of the county was $2,387,860, in 1920. $2,722,873.

Archer Count'*

Archer is one of the Northwest Texas counties still in process of
transformation from the old range and ranch conditions to that of set-
tled agricultural industry. With the rapid immigration into the Northern
counties during the '50s, the legislature provided by act of January 22.
1858, for the boundaries of a new county in honor of Branch T. Archer,
and directed that the county seat should be called Archer. Few, if any.
settlers reached that county before the war, and more than twenty years
passed before it was organized. The county government was instituted
July 27, 1880. A report on the county for 1882 said: "Stock raising and
farming are the only industries vet introduced. The former is by far
the most general. That it is already assuming comparatively large pro-
portions will be seen from the fact that with a population of perhaps a
thousand, there are in the county 24,845 cattle, 4,258 sheep, 1,273 horses
and mules. Agriculture is in its infancy in this county. The oldest
farm is not yet five years old, and the few tracts under cultivation are
small, varying from ten to one hundred acres. The only town is Archer

704

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

City, which contains perhaps one hundred inhabitants. Riman is a small
settlement."

At the census of 1880 the population of the county was 596; in 1890,
2.101; in 1900. 2.508: in 1910, 6.525; in 1920. 5,254. The decrease
is attributable to the removal of tenant farmers occasioned by the pro-
tracted drought. A considerable number of German and Austrian
people have settled in Archer County, and have been effective factors
in developing the agricultural resources.

Archer County's early development followed the construction of rail-
ways into the Wichita Falls country during the '80s. The first rail-
way line in the county was the Wichita Valley, which was built from
Wichita Falls to Seymour across the northwestern corner of Archer
County in 1890. About 1907 the Wichita Falls & Southern was com-
pleted through the county, giving Archer City its first railway communi-

Tiiki sin \.

cation. A little later tin- Southwestern road was built from Henrietta
to Archer City. Within the present decade, the Gulf, Texas & Western
has crossed the southwestern corner of the count). It is largely due
to these railways and the consequent influx of population that Archer
County during the past ten or fifteen years has undergone a rapid evolu-
tion from a strictly livestock county to one of farms and diversified
agriculture. However, much of the county is yet undeveloped and it is
classified more strictly as a part of the Texas "cow country" rather than
as a farming section. The total area of the county is 558,080 acres.
I he last census reported 443.915 acres in farms and ranches, but only
80,000 acres as "improved land" In 1920 the livestock was: Cattle.
36,827, and horses and mules, 6,827. In 1909 the acreage in cotton
was 18,058; in corn, 8,680; in wheat, 4.018; in hay and forage crops.
1.12K; in oats, 2,740; and a limited acreage in kalir corn and niilo maize
\liout nine thousand orchard fruit trees were enumerated.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

705

The total value of taxable property in IScSl was $695,170, of which
about forty per cent was represented by livestock; in 1903 the valuation
had risen to $2.438,910 ; in 1913, to $6,869,1 14. and in ll>20 to $7,801,064.

Archer City

Archer City, the county seat, is situated four miles southeast of the
geographical center of the county. It has a population of ahout 800, a
cotton gin, two grain elevators, a milk pasteurizing plant, flour mill, three
hanks, all kinds of mercantile establishments, two abstract plants, a
magnificent school building, a beautiful courthouse and a jail. The
Wichita Falls & Southern Railroad extends through Archer City to New

Angora Goat

Castle, Texas, in Young County. Operations are in progress and the
railroad will, in the near future, be extended and connect with the Texas
& Pacific at Cisco.

Other towns in the county are : Dundee, Holliday, in the northwest
part of the county on the Wichita Valley Railroad ; Megargel, on the
G. T. &• W. Railroad, in the southwest corner of the county ; Anarene,
Windthorst and Scotland.

Armstrong County

The Palo Duro Canyon in Armstrong County is one of the most pic-
turesque features of Texas physiography, and it has often been proposed
that the Government should set it aside as a national park. It was in
this locality that Col. Charles Goodnight established the pioneer Pan-
handle Ranch in 1876, and even in recent years Armstrong has claimed

706 FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

the distinction of marketing more cattle, hogs and sorghum seed than
any other countv in the Panhandle. For many years the cattle indus-
try has been the chief resource, and the county contains many large
ranches, one of them, comprising about a fifth of the area, being one
of the largest in extent in all Northwest Texas. Of late years stock-
men have devoted a great deal of attention to the improvement of breeds,
and as a result the ranches are stocked with splendid specimens of Here-
fords, Polled Angus and other breeds of beef animals. Livestock farm-
ing is taking the place of ranching in many sections, particularly in the
northern and eastern portion in the vicinity of the Fort Worth & Denver
Railroad. At Goodnight is found one of the few herds of buffalo in
the United States. Colonel Goodnight has succeeded in domesticating
the buffalo and cares for a large number on his place. His ranch has
gained fame as the home of the "cattalo," an animal produced by a cross-
ing of the native buffalo with Polled Angus cattle. It is said to be a
splendid beef animal, capable of withstanding a severe climate and of
existing on short forage if necessary. In the last two decades nearly
a fifth of Armstrong County has been brought under cultivation, and
the farmers and stockmen produce large quantities of the Panhandle
forage crops, corn, oats, wheat and also considerable fruit.

Armstrong Countv was created in 1870 and was organized March
8, 1890. In 1880 its' population was 31 ; in 1890, 944; in m00. 1,205;
in 1910, 2,682, and in 1920, 2,816. In 1888 the Fort Worth & Denver
City Railroad was completed across the north half of the county, and
one of the first stations established was Claude, which was given the
honor of the county seat. By 1890 a prosperous little village has grown
up on a site where eighteen months before not a house was to be seen,
and at the last census it was a town of 1.200 in population. In 1SX7
the Southern Kansas Division of the Santa Fe Railroad was graded
across the Panhandle as far as Panhandle City, and that road soon after-
wards found entrance to Amarillo by extending a branch to Washburn
in Armstrong County, and thence using the tracks of the Fort Worth &•
Denver Road to Amarillo. In recent years the Santa Fe tracks from
Panhandle to Washburn have been abandoned, so thai Armstrong
County has now only one railroad line.

In 1903 the valuation of propertv in the county was $1,071,431 ; in
1913, $4,558,141 and in 1920. S4.712.7'>4. The last census enumerated
28,186 cattle; 5,840 horses and mules; 1,296 hogs; 1.940 sheep. The
total area of the county i- 577,920 acre-. At the last census about 117.-
000 acres were "improved land," a- compared with about 22,000 acres
in P'OO. There were 172 farms or ranches in the county in 1900, and
387 in 1910. The acreage devoted to the principal crop1- in 1909 was:
Kaffir corn and milo maize. 11.245; hay and forage crops, 22.311; oats.
10,725; corn. 3,453; wheal. 3.112: and aboul 15.000 orchard fruit trees
were enumerated

( I \l hi

( laude, a town of 1.2oo inhabitants, ha- never had a boom, but with

teady upward tendencj has reached it- present state and i- regarded

a- fine of the most prosperous little town- in the West If there is one

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 707

thing more than any other to distinguish Claude from other towns, it
is the quality of its citizenship. The people are intelligent, progressive
and have a high standard of morals very noticeable to travelers.

Claude has twenty-five mercantile establishments, and all are prosper-
ous. It has four churches, one newspaper, two banks, showing deposits
of nearly one-half million dollars, electric light and ice plants. There
is an elevator, and another is expected to be built soon, a flouring mill
running full time, and it has a splendid three-story brick school building
and bears the distinction of having fostered the first County School Fair
ever held in the state of Texas. One of the most beautiful courthouses
in the country may be found here.

Bailey Count y

Still unorganized, Bailey County was created in 1876. It lies against
New Mexico, and until very recently has been almost uninhabited and
in pasture alone has contributed to the economic wealth of the state.
When the federal census of 1900 was taken there were but four people
living in the county, and of these but one was a voter. In 1910 the
census enumerated 312, in 1920, 517. In 1911 the division of the Santa
Fe Railroad from Texico to Coleman was built through the county, and
improved transportation has given agriculture and general development
a great impetus. There were five farms in the county in 1900, and
seventy-one in 1910. Of a total area of 659,200 acres, while more
than half was included in farms in 1910, only 11,000 acres were "im-
proved land," and the amount of land in cultivation in 1900 was only
275 acres. The last enumeration reported 13,389 cattle and 2,337 sheep.
The chief crop in 1909 was kafir corn and milo maize, in which 3,094
acres were planted, and 1.409 acres in hay and forage crops, besides
some wheat and corn. A description of the county and of some recent
developments is taken from the Texas Almanac for 1914: "The surface
is almost level plain, with wide, shallow valleys. In the shallow water
belts all staples produce large yields, while fruit and vegetables grow
luxuriantly. The possibilities of irrigation are many and development
in the shallow water belt in the northern section is making rapid progress.
Until a year ago Bailey County was practically one large pasture.
Although the livestock interests predominate, stock farming and diversi-
fied agriculture and horticulture in the irrigated sections are claiming
an increasing amount of attention, these features being entirely respon-
sible for the increase in population and wealth recorded during the last
two years. While an accurate survey of the shallow water districts
has never been made, it is estimated that there are approximately 45,000
acres in the northern portion of the county with an abundant supply of
pure water at a depth ranging from eight to fifty feet." The assessed
wealth of Bailey County in 1913 was $299,958, and in 1920. $2,822,424.

Baylor County

The legislature created Baylor County February 1, 1858, and named
it for Dr. Henry Baylor, who was killed at the Dawson massacre in
1842. No settlements were made until the decade of the '70s. and the
county \\;i-- organized April 13, 187°*. Among the pioneers was an in-

708 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

teresting colony planted in 1878. In August of that year about forty
persons arrived, under the lead of Captain J. R. McLain, having come
all the way from the State of Oregon to find homes in North Texa-
ind at that time it was said only ten other families lived in the county
and those in the southeastern corner. The town which they began to
build and which was chosen as the county seat was named Oregon. A
visitor to the place in January, 1879, wrote that part of the inhabitant-
lived in caves on account of the scarcity of lumber and the distance from
markets, and the dozen houses in process of construction were mostly
of stone. Excellent building stone in large quantities is an important
resource of the county, and at the present time a large part of the
residence and business buildings at Seymour and elsewhere in the county
are constructed of that material. The caves, which in 1879 comprised
the habitations of the people, were dug out of the hillside, and at the
side farthest from the entrance was placed a fireplace and flue, securing
good ventilation. The Village of Oregon thus started was a transient
center, for when the newly elected officers of Baylor County were sworn
in they- decided, after much delay, to locate the county seat on 640 acres
of state school land near the center of the county, and thus Seymour was
brought into being as the principal town of the county.

At the census of 1880. 715 inhabitants were found in Baylor County.
The population at successive decades has been: In 1890, 2,595; in 1900.
3,052; in 1910. 8.411. and in 1920. 7.027. A considerable element of
population comes from Austria, and the last census enumerated about
five hundred inhabitants either natives or in the second generation. In
1S81 the value of taxable property in the county was $614,849; in 1909,
85.249.873; in 1913, $6,249,391 ; in 1920, $7.085.<>42.

Thirty years ago the limited population in the county devoted all
their energies to tin- raising of cattle and horses. In 1882 there were
about 22.000 cattle, about (>00 horse- and mules, and a few hogs. Agri-
culture had received scarcely any attention, only about a thousand acre-
baying been brought under the plow. The only settlements deserving
the name of villages in 1882 were Seymour, St. Bernard and Round
Timber.

The lir-t railroad was Wichita Valley, built from Wichita Falls to
Seymour in 1890. During the present century it was continued to the
southwest and was connected with the Abilene and Northern in 1907.
\liout 1911 the Gulf, Texas & Western was completed between Seymour
and Jacksboro. Seymour is an important trade and shipping center.
and it- population in 1910 was 2,029.

IIh general development of the county's resources are indicated bj
the following statistics from the lasl census, There were 1,040 farm-.
as compared with -U7 in 1900. Of the total area of 563,200 acres,
I'M. 218 aire- were in farm- or ranches; about 102,000 acres were "im-
proved land," as compared with about 47.0(H) acre- -o classified ten years
before. There wen- enumerated in 1920: Cattle, about 11.185; horses
and mule-. 6,421; hogs, 5,041. Cotton is the chief crop. 38.014 acre-
being planted in 1909; 12.213 acre- in com. 5.517 acres in hay and forage
crop-.. 2,621 acres in wheat. 2,402 acres in kafir coin and milo maize,

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 709

and 1,006 acres in oats. About eleven thousand five hundred orchard
fruit trees were enumerated.

Seymouk

The county seat of Baylor County has a population of 2,(i()U and an
assessed valuation of $2,095,780.

It is one of the most attractive and home-like towns in the North-
west portion of the state.

Its streets are generally well graded and paved, and there are no
electric light or telephone poles allowed on the ten miles of concrete
sidewalks. Underground wires are demanded of the Public Utilit)
Corporations. It has two railroads with a union passenger and freight
station.

There are two three-story school buildings, one of stone and one of
brick. There are two National Banks, with a combined capital of
$250,000 and deposits aggregating $771,648,000 and one state bank with
a capital of $35,000 and deposits of $92,377,000.

There are three cotton gins and one cotton compress, an electric light
plant, a cotton seed oil mill, an ice plant, two grain elevators, the city
owns and operates the water works and sewerage plants and there is
a well equipped fire department and telephone system.

There are seven churches, representing the more prominent denom-
inations, and five of the fraternal organizations.

There is a splendid courthouse, the park of which is beautifully sei
»vith shade trees and flowers, and is one of the most beautiful and at-
tractive in the state. There is also a beautiful city park of seventy acres,
with swimming pool and a baseball park, provided with swings, slides
and other entertainment facilities. It has a live Chamber of Commerce,
a Post of the American Legion. Public Library. Social and Literary clubs,
all of which contribute to make it one of the most desirable places of
residence.

Borden County

This county was created August 21, 1876, and was organized March
17. 1891. Howard County lies on the south, and through the latter
passes the Texas & Pacific Railway. Some of the stockmen who had
their chief headquarters at Big Springs in the latter county extended the
scope of their operations into Borden County, which for thirty years
or more has been the scene of operations for West Texas cattlemen.
At the present time, although nearly all the area is tillable, it is largeb
occupied by cattlemen, who, while they graze thousands of head of cat
tie, also farm in a limited way. producing corn, sorghum, kafir corn, oats
and other grain and feed stuffs. There are few real farmers, but the
possibilities of agriculture and also of horticulture have been thoroughly
demonstrated. The county is without railroads, and consequently there
is little inducement to undertake the growing of crops which cannot be
consumed on the farm or ranch.

The population of Borden County in 1880 was thirty-five ; in 1890.
222; in 1000, 776; in 1910, 1.386. and in 1920. 965. The county town
is (Jail, and the countv seat and the county were named in honor of

710 FORT WORTH AXD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

(".ail Borden, a prominent early Texan. Other towns in the county arc
Durham and Treadway.

In 1920 the number of cattle found by the tax officials was 13,^75 :
horses and mules, about 2.700, and sheep, 15.390. The total area of
the countv is 572,800. of which 271,150 acres were included in farm-
and ranches in 1910. About 26,000 acres were reported as "improved
lands." as compared with about 3,500 in 1900. The number of farms
and ranches in 1^10 was 228. and in 1900. 129. The largest crop in
190*5 was in kafir corn and milo maize, with 5.283 acres; in cotton.
2.206 acres; and in corn. 235 acres. The property valuation in 1903
was $996,001; in 1913. $1,526,540; in 1920, $1,954,585.

Brewster County

Brewster County was created from Presidio County in 1887, and the
first election of county officers occurred in February of the same year.
It is one of the immense county areas of the Trans-Pecos region, with
an area of five thousand and six square miles, and its surface consists
chiefly of high rolling prairies and mountains.

The Southern Pacific Railway was built across the north end of the
county in 1880. and in 1912 the Kansas City. Mexico & Orient was put
in operation as far as Alpine. Both these roads furnish transportation
to the north end of this immense county, while the vast area in what
is known as the "Big Bend" of the Rio Grande is an isolated district,
rich in mineral resources and with some of the most magnificent scenery
in Western Texas, but on account of its isolation little known to the
outside world. Brewster County contains some of the highest mountain
peaks in Texas, several of them reaching altitudes between four thou-
sand and eight thousand feet. The Grand Canyon in the southern part
of the county, on the Rio Grande, has walls which in places rise per-
pendicularly a distance of 1,700 feet. The width of this canvon at
places is less than 100 feet. Brewster County is in the mining district
of West Texas, and the mineral resources stand first in an economic
survey of the county. One of the largest quicksilver mines in the
I'nited State- is operated in the Terlingua district, in the southern part,
and several other similar mines are operated. A number of mines are
in operation in that district, and have been producing for several years.
The quicksilver output in this district, beginning in IS1'1), showed a pro-
duction in that year of 1.000 flasks, a flask approximating seventy-five
pound-. In 1910, 3.320 flasks were produced and in 1917, 11,753 flask-
There arc also rich silver mine-, and one was worked in the vicinity of

\lpine until the low price of silver made it unprofitable. There are
large quantities of excellent marble, iron, lead and copper, and the min
ing interests engage a large number of laborers. Because of the lack
of transportation and inadequate water supply tin- great mineral wealth
of the county ha- not been fully developed. Next to the mining inter
ests stand- the livestock industry, and on limited areas in the vallev:
irrigation ha- been employed for the raising of the forage crops and
fruit. Vnothei possible source of wealth is oil. which has been di-

.,> ered then-.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

711

At Marathon, on the line of the Southern Pacific, is a rubber factory,
manufacturing rubber from the Guayule, which grows luxuriantly on
the mountains. This factory is closed at present.

The population of Brewster County in 1890 was 710; in 1900, 2,356;
in 1910, 5,220, including over 2,000 Mexicans; and in 1920, 4,822. The
immense area of Brewster County comprises 3,203,840 acres, and about
a third was included in farms or ranches at the last census report. The
amount of improved land in 1°00 was 743 acres, and in 1910 about 2,300

Break Plow

acres. There were seventy-seven farms or ranches in 1900 and 190 in
1910. The stock interests in 1910 comprised 59,671 cattle ; 3,700 horses
and mules; 6,704 sheep, and 9.321 goats; in 1920, 52,453 cattle; 4,662
horses and mules; 992 sheep; 2,110 goats. The production of agricul-
tural crops was limited to a small acreage in corn, kafir corn and milo
maize and hay and forage crops, and until recently most of the farming
has been done by the Mexicans along the river valleys. About 3,000
orchard fruit trees were enumerated at the last census. The valuation
of property in the county in 1903 was $3,543,083; in 1913. $8,439,882
and in 1920, $9,430,989. '

VOL. 11—18

712 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Alpine

Alpine, the county seat, was founded in 188.5. The present popula-
tion is about 2.500. Alpine has an up-to-date electric plant, a modern
laundry, modern sewer system, between seven and eight miles of cement
sidewalks. Methodist. Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Catholic
Churches have their own buildings and the Episcopalians worship in
the building of one of the other denominations. Two banks are repre-
sented, a State Bank, with capital and surplus of $75,000, and a National
Bank, with capital and surplus of $100,000. The assessed valuation is
$1,250,000. altitude is 4.484 feet, climate unsurpassed in the United
States. Besides the High School and Mexican Ward School it has the
Sul Ross State Normal College that was completed last year and opened
for the first fall term last September.

Briscoe County

Briscoe County, created in 1876 and organized March 15. 1892, lies
on the southern border of the Panhandle and is one of the few counties
in that section of the state not yet penetrated bv railways. The Altus.
Roswell & El Paso Railroad has for several years been under construc-
tion, and some miles have been graded in Briscoe County, but that line
is not yet in operation. The chief town and county seat is Silverton.
with a population of about 650. Another town is Ouitaque, with a
population of 200. Topographically the county is divided in two distinct
areas, and the development of the natural resources is closelv dependent
upon the physiography. The Western and Central portions are on the
staked plains, with one running stream and without hills, though the
surface is gently undulating. The edge of the plains is an irregular
and precipitous bluff from four hundred to eight hundred feet in height.
About 50 per cent of the county not on the plains is in Palo Duro Can-
yon. The country below the plains and outside of the canyons is undulat-
ing prairie. A large portion of the plains is underlaid by the shallow
water supply of Northwest Texas, and while irrigation has been limited
chiefly to small gardens and orchards, it will undoubtedly be an impor-
tant factor in the near future. At the census of 1880 tweleve inhabitants
were credited to Briscoe County, but no separate enumeration was made
in the county in 1890. In 1900 i the population was 1.253; in 1910, 2.162;
m 1(»2(). 2,(>48. In 1903 the value of property in the county was $1.14f>.
656; in 101.5. $2.581.8.57; and in 1920, $3,569,544,

\ few years ago the county was divided among large pastures, and
the one outfit controlled several hundred section-- of land. Stock raising
has naturally been the chief industry for nearly forty years. The de-
velopmenl of the water resources, together with improved methods of
cultivation, is making diversified farming an important and interesting
feature. Practically seventy-five per cent of the county is tillable. For
many years the ranchers have had small orchards of apples, peaches and
other fruits, and these have demonstrated that both soil and climate
arc adapted to horticulture The total area of the county is 577,920
aero, of which 480.078 acres unc included in farms in 1910. At that
date there were 307 farms and ranches, as compared with 170 in 1900
The amount of "improved land" increased from 9,434 acres in 1000 to

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 713

about 92,000 acres in 1 ' »2< ). Statistics on livestock and crops prepared
bv the last census are as follows : Cattle, 48,749 ; horses and mules, 5,374.

Brown County

Much of the early development in West Central Texas was cen-
tered in Brown County. The first permanent settlements were made
there before the war, but for many years the cattlemen had possession
undisturbed except by Indian and outlaw. A little more than thirty
years ago, in 1886, the first railroad, the G. C. & S. F., was built, and
while some of the old stockmen directed their attention to banking
and merchandising, the influx of many farmer settlers wrought more
important changes over the county as a whole. For many years the
county has possessed a particularly energetic and progressive citizenship,
and the development of individual holdings has been accompanied by the
building of good roads, the founding of church and school and the
introduction of other conveniences which advance living conditions.

Brown County was created by act of the Legislature August 27.
1856, but there were only about a dozen pioneer families in the county.
and county organization had to wait until 1858, when the coming of
new settlers permitted the establishment of a local government. The
Legislature directed that the County Court should select sites to be
voted on as a county seat, and should also choose the name for the
town, but the supplementary act of February 5, 1858, designated the
name Brownwood for the county seat. The location of the old town
was several miles down Pecan Bayou from the present site. The
county was named in honor of Capt. Henry S. Brown, a prominent
Texan who died in 1834. John Henry Brown, his son, writing in the
Texas Almanac for 1859, said of the county : "Held back by Indian
depredations, it has still grown rapidly since its first settlement three
years ago * * * Brownwood is the county seat, beautifully
located in the center of the county and on the west bank of Pecan Bayou."
Bayou."

In 1856 Maj. Van Dorn had established Camp Colorado on Jim
Ned Creek, in what is Coleman County, and under the protection of
this post the settlement of Brown County began. In 1859 about 4,000
cattle were assessed in the county. The population was sparse, and
the only form of wealth was the few herds that grazed over the
range. During the decade of the Civil war many of the settlers were
forced to retire, so that the county was practically undeveloped up to
1870.

Several years passed before the danger from Indian raids was
over, but during the latter '70s the county received a large immigra-
tion, and other industries than stock raising were engaged in on a
commercial scale. By 1881 the county had three cotton gins, six
or seven flour mills, a sawmill and other minor industries. Numerous
schools and churches had been established and there were five centers
of settlement — Brownwood, Williams' Ranch. Clio. Byrd's Store and
Zephyr.

In January. 1886, the main line of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe
Railroad was completed from Lampasas to Brownwood. In July,

714 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

1891. Browmvood became the terminus of the Fort Worth & Rio
Grande. These two roads have been the chief factor in making
Browmvood a commercial center for a large territory, and in origina-
ting and maintaining the general agricultural development. In 1912
was built what is known as the Brownwood North and South Rail-
way, a line twenty miles in length, and financed and constructed by
citizens along the route. Its northern terminus is May. It is now
a part of the Frisco System. During the last twenty years Brown
(Hunt} has received a large immigration of settlers, especially from
the North Central States, and its lands are largely occupied as farms.
although live stock is still a large item of productive wealth. Agri-
culturally it is a section of well diversified farming. The soil pro-

\\ II II I IkKLI

duces almost ever) crop known to Texas, including cotton, wheat.
corn, oats, rye. alfalfa, millet, sorghum, kafir corn, milo maize, pota-
toes, barley, vegetables, and the orchard and small fruits and nuts.
More than half <>f the lands of the county are arable, and at the las)
census there were enumerated 2.741 farms, as compared with 2.044 ill

1900. Of a total area of 611,840 acres. 542,843 acres were occupied by
farms, with aboul 174.0(H) in "improved land." In 1909 twenty-five
farms wen- irrigated, comprising a total of 715 acres, In 1913 it was
stated that approximately 3,000 acres were irrigated from the creeks
and rivers. The chief crop was cotton, to which 82,716 acres were
planted in 1909; hay and forage crops, 13,611 acres; corn, 9,503 acres;
besides a considerable acreage in oats, wheat, kaffir corn and milo
maize, Aboul 450 acres were in potatoes and other vegetables,

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 715

1 13, DUO trees were enumerated in orchard fruits, besides 46,000 pecan
trees, and a large number of grapes and tropical fruits.

Live stock farming is now largely combined with stable agricul-
ture, and the figures supplied by the last census for live stock were:
Cattle, 29,251 ; horses and mules, 11,215; hogs, 4,121 ; sheep and goats,
7,530. Among the mineral resources are limestone and brick clay,
while the natural gas fields near Brownwood and Hangs are being
developed. Brown County produces a large crop of pecans each
year, and Brownwood has long held the honor of being the chief pecan
shipping point in the state.

Brown Count)- has taken the lead among West Central counties
in the construction of good roads. Its road district No. 1 was the first
to take advantage of the road law passed by the Thirty-first Legisla-
ture, voting bonds of $150,000 for road improvements. Forty miles
of paved highways were constructed at a cost of $150,000, the mileage
cost running from $1,500 to $2,500.

In 1860 Brown County had a total population of only 244; in
1870, 544; while the following decade brought increase along all lines.
The population in 1880 was 8,414; in 1890, 11,421 ; in 1900. 16,019; in
1910, 22,935; in 1920, 21,682. The value of the county's taxable
propertv in 1881 was $1,565,213; in 1903, $5,326,275; in 1913, $11,493,-
835; in '1920, $12,210,570.

In 1890 Brownwood had a population of 2,176 and was the only
town of any size in the county. Its population in 1900 was 3,965.
and in 1910, 6,967. Brownwood is one of the progressive small cities
of West Texas, and in recent years civic energy has been concentrated
in promoting the general welfare and improvement of the town. It
has a large wholesale and jobbing trade, with several wholesale gro-
cery, produce, hardware and packing houses. Under municipal own
ership a system of dams was constructed along the Pecan River,
furnishing an unfailing water supply both for domestic and factory
use. A large amount of money has been expended locally for street
paving and other improvements. Brownwood is the seat of Howard
Payne College, a co-educational institution now under the control of
the Texas Board of the Baptist Church ; and of Daniel Baker College,
under the control of the Texas Synod of the Southern Presbyterian
Church.

Outside of Brownwood the principal towns of the county are
Blanket. May, Winchell. Zephyr and Brookesmith.

City of Brownwood

According to the last census Hrownwood has a population of 8,300.
It is claimed by the residents that the actual population is over 10.000.
The assessed valuation for 1920 was $10,300,000.

Among the industrial enterprises is the cotton compress, cotton
oil mill, electric light plant and ice factory, four oil refineries, with a
capacity of 2,000 barrels per day.

There are four banks, with a combined capital of $1,000,000. Its
educational facilities are represented by two colleges and a public
free school system which is operated nine months in the year.

716 FORT WORTH AX1) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

It is a division point tor both railroads filtering the city, which
give employment to about 150 men.

It is supplied with an abundance of natural gas coming from the
wells twelve miles southwest of Brownwood, which supplies the city
with fuel at the maximum rate of 50 cents per 1.000 feet.

Callahan County

The Legislature of 1858 gave the boundaries to Callahan County,
but its population did not justify a county organization until 1877.
The first count}- seat was Belle Plain, but when the Texas & Pacific
Railway was constructed through the county in 1881 its line was six
miles from the county seat and the Government was subsequently
transferred to Baird. The other railway stations established soon
after the railroad came were Clyde, Vigo and Putnam.

From the early '70s, when the cattlemen first occupied the county,
its distinctive character has been that of a stock raising region. The
greater part of the county's area is a rolling prairie, best adapted to
pasturage, while the best agricultural lands are found in the valleys.
Thirty years ago many of the stockmen gave their attention to sheep
raising, but with the narrowing of the range limits the modern rancher
has concentrated on cattle, and the general activities of the farmer
have been greatly diversified.

Of a total area of 546,560 acres, the last census reported 466,482
acres included in farms, and about 120,000 acres "improved land," as
compared with about 66,000 acres at the preceding census. There
were 1,837 farms in 1910, as compared with 1,176 in P>00. Stock
interests were enumerated in 1920 as follows: Cattle. 18.000; horses
and mules, 7,105.

Some noteworthy progress has been made in elevating Callahan
County to a place among the fruit sections of West Texas, and the
last census found about 102,000 orchard trees, besides approximately
17,000 pecan trees.

Previous to 1880 there was no separate census taken in Callahan
i ounty. In 1880 the population was .1,151 : in 1890, 5,457; in 1900,
8.768; in 1910, 12,973; in 1920, 11.844. The value of taxable prop
ertv in 1882 was $1,174,389; in 1903, $3,192,890; and in 1913, $6,073,-
539; in 1920, $7,343,987.

While the Texas & Pacific was constructed across the county in
1881, the line of the Texas Central crossed the extreme northeastern
corner in 1882, and within the present decade a branch of the same
road has been constructed across the south end of Eastland Count)
to the town of Cross Plains in Callahan. The chief city is Baird, the
county seat, which in 1900 had a population of 1,502. and of 1,710 in
1910. Other towns are Cross Plains, Clyde, Putnam. Cottonwood,
Eagle Cove and Eula.

In the midst of the many large herds of cattle and sheep in Calla
nan County was planted the count) scat. Belle Plain, in 1878. This
place was described at the time as having "every indication of a
rapidly growing frontier town; the livery --table is the out of-doors,
the hotel a storehouse, and the county officials do business in one and

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

717

the same room. Business being dull, the citizens are found playing
quoits on the public square most of the time." Continuing the same
quotation: "A few miles east from Belle Plain is Callahan City, but,
failing to receive the appointment of county seat, its days are num-
bered, there being only one store, constructed of upright posts with
ground floor."

As already mentioned, when the railroad came through Callahan
County Belle Plain was left to one side, population centered about
the principal railroad station, and when the people again expressed
preference for a county seat the railroad town won.

Baird

Is the county seat of Callahan County. It is a division point on
the Texas & Pacific Railroad and has the shops of the division, which

V fc '

-wW^f^::

Mules

adds many hundreds to the population of the town and contributes
very largely to the business of the city.

Baird has the usual number of churches and schools incident to a
town of this size, and its mercantile establishments are substantial
and prosperous. The city owns and operates the water system and
has an abundant supply of pure water which comes from the moun-
tains to the southwest of the town. It is on the Bankhead Highway,
which is nearly completed through the county.

Carson County

The general topographical features of the Panhandle region per-
tain to Carson County. Its undulating prairies are almost devoid of
timber, and in the absence of flowing streams it has an underground
supply of water found at a depth of about 300 feet.

718 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

In 1890 the population of the county was 356; in 1^00, 469; in
1910, 2,127, and in 1920, 3,078. The town of Panhandle at the last
census had 638 inhabitants. In 1887 Panhandle City was fixed as the
terminus of the Kansas Southern Division of the Santa Fe, then in
course of construction. For some years the town was one of the
most important in the entire Panhandle, and the first banking institu-
tion in all that region was established here about 1888. In 1888 tin-
Fort Worth & Denver City Railroad was built, touching the south-
west corner of Carson County, and a little later the Santa Fe found
entrance to Amarillo by extending its line south to Washburn, and
subsequently being built direct to Amarillo. In 1903 a portion of the
Rock Island line was constructed across the southern border of the
county. Along the latter road are two towns, Conway and Groom.

Carson County was organized June 26, 1888. In 1903 the assessed
valuation of property in the county was $1,599,805; in 1913, $3,858.-
933, and in 1920, $4,271,567. The progress of agriculture since the
beginning of the present century is indicated by the increase of what
the census denominates "improved land" from less than 5,000 acres in
1900 to about 86.000 acres in 1910. In the same time the number
of farms increased from 57 to 284. The total area of the county is
571,520 acres, of which 468,275 acres were included in farms at the last
census. The enumeration in 1920 showed 27,024 cattle and 4,768
horses and mules. The acreage planted to hay and forage crops in
1909 was 14,248; in kaffir corn and milo maize, 6,948; in oats, 6,910;
in wheat, 6.025, and in corn, 1,472. Up to 1920 the county had made
less progress in horticulture than other adjacent counties in the
same district.

Castro County

i reated from Bexar County August 21, 1876. Named for Henry
< astro. Situated in the plains of Northwest Texas, and separated
from .New Mexico by the county of Partner. Organized December
18, 1891. Area. 870 square miles. Countv seat, Dimmitt. Popula-
tion of count) in 1900, 400; in 1920, 1,948'. Surface, rolling prairie.
Soil, a reddish, sandy, very fertile loam.

Stream channels: Running Water draw, a tributary of the
Brazos; Tule Creek, a tributary of Red River, and Frio, a tributary
of the Terra Blanco fork of Red River— wet weather water courses.
An abundant underground water supply exists along the creek beds
and contiguous to them and is tapped by wells of from 50 to 100 feet
in depth. Farther away from them water (of most excellent quality)
can be obtained at an average depth of 200 feet. The rich growth of
native grasses, supplemented by forage crops, renders the count}
an ideal one for cattle and general stock raising, which are the prin-
cipal industries and are conducted on a large scale. During recent
years attention has been directed to farming, with an encouraging
degree of success. Whenever rainfall is sufficient or water is put

■ hi land l>v irrigation good crop yields are assured.

Taxable values of county in 1920, $4,022,404. The Pecos & North
Texas Railroad crosses the northwest corner of the county.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 719

I ) I M M ITT

Dimmitt, the county seat, is a very nice and thriving country
village, with the usual complement of business houses, a fine brick-
school house, and the town is noted for its superior schools in that
part of the state.

Clay County

Though Clay County was detached from Cooke County in 1857
and given separate boundaries, the line of settlement barely reached
within its borders previous to the war. In 1860 the census enumera-
tors found only 10'' people in the county. As a result of the popula-
tion which came in during the '50s a county government was organ-
ized in 1860, but the organization was soon abandoned. With the
Red River as its northern boundary and located within what was
then regarded as Northwest Texas, no progress was made during the
decade of the '60s, and at the census of 1870 no figures were credited
to the county. The population at successive decades has been: In
1880, 5,045; in 1890, 7,503; in 1900, 9,231; in 1910, 17,043; in 1920,
16,864. A writer in the Texas Almanac for 1861 said : "Our count}'
is just settling up, mostly from Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.
White labor makes the truck, but it is only because we are too poor
to buy darkies at the present high prices — -we want them bad enough.
There is only one village started, Hubert Postoffice, lying between
the Red River and the Little Wichita. There is no military post in
the county, Van Dorn's Station being beyond us, and his supplies of
corn and other provisions are hauled through our county." The fol-
lowing item is from the Texas Almanac for 1867: "Stock raisers
commenced moving in about 1858, but have mostly left on account of
the Indians." During the early '70s a sufficient population settled in
the county to justify a county organization on November 24, 1873. A
correspondent of a Fort Worth paper in 1878 noted a rapid increase
in the population in the county, basing his observations mainly upon
the many new houses that were conspicuous objects along his route
of travel, the timber sections seeming to receive the bulk of this influx
of settlers. Henrietta, the county seat by choice of the people over
its rival. Cambridge, was reported as a thriving business center in
those days, obtaining of the stockmen and hunters for 100 miles to
the west all trade, and it was also a considerable market for hides.

In August, 1882, the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway was
completed through Henrietta, and at that time other towns in the
county were Cambridge, Newport and Buffalo Springs. Stock rais-
ing was the leading industry. Cattle to the number of about 51.000
were assessed, about 3,700 horses and mules, 4,500 sheep, and about
2,700 hogs. In 1887 Henrietta became the terminus of the Gaines-
ville. Henrietta & Western, a branch of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas,
and the same system subsequently extended a line to Wichita Falls.
In 1903 a branch of the Wichita Valley Railroad was constructed
from Wichita Falls a distance of twenty-three miles to Byers, an old
town on the Red River in the northern part of Clay County. About

720 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

1910 a line of railway was completed between Henrietta and Archer
City.

Within the last ten years Clay County has produced a large
amount of gas and oil. Actual production in the field north of Hen-
rietta, about the town of Petrolia, began in 1904. In that year about
65.000 barrels were produced, and by the close of 1907, 169 productive
wells were in the field. The production of the petroleum field for

1911 was about 169,000 barrels. In the same vicinity natural gas was
discovered in 1907, and that is now one of the largest fields in Texas,
producing in 1913 between 8.000,000 and 30,000,000 cubic feet daily.
From the field pipe lines supply gas to Fort Worth, Dallas and
Wichita Falls, and also the chief towns in Clay, Montague, Wise,
Cooke, Grayson and other counties.

The value of taxable propertv found in the county in 1881 was
$1,894,353; in 1903, $4,761,110; a'nd in 1913, $14,483,375. The chief
towns of the county are Henrietta, Bellevue, Bvers, Petrolia and
Halsell.

The soil and climate are adapted for fruit and truck growing and
diversified farming. Thus far fruit growing has not been indulged in
on a large scale. Among the horticultural products of the county
that produce considerable revenue are pecans. Pecan trees are found
in abundance along the streams. Cotton, corn, wheat and oats are the
leading staples. The live stock industry is conducted in connection
with farming.

Several large ranches are operated in sections at a distance from
railroads. The raising of fancy and thoroughbred poultry is receiving
the attention of a large number of citizens, and poultry products are
shipped in large quantities to Texas markets. The last census report
supplies the following statistics: Total area of the county, 741,120
acres, of which 719,370 acres were included in farms and about 233,-
500 acres in "improved land." There were 2,308 farms in 1910, as
compared with 1,223 in 1900. The number of cattle in 1920 was
44,169, horses and mules, 10.844. In 1920 the acreage in the chief
crops was: Corn, 56.218; cotton, 71.086; oats, 10,767; wheat, 10,330;
hay and forage crops, 10,689; about 1,000 acres were in potatoes, sweet
potatoes and other vegetables ; about 94,000 orchard fruit trees were
enumerated, and about P',000 pecan trees.

Cochran County

Created in 1K7(>, and still unorganized, Cochran County lies to
the west of Hockley and its western boundary is New Mexico. The
surface is high and level, and while the county has no streams, and
depends upon an underground water supply, the prairie grasses have
made this section a natural home for cattle. The few ranchmen in
the county have small orchards and a small acreage under cultivation,
and it has been demonstrated that the staple crops and several varie-
ties of fruits can lie raised successfully. The eountv is without rail-
roads, and the fact that it has not been more fully developed is largely
due to its long distance from transportation lines. The nearest rail-

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 721

road is the Pecos & Northern Texas division of the Santa l-Y, com-
pleted in 1911.

In 1900 population was 25; in 1910, 65; in 1920, 67. The assessed
valuation in 1909 was $383,765; in 1913, $527,936; in 1920, $902,195.
In 1900 the census reported only one farm in the county, while in
1910 there were sixteen. The total area is 556,160 acres, the greater
part of which was included in farms or ranches in 1910, but only 1,826
acres classified as "improved land." The last census reported 15,390
cattle. About 350 acres were planted in corn and kaffir corn and milo
maize in 1909, and there were over 1,000 orchard fruit trees.

Cokb County

This county was detached from the extensive territory of original
Tom Green County on March 13, 1889, and a county government was
organized April 23 of the same year. The first county seat was Hay-
rick, a village name no longer existing, but in 1891 the government
was moved to Robert Lee. near the center of the county. The county
seat is on the north bank of the main branch of the Colorado River,
which runs centrally through the county from northwest to east.
This river, with its tributaries, furnished the water for stock purposes
during the first settlement, and the greater part of agricultural devel-
opment has been along the same streams. A small area of land is irri-
gated in the Colorado Valley.

Near the northeast corner of the county, but across the line in
Runnels County, was situated old Fort Chadbourne, a military post
established before the war. It was under the protection of this fort
that the stockmen ventured out to the extreme frontier, and the exist-
ence of Fort Concho, some miles to the south, during the years follow-
ing the war was another fact favoring the occupation of what is now
Coke County. Permanent development began with the decade of the
'80s. In 1880 Nolan County, on the north, had a population of about
700, while Runnels County, on the east, had about 1,000. Early in the
'80s the Texas & Pacific was built through the tier of counties on the
north, while in the same decade the Santa Fe reached San Angelo.
These facts contributed to give Coke County a population of 2,059 in
1890, the year following the establishment of the county. Its popu-
lation in 1900 was 3,430; in 1910, 6,412, and in 1920, 4,557. About
1910 the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad was put in operation
from Sweetwater to San Angelo, crossing the eastern edge of Coke
County. Along this railroad the towns of Tennyson, Bronte, Raw-
lings and Fort Chadbourne were established, and other towns off the
railroad are Robert Lee, still the county seat, and Edith and Sance.

The assessed valuation of property in the county in 1903 was
$1,601,747; in 1909, $2,902.621 ; in 1913, $3,215,825, and in 1920, $3,102,-
585. The county has its chief resources in stock raising, while agri-
culture has made considerable progress, especially during the last
fifteen years. In 1910 there were 969 farms, while the number in 1900
was 480. The total area of the count}- is 595.840 acres, the greater
part of which was occupied in farms at the last census, and about
66,000 acres were "improved land," while at the preceding census the

721 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

amount of land in cultivation was about 21,000 acres. The stock
interests in 1920 were: Cattle, u,004 ; horses and mules, about 5,801 ;
sheep, 12,137. The farmers place their chief dependence in cotton,
and in 1909 the acreage in that crop was 29,(>c'0 : in kaftir corn and
milo maize, 6,279 ; in hay and forage crops, 6,812 ; and in corn, 2,832.
The soils in many parts of the county are adapted to fruit and truck
crops, and the last census reported about 18,000 trees in orchard
fruits. There is something like 100,000 acres of tillable land that is
susceptible to irrigation from the Colorado River in this county, and
as there is now a plan on foot to dam the river, the thing is a possi-
bilitv. The West Texas Chamber of Commerce has taken the matter
up with the Federal Government to finance the proposition.

Coke has ten gins, twenty-three schools and has three steel bridges
across the Colorado River. This county has the reputation of being
the best cow country in Texas.

Robert Lee, the county seat, has four churches, one hank, two gins
and one newspaper.

Coleman County

In 1870 Coleman County had less than 350 population, while in
1910 its inhabitants numbered over 22,000. A few cattlemen and their
followers, a few ranch houses, and large herds of stock grazing on the
i »pen range, measured the development of the county in the first
years. During the first ten years of the present century the county
more than doubled in population, and the increase of its material
wealth was even greater. It is now a county of farms, substantial
towns and diversified business interests. In the summer of 1856
Maj. Van Dorn, of the United States Army, afterwards distinguished
as a general in the Confederacy, established (amp Colorado on Jim
Ned Creek in what is now Coleman County. Some remains of the
stone and wooden buildings of this post still exist. Maj. Van Dorn
kept a detachment of the Second Cavalry there for two or three years.
The presence of the garrison attracted a few settlers, though they made
no permanent improvements. The countv was on the extreme fron-
tier, and both the regular soldiers and the Texas Rangers patrolled
throughout this district. Camp Colorado was abandoned after the
war.

February 1, 1858, the Legislature defined the boundaries of a mini
ber of counties, among them Coleman, named in honor of Robert M.
Coleman, a figure in the Texas Revolution. Rut nearly twenty years
passed before tin- county was sufficiently settled to maintain a county
government. In 1875 a local government was organized, and in the
fall of 1876 Coleman, the county seat, was laid off. A quotation from
an account written in 1877 reads: On a site that in 1873 had been
barren of any vestige of human habitation, the beautiful plateau being
the haunt of the buffalo more often than of domestic animals, was in
the latter part of 1876 the growing little village o! Coleman City,
whose first bouse had been completed scarccls two months before
and which now contained twenl\ seven first-class buildings, with

merchants, lawyers, building contractors, good school, hotel, and half

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 72.5

a mile from town the United States telegraph line. A year later
Coleman had a population of 400 and was incorporated.

Beginning in 1875 this county soon became one of the favorite
centers of the range stock industry. The county was one immense
pasture, and excepting the tradesmen at the county seat and one or
two other places the population consisted almost entirely of the cattle-
men and their "outfits." About 1880 the farmer class made some
advance into this region, especially when it became known that the
Santa Fe Railroad would be built. But in 1882 it was estimated
that not over 4,000 acres had been touched by the plow, while the
live stock at that time numbered about 9,000 horses and mules, 40,000
cattle and 85,000 sheep and other stock.

In March, 1886, what was then known as the main line of the
Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad reached Coleman, and was
extended on through the county the same year. A tap line was built
to reach Coleman City, it being the policy of earlv railroad construc-
tion in Texas to avoid towns which did not offer attractive subsidies,
and Coleman City is one of the number of such cases in Texas.
However, this tap line has since become the starting point of the
Coleman-Texico branch of the Santa Fe, by which that system has a
short cut from its main transcontinental division to gulf ports. This
division was completed about 1911, and has furnished additional rail-
way facilities for Coleman County.

The population of the countv at different decades has been: In
1870. 347; in 1880, 3,603 (35 negroes) ; in 1890, 6,112; in 1900, 10.077
(90 negroes); in 1910. 22,618; in 1920, 18,805. The population is
largely native American stock, with the admixture of a number of
different nationalities in small numbers, Mexico being the foreign
country most numerously represented. In 1882 the only towns of
the county were Coleman City and Trickham. The principal towns
outside of the county seat at present are : Santa Anna, situated at the
base of Santa Anna Mountain, in which vicinity a small oil and gas
field has been developed; Goldsboro ; Rockwood, located in the coal
mining district along the Colorado River; Glencove, Burkett, Talpa.
Vilera, Novice and Silver Valley. Coleman City, which had a popu-
lation of 906 in 1890, 1,362 in 1900, and 3,046 in 1910, has been devel-
oped both commercially and as a place of residence in recent years.
It has the improvements and advantages of a progressive West Texas
town, and is the center of a large volume of trade.

While the live stock interests are still important, there has been
great agricultural development near the railroad and in the valley
lands. It is estimated that about 1,000 acres are under irrigation.
At the last census 2,938 farms were found in the county, as compared
with 1,369 in 1900. The area of the county is 825,600 acres, and
about 239,000 acres were classified as "improved land" in 1909, as
against not quite 90,000 acres in 1900. The county has a great variety
of crops. In 1909 the largest acreage was in cotton, 120,788; kaffir
corn and milo maize, 19,401 acres ; corn, 6,238 acres ; hay and forage
crops, 14,619 acres, besides oats, wheat, about 500 acres in potatoes
and vegetables, and approximately 59,000 trees in orchard fruits.

724 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The county also produces a considerable quantity of pecans. The
live stock interests in 1920 were measured by the following statistics:
Cattle, 23,920; horses and mules, about 11,456; hogs, 5,158; sheep,
12,137, making this one of the principal counties in that industry ;
goats, 2,538.

In 1882 the taxable values of Coleman County were $1,733,603,
more than a third being represented bv live stock; in 1903. $5,611,513;
in 1913. $13,119,970; in 1920, $13,275,200.

Comanche County

This county was created in 1856 and organized, with a local gov-
ernment, on .March 17th of the same year. Its territory was taken
from Coryell and Bosque counties, and was originallv a part of the
great Milam District, which was a nominal jurisdiction from the
time of the Texas Revolution. Comanche was one of twenty or more
counties in Central Texas that came into existence before the war,
but it was on the western frontier, and was very sparsely inhabited,
living conditions were primitive, industry was pastoral rather than
agricultural, and for the greater part of two decades the people were
able to accomplish little more than maintain their precarious foot-
hold. The wave of immigration that settled the Upper Brazos Valley
also extended to Comanche County, and in 1860 its population was
officially 709. During the following decade the resources of the
older counties were absorbed in the struggle of the war, while the
hostilities of the Indian tribes made settled conditions impossible
along the border. The real development of the county began about
1870, when its population was 1,001. By 1880 population had
increased to 8,608: in the following decade, though a portion of
Comanche was taken to form Mills County, population increased to
15,608 by 18°0; in 1«00 it was 23.009: in 1910. 27,186; in 1920. 25.74S

Comanche was a border county until about 1880. In 1881 the
IVxas Central Railway was constructed across the northern corner
of the county to a connection with the Texas & Pacific at Cisco, and
that railroad did a great deal to change the county from one of
purely pastoral activities to a farming section. A large portion of
the county is included in a belt of woodland known as the Upper
Cross Timbers, and about a fourth of the county is still classified as
woodland. The decade of the '80s marked the introduction of agri-
culture and the breaking up of the range lands, and since then this
development ha- progressed until Comanche is ranked among the
agricultural sections of Central West Texas. At the last census there
were 4.372 farm- in the county, compared with 3,548 farms in 1900
I if a total area of 606,720 acres, 541.475 acres were occupied as farm-.
and approximately 253,000 acres wire "improved lands." In 1882
the stock interests were estimated in round numbers at 31.000 cattle.
5,500 horses and mules, 9,000 sheep, and 9,000 hogs. At the last
census the live stock interests were 2S.h2.^ cattle, about 12,026 horses

and mule-. 9,760 hogs, aboul 7,210 sheep and -oat- In 1909, 136,945

icres were planted in cotton, 29,323 acres in coin. 13,323 acres in hay
and forage crop-, about 800 acres were in potatoes, sweel potatoes and

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 725

other vegetables, and minor crops according to acreage were oats,
wheat and peanuts. The county claims importance as a center of
fruit and nut production, about 195,000 orchard fruit trees being
enumerated at the last census, and over 23,000 pecan trees.

In 1881 the wealth of the county, as estimated by taxable values,
was $1,377,285, more than a fourth of which was represented by live
stock; in 1903, $5,117,176; in 1913, $11,789,449; in 1920, $20,387,552.
During 1890-91 the line of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad
was built through the county. Comanche, the county seat, was a
small town and noteworthy only as the seat of government until the
coming of the railroad. The population in 1890 was 1,226; in 1900,
2,070; in 1910, 2,756, and in 1920, 3,542. The town of DeLeon orig-
inated as a station on the Texas Central Railway, and had a popula-
tion in 1890 of 364, in 1900, of 807, and in 1910, of 1,015. Other
towns are Sipe Springs, along the new branch of the Texas Central,
where a small oil and gas field has been developed ; Proctor, Hasse,
Gustine, Lamkin, Comyn and Sidney. The old town of Comanche
was for several years an important station on the Great Continental
stage coach line covering the distance of 1,700 miles from Fort
Worth, then the terminus of the Texas & Pacific Railway, to Fort
Yuma and there connecting with the California system of transporta-
tion. This line of coaches was operated regularly from July, 1878.
through Comanche, until the progress of construction on the Texas
& Pacific had made this method of transportation obsolete. This
old stage route was no inconsiderable factor in the development of
Comanche County during the decade of the '70s. In the last nine
years Comanche has become the junction point for the new line of
the Cotton Belt constructed from Gatesville to Comanche, its present
terminus.

Comanchk

Comanche has been the county site since June 18, 1859, being
removed at that date from the old town of Cora, fourteen miles south-
east, which was the original seat of government from June 4, 1856.
until date of removal.

At the census of 1920 the population was 3,524, as compared with
2,756 in 1910 and 2,070 in 1900. The assessed polls for 1920, which
included few, if any. women, were 408. The present city limits cover
four square miles, while the independent school district, including
the city, comprises about fifteen square miles. The city assessment
for 1920 shows real estate, $1,971,967; personal property, $1,115,203.
which latter includes money and credits, $475,333, or almost half of
the personal property assessed, total assessment, $3,087,170. The
school district shows $235,673 additional real estate and $68,242 addi-
tional personal property, or a total assessment of $3,391,085.

The scholastic enrollment in the school in September, 1920, was
over 900. Schools are maintained from September until May, or nine
months, with 23 teachers besides the city superintendent, in four
school buildings, three for graded schools and one high school. The
court house square and its approaches are paved with cement grout-

726 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

ing, surfaced with cement and finished with asphalt, which cost about
$20,000.

There are two lines of railroad converging here, the Cotton Belt
extension from McGregor, terminating here, and the Fort Worth &
Rio Grande, extending from Fort Worth to Menard. The Western
Union has a telegraph city office and the Southwestern long distance
has location with a strong local telephone line leading to all parts of
the county. The line of the Texas Power & Light Company passes
through from Brownwood to Dublin, and furnishes light, power and
heat for all demands.

There are between 80 and 100 trading and mechanical concerns.
including some 30 or 40 mercantile establishments; with three banks,
two national and one state. There is an ice plant, a sand-lime brick
factory, a wholesale grocery, an oil refinery, a flouring mill and a
cotton warehouse among other concerns.

Churches are well represented, including Methodists, Baptists,
Christians, Disciples, Presbyterians. Episcopalians and Cniversalists.
all having buildings of their own. The Catholics art' unrepresented
except in an occasional mission.

Fraternal societies are strong, the Masons having one of the finest
temples in the state, while the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias
each has its own lodge building. Two order of Woodmen is strongly
organized, and has a well-equipped rented hall.

The last bank statement. December 29, 1920, showed an original
capital of $265,000. with surplus nad undivided profits, $102.2X1.54.
deposits $1,127,805.09. loans $1,046,389.54. cash $309,244.18. and other
assets totaling $1,645,511.94. excess of assets over outside liabilities,
$367,281.54.

I'he city tax rate is 50 cents general and 15 for road purposes.
The school tax is 50 cents. For 1921 the city has reduced the city
poll from $1.00 to 75 cents, making $1.50 for a husband and wife.

Concho Countv

Until very recent years Concho County has been regarded as
included in the great Western Texas cattle range, a typical stock
country, its undulating surface of hills and valleys, with scant growth
of timber, furnishing a country whose primary usefulness is as pas-
ture land. It was during the decade of the '70s that the pioneer stock
men made their first determined advance into the country, which
they disputed with the buffalo and the Indian, and since then man)
thousand head of cattle, sheep and horses have grazed on the rich
grasses of Concho County's land and have been driven out to market.
Since the beginning of the present century agriculture lias made
important strides, and there are sufficient statistics to prove a great
development in that line in that tirni

Concho County was one of the county divisions created before the
war by the Legislature in 1858. its tertitorj having been taken from
the original Bexar district. As was true of McCulloch County on the
Bast, the Stockmen had little interest in a permanent count) organi/a
tion, and the fust county government was organized March 11. 1879.

PORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 727

The latter date indicates about the beginning of consecutive improve-
ment and development in the county. The statistics of population
indicate quite accurately other facts of progress. Population in 1880
was 100; in 18%. 1,065; in 1900, 1.427; in 1910, 6.654, and in 1920,
5,847. In 1881 the value of taxable property in Concho County was
$445,185, to which live stock contributed values amounting to about
$165,000.

In 1888 the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, which for several
years had been building westward from Lampasas, was completed to
San Angelo, and, passing close to the northwest corner of Concho
County, furnished the most accessible railway conveniences for that
county during the next twenty years. About 1910 a short line of
railway was constructed from the Santa Fe at Miles into Concho
County to Paint Rock. A year or so later branches of the Santa Fe
through San Saba and McCulloch County, and of the Fort Worth &
Rio Grande from Brady, penetrated the southeast corner of Concho
County.

The county seat from the time of organization has been Paint Rock
at the north end of the county and in the valley of the Concho River
The other chief settlements concentrated in the southeastern part oi
the county, where the older town was Eden, while Eola and Millers-
view were country communities between these two first mentioned
places. Eden is now the western terminus of the line of the Santa
Fe from Brady, and one or two other villages have sprung up with
the railway.

In 1903 the valuation of property in Concho County was $1,935,-
689. Development during the next ten-vear period is indicated bv the
rise of taxable values to $4,471,897 by 1913; and in 1920, $5,105,401.
The last Federal census enumerated 865 farms in Concho Count},
as compared with 119 in 1900. The area of the county is 617,377
acres, and while the census reported a part of this land in farms, only
about 80,000 acres was classified as "improved land," which figures
in themselves indicate much progress during the preceding decade,
since the amount of improved land in 1900 was only 6,184 acres.
The live stock interests in 1920 were: Cattle, 24,376; horses and
mules, 5.017; sheep. 37,019; hogs, 1,661.

The Count}' of Concho has a good system of schools and the last
session of the law makers gave it several independent districts.
During the last three years most of the smaller rural schools have
been made a part of the larger rural schools and many small schools
have made one good one.

The county seat took its name from the painted rocks along the
Concho River near the town. These paintings were discovered with
the country and have been preserved all these years. It is believed
that the aborigines painted these rocks, as they are drawings of the
hunt. Some will be the man shooting antelope and buffalo with a
bow and arrow. Paintings of this kind are to be found in the south-
western part of Texas, but these are the best and have been better
cared for than any in the surrounding country. The owner of these
rocks takes great pride in their being on his ranch and sometimes savs
vol. i r — m

728 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

that it tilt- state will take the Painted Blurt" he will deed it for a park
to be preserved for the future generations.

Cooke County

One of the foremost agricultural and horticultural counties of
North Texas, Cooke County, became settled during the decade of the
70s, and for more than thirty years its population has kept within
the twenty thousands. The county was created by the Legislature in
1848 and organized in the following year, and in 1850 its population
was a little more than 200. Cooke County is near the northeast cor-
ner of the original Peter colon)' grant, and its first settlers were Peters
colonists. The pioneers began coming into the count}- about 1845.
Gainesville was settled in 1848, and was selected as the county seat,
and in 1856 was the only postoffice in the county. As the Red River

High School, Gainesville

Forms the northern boundary and north of that was formerly the
Indian Territory, the inhabitants were especially exposed to Indian
attacks for mam years, particularly during the Civil war decade.
In December, 1863, a raid into Cooke County resulted in the death of
nine citizens and three soldiers, also the wounding of three soldiers
and four citizens, and ten houses were burned, also a great quantity
of grain. A number of the citizens left their homes and moved
farther east, some iii a destitute condition, without bedding or change
of clothing. All the houses in Gainesville were crowded with refu-
gees from the north and west pari of the county. It was in 1868 that
the Comanches made their last raid into (Hoke and I )enton counties.
Thus t" a large degree tin- progress which had been made before the
war was lost, and tin- did ami new settlers who returned during the
late '60s found the fields almost in their virgin condition, and the work
of development had to \><- begun over again.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 72')

During the '50s Cooke County was one of the large centers for the
growing of wheat in North Texas, and in 1856 it was estimated that
about 20.000 acres were in that crop.

By 1870 Cooke County had a population of 5,315; then followed
the years of rapid settlement, and by 1880 the population was 20,391 ;
by 1890. 24,696; in 1900, 27,494; and the first decade of the present
century was marked by a decrease, the census figures of population
being 26,603. Cooke County is the home of a considerable numbei
of thrifty German people, and the last census reported over l,00f
inhabitants of that race.

The first railroad penetrating Cooke County was a branch o
what is now the Missouri, Kansas & Texas. It was first built undei
the name of Denison & Pacific Railroad, west of Denison, anc
reached Gainesville by November, 1879. About the same time a tele-
graph line was put in operation between Denison and Gainesville.
Gainesville thus became the commercial metropolis for Cooke and
several other counties and also for the Chickasaw Nation of Indian
Territory. Soon after the first railroad reached the town it began
building rapidly, and in a few years claimed a population of 5,000 and
was a considerable manufacturing and trade center. In 1886-87 the
Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad was extended north from Fort
Worth to Gainesville, and subsequently construction work was
extended north through the Indian Territory.

A report on the county in 1882 estimated that about one-fifteenth
of the arable land was in cultivation, while the one most profitable
industry was stock raising, and the county then had in round numbers
about 40,000 cattle, 10,000 horses and mules, 6,000 sheep and 12,000
hogs. The following paragraph from the report refers to the rail-
roads and towns and school facilities : "The Denison & Pacific
branch of the Missouri Pacific Railway, in operation to Gainesville, is
projected westward through the county. Gainesville.the county seat
and principal station on that road, has 4,000 inhabitants and an annua!
trade of $6,000,000. Custer City, Dexter, Rosston, Maryville, Valley
View, Era, Lindsay and Muenster are villages with from 100 to 300
inhabitants and each with a good local trade. There are eighty public
free schools in the county, with a scholastic population of 7,300, and
these are taught eight months in the year. A handsome and sub-
stantial public free school building, with a capacity of 600 pupils, and
supplied with the most approved outfit of globes, apparatus and other
conveniences, has been erected in Gainesville, and the school put in
operation on the basis of a nine months' term."

Gainesville in 1890 had a population of 6,594; in 1900, 7,874; in
1910, 7,624; in 1920, 8,648. As a city its chief importance is derived
from its position on two railway lines and as the trading point for a
large and prosperous country surrounding.

It has several factories of iron and machinery products, a canning
factory, broom factory, cotton gins and oil mills, flouring mills, a brick
plant to utilize the beds of brick clay in the vicinity, and a refinery.
Besides Gainesville the chief towns, some of which have developed in
recent vears and others dating back to the '60s and 70s, are Valle;

730 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

VieWj Windsor, Fair Plains, Maryville, Muenster. Myra, Lindsey.
Woodbine and Dexter.

Cooke County has done much in recent years to improve its high
ways, and now has more than 100 miles of paved roadway. While
for many years its agriculture has been important, the farmers have
done much to diversify their industries and in the vicinity of the
towns and cities fruit and truck growing is a large and profitable
resource. The fruit country is the cross timber section of the county
where the soil is especially adapted to fruit. In spite of the long con-
tinued efforts of farmers in the county for more than forty years,
this county still has a great amount of virgin soil, and while full}
three-fourths of the county is tillable, little more than a half has been
brought under cultivation. The total area of the county is 577,280
acres, of which 500,129 acres were included in farms at the last census
The amount of "improved land" in 1910 was about 250,000 acres, a^
compared with about 225,000 acres in 1900. The number of farm^
increased from 3,307 in 1900 to 3,438 in 1910. A survey of the chief
resources of the county on the farms is found in the statistics fur
nished by the last census. There were 25,985 cattle; about 14,469
horses and mules; 8,224 hogs. The acreage planted in corn, the
chief crop, in 1909, was 80,360; in cotton, 73,741; in wheat, 16,807; in
oats, 13,142; in hay, 13,823. With a much smaller acreage some of
the minor crops usually classed as truck have a large proportionate
value. About 2.000 acres were planted in potatoes, sweet potatoes
and other vegetables, several hundred acres in peanuts. Alfalfa is a
valuable crop, especially along the bottom lands, and in 1910 about
145,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated, besides about 17.1X10
grape vines. In 1870 the taxable value of property in the countv was
$863,629; in 1882, $3,674,770; in 1903, $8,321,820; in 1913. $16,471,897;
in 1920, $17,703,810. Thus the increase of material wealth nearh
doubled in the last ten years, although population remained about sta-
tionary.

( Gainesville

(iainesville, the county seat of Cooke County, has a population
around 15,000. The assessed valuation is $11,4/7,000.

It lias a training school for girls, a state institution, seven public
schools, three kindergartens and has recently authorized a bond issue
for the erection of a $150,000 high school. There are fourteen
churches for whites and four for negroes. All the principal denomina-
tions an- represented.

There are two national banks, with a combined capital of $400,000
and deposits aggregating $3,500,000, One state bank, capital $50000,
deposits $600,000.

Its industrial enterprises include a refining plant, cotton mill,
ice factory, cotton warehouse and compress; iron foundry, mill and
elevator, grain elevator, mattress factory, brick company and three
cotton gins.

There are the usual complement of social clubs and fraternal
organizations, a $25,000 library fully equipped and containing a large
collection of I I . magazines and periodicals,

•'I iRT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

731

There is a fully equipped, modern fire department, a beautiful,
well kept city park, well constructed street improvements and side-
walks. Fuel is supplied by natural gas from the gas fields in Clay
County and Oklahoma.

It boasts of its beautiful homes and claims to be the most desirable
place of residence in this section.

Cottle County

The building of the Quanah, Acme & Pacific Railroad in 1909-10
opened up Cottle County to the agricultural settler, and a rapid devel-
opment has ensued, but as yet there are no official statistics to cover
this recent growth.

Cottle County was created August 21, 1876, and was organized
January 11, 1892. In 1880 only twenty-four inhabitants were enum-

Church Street, Gainesville

crated as residents of the county. Population in 1890 was 240; in
1900, 1,002; in 1910, 4,396, and in 1920, 6,901. Paducah, which was
established as the county seat, had a population in 1910 of 1,350.

Cottle County is still prominent as a cattle country, but farmers
are invading the pastures and demonstrating the value of the land
in the production of cotton, grain and fruits. In recent years several
of the largest ranches have been broken up into tracts. In 1900 the
number of farms and ranches in the county was 122, and in 1910 there
were 506. The total area of the county is 647.680 acres, of which
460,439 acres were reported in farms and ranches in 1910. The rapid
process of agriculture is indicated by the fact that in 1900 only about
8,000 acres were classed as "improved land," while by 1910 about
214,000 acres were classified. The last census reported 16,488 cattle,
and 3,920 horses and mules. In 1909, 17,151 acres were planted in
cotton, 5,550 acres in corn, and 2,860 acres in kaffir corn and milo

732 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

maize. About 6,500 orchard fruit trees were enumerated. The value
of assessed property in 1903 was $1,627,982; in 1913, $4,581,538, and
in 1920, $6,821,475.'

Paducah was incorporated in 1910, and now has a population of
something over 2.000 people. The last census only gave a population
of 1,357 people, but it was discovered on recount that erroneous
reports had been made and that the actual population, as stated above,
was around 2,000 people. The assessed valuation of the city is $1,447,-
727.20, on a 65 cent rate, and that of the schools is $2,846,986, on a
50 cent rate. Paducah has four white churches, two of which are
excellent brick structures, and one negro church. In addition there
is a large public tabernacle of modern construction. The Paducah
High School is rated by the State Department of Education as a
school of the first class, and is housed in a $50,000 brick building.
In addition there are two frame buildings for white ward schools,
and one frame building housing the colored school. Paducah has
three banks and is situated in the center of a large territory, extending
into five counties.

Crane County

This is one of the West Texas counties as yet without organized
local government. It was created in 1887 from Tom Green County,
and the Pecos River forms its southwestern boundary. In recent
years a very limited amount of land has been brought under irrigation
in the valley of that stream. Near the northwest corner of the
county passes the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway, and for many
\ cars the stock interests have used some point on that railroad as
their center and shipping point. In the southern part of the county
is a salt lake, covering 2,000 acres, and salt has been manufactured
there since the first white settlers occupied the county.

At the census of 1890 onlv fifteen inhabitants were enumerated ;
in 1°00 fifty-one; in 1910, 331.' The total area of the county is 561.920
acres, of which 310.362 acres were reported as occupied in farms, and
1,584 acres classified as "improved land." The number of farms in
1910 were seventy-one, compared with twelve in 1900. The only
important crops developed are kafifir corn and milo maize, to which
249 acres were planted in 1909; and corn with an acreage in 1909 of
eighty-one. In 1920, 7,872 cattle were enumerated, and that is almost
the only live stock found in the country. The total assessed wealth in
Crane Countv in 1W was $770,971; in 1913. $754,535: in 1920,
$532,145.

Crockett County

When created on January 22, 1875, Crockett County comprised
an area of 10,000 square miles. The south line of original Tom
(ireen < ounty bounded it on the North, the Pecos River on the
West, it extended along the Rio Grande for a number of miles, as far
i original Kinney County, and included besides its present immense
area a portion of Val Verde County and also the counties of Sutton
and Schleicher, Val Verde County was created in 1885, and Sutton

on! Schleicher counties in 1887. Crockett County still has an area

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 733

of about 3,000 square miles. There are no railroads, except a few
miles of the Orient line through the extreme northwest corner and
the county seat is at Ozona, located on a tributary of the Pecos River.
The surface in the northern portion of the county is level, high plains,
while the southern and western parts are very rough, consisting of
high hills, narrow valleys and canyons.

Crockett County is essentially a stock raising country, and with
the exception of a few acres cultivated near ranch houses there is
no attempt at farming.

The county was organized July 14, 1891. Its population in 1880.
before the division of its territory, was only 127; in 1890, 1,194; in
1900, 1,591 ; in 1910, 1,296, and in 1920, 1,500.

The total area of Crockett County comprises 2,057,600 acres, and
the last census classified about 47,000 acres as "improved land." The
live stock interests at that time were enumerated as follows: Cattle,
79,765; horses and mules, about 4,000; sheep, 109,943, and goats,
8,793; in 1920, 56,621 cattle, 3.454 horses and mules, 77,03,3 sheep,
21,707 goats.

The only crops that found a place in the statistics for 1909 were
561 acres in hay and forage crops, and forty-three acres in kaffir corn
and milo maize. The first bale of cotton was raised in the county
in 1903. Ten years ago it was stated that about half of the land
belonged to the state school and university funds, and the other half
to railroads and individuals.

In 1910 only seventy-nine farms and ranches were enumerated.
The assessed value of property in the county in 1°<03 was $2,199,653;
in 1913, $2,742,442; in 1920. $3,634,030.

Crosby County

This is one of the plains counties of Northwest Texas, and until
recent years has been essentially the home of stockmen. It was
created in 1876, and was organized in 1886. Quite recently the
county has come within the range of railroad facilities. After the
completion of the Santa Fe to Lubbock, about 1910, the construction
of a road from Lubbock eastward was undertaken, known as the
Crosbyton South Plains Railroad. This road is now in operation as
far as Crosbyton. When the county was organized the county seat
was placed at Emma, but has since been moved to Crosbyton, which
is the chief city, and in 1910 had a population of 800. Other towns
are Emma, Estacado, Cone, Lorenzo and Ralla. For many years a
county of large ranches, this section is now developing into a farming
region. Large farms are the rule, and most ranchmen raise a variety
of feed stuffs for winter use and some cultivate cotton. Since the
construction of the railroad new settlers have arrived and are demon-
strating the productive value of the land and the feasibility of dry
farming methods. The population of Crosbv Countv in 1880 was 82 ;
in 1890, 346; in 1900. 788; in 1910, 1.765; in 1920, 6,025. The total
area of the county is 556,800 acres, of which 370,901 acres were
included in farms or ranches in 1910. The amount of cultivated or
improved land in 1000 was about 6000 acres, and 30,000 acres in 1910.

734 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

There were 242 farms and ranches in 1910, as compared with 116 in
1900. The number of cattle enumerated in 1920 was 13,060; horses
and mules. 5.764. The assessed valuation in 1920 was $4,372,564.

The chief crops in 1909 were: Hay and forage crops, 6,310 acres;
kaffir corn and milo maize, 3,563 acres; corn, 2,189 acres; cotton, 324
acres; wheat, 131 acres; while about 10,000 orchard fruit trees were
enumerated. Crosbyton, the county seat, has two national banks,
four nice church buildings, and a $50,000 school building. It is incor-
porated and one of the coming towns of the South plains.

Culberson County

Culberson County was created by the Legislature and organized
in 1911, with an area of 3,780 square miles. Through the south end
of the county pass the two railways, the Texas & Pacific and the
Southern Pacific, and Van Horn, the county seat, is a railway division
point on the Texas & Pacific. The county was named in honor of
Senator Charles A. Culberson. The surface of Culberson County is
mountainous in the south and southwestern parts, with many breaks
and canyons through the northern and eastern sections. In this
county is Guadalupe Peak, with an altitude of 9,500 feet, and there
are many others of lesser elevation. To a limited extent irrigation
has been employed from wells for the growing of vegetables, but so
far the grazing of stock is the chief use to which the lands have been
put. Culberson County has valuable marble deposits and has also a
place in the production of gold, silver and copper, several mines being
located near Van Horn. As the last census was taken before the
organization of Culberson County, there are no statistics of popula-
tion and its economic resources.

Dallam Count*

Occupying the extreme northwest corner of the Panhandle, Dal-
lam County was for two-thirds of its area included in the great Capitol
Syndicate holdings, and about fifteen years ago it was estimated that
half the lands of the counts- were held in large tracts. Two railroad
lines have encouraged development of agriculture and the breaking up
of the big ranches, and in recent years the county has come to claim
distinction as a productive center for all the staple Panhandle crops

Dallam County was organized September 9, 1891. In 1888 the
Fort Worth & Denver City Railway was built across the county to
Texline, where the two divisions of the road were connected. Tex
line, close to the \e\\ Mexico boundary, was the original county
-eat. In l'l(X) the Pock Island Railroad was built across the county
at right angles to the first line, intersecting at Dalhart, near the south
ern edge of Dallam County, with a portion of the larger city of today
in Hartley County. Dalhart, founded as a railroad junction point.
has gfown rapidl) and is now one of the largest towns in the Pan
handle, basing a population in 1()10 of 2,580 and ill 1920 of 2,()7o. eon
siderably more than half the population of Dallam County. While
the center of a large trade, both retail and wholesale. Dalhart derives
it- chief importance from the railroad, tin- Rock Island maintaining

FORT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 735

shops and division headquarters there. It is now the county seat.
Outside of Dalhart and Texline other towns in the county are Corlena,
Terico, Ware, Matlock, Chamberlin, Conlen and Hovey.

The population of Dallam County in 1890 was 112; in 1900, 146;
in 1910, 4,001, and in 1920., 4,528. In 1900 there were only four farms
in the entire county, due to the fact that most of the lands, as already
stated, was under one corporate ownership. By 1910 the large tracts
had been broken up, and there were 201 farms. The amount of land
officially described in the census as "improved land" in 1900 was 1,280
acres, and by 1910 that had increased to about 48,000 acres. The total
area of Dallam County is 980,480 acres, and 346,697 acres were
included in farms at the last census. The number of cattle found in
1910 was 27,419; of horses and mules, about 900; and of sheep, 6,443 ;
in 1920, 37,428 cattle, 2,231 horses and mules.

Although situated high up on the Plains region, Dallam County citi-
zens claim that every staple crop can be grown except cotton. In 1909
the acreage in hay and forage crops was 10,501 ; in kaffir corn and milo
maize, 7,118 ; in wheat, 3,787 ; in corn, 509, and in oats, 479. The valua-
tion of property in the county in 1903 was $1,367,798: in 1913. $6,763,-
300: and in 1920, $8,853,999:

Dalhart

The town of Dalhart was incorporated in 1902, and immediately
thereafter began the development of a real town, based on city building
methods.

At present Dalhart has six business blocks, paved with brick, a
$25,000 sewerage system, which includes fifteen miles of mains, an up-to-
date electric lighting system with twenty-five miles of high tension wires,
through which the beautiful "White Way" is illuminated.

Among the industries in Dalhart there is an ice plant with a storage
capacity of 2,400 tons, and all fruit shipments from the Imperial Valley
of California are re-iced and placed in proper condition for further ship-
ment. These shipments arrive via the Rock Island Railroad lines.

The local telephone plant, with its rural connections and long dis-
tance lines, is modern in every particular.

The city has eight churches, two schools and an up-to-date water
supply from the system of deep wells, two concrete reservoirs of 250,000
gallons capacity and a standpipe holding 80.000 gallons with a pressure
of eighty pounds.

From a civic standpoint Dalhart ranks among the most modern
towns in the West. A movement is now on foot for the organization
of "The Tennessee Club." membership in which will be limited to natives
of Tennessee. Judge W. H. Denton, who came here in 1892. being the
oldest Tennessean in point of residence in this section, is slated to he
the first president of this club.

The vicinity of the Rita Blanca Canyon, a wide shallow arroya which
lies across the southern part of the town, makes a very attractive resort
for those who like to hike and spend their time in the great outdoors,
and its rocky slopes, carpeted with flowers in springtime, makes a wel-
come break in the monotonv of the Plains.

736 FORT WORTH VND I 111-. rEXAS NORTHWEST

A plain is now mi foot to purchase several thousand acres of the
Canyon as a park and pleasure ground for Dalhart and its visitors, which
will add immensely to the attractiveness of the town.

Dawson County

Perhaps no county in the Plains country of West Texas has developed
more rapidly since the beginning of the present century than Dawson.
The county boundaries were assigned in 1858. but the county received
only scant attention even from the stockmen, and its population did not
justify a county government until 1905. In 1880 only twenty-four per-
sons wire enumerated in the county; in 1890 the population remained
about the same, twenty-nine inhabitants being reported; in 1909 the popu-
lation was thirty-seven, but by 1910. 2.320 inhabitants were found in the
county, and in 1920 there were 4,309.

The development which was carried on so rapidly during the first
decade of the present century came in advance of the first railroad. The
Pecos & Northern Texas Railroad was opened as far as Lubbock in
1910, and has since been continued south to the town of Lamesa in
Dawson County. Since then population has continued to increase, and
there has occurred a general breaking-up of the large ranch holdings into
small farm areas.

In 1900 only five individual farms or ranches were enumerated in
the entire county. This number was increased to 330 by 1910. In 1900
thirty-live acres were reported as in cultivation, and in HMO about forty-
three thousand acres. The total area of the counts is 577,920 acres, and
177,432 acres were included in farms in L910. The census reported
5,729 cattle; about 1,400 horses and nudes, and 1.606 hogs. In 1920 the
enumeration is; Cattle, 10.500; horses and mules. 2,()25. In 1909, 7,290
acres were planted in kaffir corn and milo maize; 3,287 acres in corn;
1.438 acres in cotton, and about 8,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated
and some other fruits. The valuation of property in 1913 was $2,838,-
026, and in 1(>20. $6,554,646.

Law ksa

Lamesa, the county seat, has had a steady growth since the organiza-
tion of the county, which was in 1905. It has four churches, two banks.
five grocery stores, three dry goods stores, three drug stores, two hard-
ware stores, one variety store and confectionery, two millinery stores.
one electrical suppl) store, one harness and saddle shop, two abstract
plants, four hotels, two restaurants, two haberdashers, three garages.
three blacksmith shops, four gin plants, one ice. light and power com-
pany, one watchmaker, one butchei shop, three petroleum agencies, and
preparations are being made to erect a seventy five thousand dollar school
building.

I )e m- Sm i ni Counts

\ portion of the vast holdings of tin- Capital Syndicate Ranch was

oi "d in Deaf Smith County, and for manj years almost the entire

ana of 991,360 acres were included in great ranches, and the grazing of

cattle is still almost the onl\ vocation except along the line of railways.

Deaf Smith County was organized October 3, 1890, and the firsl

FORT WORTH \.\1> THE TF.XAS NORTHWEST 737

county seal was at La I Mala, a village no longer in existence. When the
Pecos & Northern Texas Railroad from Amarillo was completed through
the county towards the close of 18(>8, a station was established at a point
called Hereford, and a few houses soon marked the site.

This location was voted the county seat, and it has since been the
metropolis of the county. In 1 'MO it had a population of 1,750. Here-
ford has for a number of years been the shipping points for cattle ii
Northwest Texas, and besides its varied commercial enterprise is also a
school town. Through the efforts of local citizens Prof. Randolph Clark,
one of the founders of the noted Add-Ran College at Thorp Springs,
which became the nucleus for the Texas Christian University, was in-
duced to interest himself in the founding of a new college in the North-
west, and as a result in 1902 the Panhandle Christian College was
founded at Hereford. Other towns along the Pecos & Northern Texas
are Dowell and Dawn, and there are one or two stations in the north-
western corner of the county along the line of the Rock Island Road,
which was built about 1910.

In 1880 Deaf Smith County had a population of 38; in 1890, 179;
in I'M), 843; in 1910, 3,942, and in 1920, 3,747. The valuation of prop-
erty in 1903 was $1,630,092; in 1913, $5,992,272. and in 1920, $7,346,780.

Like many other sections of the Panhandle, Deaf Smith County is
underlaid by an abundant supply of water, reached at a depth of from
40 to 150 feet. This supply has been drawn upon for many years for
slock and domestic purposes, and more recently considerable enterprise
has been manifested in irrigating crops from the same source.

In 1913 more than four thousand acres were irrigated. As compared
with the total area only a small portion of Deaf Smith County has been
brought under cultivation. In 1910, 273,456 acres, less than a third of
the total area, was included in farms or ranches, and about 86,000 acres
were classified as "improved land." as compared with about 11,000 acres
in 1900. There were 97 farms and ranches in 1900 and 361 in 1910.
The last census enumerated 42,056 cattle ; 4,057 horses and mules, and
4,454 sheep. The chief, crops in 1909 were: Hay and forage crops
18,892 acres; wheat, 7.973 acres; oats, 1,934 acres; kaffir corn and milo
maize, 1.495 acres, and corn. 126 acres.

Hereford

Hereford, the county seat, was laid off, plotted and named when the
railroad was built through the county in 1898. It took its name from a
herd of pure bred, registered cattle of that famous breed then maintained
near the location of the present town, on the Tierra Blanco Creek, one
of the tributaries of the Prairie Dog Towm Fork of Red River.

The growth of the town has been slow but gradual and constant,
especially in quality.

A handsome court house, with marble outside walls, was built a few
years ago, which is commodious and convenient and up-to-date in every
way. The town was incorporated in 190f> and in 1912 adopted the com-
mission form of government with a mayor and two commissioners.

There are five or six church organizations, which have comfortable
places of worship, and two of them, the Christian and the Methodist

738 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

churcht-s, have handsome, new brick buildings arranged and equipped in
the latest way. The town is well supplied with a modern sanitary sewer
system, with over seven miles of sewer lines, and with an excellent water
works system, both of which are owned and operated by the city. A
beginning has been made in the formation of a public library, which is
being added to from year to year and now contains several hundred
volumes of well-selected books. It will soon be of good size and great
usefulness.

The city has fifteen blocks of well-paved streets and more in con-
lemplation. An excellent electric plant is in operation furnishing lights
and power all over town.

Two good schools supply the educational needs of the community.
The Grammar School is a handsome three-story brick building erected a
few years ago. The High School will soon have to be provided with a
larger, better and more modern building. Now that the constitution has
been amended so as to make a new building financially possible the pro-
gressive spirit of the community may be trusted to vote the money to
get it.

The population, including the incorporated limits and the addition, is
about 2.500.

Denton County

This county was settled first in the early forties. It is located in the
second tier of counties south of the Red River and is west of Collin and
Kast of Wise counties. The county was created from Fannin in 1846
and was organized in July of that year. The first county seat was
Pinckneyville, which was situated about one and one-half miles east of
the present county site. Later the county seat was moved to a new
town, which was called Alton, and moved again to a new site, on the
banks of Hickory Creek, about six miles southeast of the city of Denton.
to a new town which was also called Alton or "New \ltoii." This move
was made necessary because of the failure to find sufficient water at the
lirsi town of Alton. At the presidential election in 1856 the voters voted
to move the county seal to what is now the city of Denton. On Janu-
ary 10. 1X57. the citizens and other interested individuals gathered at
the new town site and an auction was held by C. V Williams, who was
sheriff at that time and is still living in Denton. From that dale the
town of Denton dates its existence. Pilot Point is, however, the oldei
town and was settled and of some importance commercially several years

before- the town of Denton existed.

Denton County has four railroads. The Texas and Pacific runs
through the county from northeast to southwest. The Gulf Colorado
and Santa Fe crosses tin- full length of the county from north to south.
The Dallas and Wichita Falls branch of the katv was the first line built
in the county and runs from the southeast corner of the county through
lo the north line. The St. Louts and San Francisco Railwaj traverses
the country along tin east line of the count) and has two stations in
Denton County and several just across the line in Collin County, which
serve Denton people.

Railwa) stations m the count) are: Denton, Pilot Point, Aubrey,
Sanger, Krum, Ponder, fustin, Roanoke, Wgyle, Corinth, Garza, Lewis

FORT \\()K III WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 739

villi', Mingo, Carney Spur and Hebron. Villages in the county not on
any line of railway arc: Little Elm, Navo, Mustang. Bolivar. Stony,
Waketon and Parvin.

The census of 1920 gave the county 35,355 inhabitants. The towns
of the county which were incorporated in the last census were Denton,
7,625; Pilot Point, 1,399, and Sanger, 1,204.

The land in Denton County is divided into three distinct belts, which
arc: the Elm Flat country, cast of the Cross Timbers, and is a part of
the Black Belt, which includes Collin, Dallas and other counties of Cen-
tral Texas. Joining this on the West is the belt of timbered land which
extends across Texas and known as the Lower Cross Timbers. West of
this belt lies what is known as Grand Prairie, which extends from the
Red River in Cooke County south and eastward to Tarrant and Johnson
counties.

The east part of the county is adapted to cotton, small grains and
corn the timbered belt raises cotton, peanuts, fruit and vegetables, while
the western prairies are largely cultivated in wheat, oats and other small
grains and constitute what is known as the Great Denton County Wheat
Belt. Denton County has an abundance of pure soft artesian water,
which may be procured practically anywhere in the county by drilling
from two hundred to six hundred feet.

The city of Denton, as stated elsewhere, has a population of 7,625
according to the last census, while the suburban parts of the city will
hring the population well up toward ten thousand, and it is safe to say
that one-third of the people in the county live within three miles of the
court house at the county seat.

Denton

The city is celebrated for the excellence and size of its educational
institutions. Beside one of the strongest city school systems in the state
which hoast a daily attendance of more than two thousand students, the
town has within its borders two of the great educational institutions of the
state in the North Texas State Normal, with a record of 3,017 (dupli-
cates excluded), enrolled students in one year and the College of Indus-
trial Arts for young women, which is one of the largest schools of its
kind in the United States, boasting an enrollment exceeded by only two
female colleges in the nation. It has a record of 2,162 students in one
year.

These schools are perhaps the greatest asset the city has. although the
agricultural and livestock interests are large and have grown greatly in
the past few vears. The Denton Dairy Association has more than two
hundred members, and the daily production of milk is the largest of any
single community in the state, unless it be some of the large cities where
the dairy industry is spread over a much wider district. The town has
two flouring mills, with a combined capacity of some seven hundred bar-
rels of flour, and as much meal and feed.

A brick factory turns out the highest grade of brick in the South-
west, and Denton brick are found as the finishing brick in almost all the
great buildings of the larger cities of the state and neighboring states.

Other industries are a cotton oil mill, with a capacitv of 80 tons of
seed per dav ; an ice factorv of 60 tons capacity daily ; municipally

740

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

owned water, light and power plant, sewer plant, fence factory, machine
shop. There are five public school buildings, representing an investment
of $250,000, and the usual complement of mercantile establishments
incident to a town of its size.

The people are almost all descendants of the old South, and the
whole population is of a high class, with no undesirable foreign element
and very few who do not boast a forward look toward better things in
education and civic life.

Dickens County

This county, hi Northwest Texas, presents a broken surface, with
undulating valleys, while in the northwestern portion is a section of the
Staked Plain-. The county was created .August 21. 1876, and was organ-
ized March 14, 18(<1, with Dickens as the county seat.

Household Aim Builimnc ami \i>m ixistk.vtidx IU'ii.dimi.
Dormitories in Background. College of Arts, Denton

For a number of years three or four ranches covered most of the
available portion of the count) for ranching purposes, and the develop-
ment of the county for any other purpose than grazing has been slow.
Hi,- population in 1880 was onl) 28; in 1890, 295; in 1900, 1.151; in
1910. 3,092; in 1920, 'xX7<<

In November, 1909, regular service was instituted over the line "i
the Stamford & Northwestern Railway, now a division of the Wichita
Valley. The northern terminus of this road is Spur, in Dickens County,
and though the town is little more than four years old its improvement
has been rapid, its population is estimated at about one thousand, and
all modern facilities and public utilities have been provided,

(If recent years mam settlers have been induced in come lu Dickens
i ounty, and ranch owners have cul up their pastures into farms and

placed them Upon the market. The farmers are growing all till' West

FORT WORTH \.\D THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 741

Texas staples, cotton being the chief crop, For many years small 01
chards and vineyards at various ranch homes have demonstrated the fruit
possibilities of the county. Ranch owners have taken an interest in im-
proving their grades and the old range animal has almost disappeared
from the county. Herefords, Shorthorns and other beef cattle have
taken their place.

The assessed value o-f property in Dickens County in 1903 was
$1,352,451; in 1913, $3,973,744; in 1920, $4,207,925. The total area of
the county is 563,840 acres, of which about 35,000 acres were reported
as "improved land" in 1910. The number of farms at the last date was
344, as compared with 197 in 1900. The number of cattle in 1('20 was
29,304, and of horses and mules, about 2,900. The acreage in cotton in
190°. was 5,481 ; in kaffir corn and milo maize, 2,430, and in corn, 2,014.
The interest in horticulture is indicated by the numeration of about twelve
thousand orchard fruit trees, and upwards of one thousand grape vines.

Donley County

Situated on the southern tier of the Panhandle counties. Donley was
among the first of the county divisions in this section of the state to In-
organized. Its boundaries were formed in 1876, .and in March. 1882, a
county government was organized.

The county seat. Clarendon, is one of the oldest centers of settlement
in the Panhandle. It was laid out as a town about 1878, at which time
there was no railroad within 300 miles. The surrounding country was
entirely taken up by cattlemen and their interests, but with the extension
of the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad through the county in 1887 a new
era was inaugurated. When Clarendon was moved from its former
location on the Salt Fork of the Red River to its present location, five
miles south of the original one. it began to grow and attracted many
merchants, real estate men. cattle dealers and Others, and was also the
home center for mam of the cattlemen operating in that section'. Claren-
don is now one of the important towns along the Fort Worth & Denver
Railway, and in 1920 .had a population of about 3.000.

Donley Countv's population in 1880 was ir,0; in 1890, 1,056; in 1900,
2,756; in 1910. 5^284; in 1920, 8,035.

< >ver thirty years ago, about the time the county was organized, there
were estimated to be about twenty thousand cattle, besides several thou-
sand sheep, horses and mules in the county, and this industry was
operated in the open range, and the cattle after maturity were driven
north and found their principal market at Kansas City. Clarendon at
that time was said to be a village of from fifty to one hundred inhabit-
ants, had two stores, and a Methodist Church. Donley, like other Pan-
handle counties, has developed a substantial agricultural industry, a crop
failure has never been known, and the population now find the sources
of living both in the ranch and in the fields by following diversification
in crops. Interest in dairying and poultry raising is increasing.

Irrigation is not necessary, for the average rainfall is 25 inches, with
abundance of good shallow water. Several natural lakes are in the
vicinity of Delia Lake, a town of 500. seven miles east 'if Clarendon, on
the Fort Worth iX: Denver City Railway.

742 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

It is one of the greatest alfalfa centers and shipping points in Texas.
There are also several pure-bred herds of hogs that have become famous
here. Hedley, a town of 800, fourteen miles east of Clarendon, is a
center for pure-bred, big bone Poland-China hogs, having some of the
finest herds in Texas, and it is one of the finest farming sections in the
historic Green Belt of the Panhandle.

At the last census Donley had 1,000 farms. The progress in the ten-
year period in agriculture is indicated by the increase in farms to a total
number of 601 in 1910, as compared with 188 in 1900. The approximate
land area of Donlev County is 579,840 acres and the last census reporter!
488.721 acres in farms, with about 82.000 acres in "improved land." a*
compared with about 14,500 acres so classified in 1900. The county is
essentially a diversified farming and stock-raising section, and the census
enumerators found 31,896 cattle, about 4.500 horses and mules, 5,132
hogs. 720 sheep, and 24.639 poultry; in 1920 there were: 21,464 cattle.
?.'>57 horses and mules, 7,200 hogs. 600 sheep, and $35,000 poultry. In
1909. 30,975 acres were planted in the cereal crops, including 19,675 acre-
in corn, 766 acres in oats. 270 acres in wheat, 10,262 acres in kaffir corn
and milo maize, and in 1920 this was increased by 100 per cent. The
acreage in hay and forage crops was 12.108. including 679 acres in alfalfa
and 8.229 acres in coarse forage. Cotton is an increasing crop, and bad
4,811 acres in 1909, with about 20,000 acres in 1920, and some attention
i- also paid to the vegetable crops. About 30,000 orchard fruit trees were
enumerated, and the statistics also showed production of grapes and small
fruits.

Clarendon

The county has five towns and cities on the railroad. They are:
Clarendon, Hedley, I.elia Lake. .Whtola. Giles and Jerico.

The county has six banks, with a total deposit of more than three
million dollars (November 15, 1920). The county has practically every
industry that is necessary to the welfare of mankind and has a fine public
school system. The school buildings and equipment in Clarendon alone
are well worth over SfiOO.000. Besides the only Junior College in the
Panhandle is located here — Clarendon College, which has an equipment
worth about $500,000. The church property in Clarendon is worth
approximately $250,000. which shows that the people are church loving
people.

Donley County has one of the best County Fairs in the entire Pan
handle and takes premiums at all of the State Fairs. In 1920 the county
won second prize at the Stale Fair of Texas in the County Exhibits.

The Famous J-A Ranch, which was founded in 1884 by Mr. John
\d.ur. is partly in Donley County. This ranch has more than 600 sec

lions in it.

Clarendon has paved streets, White Way, which lights up the streets.
good water system, etc.

E istland County

Created on February 1. 1858, and named in honor of William M.
Eastland, who bad been murdered while a prisoner in Mexico, Eastland
1 ounty was ,,,,, of the number of blocks of territory carved from the

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

74.5

public domain before the war by legislative enactment, but which for
many years bad no population to justify a county government. The
county was formally organized December 2, 1873. In 1860 the Federal
census enumerated ninety-nine inhabitants of Eastland County, and in
1870 this population had decreased to eighty-eight. The few settlers that
remained during the '60s comprised a sort of advance guard against the
forces of barbarism that still held the entire western region of Texas.
From the immigration which followed the war Eastland profited to some
degree, but its real development was due to railroads, and in this connec-
tion some generalization may be noted with reference not only to East-
land but to other counties in the same vicinity.

The decades of the '70s and '80s witnessed the real settlement of

Imrst State Bank, Eastland

\\ estern Texas. During the 70s the buffalo were finally hunted from
the plains, and quickly following them came the great herds of domestic
stock and the old-time stockmen. For a few years these latter were
supreme lords of the domain of grass-covered prairies. Not far behind
was another instrument of progress — the railroad — which invaded the
cattlemen's country and, while co-operating with the stock industry, it
also served to introduce permanent settlers. More than any other factor,
the railroad has made West Texas a home for people. Where the rail-
road has penetrated counties have been organized, towns have been built,
and fences have divided the prairies from the sown fields.

In anticipation of the railway, settlement became fairly rapid in East-
land County at the middle of the 70s. A newspaper correspondent writ-
ing in January, 1876. said: "Six months ago Eastland City, the county
seat, was laid out on the north prong of the Leon River. At that time

VOL. II-

744 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

it was nothing more than a wilderness. We now number about 250
people; have twenty-five dwelling houses; one saw and grist mill; two
large retail stores; one large stone house is being built on the public
square, the upper story to be used gratis for a court house. Our county
has not been troubled by the red men for two years." This last refer-
ence indicates how closely the modern era followed upon the close of
Indian troubles.

By October, 1880. the construction trains of the Texas & Pacific had
reached Eastland City, and Ranger in Eastland County had become a reg-
ular station on that road. In 1881 the Texas Central was built from the
southeast to Cisco, making a junction with the Texas & Pacific. It was
soon afterwards continued into Shackelford County, and these two lines
comprised the only railways of Eastland County until recently a branch
of the Texas Central was built across the southern edge of the county.

The settlement of the county following the railroad period is indicated
bv the following statistics for the ten-vear periods beginning in 1860.
In 1860 the population was 99; in 1870. 88; in 1880. 4.855; in 1890.
10.373; in 1900, 17.971 ; in 1910, 23.421 ; in 1O20. 58,505. As a railway
junction point Cisco was the chief population and business center of the
county until the discovery of oil in the county, since which time Eastland
and Ranger have larger populations, the last census showing Ranger more
than 16.000; Eastland. 10,000; Cisco, 7,500. Cisco's population in 1890
was 1.063; in 1900, 1,514, and in 1910, 2,410. At the last census East-
land had a population of 855 ; Gorman, 963 ; Rising Star, 640, and Car-
bon, 479. In 1882 the onlv towns outside of Eastland and Cisco were
Ranger and Desdemona.

In 1881 the countv had taxable values of $1,077,682; in 1903, $4,575,-
172; in 1913. $9,816,415; in 1920. $24,037,100; in 1921, $55,000,000. The
county has an area of approximately 592,000 acres, much of it rugged
land and best suited to grazing purposes. In 1882 it was estimated that
only about 10,000 acres were in cultivation, and the stock industry,
according to assessment returns, was at that time not so important as in
other counties in the same general locality. In 1910 about 420, 000 acres
were included in farms, and the amount of "improved land" was approx-
imately 174.000 acres. There were 2,981 farms in 1910 as compared
with 2,510 in 1000. The stock interests in 1<>20 are: 14.850 cattle, about
7.340 horses and mules. 9,560 hogs. The acreage in the principal crops
in 1909 was: Cotton. 87.441 ; corn, 15.525; kaffir corn and milo maize.
1,791 : peanuts, 1.082; hay and forage crop. 8,823; while about 179,000
trees were enumerated in orchard fruits, and about 15,000 pecan trees.

Concerning agricultural and general development of resources, a
writer in the Texas Almanac for 1014 said: "An increased acreage of
peanuts and other feed crops has increased the number of live stock on
farms, and large numbers of cattle and hoi;s are marketed in a finished
condition every season. Live stock raising on ranches continues as an
important industry, but greatly improved as compared with old conditions
in both class nf animals and in methods of handling. In all sections there
i progress in agricultural and horticultural lines. The small-grain crop
is generally good. Cotton is grown on nearly every farm and the feed-
ituffs adapted to ibis section yield a heavy acre tonnage, Silos are being

FORT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 745

introduced and the practice of selling the feed crops on the hoof is
becoming more general. Most farmers grow their own fruit, local mar-
kets are also supplied and small express shipments are made in season.
Apples, pears, plums and grapes are well adapted to climatic and soil
conditions. Coal is mined several miles north of Cisco, and deposits of
this mineral exist in several other sections."

Until 1917 Eastland County was a typical West Texas county, with a
population of about 25,000 people, and almost wholly a pastoral and
agricultural county, with a preponderating rural population. Then,
almost in a night, came a dramatic and spectacular change. The dis-
covery of oil in October, 1917, in the McCleskey well west of Ranger,
precipitated an economic revolution in the county and ushered in the big-
gest and most quickly-developed oil field in the Southwest, if not in the
United States.

Some ten years ago the Texas & Pacific Coal Company drilled a
number of test wells with a diamond drill in the eastern part of East-
land County, with a view of extending their coal operations. Near the
little village of Staff, about twelve miles east of Eastland, at a depth of
some six hundred feet, they found traces of oil and gas. This discovery
aroused little local interest, but induced W. K. Gordon, the general man-
ager of the coal company, to pursue drilling operations with a view of
developing an oil field in the vicinity. For several years and at an
expense of several hundred thousand dollars the T. & P. Coal Company
prospected various parts of Eastland, Stephens, Palo Pinto and Erath
counties within a radius of perhaps fifteen or twenty miles of the town
of Thurber, in all instances drilling only comparatively shallow wells,
most of them not over a thousand or fifteen hundred feet in depth. They
found nothing specially encouraging until their No. 1 well west of
Strawn, which afforded small production at a depth of something like
eight hundred feet, which was then assumed to be the approximate depth
of the producing oil sand in this territory.

A number of other tests failed to develop this sand into paying pro-
duction, and it was not until a deep test of approximately 3,300 feet was
made in the McCleskey well west of Ranger that the possibilities of the
Eastland-Stephens county oil fields were seriously considered. At a
depth of approximately 3,300 feet, when it seemed that hope of finding
oil in paying quantities must be abandoned, and when preparation in fact
had been made for abandoning the test, the McCleskey well was brought
in with a flush production of something like one thousand barrels. Within
a month nearly all of the important concerns in the Southwest were in the
field and millions of dollars were spent in leases, and by the 1st of Janu-
ary, 1918, something like a hundred wells were being drilled.

As now defined by actual drilling operations, practically every part oi
Eastland and Stephens counties seems to be within the proven oil ter-
ritory and, geographically speaking, within the Pennsylvania formation.
Further tests have extended the field into the western part of Palo Pinto
County, the southern part of Young and several miles into Erath and
Comanche counties, to make no mention of the shallow field near Brown-
wood in Brown County, and the small production around Moran in
Shackelford County.

74b FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The immediate results of this discovery were the building of several
important small cities upon the sites of what had once been but small
towns. Ranger has a present population of about 16,000, when prior to
the discovery of oil it was a village of four or five hundred. Eastland,
the countv seat, has a population of about 10.000, where it had a popu-
lation of onlv 1.000 prior to 1917. Cisco has grown from a population
of 2,500 to a population of between 7,000 and 8.000. Desdemona has a
population of about 4.000. when it had a population of about 200 before
the discovery of oil. Gorman and Rising Star are each active and grow-
ing cities with populations of approximately 3.000. when prior to the
discovery of oil they had considerably less than a thousand.

The county has grown within the last three years from a population'
of approximately 25.000 to a population of approximately OO.OOO, with
taxable values increased from eleven million to fifty-five million.

An insistent demand for better transportation facilities followed close
'in the heels of this oil development.

\ liond issue of four and one-half million dollars for the construction
ni a good roads system has been voted and the bonds sold and contracted
in be sold. This amount, together with state and federal aid. renders
available now and in the immediate future nearly five million dollars,
which amount is being expended in the construction of approximately
two hundred miles of hard-surfaced highways in the county, and will
result in connecting every part of the countv with first-class improved
highways of the latest type and will also make connection at the county
borders with the trunk highways running through the county north.
south, east and west, in which this county is a unit. This bond issue, by
Mie way, is understood to be the second largest in the state for this pur-
oose, being exceeded onlv bv Dallas County.

Three railroads, connecting the important cities of Ranger, Eastland
and Cisco with Breckenridge in the oil fields "f Stephens County on the
North, have already been completed, as follows: The Ilamon Road,
from Dublin to Breckenridge; the Ringling Road, from Mangum on the
Texas Central through Eastland to Breckenridge on the North, with an
immediate program of extension to Brownwood on the South and Gra-
ham on the North; and the Cisco *\ Northeastern Railroad, from Cisco,
tn Breckenridge, with immediate plans of a north extension under way.
\ significant fact is that of the several million dollars involved in the
building of these railroads the greater part was contributed by local
capital.

The banking capital of the county has increased within the last four
years from an aggregate of nol over a half a million dollars' banking
capital and a million and a half deposits tn an aggregate banking capital
<>f a million and a half, with more than twenty million dollars' deposits.

In addition to the amount of money broughl into the countv in the
purchase of lease- and expended in drilling operations several millions
uf dollars have been spenl by the important oil companies in the way of
permanent improvements. The Texas Pacific Coal & < >il Company has
its operating headquarters at Ranger, as has the Sun Company and se\
eral others. Ranger is also the location of a number uf nil supply houses
and shops. Nearl] ill of these companies have built substantial and

FORI WORTH WD I UK IICXAS XOK'i U\\ I S L' 747

expensive buildings in which their headquarters are located. The Prairie
Oil & Gas Company, perhaps the most important producing corporation
in the West, has its land and lease headquarters for Texas in a new
$150,000 office building located in Eastland, which is also the Texas
headquarters for the Prairie Pipe Line Company. The Production
Department of the Prairie Oil & Gas Company is located at Ranger. The
States Oil Corporation and its affiliated Duquesne Corporation, which i--
one of the most important in the Eastland County field, and which has
several times led all other companies in production, is located at Eastland,
its headquarters, buildings, shops and improvements representing an in-
vestment of about a half million dollars. The Associated Oil Company,
of California, has its Texas headquarters at Eastland, where is also
located the division headquarters of the Empire Gas & Fuel Company
and the Gulf Production Company. The Gulf Production Company also
maintains its pipe line headquarters at Ranger. The Ardizone-Braden
( )il Company, the Southwestern Oil Development Company, the Mont-
real Oil Company and several others have their Texas headquarters at
Kastland, and nearly all have erected valuable and expensive improve-
ments.

Cisco is the West Texas headquarters of the Humble Oil & Refining
Company, and this concern has built a plant near Cisco which is one of
the most elaborate and expensive in the oil fields. The Texas Company
also maintains its division headquarters at Cisco. Important operators
and corporations are also located at Desdemona. Gorman and Rising
Star.

As an index of the importance of the oil industry in Eastland County
the following figures, obtained from the headquarters of various com-
panies, of date the 1st of December, 1920, are significant : Wells now
drilling, 407 ; wells located, to be immediately drilled, 138. These sta-
tistics refer only to new operations as of the month of November, 1920.
and do not include wells already drilled, either producing or abandoned.
For the month of November. 1920, the average production of the t'ast-
land County fields, as reported by the ten major oil companies, was
approximately 25,000 barrels per dav, with an approximate value in dailv
production of $100,000.

The city of Eastland is the county seat of Eastland County and has
been practically since its organization. Early in the oil development a
city ordinance was adopted prohibiting any drilling within the city limits,
and the city, which is under a commission form of government, has been
projected and built upon lines of permanency and future development
which are somewhat unique in an oil field city. The taxable values of
the city are nearly ten million dollars. It has four banks, with an aggre-
gate banking capital of $600,000 and deposits of nearly $5,000,000.
It has a complete sewerage system covering the entire city limits, with
one incinerator and disposal plant erected and another under contract.
It has a bond issue upon which some fifteen miles of vitrified brick pave-
ment are projected and under contract, and work has already been com-
pleted on all the main business streets. It has natural gas distributed
throughout the city and suburbs by a local concern, and reservoirs con-
taining over three million gallons of stored water, either built or under

748 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

construction, for municipal uses. It has a one-hundred-thousand-dollar
city hall, with an auditorium seating 1.200 people, and a fire department
with fifteen firemen and fire equipment representing nearly $100,000.
It has a high school and two ward schools, and plans are now under
way for the erection of a $250,000 new high school building. It has
scholastic attendance of about 1.500 in the city schools. The fire limits
of Eastland are very rigid, and practically the entire business part of
the city is within fire limits, in which the buildings are of brick or fire-
proof construction. It has two five-story bank and office buildings, rep-
resenting an investment of more than $ii00,000. and twelve hotels,
with an aggregate capacity of 500 guests, and two new hotels, the Con-
nellee and the Harwood. under contract, which, when completed, will
afford accommodations for between 400 and 500 additional guests. The
two new hotels mentioned will represent an additional investment of
more than half a million dollars.

Eastland is making a special effort to locate factories and industries
of this character. The Oil Belt Power Company, a $5,000,000 con-
cern, has its headquarters at Eastland and its plant three miles south-
east of Eastland, on the Leon River. This concern, which proposes to
manufacture and distribute electric power and light throughout West
Texas, has a reservoir created by damming the South Leon River, which
impounds nearly half a million gallons of water. It has already installed
and in operation engines with a capacity of ten thousand horsepower
and is now engaged in installing the necessarv machinery to double this
capacity. From this plant is furnished electric light and power for
nearly all of the important cities of West Texas and also power for
pumping oil wells and for drilling operations, it having been success-
fully demonstrated that electricity is the cheapest power for pumping
and drilling operations in this oil field.

Within a radius of two or three miles of the city of Eastland is a
present and potential gas production of hundreds of millions of cubic
feet a day, and it is planned to utilize tin- practically unlimited water
supply available, with the cheap electric power and cheap gas. for the
purpose of encouraging the location of industries, and to this end the
Commercial Club is offering free factory sites and practically free water.
with a remarkably low rate for both gas and electric power.

Ranges
Ranger has a population of Id, 205; 35 miles of light and power lines.
52 miles of gas mains. M miles of sewer mains, a $50,000 postoffice
building; twctitv-six hotels, four banks, with a combined capital of
$500,000. and deposits of over $7,000,000; a chamber of commerce.
with 2.250 members, a live daily paper; ten religious denominations; a
modern theater building, with a seating capacity of 1,250. The assessed
valuation of the city is $12,425,618, with a tax rate of $1.50 on the $100
valuation. Building permits for 1920 represent $2,(>54,(XX). There are
thirtv blocks of brick pavement laid on a live inch concrete base.

( I SCO
( ISCO has gained the reputation of being one of the cleanest and most
healthful cities in tin- state, and its citizens are notabl) progressive. < iiu

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 749

of the newest enterprises in addition to the reservoir is the construction
of a $250,000 high school, the funds for which have been voted and the
bonds approved by the attorney general.

The city hall is a neat, substantial brick building. Cisco is not,
strictly speaking, an oil town, but rather a source of supplies for the
surrounding oil country, and a neat, quiet and attractive residence place
for the better class of oil men. The principal streets, and even some of
the alleys, are paved and the town is not disfigured by unsightly shacks,
straggling sheds, or any of the miscellaneous debris characteristic of the
average oil town. The city is strictly under the reign of law and order,
and its aspect is that of a thoroughly civilized community. But though
quiet and orderly, Cisco is not dead. The pulse of business life beats
strongly. Some of the large companies connected more or less closely
with the oil industry are represented here. There is an active chamber
of commerce, and several important enterprises are now well under way.
Perhaps the most important of these is the immense water reservoir, the
construction of which began last September (1920), and which, when
completed, will be the largest artificial water reservoir in the entire
South. For the construction of this reservoir the citizens of Cisco voted
with practical unanimity for the issuance of a million dollars in bonds,
which bonds were readily disposed of and the money deposited in the
banks. The low tax rate of 75 cents and the high tax valuation approach-
ing the fifteen-million-dollar plane, made it possible for the city fathers
to dispose of bonds when other municipalities of similar size have no
market for their securities.

Though Cisco as yet has made no record as an oil town, oil produc-
tion has been found within four or five miles, in one place at 1,600 feet
and in another at between 3,000 and 3,500 feet; and Cyrus Drury and
associates are now drilling a well just beyond the south limits of the
city, intending to go 3,500 feet if necessary.

Cisco is the headquarters for a number of oil and supply houses, and
two years ago the Illinois Torpedo Company established a nitro plant
three miles from town, the concern manufacturing nitro-glycerine car-
tridges for shooting wells. This company operates out of Cisco through
the whole Central Texas field.

Ector County
The Texas & Pacific Railway passes diagonally through Ector County,
and soon after that road was completed, in 1881, three stations were
established within the present limits of Ector County — Odessa, now the
county seat, Doura and Metz. These were the shipping stations for
<tock gathered from the surrounding ranges and points of receipt for
supplies to the ranchmen, who in scattered numbers occupied all the
country on both sides of the railroad. Off the railroad no other towns
have been established in thirty years, and the level plains and breaks of
the county have never had any important use except for the grazing of
live stock. The eastern part of the county belongs in the shallow water
belt, and during the last few years some development has been done in
farming by irrigation. There is not a running stream of any kind in
the county, but the rich growth of nutritious grasses has made the county
a favorite resort for stockmen for many years.

750 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Ector County was created from the western portion of Tom Green
County, February 20. 1887. and was organized January 6, 1891. Its
population in 1890 was 2.241 ; in 1900, 381 ; in 1910, 1.1/8, and in 1920.
760. Immigration has been fairly rapid during recent years. In 1903
the property valuation was $1,324,184; in 1909. $3,224,731; in 1913,
$3,268,005, and in 1920, $3,086,305.

In 1910 there were eighty-four farms in the county, preceding census
haying reported twenty-five. The total area of the county is 570,880
acres, of which 452.860 acres were occupied in farms in 1910, but onlv
4,796 acres in "improved land," representing an important increase since
1900, when only 92 acres were so classified. The chief source of wealth
is cattle, and 23,765 were enumerated in 1910, and about 1,400 horses
and mules. In 1920 there were 14,858 cattle, and 787 horses and mules
The acreage in kaffir corn and milo maize in 1909 was 1.524: in hay and
forage crops, 340: in cotton, 222, and in corn, 216.

I -'.rath County

The development of this country began during the decade of the
'70s. after the fear of Indian raids had ceased. Population increased
six or sevenfold during the '70s, and since 1880 has increased about
300 per cent. Erath County is well above the average agriculturally,
with cotton its largest crop, is also a producer of apples and peaches,
lias coal mines in the northern part, and still retains a share of the
live stock activities that once were almost the sole industry.

Erath County was created January 25, 1856, from Bosque and Cor-
yell counties. Settlement began in the early '50s, and before the county
was organized the town of Stephenville had been laid out. Its pro
prietors on July 4, 1855. offered land for the county buildings, pro-
vided the county seat was located there, and the legislative act above
noted designated that town as the seat of justice, provided these
donations were made.

The population of tin county in 1858 was estimated at 7(>u and
only about 1.500 acres were in cultivation. For twenty years after
the count) was organized it was on the frontier, and property was
never secure from Indian raids. After the war this entire region was
in the great cattle ranges.

In 1860 the population of the count), according to the Federal
census, was 2,425. There was a decrease during the war decade, and
in 1870 tli. population was 1.801 ; in 1880, it was 11,796 {2^<7 negroes) :
in 1890, 21,594; in L900, 29,966; in 1910, 32.095: in 1920. 28.385.

The count}- has a considerable foreign element, chiefly furnished
by the three countries of [taly, Austria and Mexico.

The Texas Centra] Railroad, which began building in 187'', was
completed through Erath County about 1881. Rapid development

followed, a large number of fanners came in and partly dispossessed
the range cattle men. and the raising of wheal became an important
industry. In 1882 the country had four sawmills and four cotton gins,
dependent on the agricultural activities. Along the line of the rail

road were established the towns of Dublin. Alexander ami Mount
Airy. Stephenville, though twelve miles from the railroad, still led ill

FORT WORTH \XH L'HE TEXAS NORTHWEb'J 751

population and had an annual trade of about $400,000. Duffau and
Morgan's Mill were other settlements at that time.

In October, 1890, the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad was com-
pleted to Stephenville. During the first decade of the present century
the Stephenville North & South Texas Railroad was built from
Stephenville south to Hamilton, and has since been acquired by the
St. Louis Southwestern (the Cotton Belt). The coal deposits at Thur-
ber have been developed in recent years, and that is now a considerable
mining town and also a center for the manufacture of paving brick.
In agriculture, the county has made great progress since the first rail-
road came. Special claims are made for the apple crop of Erath
County. In 1910 the county had 4,225 farms, as compared with 3,783
at the preceding census. Of a total area of 693,120 acres, much the
greater part was occupied by farms, and about 256,000 acres were
classified as "improved land." Stock interests are: Cattle, 21,800;
horses and mules, about 12,238; hogs, 9,647.

The assessed wealth of Erath County in 1870 was only $356,916;
in 1882, $2,240,917; in 1903. $6,456,815; in 1913, $12,071,575. and in
1920, $14,276,830.

In 1920 the principal towns of the county, in order of population,
were Dublin, Stephenville, Thurber, Alexander, Duffau and Bluffdale.
Dublin and Stephenville have been close rivals as population and busi-
ness centers in recent years.

Stephenville

Tlie city of Stephenville was established about the year 1860 and
was named for Col. John M. Stephen, one of its very earliest settlers,
who acquired the John Blair survey, on which the town site is located.
There are a number of persons residing there who are descendants of
Colonel Stephen, some of whom are J. M. McNeill and S. J. McNeil!
and the family of the late James M. Stephen, who recently died there
after a residence of sixty-four years.

file town has undergone a gradual growth until it is now a pros-
perous and thriving city, keeping its step with the general progress
of the state of which it forms a part. Its population is 3,891, as shown
by the last census report. John Tarleton Junior A. & M. College has
recently been established in the town, which institution is a branch oi
the A. & M. College of Texas.

In addition to the John Tarleton Junior A. & M. College, there are
two public school buildings, with satisfactory attendance.

There are six churches, four banks, one oil refinery, one flour mill.
one cottonseed oil mill, four cotton gins, one machine shop and an
active Chamber of Commerce, which gives diligent attention to all
matters calculated to increase the growth and progress of the town.

Dublin
In 1884 the town of Dublin was incorporated for school purposes.
K. H. McCain was the first mayor and J. E. Bishop first marshal. In
1879 the first surveying party of the Texas Central Railroad passed
through Dublin The railroad company decided to establish a depot
at Mount Airy, four and one-half miles west of Dublin. The citizens

MiCEe Err r" :CE !B" '»» «t

El Paso M rn Bi si mess Block

FORT WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 753

of Dublin did not move, but laid out a town along the railroad and
began to build. In 1889 the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway was
built into Dublin.

The first newspaper, The Dublin Enterprise, printed on a job press,
under the firm name of Birchmore & Co., with Dr. J. G. O'Brien as
editor, issued its first paper May 16, 1881.

Prohibition was voted in Dublin in 1903.

At present there is a population of about 4,000. There are two
national banks and one state bank, with a combined capital and sur-
plus of $240,000 and total deposits of about $1,500,000. There are two
modern school buildings, with an enrollment of about 1,000 pupils.
Dublin has one refinery in operation and another in course of construc-
tion. The third railroad, The Wichita Falls, Ranger & Fort Worth, is
now complete and in operation, and Dublin is fast becoming a dis-
tributing center. It has three wholesale houses, two flour mills, an
ice plant, a poultry packing plant, steam laundry, municipally-owned
water and sewer system, good hotels and splendid churches.

Dublin is also the division point of the Frisco, and this company is
spending a large sum of money in building a roundhouse and shops
here. The town supports a wideawake Chamber of Commerce, and
is constantly pushing ahead for any and everything that will lead to
further development.

El Paso County

While the Texas Republic, after winning its independence in 1836,
claimed the Rio Grande as its boundary from the mouth through all
its sinuous course to the West and North, even beyond the City of
Santa Fe in what is now New Mexico, and the Santa Fe expedition
of 1841 was projected to establish the authority of the Republic in that
quarter, this jurisdiction was really nominal and it required the success
of the arms of the United States during the Mexican war of 1846-48
to actually establish the Rio Grande as the international border north
and west to the 32° of latitude. Thus, that portion of Texas sometimes
known as the Western Panhandle, and included between the Pecos
and Rio Grande and the line of New Mexico on the north, was a Mexi-
can territory, inhabited almost entirely by Mexican people, until the
forces of the United States invaded it at the time of the Mexican war
and subsequently established their various military posts in that
region, including Fort Bliss, Fort Davis and Fort Stockton.

In 1850 the Texas Legislature divided the Trans-Pecos country
into two immense counties, El Paso and Presidio counties. El Paso
County included the extreme western corner of the state, with an area
of over 8,000 square miles, and this immense territory was reduced by
the formation of Culberson County from its eastern half in 1911. In
1917 the county was reduced more than one-half by the creation of
Hudspeth, which was organized, with Sierra Blanca as the county
seat. The population of the count}- for successive decades from 1870 to
1910 includes figures also for the new counties of Culberson and
Hudspeth. In 1870, El Paso County had a population of 3.671; in
1880. 3,845; in 1890, 15,678; in 1900.. 24,886; in 1910. 52.599, including

754 I mR | WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

about 22,000 Mexicans and about 1,500 negroes; in 1920, the popu-
lation of El Paso County alone was 101,860.

Nearly all the population is grouped, either in the city of El Paso
or the few towns along the railways, and the country districts are very
sparsely inhabited. El Paso County has a mountainous surface,
though there is much level land, and outside of the irrigation district
along the Rio Grande and the industry centering in the city of El Paso.
stock raising is the leading occupation.

In the mountains are found valuable deposits of marble and gran-
ite, copper and silver are found in the Quitman Mountains, and lead
and zinc in the mountains near El Paso.

El Paso City is the center of the economic resources and the his
tory of this region. This brief sketch of the county will refer only to
some general statistics affecting the county as a whole, including the
recently created Culberson County and still more recent Hudspeth
County. The assessed value of taxable property in El Paso County in
1870 was $821,043; in 1882, after the railroads had come, $3,974,444;
in 1903, $15,073,039; in 1909, before the separation of Culberson
County, $38,455,297; in 1913, $45,693,385; in 1920.. $64,276,830. In
1913, the assessed wealth of Culberson County was $4,617,206; in
1920. $4,372,564. The last census gave the following statistics con-
cerning farming and live stock in what are now El Paso. Hudspeth
and Culberson counties. The total area at that time was 5,971,840
acres, and less than half was included in farms and ranches. The
number of farms was 669, as compared with 318 in 1900, and the
amount of "improved land" increased from about 6,000 acres in 1900
to about 17,000 acres in 1910. In 190°- there were 446 irrigated farms,
practically all of which were in the Rio Grande Valley, in El Paso
County, and about $300,000 had been invested in irrigation improve
ments, and the total acreage watered was 23,308. The number of live
stock comprised 04,966 cattle; about 8,000 horses and mules; 5,913
sheep, and 2,575 goats. In 1920, there were 6,750 cattle; 1,925 horses
and mules ; 1,600 sheep ; 5.2(H) gi iats. In 190Q, 8,1% acres were planted
in hay and forage crops, and a limited acreage in corn, oats, wheat
and kaffir corn and milo maize. About 475 acres were in potatoes,
sweet potatoes and other vegetables. There were 16.000 orchard fruit
trees and about 36,000 grape vines. As to the hind of the counts out-
side of the Rio Grande Valley, a report of the Commissioner of the
General Land Office in 1905 stated thai over 2,000,000 acres were
owned by the public school fund, and over 1,000,000 acres of university
land. So far, the only profitable use to which they have been put is
for cattle and sheep raising.

I in-. ( nv OF El Paso

The city of El Paso is the subject of some historical confusion,
owing to a singular transposition of names. While the English colo-
nies in America were yet in their infancy. El Paso del Norte, on the
south bank of the Rio Grande, was an important town, and at the time
ol the Texas Revolution it had a population of several thousand. At
thai time the present site of the city of PI Paso, on the north bank of

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 755

the Rio Grande, contained onlj the imposing hacienda of Juan Maria
Ponce de Leon.

Following the Mexican war the settlement on the north bank be-
came a principal relay station on the Overland Mail Route, and a
small settlement grew up under the name of Franklin, named for the
lirst postmaster, Franklin Coons.

Late in the fifties the far-seeing statesmanship of Jefferson Davis,
then Secretary of War, projected the line of the first transcontinental
railroad through "The Pass." Roused by this action, the owners of
the "Ponce Grant" mapped the nucleus of the future city through the
agency of a young engineer, Anson Mills, since distinguished as a
soldier and a diplomat, who gave to the plat the name of El Paso.

In 1889 the Mexican town of El Paso del Norte changed its name
to Juarez, to commemorate the Mexican president of that name, and
the American city became the sole heir to the historic name.

The American Civil war, crushing out, for the time, the prospect of
a southern transcontinental railway, the little settlement slumbered
for a generation. It was incorporated in 1873, but the corporation
lapsed and was not restored until 1881, when the building in of the
Southern Pacific Railway from the west, the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railway from the north and the Texas & Pacific Railway
from the east, gave the impetus for the steadv growth which mounted
in 1890 to a population of 10,000, in 1900 to' 16.000, in 1910 to 39,000
and in 1920 to 78,000.

The city is the center of an immense jobbing trade, covering trans-
Pecos Texas, New Mexico and Southern Arizona, besides being the
gateway for trade with the Republic of Mexico.

El Paso is the home of extensive manufactories, having the largest
commercial smelter in North America, the immense planing mills and
box factories of the Pearson Milling Company's great iron foundries
and cement works, and innumerable lesser industrial plants. The city
is the financial, commercial, recreational, educational and religious
center of an area as large as Texas.

All of the leading religious denominations have flourishing con-
gregations, filling handsome houses of worship, and several denomina-
tions maintain commodious hospitals and sanatoriums. The Baptist
Sanatorium, now in course of construction, will represent a construc-
tion cost of $1,000,000, and is expected to be the largest denomina-
tional institution of that character in the United States. In 1914 the
city became the seat of the Catholic bishopric, the Right Reverend
Anthony J. Schuler being consecrated as the first bishop.

El Paso established the first free public kindergarten in Texas. Its
public school system has kept pace with the best progress of the
state, and its high school has few superiors. In addition to the public
school system there are a number of denominational and secular train-
ing schools for the training of both sexes. The State School of Mines,
a flourishing branch of the State University, is located at El Paso.

The El Paso Public Library houses the most important collection
of government publications to lie found in the Southwest, and through.

756 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

the comprehensive system of co-operation with Eastern Libraries un-
dertakes to supply all of the needs of serious students in any field.

The Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, the Texas &
Pacific Railway, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, the
Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, the El Paso & Southwestern
Railway, the Mexican Central Railway and the Northwestern Rail-
way of Mexico radiate from the city in all directions.

In company with the fertile, irrigated valleys surrounding it, the
city has shared the benefits of the immense government irrigation
reservoir at Elephant Butte. Having its inception, like so many other
Western towns, under the shadow of Fort Bliss, its progress as a
military center has kept pace with its other development. In 1915 it
witnessed, in the mobilization of 50,000 troops of the National Guard.
the largest concentration of troops which the United States had
effected in a generation, and today the vast military depots at Fort
(Miss can completely equip for field service two divisions of the Amer-
ican army.

El Paso equipped and sent to the world war three companies of
infantry, which saw service in France — Companies A and B of the
First Texas Infantry, and Company K of the Fourth Texas Infantry.
In all. more than 4,000 men from El Paso were enlisted in the army.
navy and marine corps during the World War.

Fisher County

The development of Fisher County is quite accurately measured
by the population statistics. At the census of 1880 only 136 persons
were enumerated within the thirty miles square of territory which had
been created by the Legislature in 1876. The county was at that time
unorganized and a county government was instituted in 1886. In
1881. the Texas & Pacific Railway was built across Western Texas,
and about three miles of the track was laid in Fisher County, along the
southern border. On this mileage was established one station, Eskota.
but the principal shipping point for a number of years was at Sweet-
water. A large immigration followed, but chiefly stockmen, and by
1890 the population was 2.996. Between 1881 and 1900 no new rail-
roads were built, and tin- pastoral characteristics were continued and
little farming attempted. By 1900 the population was 3,708.

During the present century there have been many development-*
Population increased bj 1910 to 12,596. more than 300 per cent. Bj
190S the Kansas City, Mexico & < (rient Railway was in operation from
Sweetwater through the country north toward Red River. Ab.mt
1907 the Texas Central Railway was extended from Stamford west to
Rotan in Fisher County. In 1911 the Texico-Coleman, a cut off of the
Santa Fe System, crossed the southwestern corner of tin- county. In
the meantime, the Orient Railway having been built to the east of
the county seat of Roby, a short line, known as the Estacado & Gulf,

was graded from MeCaulley on the main line of the < liient to Roby, a

■ i mi- of twelve miles, and the track was laid from McCaullej to

within three miles of Roby. but was nevei completed. In 1915 the

material of this road ivaj taken up and a road built with it from Roby

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 757

id North Ruby, a distance of four miles, on the main line of the Texas
Centra] Railway. This road is now (1920) in operation. In 1907 tin-
Texas Central was extended from Stamford to its present terminus at
Rotan, twelve miles northwest of Roby. Rotan is now the largest
town in the county. The principal towns, in 1920, are, in the order
of their size, Rotan, Roby, McCaulley, Sylvester, Royston, Longworth,
Eskota and North Roby.

In 1903 the assessed valuation of property in the county was $2,292-
8.32; in 1909, $7,291,558; in 1913, $6,124,199; in 1920, $6,692,625. in
1910 the county had 1,839 farms and ranches, as compared with 519 in
1900. The total area of the county is 566,400 acres, four-fifths of which
were occupied in farms in 1910, and approximately 139,000 classified
as "improved land." The stock interests were enumerated as fol-
lows: Cattle, 9,244; horses and mules, 5,803. In 1909, 62,681 acres
were planted in cotton; 11,201 acres in hay and forage crops; 10,532
acres in kaffir corn and milo maize; 3,553 acres in corn, and a limited
acreage in oats, wheat and peanuts. About 45,000 orchard fruit trees
were enumerated.

Roby

The town of Roby was established in 1886 on land owned by I). C.
and M. L. Roby of Mississippi, and in this way got its name. It was
organized in 1886, and Roby and Fisher, four miles north on the Clear
Fork, were in the race for the county seat. At this time a two-story
frame building was erected for a court house, and a few years later
a substantial two-story rock jail was built, which still stands in good
condition. In 1910 a modern brick court house was erected. All the
original business buildings were of wood and most of them are gone
now. In their stead are now brick. The town has two banks, one
national and one state, both strong institutions, ten business houses,
well stocked with goods, a number of smaller business houses, a con-
crete garage, three gins, four church buildings, a light plant and water
works and a large two-story concrete school building. The Woodmen
and Odd Fellows own their own hall together. The Masons own their
hall, in which meet the Blue, Royal. Arch Council and Eastern Star
Lodges.

The Canadian and Del Rio Highway No. 4 runs north and south
through the county and the towns of Roby and Rotan. This highway
is about finished across the county. Rob)- is the center of one of the
finest bodies of land in this part of the state. The poorer land of the
county is on or near the boundaries.

Floyd County

Located in the heart of the Staked Plains region of Texas, Floyd
County had an unusual development in advance of railroad facilities.
In 1909 the Pecos & Northern Texas was constructed east from Plain-
view to Floydada, the county seat of Floyd County.

The development of the county up to 1910 is indicated by the
following statistics taken from the report of the last census. At that
time there were 620 farms in the county, as compared with 286 in 1900.
The total area of the county is 647,040 acres, of which 311.1 IS acres

758 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

were in farms and ranches, and about 73.000 acres cultivated, against
about 19,000 acres in 1900. The county produces a great variety of
crops. In 1909, 15,335 acres were planted in hay and forage crops:
10,981 acres in kaffir corn and milo maize; 4.568 acres in corn; 2,956
acres in cotton; 1,562 acres in oats; a limited acreage in wheat, while
the horticultural interests were represented by about 31,000 orchard
fruit trees and about 4,000 grape vines. The number of cattle in 1910
was 15,896; of horses and mules, 6,400; hogs, 4,200, and poultry, 25,192.

These figures indicate that the county at that time was not far
behind man}- older and eastern counties of the state, and since then.
with the advent of the railroad, the progress along agricultural lines
has been much greater. Practically all this development has taken
place in the last twenty years, and the first crop of cotton was planted
about ten years ago.

Floyd was one of the counties created on August 21. 1876, and a
local government was organized May 28, 1890. When the census of
1880 was taken, only three inhabitants were found in the county. In
1890 the population was 52^; in 1900. 2,020: in 1910, 4,638. and in 1920.
''.758. The value of property in the county in 1903 was assessed at
81.743,965; the rapid increase of wealth during the next ten years was
indicated by the figures for 1913, which were $6, 544. 33(>; in 1920.
$8,305,300. The rapid development of the county is shown by the fact
that it now ranks second in the state in point of hog production and
fourth in poultry production. The county has shipped for the past
three years, the heaviest tonnage of wheat of any county in the Pan
handle.

Floydada

Floydada, the county seat, had a population in 1910 of (>64. and has
greatly improved since the railroad came. It now has two banks, with
deposits averaging slightly under $2,000,000; live churches, two of
which are magnificent buildings, and its schools are affiliated with the
Texas University. Grain, cotton, hogs, cattle, poultry and dain
products are the principal commodities shipped from Floydada. Sev-
eral large mercantile establishments make it a desirable trading point.
The second town in the countv is Lockney, also mi the railway.

Foard County

Foard County was created from adjacent counties March 3. 1891,
and organized April 17. 1891. At that time the town of Crowell was
started and was given the honor of the county seat. No towns were
developed of any importance until recent years, and until the comple-
tion of the Orienl Railroad through the center of the count) in 1909,
the nearest shipping points were at Quanah and Vernon, to which
towns the farm crops and the cattle from the ranches were sent. A
number of large ranches are still operated in the county, but the live
stock industry has undergone many changes in recent years, and tin-
modern stock farming and diversified agriculture are now the chief
resources. Foard Counts is in the wheat region of Northwest Texas

hut COttOn is the largest single Crop, and the area of cultivated land is

being extended even ; ear.

FORT WORTH \.\l) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 7~?'>

In 1900 the population of the county was 1,568; in 1910, 5,726; in
1920, 4,747. At the last census, (row ell, the county seat, had a popula-
tion of 1,341. Other towns are Foard City, Thalia, Rayland and Mar
garet. The total area of the county is 391,680 acres, it being one of the
smaller counties in Northwest Texas. The last census reported
290,704 acres in farms, with about 73,000 acres as "improved land," as
compared with about 24,000 acres in 1900. There were 718 farms in
1910 and 210 in 1900. The number of cattle in 1910 was 15,879; in
1920. 12,402; horses and mules, about 5,208. The largest crop in 1909
was cotton, 21.356 acres; corn. 9,155 acres; wheat, 6,667 acres; kaffir
corn and milo maize, 3,495 acres ; oats, 2,298 acres ; hay and forage
crops, 2,509 acres, and about 10,000 orchard fruit trees were enum-
erated. The total assessed valuation of the county in 1903 was $1,614,-
770; in 1913, $4,254,831 ; in 1920, $16,509,405.

The progress of the countv as a whole is reflected in the growth of
the county seat town from a country hamlet, before the railroad came,
to a new-built little city, with many of the municipal and business
facilities of older and larger cities. Crowell has an electric light plant,
water works, telephone system, a court house costing $60,000, several
school buildings, grain elevator, cotton gins, and a large variety and
number of commercial establishments to supply the needs of the
tributary country.

Gaines County

Created in 1876, Gaines County was organized in 1905. It was at
one time the haunt of a number of Seminole Indians, who frequented
the delightful valley afterwards named Seminole Draw. The county
seat and chief center of the count}- is Seminole. New Mexico forms
the western boundary of the county, and the surface is elevated, a
rolling prairie except where traversed by the draws, and practically
the only water supply is that found at convenient distance under
ground. Successful experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of
irrigation from this source, and within less than ten years a consider-
able acreage has been ' developed for agricultural purposes, either
through dry farming or by irrigation. Gaines has long been regarded
as one of the best live stock sections of West Texas.

In 1880 onlv eight inhabitants were found by the census enum-
erators; the population in 1890 was 68; in 1900, 55; in 1910, 1255 and
in 1920, 10,918. The town of Seminole was founded about the time the
county was organized, and there are one or two other small village
centers.

The total area of the county is 985,600 acres, of which about 500.-
000 acres were reported in 1910 as occupied in farms or ranches. At
that time about 20,000 acres were classified as "improved land," as
compared with onlv 55 in 1900. The number of farms increased from
6 in 1900 to 206 in 1910. The number of cattle in 1910 was 34,249 and
of horses and mules, about 1,250. In 1920, the number of cattle was
20,916; horses and mules, 2,919. In 1909, 4,255 acres were planted in
hay and forage crops; 3.709 acres in corn, and a limited acreage in
kaffir corn and milo maize. The settlers have given some attention
to fruit growing, the possibilities of which are promising, and the las;

VOL. 11—21

760 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

census reported about 2,000 orchard fruit trees. In 1913 the assessed
value of property in the county was $2,803,880. In 1920 the assessed
valuation was $4,043,510. The county has two railroads, one from
Midland to Seminole, a distance of sixty -five miles (known as the Mid-
land Northwestern Railway Co.), the other from Lubbock to Sea-
graves (Blythe. Postoffice). The terminus of the latter road is twenty
miles north of Seminole, the county seat.

Seminole

Seminole, the county seat of Gaines County, is located in the center
of the county. In 1919 the Commissioners' Court authorized the issu-
ance of warrants for the building of a modern, fireproof court house
and jail building. This building, completed and furnished, will cost
approximately $100,000. The town has a nice, modern school building.
thoroughly equipped and sufficiently large to care for the needs of
the town. The school has an enrollment of 125 pupils for the 1920-
1921 term. Since the organization of the county the town has main-
tained a nine-months term of school each year, with a sufficient num-
ber of teachers to render the best service. There are three churches,
ilinr parsonages, one bank, electric light plant, telephone system, lum-
ber yard and businesses of every description to the needs of the people.

In addition to the raising of cattle and hogs, corn, maize, kaffir
corn, cane and other forage crops, the experiments in the county
during the years of 1919-1920 prove the county to be very fine for the
production of cotton and broom corn.

Garza County

While formal boundaries were given to Garza Count) in 1876, it
remained without county government for more than thirty years, and
was organized in 1907. Its development has been greatlv promoted
since the completion oi the Tcxico-Coleman cut-off of the Santa Fe
System in 1911. This railroad crosses the count}- from southeast to
northwest.

I'ntil recent years, the entire area was given over to the grazing
of cattle. With the completion of the railroad came the advance guard
of farmers, and now many cares are in cultivation. Farming and fruit
growing reaches its highest state of development in tin- vicinity of
Post, one of the new and prosperous towns in the state. Post was
named in honor of the late C. W. Post, who acquired the ownership
of about 300,000 acres in that locality and did a great deal for the
town and surrounding country by introducing improved methods of
farming as well as cattle raising. The chief agricultural crop is cot-
ton, and Post has a cotton mill.

Mow rapidh the county has Keen settled in recent years is indi-
cated 1>\ population statistics. In 1880 the number of inhabitants was
36, and in 1890, only 14; in 1<«)0. 185. and the last census. P>20. reported
I-.253 inhabitants. Besides Post, the count} seat, there are several
railway stations and small trading centers. The last enumeration re
ported 18,310 cattle and 2.n45 horses ami mules. The total area of the

count} is 556,800 acres. While the greater part is occupied by farmers

and ranchmen, the amount of land in cultivation in 1900 was given as

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 761

545 acres, and by 1910 lliis class of land had increased to 16,400 acres.
There were thirty-eight farms and ranches in the county in 1900, and
eighty-one in 1910. In 1('09, 7,118 acres were planted in kaffir corn
and milo maize ; 660 acres in cotton and 654 acres in corn. The assessed
wealth of the county in 1900 was $1,915,395; in 1913, $3,004,174, and in
1920, $4,613,810.

Post

Post, the county seat of (iarza County, is located three miles from
the cap rock of the Plains, on the main line of the Santa Fe Railway.
It has a population of 1.700. The assessed valuation of property in
1920 is $1,040,000. A cotton mill for making sheets exclusively, 'giv-
ing employment to 300 and utilizing 5,000 bales of cotton yearly, is
located here. The output has a worldwide territory, being sold all
over the United States and in foreign countries.

The town has one of the best water works systems in Texas. The
water is pumped from wells in the plains, mostly by electricity from
the powerful engines from town, into immense reservoirs made of
concrete and absolutely mosquito-proof. The water has a 300-foot
fall, which gives it a 100-pound pressure. The town is regularly laid
out, wide streets, with sixty-five miles of shade trees. It has four
churches, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Christian. It has two
school buildings, costing $50,000, fully equipped. Domestic science
and manual training are taught, and it has an enrollment of 600 pupils.
The trustees are among the best business men of the town. Educating
the children is foremost in the hearts and minds of its citizenship. Post
has two strong banks, the First National and the First State, which
would be a credit to any town of 10,000 inhabitants. It has a Rock
Sanitarium, equipped with the best facilities money could buy. It
has electric lights, flashlight, telephone system, brick plant, has a cold
storage plant, sewers for the business part of town and the south side.
Some of the stores, offices and banks are steam-heated. The mer-
chants are up to date and carry good stocks, and garages are here on
every main street to care for tourists, as this is a favorite route on
account of the fine roads. Post has fine golf links. A beautiful lake
with shade trees nearly all around it, neatly built bathhouses and
boats, etc.. are there. It is the only resort of the kind in this section
of the country and consequently in season visitors are here from ad-
joining counties. Tourists know it, from California to the Gulf.

The ladies must not be overlooked, for they are a determined set in
the little town. Whenever they start something they put it over, if
not through one club another will. They have a hustling Mothers'
Club, a welfare club, a culture club, a supervised playground and
numerous other clubs, all working to the one aim of the upbuilding of
the town.

Post has Fair Grounds, with building, race tracks, etc., where a
county fair is held annually.

Post has a volunteer fire company, motor trucks and other equip-
ment, and with the splendid water system, insurance is cut to the
minimum.

762 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The town was laid out, promoted and named for C. W. Post, whose
name, connected with "Postum" and Grape Nuts," is a household
word.

Glasscock County

Lying at the foot of the Plains region of West Texas and originally
a part of Tom Green County, Glasscock County was created April 4,
1887, hut the county government was not organized until March 28.
1893. It was named in honor of George W. Glasscock, a participant
in the Texas Revolution and a prominent citizen of Williamson
County, whose first name is now carried in the county seat of Wil-
liamson.

While the county still has a meager population, its development
lias been fairly rapid since the beginning of the present century. Up
to that time its level area was occupied only by cattlemen with their
outfits, and in 1890 the population enumerated by the census was
208, and in 1900 only 286. At the last census the population was 555.
While the county has no railroad, it is included in the belt of country
developed by the Texas & Pacific Railway, and the chief market towns
and shipping centers are Midland and Big Springs on that road. Tin
chief topographical feature of the county is the Xorth Concho River,
with several tributaries, but the main source of water supply is the
underground sheet of water found beneath most West Texas coun-
ties, and for a number of years the farmers and Stockmen have used
wells driven by windmill power to pump water for stock and also, to
some extent, to irrigate the small truck and other crop fields. The
county seat is Garden City, and there are one or two other small vil-
lage centers.

At the last census 165 farms were enumerated as compared with
49 in 1900. The total area of the county is 554.240 acres, of which
356.720 aero were reported as included in farms, and of that amount
"improved land" was only 1,100 acres. Naturally, the stock interests
are the chief resources. The last census enumerated cattle. 12,114;
horses and mules, 1.204. and sheep, 12,960. While the growing of
vegetables and fruits has proved profitable through the aid of irriga
tion, the chief crops are those adapted to dry farming methods. In
1909. 1,966 acres were planted in kaffir corn and milo maize; 1,811
acres in cotton: 1.577 acres in hay and forage crops, and 259 acres in
corn, About 2.000 trees were enumerated in orchard fruits.

In 1903, the valuation of property was $1,032,391 ; i„ 1909, $1,944,
123; in 1913, $1,926,038; in 1920. $2,019,072.

( JK.w County

This county was one of the last of the Panhandle counties to be
organized, a count} government being instituted in 1902.

The population of the count v in 1880 was 56; in 1890, 203; in 1900,
480; in 1910. 3.405. and in 1920,4,663. The Kansas Southern division
of the Santa Fe System was constructed across the northwest pari o)
I In county during the latter '80s, and in 1903 the Rock Island Line
was built along the southern part of the county. The count) seat is
LeFors, no town al this time a- it i- oil' tin- railroad and lias no accom

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 763

modations, while an important town is Pampa, located in the north-
west part of the county, on the Santa Fe Railway line in the great
wheat growing belt. It is probably the largest wheat shipping point
on that line, having shipped in 1919 about 2,000,000 bushels of wheat
and a large amount of maize and kaffir corn and other products. There
are also large shipments of cattle made from this point.

Pampa has a population of about 1.200 inhabitants. The school
facilities are excellent and a high school building, valued at about
$100,000, is being completed. There are three churches, two banks,
the First National and the Gray County State Bank, and a dozen
mercantile establishments and five large elevators, several machine
shops and tractor repair works. Pampa has the distinction of having
the largest tractor demonstration and tractor school in the state of
Texas each year.

Gray County has several state highways. Highway No. 33 con-
nects with Highway No. 12, leading west from Elk City, Oklahoma, at
the state line, thence west to Wheeler, Mobeetie, Pampa, Whitedeer,
Panhandle, Amarillo, Canyon, Hereford. Farwell and across New
Mexico back into El Paso, Texas. The intracounty state highway,
to he known as the C-P-S., leads off from No. 5 at Clarendon, north
to Pampa, crossing No. 33 here, and north to Spearman, crossing the
Canadian River at the old adobe walls fighting grounds, and connects
with the Oklahoma State Highway at Guyman, Oklahoma, which runs
north to Lamar and Denver, Colorado. The A. B. O. Pass Highway
has its beginning at the Abo Pass Mountains in New Mexico, follow-
ing state highway No. 33 from Farwell, Amarillo to Pampa, and turns
north and follows the Intra County State Highway to Miami, Cana-
dian, and on to Kansas City, Missouri.

Allan Reed, another town in the southern part of the county, on
the Rock Island Railroad, has one bank, good schools and churches
and the Postal Highway passes through the town from Oklahoma City
to Amarillo.

The town of McLean, in the southeast part of the county, on the
Rock Island, has two banks, excellent schools, several churches. It
has good business houses, is a great shipping point, is surrounded by a
tine farming country and ships a large tonnage of watermelons and
fruits.

In 1903 the assessed valuation in Gray County was $1,244,000; in
1913, $3,564,083 ; in 1920, $4,222,723. Agricultural' progress is reflected
in the increase of improved land from about 9,000 acres in 1900 to
about 100,000 in 1920. The total area of the county is 575,360 acres.
The last enumeration reported 26,902 cattle, 6,132 horses and mules.
Considerable interest is being manifested in horticulture, and the last
enumeration reported about 12,000 orchard fruit trees and a number
of small vineyards and other fruits.

Hale County

Hale County has been in the line of development in the Plains
country of Northwest Texas for a long time. It received a consider-
able share of the population that peopled the Panhandle, and though

764 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

remote from railways until recently, it sustained a larger population
and had greater wealth than any of the adjoining counties. While the
counties to the east and south had a mere handful of inhabitants up to
the beginning of the present century. Hale County in 1890 had a popu-
lation of 721 : this increased by 1900 to 1.680. One of the chief
reasons for tin- early development of Hale County is found in its
topographv. The following description, taken from a statistical re-
port of 1903, explains the conditions which favored the early stockmen
and farmers. The county "is situated in the center of the Staked
Plains, and is one level prairie from center to circumference, almost
every acre of which can be cultivated. It has no rivers, creeks, hills.
mountains or forests. The only watercourses of any kind are from
slight depressions called 'draws.' which trend from northwest to south-
east. The drainage consists of a succession of saucer-shaped basins,
varying in size from 1 to 1,000 acres, and so situated as to form t In-
most perfect drainage and yet retain every drop of the rainfall. On
this account a small rain here does as much good as a large rain does
in a country where most of the water is carried away by creeks. Many
of these basins hold water the year round, and hence are called surface
lakes. In any of these draws water can be had by digging to a depth
varying from ten to twenty feet." The existence of an inexhaustible
underground lake was understood a number of years ago. and this
supply was formerly made available largely through windmill pumps,
and tlie water stored in earthen tanks for stock and other use.

The soil of Hale County is notably fertile, and the level surface
offers ideal conditions for irrigation. .Aside from the watering of
small garden patches and fruit orchards, irrigation made little prog
ress until within the last four years, and agriculture was largely de
pendent upon the natural rainfall, supplemented by unusual favorable
conditions for dry farming. In about 1('10 was introduced a new phase
in irrigation methods, the remarkable results of which can only be
estimated, but which in the course of a few years must revolutionize
agricultural productions in this county. In that year a deep well
\\ as sunk and by means of gasoline pow er and some centrifugal pumps
water was brought to the surface in such abundance that the irriga
lion of a large field could be dependable and highly profitable. Since
then many such wells have been put down without a single failure,
and in some cases these flow to as much as 3,000 gallons per minute.
While much private capital has since been invested in irrigation plants
in Hale County, perhaps the best proof of confidence in its possibili-
ties is found in the fact that the Pearson Syndicate of New York and
London recently incorporated the Texas I. and & Development Com-
pany, bought mure than (i(UH)U aires ()f land in the vicinity of Plain-
view, and is now developing a large plant for irrigation, the total in
vestment being estimated at more than $3,000,000. Where irrigation
has been employed, some remarkable crops have been produced. Hale
l on nt \ is one of the chief centers for the grow jng of alfalfa, and w beat,

o.i i and the staple forag< crops of the northwestern counties also yield
abundant]) Hale * ountj is also coming into fame as one of the
principal fruit sections of Northwest Texas Hale Count) wheat has

FORT Wuklll \\|) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 7t>?

taken hrst premiums at the Dallas State Fair for three years, and in
1913 the county's products won seventy first and second premiums at
the same fair, more than all other counties combined, in the competi-
tion in farm, garden and horticultural products.

Hale County was created in 1876 and was organized with a local
government August 5, 1888. In 1903 its assessed valuation was $1,-
697,875; the rapid growth of the next ten years is indicated by the
figures for 1913, which were $8,547,561 ; in 1920 they were $14,135,805.
While the count)' had a population of nearly 2,000 at the beginning
of the present century, it was still without railways. The towns in
the county in 1903, all of them small, were Plainview, the county seat,
Hale Center, Petersburg and Running Water.

In 1907 the line of the Pecos & Northern Texas was extended from
Canyon City south to Plainview, and by 1910 had been extended south
to Lubbock. About 1910, a branch of the same road was built east
from Plainview through Lockney to Floydada. The railroads have
been followed by rapid development along all lines, and several towns
have sprung up, including Abernathy, Ellen and Finney. Plainview,
which seven or eight years ago was described as merely a point on
the cowpath across the plains and sixty -five miles from a shipping
point, had a population in 1010 of 2,829, and now claims more than
5,000. It is a prosperous little city with many improvements, has
$50,000 invested in public schools, is the center for the Wayland Bap-
tist College and the Seth Ward Methodist College; has ten churches,
three national banks, flour mills, elevators, wholesale houses, and is
the logical market center for the great irrigation and stock farming
districts of Hale County. The live stock and agricultural development
of the county up to 1910, hefore the introduction of irrigation on an ex-
tensive scale, is exemplified in some figures from the last census report.
At that time there were 731 farms in the county, as compared with 25^
in 1900. In 1900 only 20,000 acres were classified as "improved land,"
but by 1910 this had increased to about 127,000 acres. The total area of
the county is 663,040 acres, of which 379,679 acres were in farms or
ranches in 1910. Live stock statistics : Cattle, 2,050 ; horses and
mules, 7,550; hogs, 4,430; sheep, 13,600. In 1909 the largest acreage
was devoted to hay and forage crops, 28,570, including 3,619 acres in
alfalfa ; in kaffir corn and milo maize, 14,329 acres were planted ; corn,
5,757 acres; wheat, 2,862 acres; oats, 941 acres, while the horticultural
resources of the county at that time were indicated by the presence of
about 70.000 orchard fruit trees and about 12,000 grape vines and other
fruit.

Hall County

The first Panhandle railroad, the Fort Worth & Denver City, com-
pleted in 1888, crossed the northeast corner of Hall County and in-
augurated an era of town building and agricultural development in a
section which had for a dozen years been pre-eminently the home of
the stockman. At the census of 1880, Hall County had a population
of only 36. By 1890 the inhabitants numbered 703. and in spite of
the hard conditions which prevailed here, as elsewhere, during the
'90s, the population by 1900 was 1.670. Since the beginning of the

766 FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

present century, Hall County has become well settled, and in 1910
the census enumerated 8,279 people residing within its boundaries;
in 1920, 11,137, showing 34.5 per cent increase. The countv seat is
Memphis, one of the nourishing towns of the Panhandle, with a popu-
lation in 1910 of 1,936; in 1920, 2,855. Two other railroads towns are
Xewlin and Estelline. while several other postoffices and store cen-
ters are found in the back districts of the county.

Hall Count)' was created in 1876 and was organized June 23, 1890.
While the early agricultural settlers in this and other sections of the
Panhandle fell short of success because they depended upon methods
long in vogue in other states, the modern farmers of the present cen-
tury have conformed to local conditions, and in consequence Hall
County produces an important share of the splendid aggregate of
crops raised in the Panhandle. In 1900 there were only 219 farms and
ranches in the county, but by 1910 this number had increased to 1,028.
The total area of the county is 576,640 acres, of which 458,250 acres
were in cultivation, and by 1910 about 117,000 acres were "improved
land." Cotton is still the leading money crop, but diversified farming
is increasing and the growing of the Panhandle staples, including
alfalfa, along the bottoms of the Red River Valley, and also horticul-
ture, are receiving greater attention every year. In 1909, 51,64*1 acres
were planted in cotton ; 14,317 acres in hay and forage crops, includ-
ing about 200 acres in alfalfa; 11,649 acres in kaffir corn and milo
maize, and 10,850 acres in corn. About 16,000 orchard fruit trees were
enumerated and most of the homeowners raised fruit and vegetables.
The last census reported 21,350 cattle; 7,065 horses and mules. In
1903 the valuation of property in the county was $1,838,331; by 1913,
the valuation was $5,982,217, and in 1920, $9,701,273.

County Seat

Memphis is the county seat and has some 3,000 population. The
city has all modern conveniences and improvements. Three $30,000
churches, a $50,000 high school, two ward schools, a Carnegie Library
and an abundance of shade trees, with thirteen miles of sidewalk, make
the town an ideal one. The besl and purest water supply of the entire
Panhandle furnishes .Memphis with drinking water and an abundance
for all other domestic purposes. This water Mows from under the
plains, coming out in the foothills five miles above Memphis and is
brought to the city by gravity pipe line. No steam pressure is needed
to force the water for fire protection. Three banks, three wholesale
houses, together with the most up-to-date mercantile stores, give every
required facility in business lines. Two grain elevators, oil mill, steam
laundry and ice and electric plant guarantee every modern service.

1 1 vnsford County

Organized Februarj 14. 1889, Hansford Countv had a population

in 18X0 of 18; ,n IS'H)." 133 ; in 1900, 1<>7; in 1910,935; in 1920. 1,354.

Situated in the northern tier of Panhandle counties, it has a branch

of the Santa Fe Railroad, constructed in I'M') running to Spearman.

which has a population of 530 inhabitants. Besides the underground
water supplies, reached at a convenient depth but as yet little utilized,

FORT WORTH WD ["HE TEXAS NORTHWEST 767

it has several streams, and the valley lands are noted for their wild hay
crop, and in recent years a large amount of land has been cultivated
in alfalfa. It is estimated that about 1,000 acres are now irrigated
from the Palo Dora Creek. Important improvements have been noted
in the grading of live stock, and considerable attention is also given to
the poultry industry.

All the towns of the county are small settlements, and the county
seat is Hansford. The county's property valuation in 1 Q03 was $909,-
821; in 1913, $1,489,777; in ' 1920. $2,218,103. The total area of the
county is 564,480 acres, and the last census reported 233,559 acres in
farms. The number of farms rose from 22 in 1900 to 152 in 1910, and
the amount of '■improved land" from about 2,260 acres in the former
year to about 33,000 acres in the latter. Live stock enumerated com-
prised 11,239 cattle; about 2,000 horses and mules; 6,342 sheep, and a
considerable number of hogs. In 1920 the number of cattle was 22,348 ;
of horses and mules, 3,563. The chief crop in 1909 was hay and forage
crops, with 6,973 acres planted, including 1,830 acres in alfalfa, a larger
acreage than almost anywhere else in the Panhandle in this particular
crop. In kaffir corn and milo maize, 3,942 acres were planted ; in
wheat, 3.900 acres; in oats, 1,730 acres, and in corn. 3?>7 acres.

Hardeman County

Until 1891 Hardeman comprised the greater portion of what is now
Foard County. Hardeman was created by the legislature in 1858, and a
county government was organized December 31, 1884. The first county
seat was at the town of Margaret, now in Foard County. Hardeman
County has as its northern boundary Red River, and its west line sets
it off from the great Texas Panhandle. It was the haunt of buffalo and
Indians and a few transient stockmen until the decade of the '80s, and
the history of its development is comprised within the last decades.

In 1880 only fifty inhabitants were found in the county. Population
in 1890 was 3,904; in 1900, after the separation of Foard County, the
population was 3,634; in 1910. 11.213; in 1920. 12,487.

Hardeman County has as one of its greatest resources immense
deposits of gypsum, which is a natural cement plaster, prepared for
market by drying. Several large plants and a great amount of capital
has been invested and established for the preparation of this commodity,
and much of the cement plaster used in the construction of buildings at
the Chicago and St. I. outs World's Fairs came from this county. The
town of Acme, west of Quanah, is the chief center for the gypsum in-
dustry, while another village known as Gypsum has also sprung up.

Acme, during the last six or seven years, has become the starting
point for a new railway, known as the Quanah, Acme & Pacific Rail-
road, which has been extended southwest through Cottle County. The
second town of the county is Chillicothe, at the junction point of the
Fort Worth & Denver City and the Orient railways, and which had a
population in 1910 of 1,207. Near Chillicothe is a large artificial reser-
voir, constructed by the Hardeman Count v Irrigation Company and sup-
plying water sufficient to irrigate about ten thousand acres. About five
thousand acres are now under irrigation from this source, including the

Qi vnah Parker

FORT WokTII \.\D THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 769

largest single tract in the state devoted to the growing of alfalfa. At
the last census over six hundred acres were reported as in alfalfa crop.

As a result of the building of railways and influx of many new
settlers, the great pastures of Hardeman County have been cut up into
farms, and this now ranks as one of the leading agricultural counties of
Northwest Texas. The total area of the county is 487,040 acres, 310,388
acres included as farms at the last census, about 133,000 acres as "im-
proved land," as compared with about 44,000 acres so classified in 1900.

In 1910 there were 1,068 farms, and 262 farms in 1900. The census
reported 1 1,761 cattle ; 686 horses and mules. In 1909, 34,686 acres were
planted in cotton; 23,750 acres in corn; 7,156 acres in kaffir corn and
milo maize; 7,059 acres in wheat; 4,158 acres in hay and forage crops;
2.479 acres in oats, and there were about 8,000 orchard fruit trees. In
1903 the valuation of property in the county was $2,393,668; in 1913.
$8,873,320; in 1920. $9,389,520.

QUANAH

The city of Ouanah, which was named after Quanah Parker, the
noted Indian chief, grew up with the building of the first railroad, and
its progress is typical of the development of the surrounding country.
In November, 1885, there was one house on the site, while several other
settlers lived in the vicinity. In 1886 a corps of engineers located the
town; in the spring of 1887 the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway,
which had begun to build west from Wichita Falls in 1885, was com-
pleted to Ouanah, the court house was then moved up from Margaret,
and by the beginning of 1890 the town had a population, according to
the census, of 1,477, a large number of the inhabitants being farmers.
About that time, one writer said : "The man with the hoe has entered
the county and where a few years ago the Kiowa and Comanche chased
and killed the buffalo, are now wheat fields lovely to look upon. But
men make cities, and Ouanah has men devoted to her upbuilding." By
1900 Quanah had a population of 1,651 and in 1910 was a city of 3,127.
while in 1920 there was a population of 4.000.

About the close of the last century Ouanah became the terminus ol
a branch of the Frisco Railway, built across the Red River from Okla-
homa. During the following decade the line of the Kansas City, Mexico
& < trient was built through the county and put in operation about 1909.

Ouanah has three railroads, nine wholesale houses, paved streets, Q.
A. & P. round-house and the Quanah Cotton Oil Mill, which is the
largest oil mill in West Texas. It has ten church buildings and the bank
deposits amount to over $2,006,000. It also has a court house.

Hartley County

About one-half of this county was included in the 3,000,000-acre
grant to the Capitol Syndicate. Fifteen years ago it was estimated that
a third of the county's area was held in these large pastures, and out-
side of that vast tract the other farms and ranches contained not less
than a section of land, and in some cases reached 15,000 acres. Under
these conditions Hartley County has been the home of the cattleman
rather than of the farmer, and supported a very meager population. The
breaking-up of the larger tracts began a few years ago. and. a- in other

770 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Panhandle counties, agriculture and settled conditions are making rapid
progress.

The county was organized February 9, 1891. In 1888 the Fort
Worth & Denver City Railway was constructed across the eastern half ■
of the county, and in 1900 the Rock Island Road was built across the
northwest corner of the Panhandle, with about forty-five miles of its
track in Hartley County. Besides the county seat at Channing, on the
Fort Worth & Denver, other towns are Hartley, Romero and Middle-
water. The prosperous little city of Dalhart, at the junction of these
tun railways, is located near the north line of the county.

The population of Hartlev County at successive decades has been:
In 1880. 100; in 1890. 252; 'in 1900," 377; in 1910. 1,298. and in 1920.
1.109. The total area of the county is 664.480 acres, of which 516,204
acres were in farms in 1910. The amount of "improved land" at the
last census was about 195,000 acres as compared with only about 2,600
acres in 1900. The number of farms increased from 27 in 1900 to 165
in 1910. For a number of years the county has been the home of some
of the fine Hereford and Polled Angus herds in this section of Texas,
and in recent years considerable attention has also been given to hugs.
The number of cattle in 1910 was 32,316 and the number of horses and
mules about 2,500; in 1920, 52.073 cattle and 1.823 horses and mules.
In 1909, 10.511 acres were planted in hay and forage crops; 2.941 acres
in kaffir corn and milo maize; 2,173 acres in wheat and a small acreage
in corn and oats, while noticeable progress is also being made in hor-
ticulture and other branches of general agriculture. The valuation of
property in 1903 was $1,623,506; in 1613, $5,376,036, and in 1920,
$5,374,313.

Channing. the county seat. has two churches, one bank, two large
general merchandise establishments, several smaller stores and a modern
school.

The town of llartle\ has, like Channing, an up-to-date school and i<
a live little railroad town with two mercantile firms doing a thriving
business. The Hartley Lumber St Supply Company, of that place,
handle^ general merchandise, including a good stock of lumber. The
Farmers' Equity Company, of Hartley, carries general merchandise and
owns the grain elevator at Hartley.

Channing and Hartley are on the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad.

Middlewater, located on the Rock Island Railroad, has one store and
a good sehool. It is situated in the big pasture part of the county, which
will later develop into a Stock fanning countr) and now lias many pros
perous fanners and stockmen,

Romero is a thriving little town on tin- Rock Island Railroad ll
lias good mercantile houses and surrounding country and the prospects
for its future are promising,

Hem en in. ( 'or \ n

The settlement which followed tin- construction of the Southern
Kansas Railway across the Panhandle in 1887 was the chief factor in
the organization of a count} government in Hemphill County, one of the
earlier Panhandle counties' to support a local government.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 771

The county officials were first elected in July. 1887, and the county
seal town was established at Canadian, on the new railway and close-
to the Canadian River. As one of the oldest towns in the Panhandle,
Canadian City has continued to grow, and is now one of the most pros-
perous small cities of Northwest Texas, having a population at the last
census of 2,500, more than half the population of the entire county heing
concentrated in that town. Along the railway are three other smaller
towns. Isaacs. Mendota and Glacier.

Though an organized county for more than twenty-rive years, much
the greater part of Hemphill County was held in large ranches, and it is
said that the first single section of land was sold in 1902.

There are long stretches of level land, suitable for grazing, and also
a portion of the area is undulating hills and considerable bottom land
along the Canadian River. In the Canadian Valley especially the cul-
tivation of alfalfa has proved a profitable crop, and for some years wind-
mills and other pump power have been employed to tap the underground
water supplies, and to a limited extent irrigation has been practiced.
The possibilities of irrigation are realized and future developments along
that line are assured. The principal crops since the early settlement
have been the drouth-resisting kafrir corn, milo maize, millet and sorg-
hum, and while the acreage of cultivated land has greatly increased in
recent years, the primary industry is still stock-raising.

In 1880 Hemphill County had a population of 149; in 1890, 519; in
1900, 815 ; in 1910, 3,170, and in 1920. 4,280. The amount of "improved
land" in 1900 was about 12,000 acres, and in 1910. about 53,000 acres.
The number of farms increased from 76 in 1900 to 249 in 1910. The
total area of the county is 558.720 acres, of which 370,179 acres were
included in farms or ranches at the last census. The number of cattle
in 1910 was 24,125, 2,300 horses and mules and 4,500 hogs.

The acreage planted to the chief crops in 1909 was : Hay and forage
crops, 12,075. including 837 acres in alfalfa; corn. 11.535; wheat. 1,784:
oats. 687; kaffir corn and milo maize. 545. Up to 1910 horticulture had
made little progress, only about 3.600 orchard fruit trees being enum-
erated in that year. The valuation of property in the county in 1903
was $1,307,616"; in 1913. $3,870,481. and in 1920. $3,899,730. '

Canadian, the county seat, has a population of 2,500. It has three
banks, two National and one State Bank ; two hardware stores, two
furniture stores, five groceries, two drug stores, one variety store, four
dry goods stores, one electric plant, two grain elevators and a steam
laundry. Being a division point, the Santa Fe has its shops here. The
town also has water works and sewer system. There are two public
school buildings and five churches.

. Hockley County
This is one of the unorganized counties in the Staked Plains region.
County boundaries were formed in 1876, but up to the present time the
county has heen given over to ranch owners, and practically its entire
area is enclosed in the great pastures which a few years ago were the
rule in all West Texas. The county lies just west of Lubbock, and the
building of railways in that section during the last four or five years
has made the lands of Hoeklev County more available for the agricul-

772 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

tural settler. The Pecos & Northern Texas division of the Santa Fe
system crosses the extreme northeastern corner of the county.

In 1000 the population was 44; in 1910. 137, and in 1020. 137. There
were five farms or ranches in 1000 and twenty-three in 1910. The total
area is 554.880 acres, of which 181.432 acres were included in farm'- in
1910. The amount of "improved land" in 1900 was 360 acres, and
2.657 acres in lq10. While the grazing of live stock is the chief in-
dustrv, the numbers of live stock are much smaller than in many other
sections of the state. In 1910 the number of cattle was 8.272, and 271
horses and mules; in 1920. 15,650 cattle and 384 horses and mules. In
1909, 479 acres were planted in corn; 544 acres in hay and forage crops.
and 133 acres in kaffir corn and milo maize.

The assessed wealth of the county in 1909 was #475,715; in 1913,
owing to the building of the railway and increased development, the
valuation was SI. 129.904. and in 1920, $2,849,500.

Hood County

The first settlers went into what is now Hood County before the
war. but until about 1870 were on the frontier line of North Texas
counties and had to protect home and stock against the incursions of
raiding Indians. Hood County's area for about ten years after the first
settlers came was included in Johnson County. The legislature on
November 2, 1866, erected a separate county, named Hood in honor of
General J. R. Hood. In 1875 the south part of the county was detached
to form Somervell County. In the act of 1866 it was directed that the
county seat, when selected, should he called Granbury. Besides Gran-
bury one of the early centers of settlement was at Thorp Spring. There,
in 1873. J. A. Clark & Sons. Addison and Randolph, started the private
school which was soon afterwards chartered as Add-kan College, and
in 1895 it was moved to Waco and became the Texas Christian Uni-
versity. After the removal of the college an institute was maintained
at Thorp Spring known as Jarvis Institute named, in honor of one of
the principal founders of the 'Texas Christian Cniversity. Resides Gran-
bury and 'Thorp Spring. Acton was a small village in 1870.

Cntil the '80s stock-raising was the staple industry of the inhabitants.
The cattle of the ranches wenl to the Fori Worth markets, and in 1887
the Tort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad was built as far as Granbury,
and mosl of its traffic came from the live stock raised on the range west
and south of Hood County. Granbur) remained the terminus of that
road until 1889. Vboul the same time had been completed the line of
the Santa Fe between Cleburne and Weatherford, crossing the extreme
northeastern corner of Hood County. In the past twenty-live years prac-
tical all the ranch land has been developed as farms and there has been
considerable agricultural development. 'The count) is one of the smaller
civil areas in the state, having an ana of 259,200 acres, 'The last census
reported thai of this total about 238,000 acres were occupied in farms.
and 91,000 acres classified as "improved laud." However, the statistics
for that year showed less "improved land" than at the preceding census.

In 1910 there were 1,786 farms in the county, as compared with
1.477 in 1900. 'The live stock comprised 12,627 cattle; aboul 5,414
horses and mules; 5,410 hogs. In 1909, 35.05n acres were planted in

FORT WnkTII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

771

cotton; 8,423 acres in corn; 2.012 acres in ha) and forage crops, and a
small acreage in oats and wheat. The county had approximate^ 58,000
trees in orchard fruil and about 11.001) pecan trees.

In 1870 tlie population of Hood County, before the separation of
Somervell County, was 2.5X5; in 1880, '..125 ( 1(>8 negroes); in 1890,
7,614; in 1900, 9,146 (241 negroes); in 1910, 10,008; in 1920, 8,759.
After the coming of the railway Granbury became a prosperous town,
and in 1890 had a population of 1,164; in 1900, 1,410. and in 1910, 1,336
Besides the older towns of Thorp Spring and Acton the other centers
are Cresson, in tin northeast corner of tlie county, Tolar and l.ipan.

The assessed wealth of Hood County in 1870 was $423.1(>4; in 1882,
$1,367,956; in 1903, $2,277,494; in 1913, $4,038,337; in l°-20, $4,40(>,U>7.

1 [oward County

Howard County was created from the Bexar district during the 70s.
hut its county government was not organized until June 15. 1882.

Couri House at Big Springs

I he total population of the county at the census of 1880 was given
as fifty. Cattlemen and buffalo hunters had taken temporary possession,
and Big Springs, on account of abundance of water, had long been an
oasis in these western plains. The map of Texas in 1874 indicates the
springs as one of the conspicuous geographical points in (lie country.

During 1881 the great armv of railroad builders passed through tin
county laying the tracks of the Texas &: Pacific Railroad, and the springs
were as useful to the railroad as they had been to the buffalo and cattle.
With the railroad came permanent settlement, stock ranches and farms
were established for miles along the right of way. and from that time
civilization began to develop its various institutions and activities.

By 1890 tlie population of the county was 1,210; it doubled during
the next decade, being 2.528 in 1000; in 1Q10 was 8.881. and in 1920.

774 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

8,962. In L900 the population of Big Spring was 1.255, or approx
imatelv half of the total population of the county, a proportion which
was maintained through the next decade, since the population of the
chief city in 1910 was 4,102. Other towns in the county are Coahoma.
Morita, Soash and Vincent.

While the cattle industry is very prominent, as it has been for
more than thirty years, the soil of Howard County is very fertile and
is well adapted to the growth of cotton, milo maize, kaffir corn and
all kinds of fruits. The agricultural interests are growing, and the
figures of the last census indicate the truth of the assertion. In 1910
the census enumerators found 891 farms in Howard County- as com-
pared with only 130 in 1900. The approximate total area of the
county is 570,240 acres, and of this area about 85.000 acres were in
"improved land" in 1910, as compared with less than 6,000 in the
same classification ten years before. In 1909, 22.197 acres were
planted in cotton, 13,458 acres in kaffir corn and milo maize, 917 acres
in corn, 2,237 acres in hay and forage crops, while the fruit interests
were indicated by the enumeration of about 28,000 orchard fruit trees.
The live stock enumeration for the county in 1910 was: Cattle,
32,545; horses and mules, about 5,300; hogs, 2,594; and poultry,
32,244; in 1920, cattle. 8,422; horses and mules, 2,262.

Since the construction of the Texas & Pacific Railway Big Springs
has been a division point on that road. A selection of the point was
chiefly due to the existence of superior water supplies such as could
not be found at any other place in West Texas along the route of the
railway. The Big Sprint; proper are about a mile and a half south
of the city, and as they constituted a great natural water supply to
the early stockmen, the railway company found them equally useful.
and for a number of years the city water supply was drawn from the
same source. Finally the Big Spring Water Company was organ-
ized and sunk wells to tap an abundant underground supply near the
same springs. In 1881 liig Spring was a village of tents and adobe
huts. There was nothing to support the town at that time except tin-
railway interests and scattering ranches, but as the railway company
began to enlarge its machine shops and the ranches became more
numerous the little village began a steady growth which has con
tinned until the present time. The railway company in lf)06 con
structed new shops at a cost of half a million dollars, and that
improvement came about the time the farmers made their greatest
advance in the movement to crowd out the ranchmen. In April.
1007, the city was incorporated, and has acquired municipal improve
ments equal to any found in towns of similar size in all West Texas

Howard County has made a substantial increase in material
wealth in the past ten years, particularly during the first half of that
decade. The amount of taxable propertv in the county in 1903 was
$2,422,420; in 1909, $4,707,040; in 1910, $4.842,805 ; and in 1920.
$5,205,000

Big Spring

Big Spring is the count) seat of FToward County, It is situate. I
i.ii tin lev.,. & Pacific Railwav, 270 miles west of Fori Worth, and is

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 775

a division point on that road. The Bankhead Highway and the

I'uget Sound tu the Gulf Highway cross here. The railway main
tains offices of the division and shops at this point which employ from
500 to 600 skilled mechanics.

The population is around 5,000. There are two national and one
state bank, with deposits aggregating $1,250,000.

It has one of the best high schools in the state, affiliated with the
State University and other universities of the South.

It has an abundance of the very best water, which is found at a
depth of 200 feet.

The United States Government maintains one of its Dry Land
Experiment Farms, well equipped for all kinds of agricultural work
at this place.

All the religious denominations have church buildings.

The city owns and operates its water plant. It has a very large
ice plant, an electric light plant and the usual number of mercantile
establishments incident to a town of this size.

11 UTCH I NSON COUNTY

The Canadian River divides Hutchinson County almost centrally,
and the valley of that stream and its tributaries furnish great diversity
to the topography of the county. The county has no railway, though
a line known as the Enid, Ochiltree & Western has been surveyed
and construction is proposed in the near future. The county was
organized in 1901, and for many years lias supported a meager popu-
lation, largely of stockmen, and lack of transportation has delayed
any considerable agricultural development. The population in 1880
was 50; in 1890, 58; in 1900, 303; in 1910. 692, and in 1920, 721. The
county seat is Plemons, in the center of the county and near the
Canadian River, and there are several stores and small settlements
in different parts of the county. The following figures from the last
official census indicate the principal interests and the development of
the county. There were 150 farms as compared with sixty-three in
1900, and about 24,000 acres were classified as "improved land" as
compared with about 1,800 acres in 1900. The total area of the
county is 562,560 acres, with 371,970 acres included in farms or
ranches. The number of cattle was 30,685, and 3,180 horses and
mules. In 1909, 7,520 acres were planted in hay and forage crops,
2,866 acres in kaffir corn and milo maize, 1,923 acres in wheat, 1,305
acres in oats, and 875 acres in corn. The assessed valuation of prop-
erty in 1903 was $367,556; in 1913, $1,313,980, and in 1920. $1,900,484.

Irion County
This county for a number of years was under the jurisdiction and
a part of original Tom Green County, and was detached and created
a separate county in 1888 and a local government organized in April,
1889. It is a country in the Western Plains district, with limited
rainfall, meager timber resources, and while there has been some
development in the direction of agriculture, the chief interest for
years has been live stock. Ten years ago it was said that half the
total area of the county was held in two big pastures, but recent years

VOL. 11—22

77h FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

have witnessed a tendency toward the breaking up of such holdings
and the introduction of better live stock, better methods, and some
real agriculture.

In 1890, at the first census after the county was organized, its
population was 870, and in 1900 there was a slight decrease from this
small figure to 848; at the last census the population was 1,610. In
1910 the census reported ninety-four farms, as compared with fifty-
two in 1900. In a total area of 638,720 acres, about 155,000 acres were
occupied as farms. The total area of "improved land" in 1910 was
^.257 acres, as compared with 1,226 acres in 1900. Though a stock
raising county, numerically the statistics are disappointing as com-
pared with other counties in eastern sections where live stock is much
less pronounced as a feature of economic wealth. In 1920 there were
18.648 cattle, 1,961 horses and mules, and 30,837 sheep. The chief
crop acreage in 1909 was: Hay and forage crops, 1,374 acres includ-
ing about 400 acres in alfalfa; corn, 536 acres; kafifir corn and milo
maize, 717 acres; cotton, 707 acres; and oats, 322 acres.

One great improvement has come since 1910 in the extension of
the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad from San Angelo through
the county, and through the influence of this transportation system
a large number of new settlers have come in and the other familiar
developments following improved transportation have occurred. The
chief town of the countv is the county seat, Sherwood, while Mertzon,
Monument and Suggs are other railway towns.

. The increase of taxable wealth during the past ten years is illus-
trated bv the following figures: In 1903, $1,246,100; in"l909. $1,665,-
730; in 1913, $2,312.611 : in 1920, $2,991,077.

Jack County

This county was created from the territory of Cooke County in
1856 and given a county government on July 7, 1857. Young County
to the West marked the extreme limit of settlement before the war,
and in 1860 Jack Count) was credited with a population of 1,688. It
illustrates the retrogression of the war decade to compare that popu
latioti with the figures for 1870. at which time the census gave the
count}- a population of 694 inhabitants. All industry came to an end
and the majority of settlers retired to the more secure localities within
the secondary line of frontier defenses.

After the Civil war the Federal Government took steps to again
afford protection to the frontier, and about 1867 established Fori
Richardson, near Jacksboro in Jack County. In a few years the rapid
advance of population made the holding of this position superfluous,
and the buildings were deserted and soon went to ruin. A paragraph
in a Fori Worth newspaper in 1878 said: "Fort Richardson, in Jack
I onnty, built in 1867-68, at a cost of nearly $800,000, is fast becoming
a ruin, the buildings are falling, and altogether it presents a sorry
appearance. This fort, during the years 1868, '69, '70, contained the
largest garrison in the United States, General Sherman having his
headquarters there for a time. The hospital, the original cost of
which was about $143,000, is now a useless pile." The garrison and
equipment were moved oul to Fori Griffin in Shackelford County,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 777

Some of the conditions in the county during the '70s, as drawn
from newspaper items and other sources, are described as follows:
In the summer of 1876 the county was receiving little immigration,
farmers were complaining of lack of markets, and the industrial devel-
opment was perhaps slower than that of some of the surrounding
counties. Jacksboro, the county seat, as one of the military towns
of North Texas, had enjoyed somewhat of a boom and about this time
was suffering from the reaction. A correspondent in 1876 said:
"Jacksboro has improved but little for several years. The location
of one of the military posts here in 1867 had the effect to add mater-
ially to the town's trading importance as a trading post for the fron-
tier settlers, but since the cessation of Indian hostilities the troops
have nearly all been withdrawn, resulting in a perceptible decrease in
prosperity. Colonel Woods is here in command of the skeletons of
three companies of the Eleventh Infantry, which are barely enough
to do post duty and preserve the Government property." Other
interesting items about the town are found under date of February,
1877: "A big business was transacted here during the military days,
but the trade is now supplied from the permanent settlers. Tin-
older buildings in the place are constructed of upright pickets, plas-
tered with clay and surrounded with stockades built in the same way.
The first settler is still here, T. W. Williams, a brother of 'Blue Jeans'
Williams, present governor of Indiana." By the latter part of 187°-
Jack County was said to have 10,000 population; among its industrial
enterprises were eight or ten cotton gins, grist and sawmills, brick
yards, and seventeen churches and numerous schools were enumer-
ated. At the same time Jacksboro had three churches, three three-
story flour mills, and other business interests were improving in like
proportions. Over in the western part of the county the beautiful
Lost Valley, one of the most picturesque spots in Texas, its perfectly
level floor being hemmed in by the rugged hills, was the abode of
several well-known cattlemen during the '70s. M. G. Stewart had
10,000 acres in the valley; a fine dwelling, and his pasture was enclosed
with a stone fence, showing a considerable departure from the usual
methods of maintaining a stock farm. This vallev was also the home
of J. C. Loving and G. B. Loving, among the best known cattlemen
of the state. The postoffice for this community was called Gertrude
and a stone church was another feature of the incipient center.

Some of the conditions of 1882 are reported as follows: At that
time the county had one flour and five grist mills, all driven by steam
The luxuriant grasses that covered the surface of the county gavi
the stockraisers a profitable business, and Jack County is still one oi
the important stock counties of North Texas. In 1882 the live stock,
in round numbers, were 44,500 cattle, 8,500 sheep and goats, 6,300
horses and mules, and 9,000 hogs.

Jacksboro at that time was thirty-five miles from the nearest sta-
tion on the Texas & Pacific Railway, and thirty-two miles from the
nearest station on the Fort Wrorth & Denver City Railway, to which
roads all cattle and other produce were sent. Besides Jacksboro the

778 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

other villages in the county at that time were Post Oak, Newport
and Lick Branch.

Jack County remained without a railroad until 1898, when a
branch of the Rock Island from Bridgeport to Jacksboro was com-
pleted, and in 1902 it was extended west to Graham. About 1912 the
line of the Gulf, Texas & Western Railroad was built through the
county to Seymour in Baylor County, and has since been extended
to a junction with the Mineral Wells & North Western at Dalesville.

In 1870 Jack County had 694 inhabitants; in 1880, after settled
conditions had obtained, the population was 6,626; in 1890, 9.740 : in
1900, 10,224: in 1910. 11.817; in 1920. 9.209. The population of Jacks-
boro in 1890 was 751 ; in 1900.. 1.311. and in 1910, 1.480. Some of the
older towns already mentioned have lost their prestige in favor of
places on the railroad. Outside of Jacksboro most of the population
is distributed in the country districts, and the statistics indicate that
the chief interests of the population are agriculture and stock raising.
In the northwestern part of the county some coal is mined. The
value of taxable property in 1870 was assessed at $226,611 ; in 1882,
$1,750,236, of which more than a third was represented bv live stock;
in 1903. $3,303,400; in 1913, $7,058,130: in 1920. $8,056,230.

At the last census the number of farms in the county were 1,888,
as compared with 1,475 in 1900. The total area of the county is
615.680 acres, of which 541.688 acres were in farms or ranches. The
census reported 107.000 acres in "improved land." as compared with
83.000 acres at the preceding census. The stock interests were enum-
erated as follows: Cattle. 40.879; horses and mules, about 8.500:
hogs, 4,150.

Jeff Davis County

Ibis county was part of Presidio Count) until 1887. when it was
created and organized, and the county seat established at old Fort
Davis. The troops of old Fort Davis did a valuable service many
\ears in patrolling the border and guarding life and property against
Indians and outlaws, but the post was abandoned by the Government
in 189(1. In the meantime a considerable settlement had grown up
around the "Id fort, it had been the county scat of Presidio County
from 1X75. and though isolated from railroads it still retains its honors
as the place of local government and also as one of the noted resorts
of West Texas In the vicinity of Fort Davis are the Davis Moun-
tains, and at different points across the county are some of the highest
mountain peaks in the South, many of them ranging between 4,000
and ii.(XX) feet in elevation, and several being over 8,000 feet. To the
lover of wild and rugged scenery, and the hunter of big game, Jeff
Davis County has long presented unrivaled facilities, and while old
Fort Davis is off the beaten path of the ordinary tourist it attracts an
increasing number of sportsmen and travelers to whom primitive
nature make> a strong appeal. The greater part of the lands of the
count) are held in large tracts and owned by the state or railroad
companies, and while the live stock industry assumes large propor
tions, agriculture has as yet been little developed, and only bv irriga
tioti methods. Thus far irrigation has been applied largelj to

FORT \\()K III WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 779

orchards and small fields of alfalfa. These farms lie mostly in the
valleys, and the water is supplied from artesian wells.

The population of Jeff Davis County in 1890 was 1,394; in 1900,
1,150; in 1910, 1,678, including 600 Mexicans.

The total area of the county is 1,448,320 acres, with about two-
thirds occupied in ranches, and the last census reported 5,800 acres as
"improved land," as compared with 1,170 acres in 1900. The number
of farms or ranches in 1910 was ninety-one. In that year the cattle
enumerated were 74,961 ; about 2,700 horses and mules, 4,667 goats.
The crops were chiefly hay and forage crops, kaffir corn and milo
maize and corn, and about 2,300 orchard fruit trees were mentioned
in the statistics.

The valuation of property in the county in 1903 was $1,630,370;
in 1913. $4,193,766; and in 1920, $4,600,488.

The only railroad in the county is the Southern Pacific, which
crosses the western end, and the principal town along its route is
Valentine. The Texas & Pacific just touches the north corner of the
county.

Johnson County

The first settlements were planted in what is now Johnson County
in 1852. The territory was then comprised within the jurisdiction
of McLennan and Navarro counties, and by 1853 the population was
sufficiently numerous to justify the creation of a new county. The
legislative act of February 13, 1854, erected Johnson County, and the
first election of county officers was held in the following April. In
1866 the western part of the county was detached to form Hood
County, from which in turn was subsequently taken Somervell
County. The first county seat was Wardville, located five miles west
of the present city of Cleburne. In 1856 another county seat election
was held, and a place called Bailey's, five miles northwest of Cleburne,
was selected, and its name changed to Buchanan, in honor of the then
President of the United States. Both of these old county seat loca-
tions have long since ceased to be centers of population or trade.
After the creation of Hood County the choice of a county seat was
again before the people, and in 1867 the majority of votes were cast
in favor of Camp Henderson, the permanent name of which was soon
afterwards changed to Cleburne, in honor of the great general. The
oldest town in the county is Alvarado, founded about 1853. The
next in age is Grand View.

In 1860 Johnson County had a population of 4.305, some of whom
lived in what is now Hood and Somervell counties. In 1870 the popu-
lation was 4,923 ; in 1880, following a decade of great development,
the population was 17,911; in 1890, 22.313; in 1900, 33,819; in 1910,
34,460; and in 1920, 37,286.

The county was without railroad facilities until the '80s. The.
Fort Worth-Temple division of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe was
completed in December, 1881 ; the Missouri, Kansas & Texas was
built at the same time, and in 1882 was opened the Cleburne-Dallas
branch of the Santa Fe, originally known as the Chicago, Texas &
Mexican. In 1887 the Santa Fe constructed its line from Cleburne

780 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

to Weatherford, and in 1888 the Fort Worth & Rio Grande was
built through the extreme northwest corner of the county. The Trin-
ity & Brazos Valley opened its line from Cleburne to Mexia in 1904.

Within the present decade an interurban line has been built from
Fort Worth to Cleburne, known as the Northern Traction Company
of Fort Worth.

Since the first railroads were built the county has developed rap-
idly, and with the exception of some lands in the western part of the
county all the big ranch holdings have disappeared, and Johnson
now ranks as one of the best agricultural and stock farming counties
of North Central Texas. Farm lands rank with the very best in the
state. Of a total area of 473.600 acres, the last census indicated that
about 430.000 acres were occupied as farms, and about 250,000 acres

POSTOFFICE, C-LEBURNl

iii "improved land." Government statistics indicate a well diver-
sified condition of farming, with an appropriate balance between stock

raising and the cultivation of staple crops. In 1910 there were 18,942
cattle in the county; 14,775 horses and mules; 8,999 hogs, and 123,(>54
poultry. In 1909 the cotton acreage was 110,692; corn, 15,088; hay
and forage crops, 7,190; peanuts, 1,129; over 1,600 acres in potatoes.
sweet potatoes and other vegetables; with oats and wheat as minor
crops. The counts' is also in the fruit belt, and the last census ciuiin
erated 139,000 trees in orchards fruits. The value of taxable prop
erty in the county in 1870 was $1,888,955; in 1882, $4,875,128; in 1903,
$<).0<>6.310: in 1<M3, $22,?,5(i.7^ ; and in ll>20, $24,288,040.

\ ~i i Ii from the old town- of Alvarado, (hand View and Cleburne,

nearl) all of tin- important centers of population sprang up with the

advent of the railways.

Cleburne, the county seat, is a modern, progressive city, with
water works, street railway, other public improvements, and a number

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

781

of commercial and manufacturing enterprises. Its largest single
resource is the Santa Fe Railway shops. The population of Cleburne
in 1890 was 3,278; in 1900, 7,493; in 1910, 10,364, and in 1920, 12,820.
Alvarado, the pioneer town, had a population in 1890 of 1,543 ; in
1900, 1,342; in 1910, 1,155; in 1920, 1,284. Grand View's population
in 1910 was 1,018, having been credited with only about 250 inhabi-
tants twenty years before. Other towns are Venus, Rio Vista, Burle-
son, Godley, Joshua, Keene, Lillian and Cresson.

Cleburne
Cleburne is the county seat of Johnson County and was founded
m 1867, when the county seat was moved from Buchanan, about six
miles north of Cleburne, and was named in honor of Gen. Patrick Cle-
burne, a distinguished officer of the Confederate Army.

Johnson County Court House, Cleburne

Cleburne has a population of 12,820, assessed valuation of $11,536,-
350, the taxation rate is 89 cents on the $100. It is on the main line
of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe and the Trinity Brazos Valley rail-
ways, and on a branch of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas from Egan,
nine miles in length, and has a connection with Fort Worth by the
interurban railway.

It is famous for its well equipped schools, modern churches and
fine private homes. The court house, postoffice and school buildings
are all modern and substantial structures. There are about twenty
churches within the city limits, representing all of the Protestant
denominations, and a small Catholic church. It has a public library,
to which Andrew Carnegie contributed $20,000, which is a tasteful and
ornamental structure completed in 1905. It is supported by taxation
and now contains about 10,000 volumes, besides magazines and period-
icals. The city of Cleburne claims to have the largest school popu-

■X2

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

lation and the most money invested in school property of any town
of its size in the United States. The public schools are under the
supervision of Mr. Emmett Moore, with twenty -five teachers.

One and a half miles from the city is the Cleborro College under
the auspices of the Christian church. There are three national banks,
with total resources of $7,089,626, with deposits aggregating $6,111.-
081. One state bank, total resources $1,665,483, with deposits of
$1,539,646.

Among the industries of the city are two flour mills, four gins,
one oil mill, one peanut plant, a large iron foundry, planing mill, cot-
ton compress, broom factory, a sweet potato curing plant and two ice
factories. The shops of a division of the Santa Fe Railroad art-
located in Cleburne, the payroll of which is about $225,000 per month.

TTjfflttBFTEf

LLLL

«R

1 1 ii.ii School, <. xeburn i

I here arc about 1,700 people employed by the several railroads. The
city is supplied with electric light by the Fort Worth Rower & Light
Company, and with natural gas by the Lone Star Gas Company.
The city is blessed with an abundance of pure artesian water from
nine wells, one of which is over 1,500 feet deep. It has the usual
complement of mercantile houses, a modern lire department and an
active Chamber of Commerce with 200 members it is on the Merid-
ian Highway from Colorado to the gulf.

Other towns in Johnson County are: Grandvicw. Venus, Lillian.
Burleson, Joshua and Godley.

Venus is situated on the east edge of Johnson County in tine black-
land territory, has two good banks, line brick schools, substantial
churches and a population of about 2, (XX) people.

Lillian is on the International & Great Northern Railroad in the
northeast corner of the county, at the edge of the cross timbers, and is
a town of about 1 ,( K II I pei iple.

FORT WORTH \.\D THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 783

Burleson, situated in the north edge of the county, near the Tar-
rant County line, enjoys tine school facilities and has two good banks.

Joshua, located eight miles north of Cleburne, on the Santa Fe
Railway, is a town of about 1,500 inhabitants.

Godley, on the Weatherford branch of the Santa Fe, in the north-
west part of the county, is a town of about 1,500 people.

Alvarado

Alvarado was established in 1854. The town site was donated by
W. Balch. It was named by Abe Onstott, first sheriff of Johnson
County, in honor of a brave Spanish officer by the name of Alvarado,
who fought with the Texans in the Mexican war.

The present population is 1,284, and the assessed valuation is
$1,118,000.

It has a large three-story brick high school building with an enroll-
ment of 500 pupils. There are two banks, the First National, which
is the oldest national bank in the county, and the Alvarado State
Bank. There is a cotton seed oil mill of large capacity, a custom grist
mill, five cotton gins, a mattress factory and an ice plant, also the
usual complement of mercantile houses.

Alvarado is at the junction of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and
the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railways and two state highways,
the Colorado to Gulf and the Dallas to Glen Rose roads. It has a
good system of water works and electric lights, and a survey is now
being made for a sewer system.

Alvarado is situated on the east side of the cross timbers, where
sand lands prevail, and on the east the rich black lands stretch out
into Dallas and Ellis counties.

Cones County

The limits of Jones County were assigned by the Legislature in
1858, bin there was hardly an inhabitant who could be classed as a
permanent settler until about the beginning of the '70s. The county was
organized June 13, 1881. That date corresponds with the time of con-
struction of the Texas & Pacific Railway through Taylor County on the
south, and Jones County thus lies within the belt of territory largely
developed through that pioneer West Texas Railroad. The county had
no railways until the present century, and until a few years ago was an
almost exclusively stock raising country. The rapid increase in popu-
lation and the building of railroads have provided markets for farm
products and have made profitable the production of cotton and other
staple crops and also the growing of vegetables and fruits.

In 1880 Jones County had a population of 546; in 1890. 3,797: in
1900, 7.053;' in 1CM0. 24.299; and in 1920. 25.293. The increase was
over three hundred per cent during the first decade of the present century.
In 1900 the first railroad, the Texas Central, was completed to Stamford.
The second railway in the county was a portion of the Kansas City-
Mexico & Orient, which by 1905 had been completed from Sweetwater
into Haskell County, crossing the northwest corner of Jones County.
In 1905 the Wichita Valley Railroad Company was incorporated to con-

784 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

struct a line from Seymour south to Stamford. About the same time the
Abilene & Northern Railroad began construction from Abilene north,
and the two lines were connected at Stamford in 1907. Subsequent
extensions of these railroads have given Jones County a large mileage,
all of which has been laid since the beginning of the present century.

It has been during the railroad era that the county has developed its
chief towns. No town had a separate enumeration in 1900, and the
principal center of population was Anson, the county seat, which had first
been called Jones City. The chief shipping point was Abilene, over
in Taylor County. In 1910 the chief towns with population were: Stam-
ford, 3,902; Hamlin, 1,978, and Anson, 1,842. Other villages are Avoca,
Lueders, Hawley and Tuxedo. These are all located on the variou-
lines of railway.

Stamford, the chief city, is noted for the progressiveness of its citizens
and for its public improvements. It has thirty-four blocks of brick paving,
being the first town between Fort Worth and El Paso to lay brick
paving, and thirty blocks of excellent gravel paved streets ; fine public
buildings, business houses and residences. A number of industries are
successfully conducted, and it is also a center for West Texas educational
institutions. In 1899 a town site company was organized to anticipate
the construction of the Texas Central west from Albany, which had been
its terminus for nearly twenty years. The first sale of town lots was
made in Stamford in January, 1900, and the first railway train arrived
in the town on February 8th of the same year. An independent school
district was at once organized, a public school building erected, a city
hall in 1903, and in a few months the town furnished banking, hotel,
shipping and general facilities to its large surrounding trade territory.
Latterly the public plaza was given a postoffice building in the center,
costing $60,000, and the rest of the plaza has been made into a flower
garden. The city has recently built a $30,000 city hall and is soon to
vote bonds for a $100,000 high school building.

Propertv values were assessed in 1882 at $701,524; in 1903, at
$2.837.850.' in 1913. $12,191,525; in 1920, $14,895,370. The general
economic development since L900 is indicated by the returns of the last
census. There were, in 1910, 2,007 farms as compared with only 820
in 1900. Of the total area of 5l>0.080 acres about 495,000 acres were
included in farms or ranches in 1910, and about 246,000 acres were
classified as "improved land," a larger amount than was found in
some of the older counties in the eastern section of the state. The
amount of "improved land" in 1000 was 78.000 acres. The live stock
interests found at the last enumeration were: Cattle, 15,970; horses and
mules about 14,900; hogs, 9,796. In 1909, 110,458 acres were planted
in cotton; 3d. 04'' acres in kaffir corn and milo maize; 12,463 acres in
hay and forage crops ; 4.078 acres in coin, 1,792 acres in wheat; 2,252
acres in peanuts; and a limited acreage in oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes
and other vegetables. About 40,06(1 nrchard fruit trees were enumerated.
In 1919 Jones County raised 72.000 I, ales < > f cotton, being the second
county in cotton production in the state. These statistics give this count}
a very favorable comparison with not only the counties in the same area.

bill with those in older and more fa\oied sections of the state, (on

FORT WoKTII A XI) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 785

sidering that the substantial development of the county began about
twenty years ago, Jones County has been one of the most rapidly pro-
gressive counties in all Northwest Texas.

Stamford. Texas, the metropolis of Jones County, has just attained
its majority, being twenty-one years of age. It was named for Stamford,
Connecticut, the home of Henry G. McHarge, who was the moving spirit
in tbe construction of the Texas Central Railroad.

The first business in Stamford was tbe hardware firm of I'enick
Hughes Co. The first bank was named the First National Bank, estab-
lished by R. V. Colbert and associates, Mr. Colbert still being the head
of the institution. Tbe well-known progressive spirit of Stamford
started with the birth of tbe town, the first Chamber of Commerce having
been organized in a tent, with R. L. I'enick as president. A commercial
organization of some sort has been maintained since that time.

The city has grown steadily, and correctly boasts of never having had
a boom. Its enterprise and civic improvement has attracted nation-wide
interest because it has been a leader in this respect. It was the first city
in Texas west of Fort Worth to construct brick pavements, and at
present has thirty-two blocks of such pavements and forty-two graveled.
It leads in another respect in that its Chamber of Commerce and munici-
pal authorities have always worked in harmony. It made an advance
step recently along this line by forming an interlocutory arrangement in
which it selected a city manager, with practically all offices combined
in the same, said city manager being the chairman of the board of
directors of the Chamber of Commerce, this completing the interlocutory
arrangements.

The population of Stamford, according to the census of 1920, was
3,700, but the scholastic census belied these figures, because there is en-
rollment of 1,051 in the scholastic population. It has a taxable valuation
of 3,136,880 dollars. Its most forward step of recent years has been to
vote a half million dollars for water works system, the supply to come
from the Brazos River,' eighteen miles distant, and when the system is
completed it will be competent to impound more than two billion gallons
of water, which will not only be an adequate supply of water for a town
of Stamford's size but one of 25,000 people, and at the same time furnish
irrigation for several thousand acres of land. All of the possibilities
that can come from the system already outlined will be utilized, and the
question of conservation and irrigation in the Stamford section will be a
realization.

The city is now planning to enlarge its independent school district
to comprehend more than one hundred sections of land, and when this
is completed it will take the place of a junior college.

Stamford has all of the public service corporations, and they are
maintained in a satisfactory manner. It has five railway outlets, with
five passenger trains going each way daily ; has more miles of sidewalks
and more blocks of paving than any city of its size in the state, and its
progressiveness in all things has become a matter of comment through
out the country.

786 FORT Wok 111 AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Kent Count's

This county, situated near the southern edge of the Staked Plains,
was created August 21, 1876, and the county government organized
November 8, 1892. The upper courses of the Brazos River traverse it,
and much of its surface is broken land. Although the number of
farmers is increasing each year, live stock raising on the ranches is the
chief occupation of the people. A number of the larger tracts have been
divided into farms. Fourteen miles west of Clairement, the county seat,
oil has been discovered, and another important source of wealth is gyp-
sum, a plant for the manufacture of cement plaster being in operation
at Jayton, which is the largest town of the county. Jayton is located
on the line of the Stamford & Northwestern division of the Wichita
Valley Railroad, which was constructed across the northwestern corner
of the county about 1909.

The population of the county at successive decades has been: In
1880. 92; in 1890. 324; in 1900,' 899; in 1910, 2,655. The total valua-
tion of property in 1903 was $1,212,173; in 1913, $2,375,317: and in
1920. $5,158,115.

The last census enumerated 18,158 cattle, and 2.2?t> horses and
mules. Aside from stock raising the agricultural development up to
1910 was limited. The total area of the county is 560,000 acres, and
while nearly all was included in farms or ranches in 1910, only about
27,000 acres were classified as "improved land," and about 0,000 acres
were so classified in 1900. The number of farms in 1910 was 326, as
compared with 134 in 1900. The chief crops in 1909 were : Cotton,
9,182 acres; kaffircorn and milo maize 1,858 acres; hay and forage crops,
1.856 acres, and corn, 1.271 acres. About six thousand orchard fruit
trees were enumerated.

King County

Situated near the foo) of the Staked Plains, and on the headwaters
of the Wichita and Brazos Rivers, King County is still isolated from
railways, and its prairies and broken surface has for many years fur-
nished sustenance to thousands of head of stock. While in recent years
farming has made some progress in competition with the predominant
industry, the markets are still too distant to furnish much incentive to
agriculture except in supplying forage for stock.

King County was created August 21. 1876, and was organized I une
25. 1891. hs population in 1880 was 40; in 1890, 173; in 1900, 490; in
1910, 810, and in 1920. 355. The counts st-at and principal town is
Guthrie, while one or two other small places are located in the county.

In 1910 the Federal census reported 34,952 cattle in King County;
about 2,500 horses and mules, and the pasturing of cattle on large
ranches has for a number of years been the characteristic business of the
county. There were 107 farms in l(>]o, as compared with 53 at the
preceding census. The total area of the county is 554.880 acres, and
417.023 acres were included in the ranches and farms in 1910, The
progress of agriculture is indicated by the amount of "improved land,"

which in 1900 was about 1,600 acres, and in 1910 about 9,000 acres, in

1909, 2.'>\X acres were planted in cotton; 1,644 acres in com, and 813

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 787

acres in kaffir corn and milo maize. About four thousand orchard fruit
trees were enumerated. In 1(X)3 the assessed value of property in the
county was $1,082,420: in 1913, $1,768,098, and in 1020, $1,740,017.

K.n ox County

The railroads and other factories which have heen operating in recent
years to develop Haskell County have also been working to break up
the large ranches and promote the building of towns and the establish
ment of agriculture on a permanent basis in Knox County. Knox County,
created in 1858, was organized March 20, 1886. A few stockmen had
found their way into this section during the late '70s, and in a few years
the buffalo had been driven out and domestic cattle were grazing over
the rolling prairies and along the valleys of the Wichita and Brazos
Rivers, both of which streams have their courses through this county.
At this time the ranchman occupy and own the greater part of the lands,
but the influx of agricultural settlers has been particularly rapid since
two railroad lines were finished. 1904 the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient
Road was built through the county from south to north and put in oper-
ation by 1905. In 1907 the Wichita Valley Railroad was built across
the southeastern corner of the county. Along the line of the first rail-
way are the towns of Knox City. Benjamin, the county seat, and Truscott.
On the Wichita Valley is Munday, probably the largest town in the
county, and Goree.

The population of the county in 1880 was only 77; in 1890, 1,134;
in 1900, 2,322; in 1910, 9,625, and in 1920. 9,240. The assessed value
of property in 1903 was $1.919.672 ; in 1913, $6,259,477 ; in 1920, $6,638.
681. In 1909 the presence of twenty cotton gins, a cottonseed oil mill.
a flouring mill, a dairy and other smaller establishments indicate the chief
productive activities of this section. There were in 1910, $1,175 farms
and ranches, as compared with Mtl> in L'00. The total area of the county
is 551,680 acres, of which 520,450 acres were occupied in farms in 1910.
and 142.000 acres were "improved land" as compared with about 46,000
acres at the preceding census. The census reported 27,331 cattle; about
9,100 horses and mules; 5,146 hogs. The crop acreage in 1909 was:
Cotton, 36,219 acres; corn, 24.870 acres; wheat, 13,188 acres; oats,
8,023 acres; hay and forage crops, 7,620 acres; kaffir corn and milo
maize, 3.878 acres ; about 350 acres in potatoes, sweet potatoes and other
vegetables ; and about 33.000 orchard fruit trees.

Lamb County

Lamb County \\v> directly west of Hale County, was created in 187(>
and was organized in June. 1CK)8, with Olton as the county seat. In
1°11 the Texico-Coleman branch of the Santa Fe Railroad was built
across the county, leaving Olton to one side, and several other stations
have since been established along the line. The railroad has opened
up the land for agricultural settlement, but it is still strictly a cattle
county, and the greater portion of its area is included within large ranches.
The surface is quite level, except where broken by three tributaries
of the Brazos River, and it is devoid of timber except the groves planted
by ranchmen. Excellent results have been obtained by the few farmers

788 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

who have recently settled, and the staple crops of the Panhandle region
have been successfully grown.

At the census of 1890 Lamb County had a population of 4; in 1890.
31, in 1910. 540 and in 1920, 1.175. 'The total area of the county is
<>54.000 acres. About 14.000 acres were classified as "improved land"
at the last census, a- compared with 370 acres in 1900.

There were five farms in 1900 and ninety-two in 1910. The county's
prominence as a cattle district is indicated by the statistics for 1910.
enumerating 40.355 cattle and about 1.300 horses and mules. In 1920
the number of cattle was 42,000 and of horses and mules, 2,052. In
l(r)09 an acreage of 5,048 was planted in hay and forage crops, and a
small amount of land in corn, kaffir corn and other crops. Fruit grow-
ing has made some progress, and at the last census about 2,700 orchard
fruit trees were enumerated. The valuation of property in the county
in 1913 was S3. 187.014 and in 1920, $6,179,186.

Olton
Olton is the county seat of Lamb County. Its population is about
800. It has a brick school house, with five teachers and one hundred
and fifty pupils, a union church edifice and one mercantile house. The
other towns in the county are Littlefield on the Texico-Coleman branch
of the Santa Fe and Farwell on the Littlefield holdings. The latter town
ha1- one bank, one church, five brick business houses, a $20,000 hotel.
a two-story brick school house. Its population is 700.

Lipscomb Count?
Lipscomb Count) occupies the northeast corner of the Panhandle,

and is bounded on two sides by the State of Oklahoma. In earlier years
what was known as No Man's Land of Indian Territory lay on the
north, and the Cherokee strip of Indian Territory on the east. Until
about 1890 no white settlements were permitted in these adjoining
sections, and that was a fact which seriously impeded the settlement
not only of Lipscomb County, but of other sections of the Panhandle.
It was the building of the Southern Kansas Railroad across that section
of Oklahoma and into the Panhandle in 1887 that more than anything
else influenced immigration and settlement. Beginning with the rail-
road era. Lipscomb County advanced from a population of only (>'' in
1880 to (>32 in 1890, and in 1887 county government was organized
The population of the county in 1900 was 790, in 1910. 2,634. in 1920.
3,634. The assessed wealth' of the county in 1903 was $1,223,525. in
1913, $3,616,250, in 1920, $4,983,150. The county seat town is Lipscomb.

near the center of the county and on Wolf Creek, which, with its tribu-
taries, break- the surface into numerous valleys and has furnished water
for stock purposes since the range was firsl occupied by cattlemen.
Another small settlement in the northwest part of the count) is Kiowa,
but the chief town is Higgins, in the southeast corner, On tile line of the
Santa Fe Railroad.

Lipscomb Count) has [or a number of years held a high rank among
Panhandle counties for it- live Stock and agriculture. The creek valleys
have been utilized for the production of varied crops, and the settlers
have raised considerable fruit for a number .if years. Then' has as

FORT WORTH AND NIK TKXAS NORTHWKS'I' 789

yet been little development of irrigation, though the natural conditions
offer much encouragement for such enterprises. The total area of the
county is 568,320 acres, of which 423.250 acres were farms in 1910. The
number of farms increased from 117 in 1900 to 375 in 1910, and the
same time the amount of "improved land" increased from about 11,000
acres to about 109,000 acres. The enumeration reported 26,804 cattle ;
about 3.150 horses and mules; 2,659 hogs, and 13,887 poultry; and in
1920, 64,527 cattle and 4.306 horses and mules.

In 1909, 10,071 acres were planted in hay and forage crops, including
about 900 acres in alfalfa, 8,810 acres in corn, 7,473 acres in kaffir corn
and milo maize, 3,884 acres in wheat, and a small acreage in oats. The
number of orchard fruit trees enumerated were 4.500.

Loving County.

While the boundaries were given to this county in 1887, it has
never been organized and is attached to Ward County for judicial
purposes. Aside from its value as a stock range the only importance
to be noted is the progress of irrigation along the Pecos River, which
forms the western boundary of the county. In 1910 there were
seventy-nine individual farms or ranches in the county, as compared
with only six in 1900. Twelve farms were irrigated in 1909. There
were four irrigation enterprises, which were capable of irrigating over
5,000 acres. The amount of land classified as "improved" was 580.
practically all of it under the irrigation ditches. The total area of
the county is 481,920 acres, and in 1910 about 200,000 acres were
included in farms or ranches. The number of cattle reported at the
last enumeration was 4,159, and 380 horses and mules. The county
has long been regarded as one of the best cattle ranges in West Texas.
In 1909 the total assessed values in the county were $392,341 ; in 1913,
$384,887 ; in 1920, $653,574.

In 1890 the county was credited with a population of only three
inhabitants; in 1900, 33; in 1910, 249; and in 1920, 82.

Lubbock County,

A few years ago Lubbock had nothing to distinguish it particu-
larly from other counties in the Staked Plains region. Its large area
supported a meager population of stockmen, there were no railroads,
and the only thing to attract new settlers was the grazing of pasture
lands. The last decade has witnessed many remarkable changes. In
1907 a branch of the Pecos & Northern Texas Railway was completed
from Canyon City as far as Plainview, and by the spring of 1910
trains were operating from Plainview south to Lubbock. During
1910 construction work was being rapidly pushed on the Texico-Cole-
man cut-off of the Santa Fe, passing through Lubbock County and
Lubbock City. This road was completed by 1911, and about the
same time a branch was extended east from Lubbock, known as the
Crosbyton & South Plains Railroad. Settlers and capital at once
came into the Lubbock district, and many of the large ranch holdings
were cut up into farms, and while farmers as a rule employed with
satisfying success the dry methods of cultivating the plains crops, a
still greater resource so far as future development is concerned was

790 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

found in the discovery of the shallow well water supply, by which
copious streams of water can be brought from a depth of 40 to 100
feet and pumped over the fruit, alfalfa and other grain fields, insuring
splendid crops from the fertile soil. Recently a number of test wells
have been put down, and by the use of gasoline power and centrifugal
pumps enormous flows of water are obtained. Continual pumping
for many hours has failed to perceptibly lower the water in these
wells. In the valleys of the streams, tributaries of the Brazos River,
a large acreage is already sub-irrigated and alfalfa grows luxuriantly.

The rapid development of the agricultural possibilities of Lubbock
County, as representing the entire section known as the South Plains,
underlain by the Shallow Water Belt, is due in a large part to the
educational activities and results announced by the State Experiment
Farm Xo. 8 maintained two and one-half miles east of the city of
Lubbock, where more than 3,000 experiments are carried on each year
to determine the profitable crops and methods of production to be
suited to this section.

While irrigated farming is practiced to a profitable advantage in
the case of commercial and home gardens, orchards and intensive
stock farms, the improved methods of cultivation developed by this
experiment farm have demonstrated the dependable profit to be made
from ordinary farming methods adapted to the conditions prevailing
through this section. The record breaking crop grown in this section
up to and including 1020 was that of 1920 and was "laid by" upon
14.5 inches of rainfall.

Diversified farming is making rapid progress in this county, whose
increase in number of farms reported by the Federal census of 1920
amounted to 384% or 1,908 farms. The rural condition is further
improved in this county by the high grade of public schools being
constructed by the county board of education. With twenty one
rural schools in the county, eleven have modern brick buildings and
the rural school property showed an increase of 940% in the four
years previous to 1920.

Lubbock County produces the world's supply of Sudan grass see<
in addition to the profitable production of small grains, sorghums,
alfalfa, clover, cotton, fruit and vegetables. There is considerable
activity in dairying, and pure bred hog production is reported in the
county and in the South Plains counties surrounding Lubbock
County. These activities are carried mi exclusively by the ordinary
method of cultivation as distinguished from the irrigated method of
farming.

The legislative act of August 21. 1876, carved out Lubbock
County among Others in Northwest Texas. The county was organ-
ized in March. 1891, " ilh a population of thirty-three, or an increase
from twenty five in 1880. In the next ten years it increased to 293
and by 1910 it had increased to 3,624 or 1,136$ . while the 1920 census
showed an increase of 296$ or 11,096 inhabitants. In 1903 the

ssed value of property was .$1,146,672; by 1913 the assessed valua-
tions aggregated $4,971,301 ; and in 1920, $12,633,190.

During this period the number of farms increased from nothing

FORT WORTH AND Till-: TEXAS NORTHWEST 791

except ranch gardens in 1880-90-1900 to 208 farms in 1910. In 1920
there were 1,008 farms, or an increase of 384% as compared to the
state increase of 3.4%. In the total area of 555,520 approximately
50% is included in the farms with less than 25% in cultivation. < if
this area in cultivation the Chamber of Commerce estimates 12.500
acres in Sudan grass, 28,600 acres in cotton, 32,500 acres in grain,
sorghum, alfalfa, clover, corn and other feed crops, and 16,300 acres
in small grains.

In 1910 there were 18,191 cattle enumerated, 2,100 horses and
mules, and 4,213 sheep. In 1920 there were 14,340 cattle, less than
five per cent of which were dairy cattle, 5,330 horses and mules, aim
29,800 sheep, in addition to the 7.500 head of lambs fed for the market
through the winter. The hog industry has grown from a half dozen
"killing hogs" on the ranches in 1900 to more than 3,000 in 1920. a
large part of which are pure bred breeding hogs of the highest qualit) .
Several breeders of national importance are located in the county.

Following exhaustive experiments on the State Experiment Farm
at Lubbock and Spur the hog and sheep feeding industry is making
rapid growth in the county to consume the great production of grain
sorghums found to be superior to corn heretofore employed to feed
out market hogs in the North and Central states. More than 500,000
pounds of wool was marketed through Lubbock in 1920, according to
figures compiled by the South Plains Wool Growers' Association of
this place.

City of Luhbock

The city of Lubbock has grown from an isolated village in 1900 of
seventy-five inhabitants to the railroad center of the South Plains.
Reported in 1910 with 1,938 inhabitants, or an increase of more than
2,500%. Between the years 1910 and 1920 it made a gain of 10(>\ .
with a present population of 4.051, which is the largest of any city
between Amarillo and Sweetwater and the largest city of the South
Plains, due to its five railroads, six designated state highways and
numerous county highway outlets, giving ready access to foreign and
local markets and wholesale centers.

The city owns and operates its own light, water and sewer plants,
under the city manager, commission form of government, with a taxa-
ble valuation of $4,003,950 at a tax rate of $1.25. It has twenty
blocks of brick pavement, covering the retail section of the city, with
ornamental street illumination throughout the principal portion. Two
modern hospitals care for the emergencies of the Plains section.

The school system of the city is composed of three ward schools,
one grammar and high school with a separate negro and Mexican
school. The scholastic enrollment of the rural schools of the county
total 1,720 pupils and of the city of Slaton 550.

Slaton is the division point of the Santa Fe Railroad for this
division, with a population of 1,590 in 1920. as compared with less
than 300 in 1910.

Lynn County

Lynn County was created in 1876, but was not organized until
April. 1903, with Tahoka as the county seat. While cattlemen

VOL. 11—23

792 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

employed its area to a limited degree for grazing purposes, there was
no development to speak of and little population until the present
century. The county had nine inhabitants in 1880, 24 in 1890, 17 in
1900, but by 1910 its population was 1,713; in 1920, 4,751. For many
years the nearest railroad was the Texas & Pacific, seventy-five miles
to the south. The influx of stock and agricultural settlers began
about ten years ago, and the notable developments which centered in
Hale and Lubbock counties to the north gradually extended to include
Lynn County. In 1910-11 the Pecos & Northern Texas main line was
built across the northeast corner of Lynn County, and subsequently
a branch of the same road was extended south through the center of
Lynn County, with Tahoka as one of its stations. Since the con-
struction of this road the movement of homeseekers into this section
has been heavy and a start has been made in the development of
the varied resources. Although prominent as a cattle country, the
excellent supply of underground water offers many possibilities for
agricultural and horticultural development.

In 1900 only five farms and ranches were reported in the county :
by 1910 the number was 201. The total area of the county is 552,960
acres, of which 260,792 acres were included in farms in 1910, and
about 20,000 acres of "improved land," as compared with only 246
acres in 1900. The live stock in 1910 was 11,182 cattle, and about
2.100 horses and mules. In 1920, 26,663 cattle, 3,050 horses and mules
were enumerated. In 1909, 1,976 acres were planted in kaffir corn
and milo maize, 1,076 acres in corn, 1,003 acres in cotton, and there
were about 6,400 orchard fruit trees.

The value of taxable property in 1903 was $947,630; in 1913,
$2,082,007; and in 1920, $3,992,915.

McCulloch County

Created from Bexar County August 27, 1856. Named for Gen.
Ben McCulloch. Located in West Central Texas. Organized in
1876. Area 1,110 square miles. County seat, Brady. Other princi-
pal towns, Rochelle, Melvin, Mercury and Lohn. Population of
county in 1900, 3,961; population in 1909, 16,505; increase, 12,545; in
1920, 10,559. General surface rolling, with fertile valleys among the
hills. The Colorado River forms the northern boundary of the county.
The San Saba River and Brady Creek traverse the territory from
west to east. These water courses and the plentiful supply of under-
ground water, which can be tapped at depths of from 50 to 150 feet,
render the county one of the best watered in the region. The uplands
are timbered with post oak. live oak and cedar. There is considerable
mesquite in the valleys. These growths are sufficient to furnish wood
for fuel and fence posts. Soils vary from black sticky to dark choco-
late loam, and are quite fertile. It is estimated that about half of the
area of the county could be profitably devoted to farming. The main
field products are cotton, corn and forage crops. Fruits and vege-
tables are grown on some of the farms for the use of the families
occupying them McCulloch County is a fine stock raising country.
Railroads in the county arc the St. I.>>ui» \ San Francisco and Gulf

FORT WO Kill AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 793

Colorado & Santa Fe. Taxable values of countv in 1909, $5,754.804 ;
in 1920, $8,797,455. In 1920, 30,001 cattle and 6,701 horses and mules,
and 18,432 sheep were enumerated.

Brady, Texas

Brady is the county seat of McCulloch County. It is at the junc-
tion of the Frisco & Santa Fe systems, giving it easy, convenient
service, fully capable of handling any amount of tonnage, with close
connection to all markets of the country. It has local, rural and
long distance telephone systems, communication by telegraph and
cablegram to all parts of the world.

It has two big oil mills, a first class cotton compress and several
wholesale houses. It has two papers, one weekly and one semi-
weekly, both with a wide circulation and a competent corps of editors
and correspondents. There are two national banks and a Chamber
of Commerce, which looks after the dual interests of both city and
country. This latter organization is supported and controlled by the
leading business men of the city and is doing much good and render-
ing valuable assistance along lines of public interest.

Martin County

Martin County was created in 1876, and its county government
organized in November, 1884. It is one of the counties tributary to
the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway, built through the southeast-
ern corner in 1881. Stanton, the county seat, is the only town of any
importance in the county, and is located on the railway. In spite
of its convenience in the matter of railway facilities, the county's
development was very slow until the Tresent century, and it is still
a section for ranch farming rather than agriculture. There is an
abundant supply of water at shallow depth beneath the surface, and
irrigation has been practiced on a small scale.

The population of the county at successive decades has been :
In 1880, 12; in 1890, 264; in 1900, 332; in 1910, 1,549. and in 1920.
1,146. In 1910 there were enumerated 17,093 cattle and about 1,100
horses and mules. Much of the land is still held in large tracts by
the ranchmen. The total area of the county is 578,560 acres, of which
271,752 acres were included in farms or ranches in 1910. In 1900 only
203 acres were classed as "improved land," but that amount was
increased during the succeeding years to 14,400 acres in 1910. The
number of farms or ranches in 1900 was 33, and 147 in 1910. The
acreage devoted to the principal crops in 1909 was : Kaffir corn and
milo maize. 1,699; cotton, 946; hay and forage crops. 892; and corn,
252. The property valuation of the countv in 1903 was $821,253; in
1913, $2,603,143. and in 1920, $2,103,096. ' Stanton, the county seat,
has four churches, a Catholic boarding school, two banks and one
cotton gin. About 4,000 bales of cotton have been marketed here
this year.

Midland County

Reference has been repeatedly made in these sketches of Texas
counties to the remarkable development that followed the construe-

794 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

tion of the Texas & Pacific Railroad from Fort Worth west to El
Paso. In almost ever)' case the counties through which that line
passed were the first to begin development on a permanent basis, and
the line of railway became the backbone to the economic activities
spreading for many miles on each side. Between the town of Big
Springs, in Howard County, and the Pecos River, the Texas & Pacific
crosses the immense territory formerly comprised within Tom Green
County. As elsewhere stated, the breaking up of the original Tom
Green County began during the '80s, and it is noteworthy that the first
division was made at the western end rather than at the eastern side
of the original county. The first of such counties to be detached and
separately organized was Midland, created and organized in 1885.

For more than thirty years Midland and sourrounding counties
have been a center for some of the most extensive cattle operations
in the entire state. Midland has for a number of years, and is yet,
particularly the home of wealthy cattlemen, and many of the veterans
in the industry have at some time or other been identified with the
country tributary to Midland City. While the old Texas "longhorn"
was the feature of the cattle herds in that vicinity for a number of
years, some of the first successful attempts to introduce thoroughbred
cattle were made in the Midland country. Not long after Midland
County was organized the great Chicago packer, Nelson Morris,
bought up and established the great ranch of more than 300 square
miles in the district north of Midland City and started the experiment
of raising Polled Angus cattle, and at one time had as many as 20,000
head of this strain on his ranch. His stock was sold a few years ago.
Midland is the home of the largest registered herd of Hereford cattle
in the world, owned by Schaurbauer Brothers, and there are also
many Durham cattle. Ever since the coming of the railroad the
greater part of Midland County has been occupied by ranches and
was gradually enclosed in immense pastures by various corporations
and individual cattlemen. During the present century there has been
a gradual subdivision and breaking up of these extensive ranches, and
farming, especially by the dry farming methods, and mure recently
with the aid of irrigation, lias become a pronounced feature. In
1911 the manv experiments hitherto conducted for drawing water
from an underground supply to irrigate land came to a climax with
the opening of a great well near Midland, which developed a flow of
2.000 gallons per minute. The success of this initial well has stimu
lated the investment of capital and enterprises in many other localities
about Midland City, and irrigation farming is now on a fairly well
established basis.

Some facts taken from the last census report give the Status of the
live stock industry and of agriculture in the count)' as follows: There
were 178 farms, as compared with 73 ten years previously. Of
a total area of 567,680 acres, 466,367 acres were occupied as farms.
About 16,000 acres were cultivated as "improved land," as compared
with 897 acres in lf>00; 16,300 cattle were enumerated in the county
iti 1920, and 1,175 horses and mules. The acreage of the chief crops
during 1909 was: Kaffir corn and milo maize, 2,438; cotton, 1.755;

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 795

hay and forage crops, 2,252; and corn, 421. About 3,500 orchard
fruit trees were enumerated. In 1890 Midland County had a popula-
tion of 1,033; in 1900, 1,741 ; in 1910, 3,464; and in 1920, 3,000. There
are one or two small villages, but the greater proportion of the
county's population is concentrated in Midland City, which had 2,192
inhabitants in 1910. Midland City, which got its name from the fact
of its location about midway between Fort Worth and El Paso, claims
the distinction of being the wealthiest town per capita in the United
States, and has a trade territory covering an immense district on all
sides. The city has well improved streets, a number of modern busi-
ness blocks, schools and churches, and is the natural business center
for counties both to the north and south.

The assessed values of property in the county in 1903 were $2,009,-
294; in 1909, $5,882,603; in 1913,'$5,734,287; and in 1920. $5,891,285.

Mitchell County

Located on the headwaters of the Colorado River, and traversed
by the Texas & Pacific Railway since 1881, Mitchell County has long
been one of the centers of the live stock industry in West Texas.
Colorado City, the county seat, has been particularly noted as a cat-
tlemen's town. The county has been described as a country of
undulating prairies, traversed by numerous streams, with broad and
beautiful valleys, skirted by a shattered growth of scrubby mesquite,
hackberry and wild china, interspersed with an occasional live oak,
pecan and cedar tree, in some parts mountainous, and in others
stretching out into elevated tablelands.

A report of the county in 1892 said : "Stock raising is the engross-
ing pursuit of the inhabitants, and it is an industry of large and
increasing importance. Nearly the entire surface is covered with the
long and the curly mesquite, buffalo and gamma grasses, on which
cattle, sheep and horses keep in good condition the year round."

In round numbers the estimate of stock in the county in 1892 was
35,000 cattle, 13,000 sheep, and about 1,000 horses and mules. At
that time practically none of the land was under individual owner-
ship. The county was occupied by the scattered cattle outfits. Ranch
buildings were anywhere from 15 to 30 miles apart, and as a common
rule each man recognized and respected the range rights of his
neighbors in good faith. In the gradual process of breaking up the
old range new factors were introduced from time to time. These
were chiefly improved stock, provident management, and individual
control of more or less of the land upon which each stockman oper-
ated, accompanied by the building of wire fences, an innovation that
began about the close of the '80s. In Mitchell and other counties of
the same area the old-time cattlemen drove their stock from place to
place in search of grass and water, but since then surface water sup-
ply has been supplemented by wells. During the last twenty years
the underground water supply, tapped by numerous wells, has been
drawn upon, and the traveler through the Plains country finds the
numerous windmills the most impressive feature of the landscape.
Colorado City, and other towns have frequently been referred to as
"windmill cities."

796 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS XORTHWEST

The report of 1892. previously quoted, says: "The Texas &
Pacific Railroad runs through the county from east to west and has
four stations — Loraine, Colorado City, Westbrook and Iatan. The
latter place is situated about twenty miles west of Colorado City, in
what is known as Paradise Valley, which contains about 5,000 acres
of fertile land, and is strikingly picturesque and beautiful. Colorado
City has about 1.500 inhabitants and does a large trade with the sur-
rounding counties." Within the present decade the Roscoe, Snyder
&: Pacific Railroad has been constructed, touching the northeast cor-
ner of Mitchell County, and with that exception the railway mileage
is exclusively that of the Texas & Pacific.

In 1880 Mitchell County had a population of only 117, in 1890.
2,059; in 1900, 2,855: in 1910. 8,956; and in 1920, 7.527. The largest
town is Colorado Citj . with a population in 1910 of 1.840. Loraine at the
same census had 633 inhabitants.

One important resurce of the county is the production of salt, and
two plants at Colorado City are engaged in its manufacture.

In 1881, at about the beginning of development in the county, tin-
assessed value of taxable propertv was $589,959; in 1903, $2,549,330;
in 1913. $6,366,848; and in 1920. $'5,807,851.

To a limited extent irrigation has been employed to water the
garden crops, but the chief reliance has been upon natural rainfall
and dry farming methods. Subject to the variation of, seasons in
West Texas, Mitchell County has made notable progress in agricul-
ture, though the chief resource is still live stock. In 1^10, 1.108
farms were enumerated, and the number at the preceding census was
232. The total area of the county is 566,400 acres. Of this 106.302
acres were classified as "impoved land" at the last census, while the
preceding census found but about 17.000 acres thus classified. In
1920, 7,918 cattle were enumerated; about 3.300 horses and mules,
2.934 hogs. In 1919, 32,055 acres were planted in cotton, 20,247 acres
m kaffir corn and milo maize, 8,969 acres in hay and forage crops.
2.411 acres in corn. There was a limited production of peanuts and
vegetable crops, and about 23,000 orchard fruit trees were found.

Colorado

Colorado City, the county seal of Mitchell County, is located on both
banks of the Colorado River. It is noted for its sidewalks, and shade
trees, pretty women and fat men. It has one of the best school sys-
tems in West Texas. The present court house is a three-story brick
Structure built in 1884 at a cost of $80.01 X). Colorado City's trade tern
tory extends from 20 to 30 miles in each direction from town. It is con

sidered one of the oldest cow-towns in Texas, its farming, and espec
ially stock-farming interests are growing fast. Its days of rough and
tumble "shoot the town up," cow-boy fashion, are past, although it is
-till the home of large ranch owners, they are a different type of men.
more progressive and energetic than in former days.

'The present county officials are: J. ( . Mall, counts judge; W. J.
Chesney, sheriff and tax-collector; W. S. Stoneham, count} and dis
trict clerk ; |. B 1 1 ■ >lt . tax assessor; T. |. Coffee, county attorney; U.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 797

D. Wulfjen, commissioner, Precinct No. 1; H. A. Lasater, commis-
sioner, Precinct No. 2 ; E. Barber, commissioner, Precinct No. 3, and
S. M. Hallmark, commissioner, Precinct No. 4.

Montague County

Montague County was taken from Cooke County in 1857, and
organized August 2, 1858. The county was fairly well settled before
the war, was credited with a population of 849 in 1860, but as a
result of the depredations of that decade its population in 1870 was
only 890. During the '70s it began to be settled permanently. In one
respect, however, it was still on the frontier, since its northern boun-
dary was the Red River, on the north side of which was the Indian
Territory, which, without any civil government, offered shelter to
many thieves and desperadoes whose depredations of the Texas fron-
tier were long a standing menace to the prosperity of the northern
tier of counties. To prevent horse stealing from this source during
the '70s and '80s a number of vigilance committees were organized
in Montague County.

In September, 1866, a correspondent in the county wrote a Dallas
paper as follows : "We stand as a breakwater for the protection of
the state against the Indians — have done so for years. We will be
forced to give up the frontier unless sustained ; sustain us and we will
still protect you." In July, 1870, another correspondent wrote that
the Indians were all around Montague County settlers, whose exposed
situation on the extreme frontier rendered constant vigilance neces-
sary, and that very recently attacks had been made on Victoria Peak
and Henrietta.

During the decade of the 70s the population of Montague Count}
increased more than 1,000 per cent, and settled conditions prevailed,
while a number of towns sprang up. In 1878 the towns and villages
in the county were: Montague, the county seat, containing some
five or six stores; St. Jo, Burlington, Red River, Scranton and Forest-
burg. These were all rural villages, and the nearest railroads were
many miles to the east and south.

The first railroad was the Fort Worth & Denver City, constructed
across the southwestern corner of the county in 1882. The railroad
gave origin to what is now the metropolis of the county, Bowie, which
in June, 1882, was without a single store and merely a station for the
surrounding country. Another station established on the railway
was Sunset. A report on the county in 1882 mentioned industries and
the towns as follows: "There are in the county a number of flouring
and sawmills run by steam power, but hardly enough to supply the
local demand for flour and lumber. Montague has 500 inhabitants;
St. Jo, 350 ; Forestburg, 200 ; Queen Peak, 250 ; Spanish Fort, a very
old settlement, 250; Eagle Point, 150; and Salt Creek Station, 100."
The county at that time was a rich stock range, and its live stock in
round numbers was estimated at 36,000 cattle, 8,000 sheep and goats,
7,800 horses and mules, and 11,000 hogs.

Beginning with the census of 1870 the population figures for suc-
cessive decades have been: In 1870. 890: in 1880. 11.257: in 1890,

798 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

18,863; in 1900. 24,800; in 1910, 25.123; and in 1920, 22,200. In 1870
the total property assessments in the county aggregated only $153,-
542; the rapid development of the following ten vears was indicated
by tax assessment for 1882 as $2,040,472: in 1903.'$6.428.005 ; in 1913,
$12,806,265, and in 1920, $14,134,555.

The second railroad in the county was the Missouri, Kansas &
Texas, which was built under the name Gainesville, Henrietta &
Western from Gainesville to Henrietta in 1887, across the northern
half of the county. In 1893 the Rock Island line from the Red River
tn Fort Worth was opened through Bowie.

The building of railroads has resulted in a general readjustment
of population centers. Montague, the county seat, is still without
railway connections, and from a population of 795 in 1890 declined
to a population of 284 in 1910. The chief city is Bowie, which prof-
ited by its relations to the first railway. In 1890 its population was
1,486; in 1900, 2,600; in 1910, 2,874; and in 1920, 5,000. The three
other principal towns are located in the northern part of the county
along the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and are St. Jo, a town ante-
dating the railway, Belcher and Nocona. Other towns are Montague.
Ringgold. Stoneburg, Sunset, Bonita and Hardy.

As one of the rural counties of North Texas, Montague now has a
fairly well balanced economic condition. Only a few of the large
ranches still remain undivided, while the breeding of improved live
stock, dairying, fruit culture, and the diversified crops of the Red
River Valley are all phases of progress. At the last census 3,691
farms were enumerated, as compared with 3,571 in 1900. The total
area of the county is 594,560 acres, of which 531,057 acres were
reported in farms, and about 244.000 acres as "improved land." While
thirty years has resulted in the cultivation of nearly half of the total
area of the county, live stock interests are more valuable than ever.
The enumeration showed 31,429 cattle, about 14.078 horses and mules,
17,979 hogs, and the crops in 1919 were: Cotton, 88.041 acres; cum.
74,841 acres; hay and forage crops, 9,468 acres; oats, 1,381 acres.
while wheat and peanuts formed a considerable item in production,
and about 1,800 acres were planted in potatoes, sweet potatoes and
other vegetables. The rank of the county as a fruit section is indi-
cated by the enumeration of 293,000 orchard fruit trees, while about
10.000 pecan trees were found.

Moore County

Organized July 6, 1892, Moore County in 1890 had a population of
15; in 1900, 209; "in 1910, 561. and in 1920, 571. That the county has
nut yet attracted settlers in any considerable numbers is chiefly due
to the lack of transportation. The county seat and chief town of the
county is Dumas.

For the past twenty years the ranchers have employed windmills
to draw water from the abundant underground supply, only for stock
purpoe- and for irrigating small gardens and fruit orchards. The
limited agriculture ha> depended hitherto on the natural rainfall and
the usual Panhandle methods of cultivation. The amount of

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 799

"improved land" in 1910 was 22,000 acres, as compared with about
1,700 acres in 1900. In the same period the number of farms increased
from 57 to 95. The total area of the county is 589,440 acres, of which
93,278 acres were occupied in farms or ranches in 1900. In 1910 the
number of cattle enumerated was 7,017; about 1,450 horses and mules ;
1,290 hogs; and 1,759 sheep; in 1920 the number was 24,535 cattle,
2,380 horses and mules, 1,930 sluep. Outside of 2,345 acres planted
in kaffir corn and milo maize in 1909, crop acreage was limited to a
small amount in hay, oats and wheat. The property assessment in
1903 was $831,651 ; in 1913, $2,204,116; in 1920, $1,862,070.

Motley County

The western portion of Motley County lies in the Staked Plains
region of Texas, and in many portions its undulating surface is
broken and mountainous. Live stock raising is the principal occu-
pation of the people, although there is considerable acreage under cul-
tivation. Cotton, alfalfa, and the usual Panhandle staples are grown.
Some small orchards and vineyards have demonstrated the possibil-
ities of horticulture.

Motley County was one of those created by the act of August 21,
1876, and was organized February 25, 1891. The population figures
furnish a measure of the county's progress. In 1880, 24 inhabitants
were enumerated; in 1890, 139; in 1900, 1,257; in 1910, 2,396; and in
1920, 4,107. The county seat is Matador, but that town and the entire
county have depended upon country roads and the stage coach for
communication with the railroad centers. Until recently the nearest
raiload points were Paducah on the east and Floydada on the west.
The Quanah. Acme & Pacific Railroad has been constructed through a
portion of the country. Portions of three or four of the largest ranch
holdings in Northwest Texas lie in Motley County, while few farms
or ranches in the county have comprised an area of less than a section
of land. The total area of Motley County is 659,200 acres. In 1900
only about 8,400 acres were in cultivation, and in 1910 about 37,000
acres. There were 373 farms and ranches in 1910, as compared with
209 in 1900. For many years Motley has been a favorite county with
cattlemen, and has been credited with a larger number of cattle than
almost any other county in the northwestern part of the state. At
the last enumeration 29,605 cattle were reported and 3,889 horses and
mules. The status of agriculture in 1909 is indicated by the following
figures for acreage: In cotton. 11,941 acres; in corn, 4,106 acres;
in kaffir corn and milo maize, 4,476 acres ; and in hay and forage crops.
3.173 acres. About 10,000 orchard fruit trees were found, and grape
culture is also a factor with a number of farmers. In 1903 the
assessed value of property was $1,691,064; in 1913, $3,934,941 ; in
1920, $6,080,147.

Nolan County

In 1876 the Legislature defined the boundaries of Nolan County
as far out on the West Texas plains and occupied chiefly by the roving
herds of buffalo, then being rapidly decimated, and by a few pioneer
stockmen. Five years later, in 1881, the Texas & Pacific Railroad

800 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

was built through the northern edge of the county, and until ten
years ago was the only railway line in the county. In 1881 the county
government was organized, and the county seat was placed at Sweet-
water, one of the three railway stations in the county. No farming
was attempted at that time, and in 1882 the live stock interests were
estimated at about 11,000 cattle, 21,000 sheep and goats, and about
2,500 horses, mules and hogs.

The population of the county in 1880 was 640; in 1890, 1,573; in
1900, 2,611: in 1910, 11,999; and in 1920, 10,868. The rapid increase
of population between 1900 and 1910 was accompanied by correspond-
ing development of business and resources. About 1903 construction
work was begun on the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad at
Sweetwater, and in 1905 that road was placed in operation from
Sweetwater north to the Red River. In 1911 the Texico-Coleman
division of the Santa Fe, known as the Pecos & Northern Texas, gave
the county another trunk line and increased the importance of Sweet-
water as a railway city. Since then the Roscoe. Snyder & Pacific .
Railroad has been built from Toscoe in this county, about fifty miles
to the northwest.

In 1882 Nolan County's aggregate assessed values were $908,276;
in 190.5, $2.345,845 ; in 1913.. $8,267,676; and in 1920, $8,258,198. While
the ranchmen have in recent years been giving a great deal of time
and attention to the improvement of their stock, diversified farming
has also attracted enterprise and capital, and the county now pro-
duces a large amount of the staple crops. The total area of the
county is 563,200 acres. The last census reported 385,578 acres
included in farms and ranches, and about 93,000 acres in "improved
land." In 1900 the county had 293 farms, and by 1910, 1.160 were
enumerated. The live stuck reported at the last enumeration was:
Cattle, 7,978; horses and mules, 3.506; sheep. 2,448. Though a Wfest
Texas county, cotton is the chief crop. In 1919, 32,699 acres were
planted in that staple; 21,713 acres in kalir corn and milo maize; 7,334
acres in hay and forage crops ; and 2,008 acres in corn. About 26,000
orchard fruit trees were enumerated in 1910.

Outside of Sweetwater the chief towns are Roscoe, the starting
point of the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad ; 1 1 ylton, an inland vil-
lage in the southern part of the county; and Decher, Dora. Nolan and
Olga.

SWEETW VTER

Sweetwater is now one of the leading railroad centers in this sec-
tion of the state, and is growing as an industrial and commercial
city. In the vicinity are found some large deposits of gypsum, and
considerable quantities of the manufactured product are shipped,
Sweetwater in 1900 had a population of only 670 and was a small
town, but by l'OO its population was 4,176, and in 1920 it had a popu-
lation of 6,000. It has a modern high school and three ward schools,
SIX churches, three banks, with a capitalization of $280,000 and $2,000.-
DOO deposits. There is one mill and elevator, one tractor and truck
factory, one large cotton seed oil mill, one refinery, one large planing
mill, one marble works, one cement block factory, one large machine

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 801

shop, three trunk lines of railroads, one of which maintais shops and
division. There are two saddle shops, two mattress factories, one
broom factory, one candy factory, three cotton gins, one compress,
three wholesale groceries, one large heavy hardware, two distributing
implement houses, one mail order house, two wholesale rubber houses
and three automobile accessory houses.

There will be another refinery after the first of the year and one
large gypsum factory.

Ochiltree County

This county, on the northern border of the Panhandle, was organ-
ized February 21, 1889. With the nearest railroad forty-five miles
distant, its development has been hindered by lack of transportation,
but in spite of this situation many thousands of acres are now in
cultivation in the staple Panhandle crops and a substantial class of
farmer settlers have located in this section since the beginning of the
present century. The extension of the Santa Fe across the county
has greatly improved conditions. The countv in 1890 had a popula-
tion of 198, in 1900 of 267, in 1910 of 1,602, and in 1920, 2,331. The
county seat is at Ochiltree, and other small centers of trade and popu-
lation are Wawaka and Grogan. The surface of the county is largely
a level plain, with Wolf Creek the only important stream. It is esti-
mated that 95 per cent of the area is tillable, and the statistics of
crop production in recent years indicate great possibilities in the near
future. The total area of the county is 570,240 acres, and 225,779
acres were reported in farms at the last census. Between 1900 and
1910 the number of farms rose from 71 to 264, and the amount of
"improved land" from about 2,600 acres to about 53,000 acres. The
live stock enumeration in 1910 comprised 10,717 cattle, about 3,800
horses and mules, 3,711 hogs, and 10,715 poultry; in 1920, 22,462 cat-
tle, 4,792 horses and mules. In 1909, 10,378 acres were planted in hay
and forage crops ; 8,663 acres in wheat ; 7,404 acres in kafir corn and
milo maize; 2,075 acres in corn; 1,972 acres in oats. About 3,000
orchard fruit trees were enumerated. The valuation of propertv in
1903 was $606,926; in 1913. $1,515,291, and in 1920, $4,176,420.

Perryton

Perryton is the county seat of Ochiltree County, a beautiful little
town with two good churches and a school building. A bond issue
has recently been authorized of $175,000 for a new and commodious
school building. It has three banks and the usual complement of
commercial houses.

Oldham County

About three-fourths of the entire area of Oldham County was set
aside and granted as a portion of the 3,000,000 acres given to the syn-
dicate of capitalists who furnished the money for the building of the
state capital at Austin. As late as ten years ago it was stated that
three-fifths of the county was held in immense pastures, and the pro-
cess of breaking up the large ranch holdings into farms has gone
forward more slowlv in Oldham Countv than in many other sections

X02 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

of Northwest Texas. For this reason, largely, the county, though
in area one of the largest, has a very meager population, farming is
practiced in only a limited way, and the agricultural settler has made
less inroad against the ranchers than in other parts of the Panhandle.
On account of these general conditions, the amount of "improved
land" at the last census was only about 12,600 acres, and in 1900 the
census reported about 11,500 acres of such land. The number of
farms increased from 23 to 87 between 1900 and 1910. The total area
of the county is 987,520 acres, of which 513,855 acres were occupied
in farms and' ranches in 1910. As a stock range Oldham County has
furnished immense numbers of cattle and other live stock to the Texas
aggregate. More than thirty years ago the number of cattle was
reported at about 33,000 and about 25,000 sheep. The last enumera-
tion showed 43,005 cattle and 1,595 horses and mules. The limited
acreage in crops is indicated by the report for 1909, showing 2,709
acres in hav and forage crops, 1,401 acres in wheat, and 693 acres in
kafir corn and milo maize. In 1882 the assessed value of taxable
property in the county was $443,875, of which more than three-fourths
was represented by live stock; in 1903 the property valuation was
$900,247; in 1913, $3,616,758; and in 1920, $4,126,876. indicating that
the greatest progress economically lias been made within the last 10
or 15 years.

Oldham had one of the first county organizations in the Panhandle,
a local government having been organized, with Tascosa as the county
seat, in December, 1880. The population of the county at the Federal
census of that vear was 287, and at the election in the fall of the same
year 187 votes were polled, which indicates that practically all the
residents were males and of voting age and other qualifications. At
the census of 1890 the county had a population of 270, a decrease; in
1900, 349; in 1910, 812, and 'in 1920, 709. After the construction of
the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway across the northern corner of
the county in 1888, a railway station was established called Tascosa.
hut was several miles from the county seat town of Tascosa, which
was on the north side of the Canadian River. During the present
century the Rock Island Railroad was constructed across the southern
border of the county. There are several other towns besides the
county seat, including Adrian. Vega and Wildorado.

During the years before the railroad came Tascosa was one of the
most notorious towns in 'Texas, a supply point for the various cattle
outfits operating in the Panhandle, and a center for periodical revelry
and dissipation for the cowboys. Among all the old timers who lol
lowed the trail .across the Panhandle during the '70s and '80s Tascosa
ha.-, association^ so as to classif) it with such larger anil more notor
tious eattle town- as Fort Dodge, Vbilene and Fort Worth.

\ EGA

The present county seat is located on tin- Rock Island Railroad,
which passes through the southern part of the county. It lias a popu
lation of 250, two churches, one modern high school building, two
hotels, three general stoic-, one hank, a lumber yard and a drug Stor*

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 803

Palo Pinto County

This county has always been a center for cattlemen, its abundant
water supply and its rugged surface affording excellent winter quarters
for live stock. Many of the old-time cattle kings of Texas had their
headquarters at different times in Palo Pinto County. In the wave of
migration that crossed North Texas during the early '50s settlement
went beyond Parker into this county, and as a result of the movement
an act of Legislature on August 27, 1856, created a separate county terri-
tory. The act directed that the chief justice of Bosque County, from
a portion of which and from Navarro County the territory was taken,
should organize the local government. The county was organized April
27, 1857. The act creating the county directed the county officers to
select the county seat and lay off a town, and "the county site shall be
called Golconda." That name, so far as can be ascertained, was never
confirmed and had no place in the county's geography. In 1858 the
Legislature donated 320 acres of public land for county site purposes,
and the county seat acquired the name Palo Pinto. Such settlers as
occupied the county during the '50s were in such exposed position with
reference to the hostile Indians that the county was practically depopu-
lated in the years between 1860 and 1870. The Texas Almanac for
18(>7 said briefly that the county was "principally devoted to stock raising,
though Indians keep the inhabitants in constant alarm." Permanent
progress began in the 70s, when some of the land was cultivated to
wheat and cotton, and the limits of the cattle range were first intruded.
A report on the county seat for 1882 enumerates the stock interests,
in round numbers, as 28,000 cattle. 5,000 horses and mules, 6,000 sheep.
and about 6,000 hogs. From the same report other factors in the county's
economic condition were described as follows : "The Texas & Pacific
Railroad, which reached the county in 1880, runs through its southern
part, and has three stations, Sparta, Strawn and Gordon, with respectively
50,200 and 350 inhabitants. Palo Pinto, the county seat, is beautifully
located on Little Fagle Creek, and has about four hundred inhabitants.
In this county are located a number of mineral wells, around which a
town of about two thousand inhabitants, known as Mineral Wells, has
grown up within the last two or three vears. The town is surrounded
by mountains and the scenery is picturesque. Coal of good quality has
been discovered in the county, and two mines have been opened, the
vield from which is about ninety tons per day."

During the decade of the '70s the one principal village. Palo Pinto,
had aspirations to become a station on the Texas & Pacific Railroad. In
1876 the business directory of the town shows six dry goods stores,
several saloons, two blacksmith shops, one wood shop, six lawyers, five
physicians, two schools, and a Masonic Hall. The railroad never came
to Palo Pinto, and its chief distinction is vet as the seat of county govern-
ment. Outside of Palo Pinto the only postorfice in 1876 was Grand
Ranche, a noted headquarters for cattlemen, located in the south part of
the county, on Palo Pinto Creek, about two miles east of present town
of Santo.

In 1860 Palo Pinto County had a population of 1,524. Conditions
were such that no separate enumeration was made in the county at

804 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

the census of 1870. In 1880 the population was 5,885; in 1800. 8.230:
in l^OO. 12.291; in 1010, 10,506; in 1020. 23,421. In 1870 the assessed
values of taxable property was $275,548; in 1882, $1,708,475; in 1003,
$3,852,326; in 1913, $10,865,370; in 1020, $14,748,820. Palo Pinto has
an area of 613.120 acres, and the last Federal census reported 472.842
acres occupied as farms or ranches, with about 105,000 acres in "im-
proved land." There were enumerated 1.021 farms in 1010, as compared
with 1,271 in 1000. Live stock interests are: Cattle. 30.053; horses
and mules. 6.500: hogs, 1,907; goats. 1,823. In 1909. 31.655 acres wen
planted to cotton. 7.918 acres in corn. 4,253 acres in hay and forage crops,
and a smaller acreage in kaffir corn and milo maize and in oats. Con-
siderable attention is paid to fruit growing in the county, and the last
census enumerated about 67,000 orchard fruit trees, about 13.000 grape
vines, and over 14,000 pecan trees. The mineral resources of the county
have for many years been a valuable asset. Coal is mined at Thurber,
Strawn, Lyra and Mingus in the southern part of the county, and a
natural gas field has been developed beginning two miles south of Mineral
Wells and extending to the town of Brazos. Other gas fields have been
found in various parts of the county but have not been developed com-
mercially. Probably the greatest single factor in drawing wealth to the
count v are the famous mineral waters at Mineral Wells, which has at-
tained the reputation of being one of the most noted and popular health
resorts in the Southwest. There are more than fifty mineral wells, the
chief city of the county has developed around them, besides the thousands
of people who reside temporarily at Mineral Wells because of its health
and resort advantages, a large industry has been built up in the shipping
of the waters over many states. Mineral Wells in 1890 had a population
of '^77 ; in 1000. 2,048; in 1010, 3,050; and in 1020, 9,018,

Vboul the year 1891 the Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern
was constructed to Mineral Wells, thus placing that health resort within
easy communication with the main railway system of Texas and the
permanent growth of the city dated from that event. Within the present
decade what is known as the Gulf. Texas &• Western Railroad has been
constructed south from Jacksboro to a connection with the Mineral Wells
& Northwestern at Salesville.

M I NERAl \\ ELLS

In 187'' a postofnce was established called Kdnavillc. In the same
year Captain Lynch dug the firsl well. It proved to be strong mineral
and until for use. In 1882 another well was sunk, now known as the
original Crazj Well. The name was changed to Mineral Wells in this
\ ear

In the fort) one years of its existence ii has developed from two wells
to more than a hundred, from log houses and tents to brick and stucco,
from a straggling population of a few scattered families to a town of
0,018. As a health resort it has long since passed the experimental stage
and has become a recognized factor in restoring health by the medical
1 1 aternity,

From dispensing its waters by the primitive gourd it now dispenses
them in tin- largest drinking pavilions in the world. From entertaining

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 80S

a few families coming in mule and ox-drawn vehicles il now entertains
150.000 visitors annually coming 1>\ train and automobile from every
state in the union and many foreign countries.

Strawn

Strawn was incorporated in 1920. Its population has doubled in
tlie last two years and is now aboul 5,000. It has two strong banks, the
First National Bank and the First States Bank; and two of the largest
mercantile establishments of the West. The Strawn Merchandise Com-
pany, owned and operated by the Strawn Coal Company, has a capital
of $5,000,000. The Watson Brothers is also a solid and substantial
concern.

The Coal Company owns the Light & Water Plant, and gas for heating
purposes is furnished by F. M. Treat & Company. Plans for a sewerage
system are in progress. Two new churches have recently been erected,
being the Methodist Episcopal Church, to cost $80,000. and the Baptist
Church, to cost $50,000.

The Strawn Tribune is a six-column weekly newspaper owned and
edited by S. D. Taylor.

The school building is a substantial two story brick structure con-
taining thirty rooms, erected about ten years ago, and is used for grade
and high school purposes. It proved to be inadequate to the demand, and
in June. 1920. work was begun on a new and larger school building, which
will soon be completed and occupied. The new building, with it ^ equip-
ment, will cost around $100,000, and is provided with a large auditorium
having a stage. This room will be used for school assemblies, lyceuni
courses and public gatherings. In the basement are a good sized gym-
nasium, rooms for sewing, domestic science and for manual training. The
building is heated throughout with hot air, gas being used for fuel, al-
though coal grates have also been supplied for use in case of a gas short-
age. There are now 115 pupils in the high school and 830 in the different
grades. For the last ten years the schools have been under the charge of
Professor I.. T. Cook, with a staff of nineteen teachers in the literary
department and three in 'the department of music and expression.

Parker County

Parker is one of the oldest settled counties of North Texas, adjoining
Tarrant on the west, and is on the dividing line between the black land
belt of the central part of the state and West Texas. One fork of the
Trinity River runs through the county, and in the western part is tin-
Brazos River, so that two of the largest water courses in the state ap-
proach each other closely in this county. The county ranks high as an
agricultural section, with cotton the chief crop, but corn, wheat, vege-
tables and fruit are important factors in a diversified farming which has
made great progress during the last twenty years. It has taken first pre-
miums at all Agricultural Fairs in the country for watermelons, peanuts
and many of the fruits.

The county takes special pride in its good roads, constructed from
gravel beds closely accessible, and has also developed a broad foundation
of institutions and commercial activities.

806

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Parker County was created from portions of Navarro and Bosque
counties on December 12, 1855, and was organized March, 1856. The act
creating the county directed that county courts, when chosen, should
order an election for the location of the seat of justice, the site selected
to be called Weatherford. The first settlement followed soon after the
establishment of the military post at Fort Worth in 1849. For twenty
years the county was on the frontier and exposed to the hostile raids
of the Indians. For several years after the organization of the county
the settlers had little trouble, but the removal of a large part of the
Texas Indians beyond Red River was followed by a persistent warfare,
along the fringes of settlement. In 1859 an attack was made on the town
of Weatherford, when Mrs. Sherman was killed and scalped. During the
Civil war the danger from such raids never abated, and as late as 187.}
an Indian incursion was made into Parker County.

i Iourt I [ouse, We wherford

During the comparative security of the early '50s settlement was
rapid. The population in 1858 was estimated at 3,507, including a small
number of slaves, (160).

About 10.000 acres were in cultivation, wheat and corn being the only
crops, and over 10,000 cattle raised on the ranges. Weatherford had a
population at this time of 175, there being only five negroes in the little
town.

The author of "Information about Texas," whose observations were
made about 1856-57, says of Parker County: "It is a desirable region
for small farmers. Weatherford. a new town and county seat, is rapidh
increasing. No1 twelve months ago the site was laid out and yet there
are already a court house in process of construction, and several other
public buildings, one hotel, several stores, private dwellings and other
marks of civilization." Weatherford built up rapidly in those years
1 in. of tin firsl steam flour mills in a large region of the country was
started there about the middle of 1S5S. ami in November of the same

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 807

year a correspondent wrote: "This flourishing little town I find '-till
improving rapidly, and notwithstanding the universal cry of hard times,
new buildings are going up all over town. Weatherford seems to have
increased faster than any town in North Texas during the first three
years of its existence." The establishment of a newspaper — The Frontier
News — at that place, which two years before could not boast of a cabin,
was evidence not only of the enterprise of its publisher, but more so
of the rapid strides the northwestern frontier was making in improve-
ment and settlement.

In 1860 the number of inhabitants was almost as large as in 1870,
and by the latter date the people had hardly repaired the damage in-
flicted during the decade of the war. The rapid increase of population
during the '70s was due partly to the general immigration to this por-
tion of Texas in that decade, but more particularly to the building of the
first railroad through the county. The citizens of Weatherford were
inspired with the same hope of railroad connection with the outer world
as were the people of Forth Worth. By 1877 the town had grown so
that it was credited with 2,000 population. Some of the men whose
civic and business energy was behind the progress of the '70s were
Judge A. J. Hood, Captain Ball, I. Patrick Valentine, and the district
attorney of the county was S. W. T. Lanham, later governor of Texas.
Weatherford has been the home of many well known men. Their spirit
of enterprises was of the same sort as that of the people of Fort Worth ;
for when they saw that there was no immediate prospect of the Texas
& Pacific being extended from Fort Worth to the West, they followed
the example of their more fortunate rival and formed the Parker County
Construction Company to build a line between the cities. In January,
1879, the grading was begun, by the following May half of the work was
completed, and by the winter of 1879-80 trains were running into Weath-
erford. That town remained the terminus only a brief time, until con-
struction was rapidly extended west toward El Paso. During the '80s
the branch of the Santa Fe from Cleburne to Weatherford was built
The Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern Railway is largely
a Weatherford enterprise,- its general offices and shops are located in that
city, and it has made a large section of country to the northwest tribu-
tary to the Parker County metropolis. Within the last two or three years
the line of railway known as the Gulf, Texas & Western has been con-
structed from Jacksboro to a connection with the Weatherford, Mineral
Wells & Northwestern, thus increasing the traffic which passes through
Weatherford.

The population of Parker County in 1860 was 4,213; in 1870, 4,186:
in 1890, after the first railroad had come, 15,870 (615 negroes) ; in 1890.
21.682: in 1900, 25,823 (865) ; in 1010. 26.231 ; in 1920. 33.482.

Weatherford

Weatherford, which has always been the chief town as the seat of
government, had a population in 1860 of 3,369; in 1900, 4,786; and in
1910, 5,074. The town site was originally built in a grove of elm, oak.
hackberry and pecan, and there are many hundreds of these trees still
standing about the homes of Weatherford citizens.

VOL. 11—24

siis FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Weatherford has exhibited much enterprise not only commercially but
in the upbuilding of institutions, and besides its public schools has one
denominational institution conducted by the Methodist Church, the
Weatherford College for boys. The city has a large list of general busi-
ness establishments, water works, electric light and natural gas plants,
fifty miles of graveled streets, a city hall and federal building, flour
mills, machine shops, and grain elevators, several wholesale houses, a
large and successful sanatorium in the capacious brick buildings of the
quondam Fairmont Seminary, and despite its proximity to Fort Worth
controls the trade of a large district. Next to Weatherford one of
the oldest villages in the county was Veale Station, which before the
coming of the railroad ranked next to the county seat in importance,
but is now almost extinct. The principal towns at present outside of
Weatherford are Springtown. Poolville, Peaster, Whitt, Millsap and
Aledo, all of which have banks, independent school districts, and are the
commercial and social centers of surrounding rural communities.

In 1870 the aggregate assessment values in Parker County were
si. 511.975; in 1882. $3,653,138; in 1903, $7,187,955; in 1913, $13,486.-
760; and in 1920. $14,748,820. In 1910 the Federal census enumerated
3.634 farms in Parker County, as compared with 3,529 farms in 1900.
The total area of the county is 560.000 acres, of which 510,753 acres
were included in farms or ranches, and about 215,000 acres in "improved
land." While nearly half the county is now cultivated and the old-time
ranches have almost disappeared, the county raises more stock with
a greater aggregate value than it did twenty-five or thirty years ago.
The stock interests at the last enumeration were reported as follows:
Cattle, 22.280; horses and mules about 14,450] hogs, 13,500; goats,
1.030. In 1909. 89,871 acres were planted in cotton, 47,876 acres in
corn. 9,524 acres in hay and forage crops. 4.070 acres in wheat, 1,332
acres in oats, about 1,150 acres in potatoes, sweet potatoes and other
vegetables; about 144,000 trees were enumerated in orchard fruits, and
about 7,000 pecan trees. Dairying is an industry of increasing value
and much cream is shipped from Weatherford. Diversified farming
i- no lunger in an experimental stage in Parker County, and many of
the most successful men divide their cultivated acreage among four
or five crops. The growing of fruit, especially peaches, is becoming
valuable, and the county has gained special fame through its water-
melons and cantaloupes, Manx- watermelons are shipped from this
count)' weighing over a hundred pounds each, and at the St. Louis
World's Fair a 1'arker County melon was awarded first prize for size.
The truck crops of Parker County to a large degree are shipped West.
even as far as El Paso. Much attention is paid to terracing and
advanced methods of agriculture.

Pecos ( !ou ntv

Pecos County was a pari of Presidio County until 1871. when about
11,000 square miles of territory bordering on the Pecos River was
made into one county, and a county government organized in 1872.

the county seal being old Fort Stockton, Fort Stockton was established
iboul 1859, aiul fni mam years it was one uf th<- isolated outposts in

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

809

the extreme western part of Texas, and the duties of its garrison were
chiefly in patrolling a country sparsely inhabited by Indians and Mexi
cans and in furnishing protection to the stages and other travelers along
the highways that converged to this point from the East and passed on
through El Paso to the Pacific Coast. The early settlers of the countv
were practically all Mexicans, and it is said that the first irrigation
practiced in the countv was by Mexicans, who as late as thirty years
ago cultivated irrigated land with the primitive wooden plow. In 188.?
the northeastern end of Pecos County was detached to form the Count)
of Reeves, and in 1905 the southern end became Terrell County. Even
as thus reduced, Pecos County has an area of about fifty-five hundred
square miles. Except in the western and .southwestern parts its area
is a level plain, covered with stunted desert vegetation.

The Great Pecos Viaduct

The population of Pecos County in 1880 was 1,807. about three-
fourth of whom were Mexicans, and population of course was dis-
tributed over what is now Reeves and Terrell counties. The population
in 1890 was 1,326; in 1900, 2,360; in 1910. 2.071; in 1920, 3.857.
including about 300 Mexicans. Pecos County had no railroad until
1912, when the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient was completed through
the county, with a station at Fort Stockton. During the last ten year-
Fort Stockton has exhibited a vigorous growth, chiefly due to the irri-
gation enterprises developed in that vicinity, and since the coming of
the railway its growth has been very rapid. The location of Fort
Stockton as a military post was chosen on account of its proximity to
some of the most remarkable springs in the world. These springs,
known as Comanche Springs, constituting the source of Comanche
Creek, have a steady and unfailing flow of about fifty-five million gal-
lons of water everv dav. and besides furnishing abundant supply for

810 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

domestic purposes, these springs are the source of a great irrigation
system now adequately watering approximately 8.000 acres of land.
This development has all occurred in the past ten years, and by irriga-
tion methods have heen produced large crops of alfalfa, the grains
and fruit. Fort Stockton fruits are of specially fine quality, and it
is said that grape culture was first attempted by the soldiers at the old
fort, and the results demonstrated in earlier years have since caused
a number of land owners to set out extensive vineyards. In the north-
ern corner of the county along the Pecos River, a large amount of land
has been brought under irrigation in recent years with water obtained
directly from the river and from the reservoirs. While irrigation was
practiced many years ago for the raising of garden crops, it has been
placed on a commercial basis only within the last two or three years,
and as yet the extensive plant has only been partly developed, and it
remains for future years to determine the rank of Pecos County among
the agricultural sections of Texas. In 1909 the Federal census credited
the county with about 2,300 acres of irrigated farm lands. With the
exception of the irrigation district at Fort Stockton and along the
Pecos River, the entire county is given over to large ranches and pastures.
The total area of Pecos County is 2.645.760 acres, and while the census
estimated over 2.000,000 acres included in farms and ranches, only
6,524 acres were classified as "improved land." The live stock interests
comprised 108,577 cattle; about 4,200 horses and mules; 78,183 sheep;
and 8,479 goats. The enumeration in 1920 showed 62,410 cattle ; 4,6<>7
horses and mules ; 63.130 sheep ; 10,620 goats. The valuation of property
in Pecos County in 1903, before Terrell County was set off. was $4,168.-
57^; itl 1913, S8.072.010; and in 1920, $9,256,365.

Fort Stockton

Fort Stockton, county seal of Pecos County, is located almost in
the county's center, on the Kansas City. Mexico & Orient Railway. It
ha> a population of 1,297. Its altitude is 3.050 feel. There is a high
school with eleven grades and a corps of fourteen teachers. Students
may matriculate into state universities. There are school autos for
students in rural districts.

Waterworks, electric power, ice plant and telephone system — all are
private companies. There is an election pending to vote bonds for
municipal waterworks system.

\n inexhaustible supply of pure water is obtained at depths ranging
from 50 to 200 feet. Comanche Springs make a daily flow the year
round of 55,000,000 gallons. These springs supply a municipal bathing
pool, with the waters registering seventy-one degrees, January
and July.

In regard to the climate the temperature is rather mean, winter fifty;
summer, seventy-seven. Atmosphere dry, healthful and delightful —
nights always cool.

The environments in Fori Stockton are very desirable, as the laws
are sedulous!) enforced. Gambling, drinking and other phases of im
moralities are conspicuously absent. It is in all respects a family town.

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 811

Parmer County

All of Parmer County was included in the princely domain of the
Capitol Syndicate Ranch, comprising 3,000,000 acres of land granted
by the state in the early '80s as payment for the erection of the splendid
Mate House at Austin. This ranch also included one-eighth of the area
of Bailey County, and half of Lamb County. Only in recent years has
there been a gradual breaking up of this vast tract, and its corporate
ownership and management furnishes an obvious explanation for the
late development of Parmer County as compared with other neighbor-
ing sections of the great Panhandle district. The Pecos & Northern
Texas Railway, a branch of the Santa Fe, was constructed across the
county from northeast to southwest during the year 1898. In other
counties the advent of the railroad has been accompanied by an imme-
diate influx of settlers and a rapid development of agricultural re-
sources. However, Parmer County, which in 1890 was credited witli
a population of seventy, in 1900 had only thirty-four inhabitants enu-
merated by the census, and only within the present decade has there
come any considerable number of settlers. Population in 1910 was
1,555, and in 1920, 1,699. Under such conditions no county govern-
ment was instituted until 1907, and except as a great cattle range
Parmer County has been unimproved until within the last decade.

The surface of the county is a level plain and absolutely treeless
except where settlers have planted small groves of fruit and other
varieties. In 1900 one corporation owned all the land, so that only one
farm was enumerated. By 1910 the number of farm was 161. Along
the railway the cattle syndicate established several railway stations, at
Black, Friona, Parmerton, Bovina, which has enjoyed distinction as
being one of the largest cattle shipping stations in the state, and at
Farwell, just across the state line from Texico, and established as the
county seat at the organization of the county.

The assessed valuation of property in Parmer County in 1912 was
$4,792,839. The total area of the county is 577,280 acres, of which
the last census reported 116,083 as included in farms, and about 38,000
acres as "improved land," compared with only 350 acres in cultivation
in 1900. The census enumerated 2,904 cattle, about 950 horses and
mules; and 8.716 sheep. In 1920, cattle was enumerated as 22,250, horses
and mules, 14.450. The crops in 1909 were kaffir corn and milo maize,
4,907 acres; hay and forage crops, 7,230 acres; wheat. 1,948 acres;
and corn, 232 acres.

The assessed valuation of the county for 1920 was $6,500,000, while
in the past five years the number of farms have increased 100 per cent
and the wheat and corn acreage has been multiplied ten fold, so that
Farwell is now one of the largest grain shipping points in extreme
West Texas.

While the county seat has a population of less than 1,000 at the date
of this writing, December, 1920, it is the business center of a very
prosperous community, having a high school of the first class, several
churches, one bank, with average deposits of $250,000, and a large
factorv for the manufacture of tires and casings, as well as the assem-

812 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

bling of automobiles. It is the gateway to New Mexico from the east,
and four great automobile highways converge at this point to carry
the overland motor traffic to Western and Southwestern points.

Potter County

The chief city and business metropolis of the Panhandle is Amarillo,

the counts seal of Potter County. The Fort Worth and Denver Cit\
Railway was completed across the Panhandle in 1888. with a station
at Amarillo During 1887 the Southern Kansas Division of the Santa
Fe had been built into the Panhandle from another direction, with its
temporary terminus at Panhandle City, thirty miles northeast of Amarillo.
A little later this road was extended to Amarillo, and in 1901 on to the
southwest through the purchase of the Pecos Valley & Northeastern
Railway. Within ten years following the Santa Fe had extended its
lines southward from Amarillo through Western Texas and had com-
pleted its line westward to a connection with its main line in New Mexico,
near Albuquerque. In 1903 the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railway
from Memphis, Tennessee, crossed the eastern boundary of the Pan-
handle and gave a third railway line to Amarillo. This line was imme-
diately made a part of the Rock Island system and in 1910 was continued
westward to a connection with the transcontinental line of the Rock
Island through New Mexico. These railroads, which have been such
prominent factors in the development of all the Panhandle country, have
been of especial benefit to the development of Amarillo, giving that city
a location on several transcontinental lines and making all the Panhandle
country and Eastern New Mexico tributary to this distributing and
market point, in a territory of 60,000 square miles.

Until the coming of the first railroad the Panhandle cattlemen had
hauled all their supplies from Trinidad in Colorado or from Colorado
City on the Texas & Pacific Railway. Closely settled communities were
impossible under such conditions, with the source of necessary supplies
several hundred miles awa) : hut with modern transportation population
came into the Panhandle in sufficient numbers to found towns and
organize communities, to establish schools and churches, and provide
all the facilities which are common in a well settled country. Another
factor, not previously noted, which was important in favoring the settle-
ment of the Panhandle, was the land law, which went into effect in
July, 1887. Although the people complained of the delay in the classi-
fication of the land and what they considered the arbitrary powers
given to the Land Commissioners, no serious trouble arose that time
could not adjust. The homeseekers that came in with the railroad
found they could obtain school and state lands on liberal terms- -fort)
years' time and five per cent interest. A large proportion of the settlers
in Northwest Texas during the '80s possessed insufficient money to
establish permanent homes and carry on successfully farming in a new
and dry country.

In consequence, when the dr\ years and the financial stringencj of

the '90s followed, there was a general exodus from the Panhandle, and
only a nucleus of the pioneer stock remained to reap the rewards of
latei development. Since thai time the limitations as well as the possi

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 813

bilities of the Panhandle have been realized. Instead of subjecting tin-
country to the sort of farming pursued in the well-watered regions of
the state, agriculture has been conformed to suit the country, crops
adapted to the soil and climate, and settlers have sought to understand
the real nature of the country they have chosen as home. Thus during
the past ten or fifteen years the immigration has been of a better class
than the Kansas and Oklahoma boomers of the '80s and '90s. The
landseekers of that time were largely a drifting population, without the
anchor of property or provident industry, and a single crop failure or
any difficulty caused them to pull away from their temporary moorings
and drift, oftentimes in a starving condition, back to the more settled
communities from which they had come. It has been well said that the
first wave of population in a new country is speculative, and therefore
less stable than those that succeed. Evidence of this is found in the
fact that in spite of the dry conditions that have prevailed in Northwest
Texas for several years, the county as a whole has made progress, has
increased in population and wealth, and there has been nothing resem-
bling the general exodus which occurred during the '90s. This region
in the past ten or fifteen years has developed from the "Cow Country"
of former years into one of the greatest wheat and grain raising sec-
tions in the United States, producing in 1919 and 1920 about 25,000,000
bushels of wheat annually, with a production of other grains equal in
value. The estimated production of the Panhandle from agricultural
sources in 1920 was about $300,000,000. Being the distributing and
financial center of this territory, Amarillo has reaped a large benefit
from these conditions.

Outside of Amarillo and its suburban territory Potter County has
had the same general characteristics of development as other adjacent
counties. The northern part of the county is traversed by the Canadian
River, and most of this consists of the broken grazing land character-
istic of the Canadian brakes. At this time there are numerous farms in
this section of the county, but a large part of it is given over to large
ranches. It is in this section of Potter County, north of the Canadian
River, that an immense field of natural gas has been developed. At this
writing the gas production is about 400.000,000 cubic feet per day. This
gas has been piped to the city of Amarillo and forms the basis of great
expectations in the way of industrial development for the city. Fully
four-fifths of the entire population of the county is concentrated in
Amarillo. Population of the county in 1880 was only 28; in 1890,
849; in 1900, 1.820; in 1910, 12,424; and in 1920, 16,910. The valu-
ation of the property in the county in 1903 was $1,615,559; in 1913.
$12,577,135; and in 1920, $17,557,716.

Owing to the fact that less than one-half of Potter County is
classed as agricultural land, and as evidenced by the fact that outside
of the city of Amarillo there are only about 1,500 people in the county,
this county does not rank high in agricultural production. At the
present time (1920) there are only about 150 farms in the county,
although a very considerable portion of the large ranches is devoted
to raising feed crops. The total acreage of Potter County is 597,760.
In 1910 there were 29.000 acres of land in cultivation. In 1920 there

814 l-'OR'l WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

are 50,000 acres in cultivation. The 1920 census shows in the county
1 ,460 horses and mules, 15,200 head of cattle, and other live stock,
including hogs and sheep. 1,200. The last assessor's reports shows
in Potter County 25,000 acres in wheat, 5,000 acres in oats and barley,
5,000 acres in forage crops and 15,000 acres in kaftir and maize.

Amarillo

Amarillo for a number of years has been one of the most progressive
small cities in Texas. Its importance as a railroad center has already
been noted, and its standing as a distributing point is indicated by its
volume of wholesale trade, amounting to $20,000,000 annually. The
increase in population during the last thirty years has been: In 1890,
482; in 1900, 1,442; in 1910, 9,957; and in 1920 the city has 15,494
population. Amarillo has a commission form of government, with
city manager, has several miles of paved streets, a sanitary sewrer system,
the modern public utilities of gas, electric light, water works, and since
1906 has had street car service. The largest item in the city's pros-
perity is its railroads, and as a division point on the three principal
lines the different railway companies contribute about $3,000,000 in
salaries and wages to the local population. The position of Amarillo
as the center of the live stock business of the Panhandle has remained
unchanged since the early days of the '80s and '90s, when this was the
largest cattle shipping point in the world. The financial interests of those
engaged in the cattle business is still centered here, and the Western
Stuck Yards Company contributes largely towards making Amarillo a
good live stock market.

Amarillo has one of the Largest flouring mills in Texas, and there
are several elevator companies here, likewise owning elevators in all
of the principal grain shipping points in the Panhandle.

The wholesale and jobbing interests of Amarillo are very large,
including almost all lino of merchandise and distributing warehouses for
all the leading manufacturing and agricultural implements. The great
packing ami food products corporations also have distributing houses
here.

The Standard lines of industries and manufacture are also rcprc
sented 1>\ the various laundries, creameries, sash and door factories,
mattress factories, planing mills, etc.

Amarillo is the site of the Federal District Court, the Court of
l ivil Appeals of the Seventh Judicial District of Texas, the State
District Court, the United States Weather Bureau Service, headquarters
of the Live Stock Buyers and Sellers Association and has one of the
eleven first-class post offices of the state, the resources of its six hanks
aggregate more than SI 3,000.000 and there are more than a quarter of
a million dollars invested in public school property. The state also has

two oi three preparatory and business schools, one large hospital, and a

bond issue has been authorized for a $220. 00(1 county hospital and a
s5(io.ooo t-j t \ auditorium. The post office, United States courts, revenue
i ollectors and other I 'mied States officers are housed in the Federal build
ing erected here l>\ the Government. Postoffice receipts for the year
1919-20 were $121,722.30.

FORT WORTH \.\l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 815

The early history of Amarillo lias as its central figure a prominent
Texas business and cattle man, Ihnry B. Sanborn. Mr. Sanborn was
at one time associated with the inventor of barbed wire, and had the
distinction of introducing that fencing material, against the prejudices
of stockmen, into Texas, where it is now almost the sole form of fencing
over the entire western section of the state. Early in the '80s Mr. San-
born bought a large tract of more than a hundred thousand acres in Pot-
ter and Randall counties, and in 1882 enclosed the area with a wire
fence of four strands. That was one of the first fenced pastures of any
size in the Panhandle. After the construction of the Fort Worth & Den-
ver City Railway, passing through the Sanborn ranch, the townsite of
Amarillo was laid out on the east side of the Sanborn property. The
first location was about a mile west of where the town now stands. The
county voted about thirty thousand dollars to build a courthouse, and in
a short time about a thousand people had located in that vicinity. Mr.
Sanborn, in spite of the courthouse, was not satisfied with the location
of Amarillo, and exhibited a remarkable degree of enterprise in estab-
lishing the town on his own land and at a site he deemed more eligible.
According to the Texas laws the county seat, once located, could not
be changed for five years. I 'liable to secure the immediate removal of
the courthouse, Mr. Sanborn proceeded to appropriate practically all the
rest of the town, first building an expensive hotel on his site, putting up
houses, laying out streets, introducing many improvements, and employ-
ing every legitimate means to influence the merchants and the residents
of old Amarillo to come to his place. Gradually the old town became
deserted except for the courthouse, and even the county officers lived in
the new town and walked a mile each day to attend to their official duties.
\fter the expiration of the five-year period the courthouse, too, was
moved to Mr. Sanborn's site, and thus ended one of the most interesting
town site wars in the state.

Presidio Countv

l're>idio County, formed in 1850. for a number of years comprised
the greater part of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. In 1871 Pecos
Countv was set off. and in 1887 Brewster and Jeff Davis counties were
created, leaving its present area of about twenty-five hundred square
miles. The county was organized in 1875, and Fort Davis was the
county >eat until 1887. and after the creation of Jeff Davis County a
county government was established at Marfa. on the line of the South-
ern Pacific Railway, which was constructed across the north end of the
county in 1880. The northern part of the county consists of high,
rolling, treeless plains, but a large part of the area is mountainous and
there are very few streams of running water. The mountainous dis-
tricts are chiefly noted for their mineral deposits, and the stock raising
industry is confined to the plains region in the northern part. About
thirty years ago efforts were made to develop the silver deposits in the
southern part of the county, near Shatter, and the Presidio mine in that
vicinity has been in successful operation for over twenty years and is the
principal metal producer in Texas. In 1911 Texas produced silver to
the value of over two hundred thousand dollars, and a large part of it
came from Presidio County. The town of Shaffer is off the railroad.

816 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

and is a mining camp, with several hundred inhabitants, most of tin-
labor being performed by Mexicans. The oldest town in the county
is Presidio, located on the Rio Grande, and which has long been a port
of entry and the site of a custom house. Marfa, the county seat and
chief town, has a population estimated at about seventeen hundred, is
a distributing point for most of the country to the South and North.
and is also noted as a health resort, having an elevation of nearly five
thousand feet. For manv years most of the supplies for Fort Davis,
Shafter and other points along the Rio Grande have been hauled out
of Marfa by wagon train.

Agriculture is as vet in its infancy in Presidio County, and has been
largely confined to small patches along the Rio Grande, operated by Mex-

PrKSIDIO (,'oUNTN < 'il l; I I loUS]

icans with small irrigation plants. Recently a dam has been constructed
across Alamita Creek south "I" Marfa. and with the accumulation of
flood water il is estimated that about 1 2.(H)t) acres may be put under
cultivation. At the present time the amount of irrigated land in the
county is about 1.000 acres, and experiments have proved that alfalfa.
wheat and fruit are profitable crops under irrigation. For many years
the county has supported large herds of cattle, sheep and goats, and the
raising of goats and sheep is increasing, with Marfa as the market for
wool and mohair. Besides its silver mines I'rcsidin County has unde
veloped deposits of cupper and lead, and great quantities of excellent
marble.

The population of Pre idio County in 1870, when its territory still
included all thai pari of the Trans-Pecos region except F.l Taso and
Culberson enmities, was 1,636; in 1880, before |etT Davis and Brewster
counties were set off, 2,873; in 1S«K). l.o'>X; in 1<H)0, ,?.(>73 : in l°d0.
5,218, including about .\(«>0 Mexicans; i„ l'L'll. 12,202. The value of

FORT WORTH AND Till''. TFXAS N( >RTI IWKS'I" 817

taxable property in the count) in 1903 was $2,827,572; in 1913, $5,762,
793; in 1920, $7,109,421.

The total area of the county is 2,439,680 acres, and about a third was
included in farms or ranches at the time of the last census. The amount
of "improved land" was about 7,000 acres, compared with about 2.500
acres in 1900, and the number of farms was 186 in 1910. Forty-three
of these farms wen- irrigated, and in 1909 the acreage irrigated was
S55. The livestock enumerated was 49,191 cattle; about 4,400 horses
and mules, and 4,197 goats; in 1920, 62,896 cattle; 3,739 horses and
mules. In 1909, 601 acres were planted in corn; 504 acre- in wheat;
and 47(» acres in hay and forage crops.

Randall County

Located on the northern edge of the Staked Plains region, and just
south of the Panhandle metropolis, Amarillo, Randall County's territory
was opened to settlement with the building of the Forth Worth & Den-
ver City Railroad in 1888. it> area is level except where broken by the
Palo Duro Canyon and the Tierra Blanco Canyon, and its most depend-
able water supply is obtained from underground. Formerly the livestock
industry took precedence over all others in this county. Many large
ranches are still conducted, but during the last twenty years homeseekers
have placed a large acreage under cultivation.

The population of the county in 1880 was only 3 ; by 1890 there were
187 inhabitants; in 1900 the population was 963; in 1910, 3,312, and
in 1920, 3,675. A considerable number of Germans and other European
people have found homes in this county. The chief town is the county
seat, Canyon City, which in 1910 had a population of 1,400, nearly
half the entire population of the county. In 1910 the West Texas Nor-
mal was established by the state at Canyon City, and that was the first
state institution given to the Panhandle country.

Randall County was organized July 27, 1889. The chief impetus to
its development was given in the construction of the Pecos & Northern
Texas Railway from Amarillo southwesterly to the New Mexico line,
constructed in the year 1898. The substantial growth of Canyon City
dates from the coming of that railway, and several other stations have
been established along the line. In 1907 a branch of the Pecos & North-
ern Texas was completed from Canyon City south to Plainview. These
two roads, with the Forth Worth & Denver City close to the northern
boundary, give Randall County unusual railway facilities.

The total area of the county is 599,680 acres, of which 278,484
acres were included in farms in 1910. The amount of "improved land"
in 1910 was about 94.000 acres, as compared with only 8,000 acres in
1900. There were 363 farms in 1910 and ninety-six in 1900. The last
enumeration reported 25,914 cattle ; 4,875 horses and mules.

The staple crops are the forage plants utilized chiefly in connection
with livestock farming. In 1909, 28,682 acres were planted in hay and
forage crops; 6,617 acres in katir corn and milo maize; 5,212 acres in
wheat; 1.307 acres in oats; a small acreage in corn and other cereals,
and about 7,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated. The assessed
valuation in 1903 was $1,678,184, in 1913, $4,617,764. and in 1920.
$4,959,928.

818 FORT WORTH \\'l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Ri \i,an County

Until 1903 Reagan was a part of Tom Green County, joined to the
present county by the narrow Panhandle land lying between Irion and
Sterling counties. The present county was organized in that year and
named for Judge John H. Reagan. The county is a portion of the plains
of West Texas, has no running streams, very sparse native timber, and
has apparently ample water supply obtained at a distance of from fifteen
to two hundred feet underground. Situated about a hundred miles from
the nearest railroad, the county has until recently been within the open
range district, and the statistics of the livestock industry covered the
only important phase of economic development. About 1912, however,
the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad was completed through
the southern half of the county, from San Angelo westward. That has
already inaugurated a new era for the county. There are two railroad
stations. Barnhart and Big Lake, while Stiles, the county seat is located
away from the railroad. The population of the county at the last census
was 377. The assessed value of property in 1903 was $735,625 ; in
1909. .SI. 125.316; in 1913, $1,279,430 and in 1920, $1,449,534. The last
census reported that out of a total area of 685,440 acres, only about two
thousand five hundred acres were classified as "improved lands." There
were nftv-one farms in the county at that census. Stock interests were
enumerated: Cattle, 14,547; horses and mules, 781, and sheep, 7,850.
In 1909, 832 acres were planted in kafir corn and milo maize. 452 acres
in hay and forage crops, and a limited acreage in corn. A limited
amount of land is irrigated from wells.

Reeves County

In 1883 the northwest portion of Pecos ( ounty, including an area of
2.721 square miles, or three times the size of an ordinary county, was
set off under the name of Reeves Count) A county government was
organized in 1884. In 1880 Pecos County, an immense region bounded
nti the south by tin- Rio Grande and on the east and north by the Pecos
River, had a population of 1,807, three-fourths of whom were Mexicans.
and at that time old Fori Stockton was the county seat. During 1881
the Texas & Pacific Railroad was built across the northern part of old
Pecos Count), and the Southern Pacific across the southern part. Set
tlement began along the Texas & Pacific, merchants and mechanics and
farmers locating here in the midst of what had for some years been
Occupied solel\ b) Stockmen. It was as A result of this settlement that

the new county of Reeves was formed. In 1899 tin- Pecos River Rail
road was built north from PecOS C ilv to the Xew Mexico line, and that
mad opened up to settlement and development the Vallej of the Pecos
for many miles. Within the last decade the enterprise of citizens at
Pecos City and along the Toyah Valley have constructed a home road
known as the PecOS Vallej Southern, a distance of forts-one miles and
furnishing transportation facilities to the rich and rapidl) developing
irrigation district along the Toyah Creek,

The population of Reeves Count) m 1890 was 1.247; in 1900, 1.847:
in 1 9K), 4..V2, including about 8(KI Mexicans, The principal city and the
count) seal is Pecos < it\. whose population in 1890 was 3'>3; in 1900,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 819

if!'); in 1910, 1,856, and in 1920, 1,587. The town of Toyah, on the
lint- of the Texas & Pacific, had a population in 1010 of 1,052 and 771
in 1920.

Reeves County lies in the dry farming and irrigation region of West
Texas. The Pecos River forms the entire northeast border of the
county, while at right angles and flowing centrally through the southern
part of the county is Toyah Creek, the water course of the now noted
Toyah Valley. In these valleys during recent years have been under-
taken some large projects of irrigation development, besides a large
amount of individual farming and stock raising.

The surface of the county is generally level and a large part of the
soil is the washings from the mountains, and exceedingly rich. During
the last few years considerable acreage has been placed under irrigation
in the vicinity of the Pecos River, in the shallow water belt near Pecos
City and at Balmorhea and Saragosa. at the foot of the Davis Mountains,
where several springs are located. In 1913 it was estimated that about
twenty thousand acres were irrigated in the different parts of the county,
and alfalfa, cotton, fruits and vegetables, and the usual Texas staples,
are all products which have helped to make the Pecos country famous.
It is claimed that the grapes and melons raised in this section are the
equal if not superior to the California fruits, and the horticulture and
truck industry is being established on a commercial basis. Among other
resources of the countv should be mentioned the Toyah shallow oil fields.
A shallow sand struck at 657 feet north of Pecos started a development
program in which more than fifty rigs were erected in 1920.

The total area of Reeves County is 1,779,840 acres, and the last
census reported 563,033 acres included in farms, while about 16,000
acres were "improved land," as compared with 8.000 acres in 1900.
The number of farms or ranches increased from sixty-three in 1900 to
225 in 1910. Nearly all the cultivated land is irrigated, and the amount
under irrigation in 1909 was 14,000 acres, divided among sixty-three
irrigated farms. In 1909 the chief crops were hay and forage crops,
kafir corn and milo maize. The assessment values in Reeves Countv in
1903 aggregated $1,342,989; in 1909, $7,065,548; in 1913, $8,593,312:
in 1920, $8,286,344.

Pecos City, the county seat, was founded about the latter part of
the year 1881. when the railroad was completed. The town was at first
located near Pecos River, about a mile and a half east of the present
site, to which the town was removed in 1885. It has been the county
seat since the organization in 1884. Perhaps the chief charm of the
city is its residence section, beautiful home-like places surrounded by
pretty lawns and embowered among the cypress-cedar trees which have
been imported from California and flourish in this vicinity.

The altitude is about twenty-six hundred feet, and the climate is one
of the valuable assets. Artesian wells are found in all parts of the town,
and there is a water works plant for the business district, which is not
needed in the residential section. A sewer system reaches all sections
of the town.

Other public utilities include electric lights and an ice plant. Com-
mercially Pecos City has for years been the business center for a

820 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

large section of West Texas, and several of the mercantile firms transact
a business that is larger in the aggregate than similar establishments in
the large cities of the state.

Roberts County

Lying just west of Hemphill County is Roberts Counts, which was
organized January 10. 1890. The Canadian River crossed the county on
the north half, and the Southern Kansas Division of the Santa Fe, which
was constructed in 1887, gave the county its first and only railroad
The county seat was located at the little town of Miami, on the railroad.'
and that is the only town of importance in the county. The surface of
the counts- is composed of considerable broken land along the Canadian
River and its tributaries, and elsewhere is composed of plains, and the
soil is for the most part a sandv loam. The population of the county
in 1880 was thirty-two; in 1890, 326; in 1900. 620; in 1910, 950, and
in 1920. 1,469.

Outside of its use by the cattlemen for the past thirty years as a
great stock range. Roberts County has comparatively little development,
though in recent years the farmers have encroached upon the ranches,
and the counts is now producing a large total of the staple Panhandle
crops. The amount of "improved land" in 1900 s\as 3,600 acres, and
was increased by 1910 to about 18,000 acres. The number of farms and
ranches was fifty-nine in 1900, and ninety-three in 1910. The total area
of the county is 564.480 acres, of which 557,377 acres were reported in
farms and ranches at the last census. The last enumeration reported
39,518 cattle and 1,983 horses and mules. In the year 1909, 4,693 acres
were planted in has and forage crops : 3,039 acres in corn : 1 .423 acres
in wheat, and C)15 acres in kafir corn and milo maize. The valuation of
property in the county in 1903 was SI, 118.987: in 1913, $2,671,554; in
1920, $3,696,803.

Miami

Miami is the counts seal of Roberts County and has a population of
1,000. It has one of the best courthouses in this portion of Texas,
erected in 1912. There are four grain elevators, two hanks, the Rank
of Miami, unincorporated, and the First State Bank of Miami. Roth
are strong and flourishing institutions. It has a high school which main-
tains full affiliation with the University of Texas; four churches. Baptist
South; Methodist Episcopal, South: Presbyterian, I'. S. V: and church
of Christ.

I\l \ Ml s ( III'MV

This s\a- one of the West Texas counties which shared in the phe-
nomenal increase of population and the development of resources during
the first decade of the present century. That rapid growth has not been
continued in the last three or four years, owing to the continued drs
weather conditions that base prevailed user most of Texas, but the
counts has done ss'cll to maintain the level of prosperity attained in
previous /ears. When the first official census ssas taken of Runnels
County its population, in 1880, was onl) 980, including fifteen negroes.
Population grew hs 1890 to 2,193; hs 1900 to 5.37'>'; and by 1910 to
10,858, showing nearly a quadruple gain; in l(|2(> the population was

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 821

17,074. While the greal bulk of the population is native American,
Germany, Austria and Mexico have contributed a substantial number of
their people. The progress of the county is also well illustrated in figures
taken from the tax assessment. In 1881 taxable property was assessed
at $665,077, nearly half being represented by livestock ; in 1903, $4,188,-
000; in 1909, $10,571,775; while valuation showed a small decrease bv
1913, the figures being for that year $10,167,342; in 1920, $10,411,980. '

Runnels County was one of the counties laid out by the legislative
act of February 1, 1858, being named in honor of Governor Runnels.
The county was not permanently settled for twenty years afterwards,
and was finally organized in 1880. On Oak Creek, just beyond the west
boundary of the county, Fort Chadbourne was established in the '50s,
and was garrisoned by federal troops until the Civil war. Under this
protection a few settlers had located in Runnels County, but they were
traders or wandering stockmen, and during the troublous times of the
war decade the county was practically abandoned.

During the '70s the cattlemen took possession of Runnels County,
driving the buffalo before them and establishing their camps all along
the Colorado and its tributaries. By 1880 the Texas and Pacific Rail-
road had been built through Abilene, about twenty-five miles from the
county, and for many miles on both sides of that route, the stockmen
and settlers began permanent occupation.

At that time agriculture had hardly been attempted, merely enough
to test the productiveness of the soil. When the county was organized
the place selected as the county seat was given the name Runnels. In
1886 the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad was built through the
county, and the town of Ballinger, founded on this line, soon after-
wards became the county seat and has since been the metropolis of the
county. The county had no other railroad for more than twenty years.
In 1909 what was known as the Concho, Llano & San Saba Valley
Railroad was constructed a distance of seventeen miles from Miles to
Paint Rock in Concho County and is now operated as a branch of the
Santa Fe. During 1910-11 the Abilene & Southern Railway was finished
from Abilene to Ballinger. In 1882 the county had about 42,000 cattle ;
30,000 sheep, besides other stock. Since the '80s the county has changed
from an exclusive range to a well diversified farming country. In 1903
over 15.000 bales of cotton were raised in the county, and Ballinger
claimed to have the largest wagon receipts of cotton among all the cities
of Texas. 54.000 bales having been brought into town in 1909 over the
country roads. In the meantime the number of livestock has decreased,
although the values under conditions of modern stock farming are greater
than thirty years ago. The report of the last federal census was based
upon conditions existing in 1909-10. at the climax of the county's modern
development. That report showed 2,526 farms in the county, as com-
pared with 669 at the preceding census. Of a total area of 623,120 acres,
the greater part was occupied in farms and ranches, and about 232,000
acres were "improved land," by comparison with approximately 48,000
acres in 1900. Figures representing the livestock interests were: Cattle.
18,315; horses and mules, about 7,180; hogs, 4.110; sheep, 10.610. The
acreage planted in cotton in 1909 was 121,957; in kafir corn and milo

822

FORT WORT

WD T

TEXAS NORTHWEST

maize, 38,458 acres; in hay and forage crops, 12,907 acre-; corn, 2,981
acres : a minor acreage in oats and wheat, about 500 acres in potatoes
and other vegetables, and with approximately 65.000 trees in orchard
fruits and about 5.000 pecan tree--. Along the Colorado River about
2.500 acres are under irrigation.

By 1920. 265.500 acres had been improved. Figures representing the
livestock interests were as follows: Cattle. 25.000; horses and mules,
about 8.500: hogs. 4.110; sheep, 35.000. The acreage planted in cotton
in 1920 was 150.000; in kafir corn and milo maize. 50.000 acres; in
hay and forage crops, 12.907 acres; corn. 2.981 acres; a minor acreage
in oats and wheat. 5,000. about 500 acres in potatoes and other vegetables,
and with approximately 65,000 trees in orchard fruits and about 5.000

Si rum ( oun n Court I Iouse

pecan trees. Along the Colorado River about 2,500 acres are under
irrigation.

Ballinger
The only important centers of population in 1890 was Ballinger, with
a population of 1,128, and in 1910 of 3,536. Other towns are Winters,
Miles and Rowens. The formal beginning of the history of Ballingei
date-- from June 2'>. 1886, when the lit--! sale of town lots was held. In
1920, Ballinger's population was nearly 4,000. and it was one of the prin
cipal trading centers of Coke, Concho and Runnels counties. Among
its principal industries were four gins, oil mill, compress and its CreaS)
Rotary Gin Saw Filer Company. Ballinger has eight churches, two
Presbyterian, one Methodist, one Baptist, two Christian, one Catholic.
"Hi- Episcopalian, all housed in substantial buildings. There are four
schools. High School, Grammar and two Wan! Schools. The Halle)
and Love Sanitarium and Nurses Training School is located here. Bal

linger has numerous wholesale lumber, grain, grocer) ami produce
houses. Its three hanks )iave resources of about $2,250,000

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

82}

Scurry County

This county, lying directly north of Mitchell County, was created
in 1876, and was organized June 28, 1884. Until recent years it wa^
without railroad facilities, and the nearest shipping points were Colorado
City on the south and still later the railroad towns in Fisher County on
the east. The first railroad was the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific, built
from Roscoe on the Texas & Pacific in Nolan County to Snyder, the
county seat of Scurry County. In 1911 the Texico-Coleman division of
the Santa Fe system was built through the county, giving it a trunk line
of railway. Development has been particularly rapid during the last
ten years.

Some of the important pioneer facts concerning Scurry County are
found in a sketch of \\ . 11. Snyder, after whom the county seat town

Snyder National Bank, Snyder

was named. In 1877 he opened a trading camp in the county, hauling
lumber on wagons from Dallas to build his store and also hauling a good
portion of his goods from the same place. He used what was known
as trail wagons, with seven yoke of oxen to a team, each wagon having
a capacity of 50,000 pounds. Mr. Snyder erected a house in Scurry
County and began dealing in general merchandise and supplies for buffalo
hunters. Other parties moved into the same locality, and that was the
beginning of the town of Snyder. In 1882 Mr. Snyder laid out the
town, and two years later it became the county seat. Snyder has had
an enterprising citizenship, and ten years ago had an independent school
district, four churches, and was an important center for trade. Its1
importance has greatlv increased since the coming of the railway, and
in 1910 its population was 2,154. Other towns have sprung up along
the railway, the most important of which is Fluvanna, at the terminus
of the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific, and Hermleigh.

824 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The population of Scurrv County in 1880 was 102; in 1890, 1.415:
in 1900. 4.158. and in 1910. 10.924. ' The taxable values in 1903. before
the railroads were built, were $2,035,983; in 1913, $6,440,682. The
number of farms in 1910 was 1,424, and in 1900, 586. The total area
of the countv is 567,680 acres, of which the greater part in 1910 was
included in farms or ranches, and about 145,000 acres "improved land"
as compared with about 38.000 acres in 1900. The last census reported
24,837 cattle; about 8,900 horses and mules; 5,541 hogs, and 51,670
poultry. In 1909 the acreage planted in cotton was 37,129; in kafir
corn and forage crops. 7,603 acres, and in corn. 2,573. About thirty-
one thousand orchard fruit trees were enumerated.

Snyder

County Seat of Scurry County, Snyder is in the seventh county on
a direct line west of Fort Worth. Population 2,500. Assessed city
valuation of $2,000,000. Served by the Santa Fe and R. S. & P. Rail-
ways. Municipal water and sewer systems, electric power, ice and cold
storage facilities. Macadamized business center. Large business sec-
tion with three banks of combined resources totaling $2,000,000. Five
churches; three two-story brick schools with perfected plans for a mod-
ern $75,000 High School Building. Cotton compress and cotton-seed
oil mill; four cotton gins.

Shackelford County

Situated on the upper courses of the Brazos River, Shackelford has
long been regarded as one of the best watered counties in Western
Texas, and was therefore an attractive range for stockmen. The stock
interests have always predominated, and while agriculture has made
much progress during the last twenty years, only a limited area, com-
pared with the total surface of the county, is in cultivation. The live-
stock reported at the last enumeration was: Cattle, 21,851; horses and
mules. 3,583 ; sheep, 2,913. Farms enumerated in 1910 were 589, as
compared with 251 at the preceding census. The total area of the county
is (>06,080 acres, with 487.375 acres included in farms or ranches at
the last census, but only about 47,000 acres are "improved land," as com-
pared with about 35,000 acres ten years previously. Cotton is the chief
crop, 15,519 acres being planted in 1909; 2,699 acres in kafir corn and
milo maize, and 4.862 acres in hay and forage crops. The county had
a limited number of orchard fruit trees, and about 32,000 pecan trees
were enumerated. The mineral resources consist of coal, gas and oil.
and have been little developed. Natural gas wells near Moran supply
that town with fuel and light.

Shackelford County was created in 1858. but remained without a
county organization until 1874. Its population in 1860 was given as
forty-four; in 1870, 455; in 1880, 2.037; in 1890. 2.012; in 1900, 2,461 ;
in 1010. 4,201 and in 1920, 4,960.

Tin- first important factor in the countv 's settlement and develop-
ment was the establishment, about 18(>7. of Fort Griffin, on the Clear
Fork "f the Brazos River at the north edge "f the county. During the
decade oi mon of its existence, Fort Griffin was the most notorious town

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 825

m West Texas, and among the old timers was as familiar a geographical
locality as Fort Worth is to the present generation.

It was a military post, a cattle town, and a buffalo hunters' supply
and trading place. During the decade of the 70s, while the railroad-
were being built into North and West Texas and civilization was press-
ing the frontier westward, the Indians and the buffalo made their final
stand; and while the former were driven out so as to no longer interfere
with the advance of the white settlers, the latter were practically exter-
minated by a ruthless slaughter conducted by a large number of organized
bands of "buffalo hunters," chiefly for the sake of the profit derived from
the hides. The center of the buffalo hunting business in West Texas
was old Fort Griffin, it was there that the army of hunters had their
rendezvous, they got their supplies of food and ammunition, thither they
returned when the hunt was over and the wagons were piled high with
the bales of hides, to revel and carouse in what was probably the "wildest
and the wooliest" town of Texas. Cattlemen, soldiers and skin-hunters
formed a rough and characteristic population, mingled with which were
the professional gamblers and whiskey sellers. Fort Griffin was for some
vears a junction point for two industries. During the 70s it became a
main station of the Fort Griffin cattle trail from South Texas, and until
the railroad concentrated cattle shipment at Fort Worth, great herd-
passed to the northern pastures and markets through this old town. At
the same time its prestige was increased as the headquarters for the
buffalo industry. These two factors, combined with its military post,
gave the town unrivaled importance in the territory west of Fort Worth.
Its fame and existence were transitory, and now it is hardly recognized
as a point in Texas geography. A few sentences quoted from a Fort
Worth paper during 1877 will illustrate some phases in the life of the
town.

As to its superficial aspect one writer says : "Nothing save a few
adobe and picket houses, corrals, and immense stacks of buffalo hides.
The post, on the hill a quarter of a mile south, is almost depopulated, one
company of negro soldiers keeping garrison. F. E. Conrad's store-
rooms, near the post, are the most extensive establishment in the place.
There hunters procure supplies and deliver most of their hides. To
give an idea of the immensity of his business, imagine a huge, rambling
house, of several different rooms, crowded with merchandise ; with forty
or fifty wagons to be loaded, and perhaps one hundred hunters purchas-
ing supplies. Since the evacuation of the post the business of Griffin
depends almost exclusively on the buffalo trade." Another correspond-
ent, in the same year, said : "The military post was located here about
ten years ago. This is a frontier town, with all the usual characteristic-.
but is orderly.

"The picket houses are giving away to rock and shingle-roofed frame
buildings, the lumber being hauled from Fort Worth. The buffalo hide
industry has reached large proportions, two hundred thousand having
been received here last season. Near the town coal deposits have been
discovered, and are being worked to supply the local demand." Con-
cerning the life at Griffin at night, he said: "It is a gay and festive place:
night is turned into day : the dance and flowing bowl are indulged in

Z2h FORT WORTH AND Till-: TEXAS NORTHWEST

freely, while hilarity and glee range supreme from eve until morning
hours. Lager beer is twenty-five cents a glass." That was Fori
Griffin in its most prosperous day, but only two years later, in 1879, a
visitor said: "Griffin is not the live, bustling place we first knew it. in
the palmy days of the buffalo." After the post was evacuated and the
killing of buffalo for their hides had ceased as a large and profitable
industry, there remained little to attract the various elements of popula-
tion and business which had made the town so famous on the West
Texas range.

Only a few years later, in 1882, the Texas Central Railway was com
pleted to Albany, the county seat, and that remained the terminus of the
road until 1899, when it was extended further west. Albany at once
became the market town and the point of concentration for most of the
stock gathered from the surrounding ranges, and he has since remained
the chief center of business and population. There are several other
railway stations, and Moran is the only other important town in the
county.

In 1882 the assessed value of taxable property in the county waS
SI, 037, 300. of which more than a third was represented by livestock.
The valuation of propertv in 1903 was S2.391.628: in 1913, $3,663,204,
and in 1920, 4.S1 1.248.

Albany

Albany, the county seat, was established in the year 1874. after a
hot contest with Fort Griffin for the seat of government, the latter being
at that time soldiers' headquarters.

Albany is surrounded by home owners, whose principle income is
derived from extensive stock farming, with ranches ranging from one
to twenty sections. The town proper consists of home owners, hence
the citizenship is of a permanent class

It has a school of the first class, affiliated with colleges and universi
ties, of some four hundred students and efficient corps of teachers. The
building is a modern stone structure, two stories and basement, located
on the highest point in town. It has five good church buildings, with
active Sunday schools and well attended church services,

The water supply comes from a reservoir located some three miles
north, in the hills, covering a space of some thirty acres, and has stood
the test of the state chemist, and tested 100 per cent pure. For light
and heat it has an ample supply of gas coming from the Moran field
in this county, also an up-to-date electric lighting system.

The merchants have neat and attractive stores and have enjoyed a
splendid business for years. It has been said of merchandising in
Albany that no merchant has ever gone into bankruptcy, for the reason
that the citizenship is of the best. Other assets are one up-to-date gin.
one elevator and rock quarry. There are two banks, strong financial!} .
having on deposit some one and one-half millions of dollars, both banks
being of old standing.

STEPH ENS ( "oi'NTY

Situated west <>f Palo Pinto County, Stephens was created in 1858.
but remained unorganized until the year 1876. A greater portion of
the land was located and surveyed 1>\ the Texan Emigration & Land

FORT WORTH \\l> THE TEXAS NORTHWES1 X27

Company for State University and Asylum lands, and most of the
settlers in this county were stock raisers who had squatted on the
company and state lands. For many years the county contributed
wealth only in proportion as it was used as a range by the cattlemen,
but the permanent settlement of the county occurred between 1870
and 1880. In 1880 the Texas & Pacific Railroad was built across the
southeastern corner of the county. Lack of transportation has been
the chief bar to the development of agricultural and mineral resources.
The growing of a cotton crop began during the '70s, and about the
same time the coal deposits in the northern part of the county were
opened, but the latter have never been developed except for local use.
More recently a gas field has been developed near the county seat of
Breckenridge. In recent years the underground water supply about
Wayland and other points in the county has been tapped, and it is
estimated that about 1,000 acres are irrigated. The progress of popu-
lation during the first half centurv of the county's existence was as
follows: In 1860, 230; in 1870, 330; in 1880, 4,725; in 1890, 4,926; in
1900, 6,466; in 1910, 7,980; in 1920, 15,302. In 1870 the taxable prop-
erty of the county was assessed at $182,347 in 1882, $1,166,676; in
1903, $2,644,260; and in 1913, $4,707,071; in 1920, $18,202,010. The
total area of the county is 592,000 acres, the most of which were
reported in farms at the last census, and 86,699 acres in "improved
land," against about 58,000 acres classified as improved in 1900.
There were 1,375 farms in 1910, and 1,049 in 1900. The live stock
and agricultural statistics from the last enumeration were as follows:
Cattle, 20,013; horses and mules, 4,863; hogs, 4,510. In 1909 the
cotton acreage was 28,956; hay and forage crops, 5,343; corn, 3,700;
kafir corn and milo maize, 3,541 ; and a limited acreage in wheat.
There were 38,000 orchard fruit trees enumerated, and about 9,000
pecan trees.

The county has developed no important towns. Breckenridge,
the county seat, lies in the center of the county and many miles from
railroads. Other towns are Caddo, Wayland and Gunsight. As a
matter of history it should be noted that when Stephens County was
created in 1858 the Legislature gave it the name of Buchanan County.
The settlers who ventured into the region before the period of hos-
tilities beginning with the war attempted a county organization in
1860, but the county government was soon abandoned, and, as already
stated, the official existence of the county begins in 1876. In 1861
the State Legislature changed the name of the county to Stephens, in
honor of Alexander H. Stephens, then vice president of the Confed-
erate states.

Breckenridge

The growth of Breckenridge within one year from a village of 800
or 900 population to a bustling city of 20,000 is a typical instance of
the wonderful changes due to oil discovery and exploitation, changes
so rapid and momentous and occurring in so many different places,
almost at the same time, that it taxes the historian's ability to keep
pace with them. The little village was enjoying a slow and gradual
growth, depending upon the surrounding live stock and agricultural

828 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

industries, but handicapped by the lack of a railroad, when the dis-
covery of oil in West Texas, with Stephens County in the center of
the oil belt, gave Breckenridge an impetus that has since carried it
along by leaps and bounds. Pioneers of oil development early saw
that Breckenridge would become a center of new and important inter-
ests, and. armed with abundant capital, they made the town their
headquarters. Having located, they saw opportunities for town
development, and thus the ranks of the progressive citizenship of
Breckenridge received valuable additions. The railroad has since
come, but the early arrivals did not wait for it. they were whirled from
the nearest railroad stations by motor cars, they traveled in wagons,
thev brought supplies and materials in great trucks and they took pos^
session of Breckenridge before the railroad was more than a remote
i ii issibility.

By June, 1920, there could be seen from the court house at Breck-
enridge 500 derricks. Today (January 6, 1921) there are oil wells
everywhere. The}- are in the back yards of residences — many of
them ; they are on the playgrounds of the schools, and the revenue is
helping pay the teachers' salaries. There is an oil well on the Y. M.
C. A. block. Even the Baptist Church has one drilling only a few
feet away from the tabernacle.

The Breckenridge field, thirty-four miles in extent, has as high as
100.000 barrels a day. Two hundred wells are being drilled in the
town and about 1,000 in the entire field.

The coming of the oil produced an abnormal situation in Brecken-
ridge. ft tested the resources of the citizens to take care of the
crowds. What they did thev had to do quickly. At present the town
presents the appearance of having been built very rapidly. But the
building now going on is of a more permanent character. The
schools have been badly crowded and many classes are being held in
the different church buildings. The congestion, however, is being
gradually relieved.

Breckenridge has a live Chamber of Commerce, adequate banking
facilities, two newspapers, the American and the Democrat, and
churches of several denominations. It is likely to be a town of good
population and large business activities for many years to come.

STEEL] MG ( iOUNTY

Sterling Count) occupies a distrtel situated about midway between
San Angelo, on the Santa Fe, and Rig Springs, on the Texas &
Pacific, and was originally a part of Tom Green County. It was
created .March 4, 18(M, and organized in June of'the same year. The
chief stream is the North Concho River, and a tributary is Sterling
('reek, named after a frontiersman and Indian lighter. A lew stock
men began running their herds in what is now Sterling County during
the 70s. and their number increased with the opening up of the

western countrj by the construction of the Texas & Pacific Railway
in 1881. In 1910 a branch of the Santa Fe Railroad was constructed
a distance of forty two miles northwest from San Angelo t<i Sterling

City, following the general course of the valley of the North Concho,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 829

and during the past four years there has been a notable migration
into Sterling County, with consequent development for which there
are few statistics available. In 1903 the valuation of property as
returned bv the assessors was $1,276,225; in 1909, $1,640,300; in 1913,
$2,070,764 ;' and in 1920, $2,335,302. The only important town is the
county seat, Sterling City. In 1900, at the first census after county
organization, the population was 1,127; in 1910, 1,493; and in 1920.
1,059.

Permanent development of the county's resources began with the
present century, and most of the lands are still open pastures with
stock raising the primary industry. In 1910 there were enumerated
135 farms, while the number in 1900 was 86. The area of the county
is 606,720 acres, of which a little more than half was occupied in farms
at the last census, and about 8,000 acres were "improved land," as
compared with about 3,400 acres so classified in 1900. The last enum-
eration reported 14,752 cattle, 2,142 horses and mules, and 33,786
sheep. The acreage planted to hay and forage crops in 1909 was
2,315; to cotton. 1,626; and to kafir corn and milo maize, 927 acres.
There are a number of pecan trees bordering the Concho River, and
the last census enumerated about 9,000 of those nut-producing trees.

Sutton County

Sutton County was created April 1, 1887, from the county of
Crockett, and was organized November 4, 1890. One of the branches
of the Llano River crosses its eastern half, and the Devil's River flows
across the western end of the county. From an agricultural stand-
point the county has made but little progress. The population is
sparse, about one person to the square mile, and without railroads
and convenient markets for soil products there has been but small
encouragement to till the soil. The stockmen in recent years have
undertaken the raising of feed stuffs for their cattle, sheep and goats,
and irrigation has been confined to the watering of gardens. Condi-
tions in the county are exceptionally favorable for the raising and
feeding of sheep and goats, and many thousands graze on the hills
and in the valleys.

The population of Sutton County in 1890 was 658; in 1900, 1,727;
in 1910, 1,569; and in 1920, 1,599. The property valuation in 1903
was $1,701,830; in 1913, $2,966,423; in 1920, $4,052,175. The total
area of the county is 973,440 acres, and the last census reported 786,-
327 acres included in farms or ranches. A large portion of the county
is occupied as leased land, being owned as school land. The num-
ber of farms in 1910 was 131 as compared with 93 in 1900. The total
of "improved land" in 1910 was 4,750 acres, as compared with about
1,370 acres in 1900. The live stock enumerated included 52,748 cat-
tle, about 5,200 horses and mules, 3,834 hogs, 58,973 sheep and 59,631
goats. In 1920 the enumeration showed 61,360 cattle, 2,415 horses
and mules. 99,518 sheep and 81,046 goats. The crops in 1909 were
the forage crops, the acreage in hay and similar crops being 1,135;
and in kafir corn and milo maize, 622 acres. About 2.000 orchard
fruit trees were enumerated.

830 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Sherman County

Though organized with a county government on June 13, 1899, Sher-
man County was an almost exclusive stock range until the construction
of the Rock Island Railroad across its northwest corner in 1901. That
brought a large influx of settlers, and from a population in 1890 of
thirty-four and in 1900 of 104. the increase during the succeeding ten
years gave the county bv 1910, 1,376 inhabitants. When the county
was organized the courthouse was placed at the old town of Coldwater.
which now no longer appears on the map. After the railroad was built
the new town of Stratford was established, and was voted the county
seat. The population of that town in 1910 was 520. nearly half the
total for the entire county. On the state line between the Panhandle
and Oklahoma is Texhoma. another town that draws considerable trade
from this countv.

The valuation of property in 1902 was $1,266,959, in 1913. $3,399,211 ;
and in 1920, $3,419,952. The total area of the county is 598,400 acres,
and the last census estimated 255,364 acres to about 89.000 acres in
1910, and in the same time the number of farms increased from eighteen
to 165. The livestock enumerated in 1910 was 14,523 cattle; about
2.500 horses and mules; 1.368 hogs, and 4,149 sheep. In 1920 the num-
ber of cattle was 24,063; horses and mules, 3,114, and 1.980 sheep. In
hay and forage crops, 12,255 acres were planted in 1909; in kafir corn
and milo maize. 3.262 acres; in wheat. 2,757 acres, and in oats. 1.218
acres.

Somervell County

This i> urn- of the smallest counties in the state, with a total area of
117,760 acres. This territory was originally comprised in Hood County,
and tin- new county was created March 13, 1875, in response to a petition
from residents in North Bosque and South Hood counties. The Brazos
River flows through the eastern half of the county, and the topography
is une of rocky hills with many small valleys of fertile lands. Though
railroads have circled the county on all sides, it is as yet without rail
transportation, and its development has consequently been backward.
The soil and climate favor the production of fruit and small crops, but
farming and stock raising are still the substantial industries. Almost
the entire county is underlaid by a basin of artesian water, and there are
several hundred artesian wells in the vicinity of Glen Rose. A recent
report of tin- geological survey states that about thirty thousand acres
of the valley lands in the artesian bell are capable of economical irriga-
tion.

The following statistics of development are drawn from the report
of the last census. There were 664 farms in the county, as compared
with 491 in 1900. Of the total area, 93,616 acres were included in
farms, and approximately 3(>,000 acres in "improved land," as compared
with 27,(H1() acres at the preceding census. There were 3,609 cattle;
2,605 horses and mules; 1,266 hogs. In 1909, 18,956 acres were planted
in cotton; 2.1 5^ • acres in corn; 1,782 acres in hay and forage crops.
\lioiu thirty-one thousand orchard fruit trees were enumerated, and
about nine thousand pecan trees

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 831

The population in 1880 was 2,649; in 1890, 3,419; in 1900, 3,498; In
1910, 3,931 ; in 1920, 3,563.

The valiu- of assessed property in 1882 was $357,567, nearly a third
of which was represented by livestock; in 1903, $692,544; in 1913,
$1,297,755; in 1920, $1,578,000. Since the organization of the county
the scat of government has been at Glen Rose, and there is no other
important town in the county.

Glen Rose

Glen Rose, the count) scat, is unincorporated and has a population
of 800 inhabitants. The Paluxy, which runs through the town, is a
beautiful rock bottom stream, 300 feet wide and empties into the Brazos
River, two miles from Glen Rose. Almost every residence has a flowing
well which ranges in depth of from fifty to three hundred feet. Then-
are three strata of water encountered in digging for water; the first is
reached from fifty to seventy-five feet and is fine limestone water with
no sulphur at all. The next stratum is about one to two hundred feet
and is what is called sulphur water, which is very strong and flows with
a larger volume than the first one. The third stratum, or what is called
lumbo, is reached from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet.
This is also strong sulphur and warmer than the other two strata
These deep wells will flow thirty feet high above the ground.

The government analysis lure of the water is given as more nearly
like the waters of Carlsbad, Germany, than any other waters in tin
United States.

Stonewall County

Created in 1886, Stonewall County was organized December 20, 1888.
It is in the range of country known as the Southern Panhandle and
until the present century the nearest railroad was many miles distant.
Its surface is rough, broken and rolling, with many hills and canyons
and some wide stretches of level land. Under such conditions the
county was available only for stockmen, and the commerce of the towns
and the production of agricultural crops are a thing of the present cen-
tury. In 1880 the population of the county was 104; in 1890, 1,024;
in 1900, 2,183; in 1910, 5,320, and in 1920. 4,806. When the county
was first organized Raynor was established as the county seat, but in
1889 the county offices were moved to Aspermont. Other places in the
county now are Peacock, Swenson and Old Glory. All the towns in
the county at present are railroad towns. There is one inland postoffice
at Dorris. The county has now three strong and well established banks,
the First National Bank of Aspermont, at Aspermont, Texas; the Pea-
cock Bank, at Peacock, and the First Bank of Swenson, at Swenson.

Stonewall County received its first railroad facilities from the Kansas
City, Mexican & Orient Railroad built across the southeastern part of
the county in 1904. In 1909 the Stamford & Northwestern was built
from Stamford to Spur, a distance of about eighty-five miles, giving
Stonewall County railroad communication with the railroad system of
the state.

Stonewall County is developing into a great cotton feed and small
grain country ; large quantities of fruit, melons and vegetables are grown.

832 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Some statistics from the last census afford the following view of the
county's economic conditions : There were 834 farms as compared with
381 in 1900. The total area is 545.280 acres, of which 400,379 were in
farms, about 67,000 acres in "improved land," as compared with about
l'l.OOO acres in 1900. Cattle to the number of 26.466 were enumerated;
about 6.200 horses and mules; 2,797 hogs; 21,002 poultry. In 1909,
21.425 acres were planted in cotton, 8,115 acres in kafir corn and milo
maize; 3.708 acres in corn and there were about 13.000 orchard trees.
In 1003 the assessed valuation was $1,725,244; in 1913, $4,210,340, and
in 1920, $5,052,844.

There is some prospecting in the oil industry at present but little
development. Stonewall County will gin something like 20,000 bales of
cotton this year and abundance of feed of every kind and several thou-
sand bushels of wheat and oats.

The present county officials are: R. J. King, county judge; C. E.
Brannen, countv clerk; W. B. Bingham, sheriff and tax collector; Miss
\. C. Bulloch, treasurer; Miss M. Sudie Abbott, county superintendent:
M. X. Davidson, tax assessor: J. F. Lee, surveyor; H. F. Grindstaff,
county attorney.

Swisher County

Swisher County was organized July 17, 1890. At the census of
1880 only four persons were found residing within its limits, and by
1890 the population was only 100. In 1CX)0 the census reported a
population of 1,227; in 1910. 4,012 and in 1920, 4,388. Development
has been greatly promoted since the Pecos & Northern Branch of the
Santa Fe was built from Canyon City south through Swisher County
to Plainview in Hale County in 1907. Up to that time there was little
incentive to farming, though mosl of the ranchers began some ten or
fifteen years ago to cultivate a portion of their holdings in the forage
crops particularly suitable to the Panhandle, and also to some extent
employed windmills to pump water from the abundant underground
supply for irrigating their truck patches. While irrigation is still
limited, dry farming has accomplished a great deal, and in certain sec-
tions, especially in the Valley of Tulia Creek, on the sub-irrigated land.
ilu- growing of alfalfa and other crop has proved exceedingly profitable.
Vlong the railroad and within convenient distance of railroad towns
there is a rapid increase noted in the amount of land cultivated, but in
other sections the grazing of cattle is the chief occupation. When the

i ounty was organized the seat of government was located at Tulia. exactl)
in the center of the county. Before the railroad arrived it was a village
of three or four Stores, bank, church and Other interests and by 1910
had a population of 1,216. 'Two other towns along the railroad air
K ress and I lappv.

In 1903 the valuation of property, as indicated by assessment returns.

was SI. I KiO.dOO; in 1013, Sl.733.747, and in 1 "20. $5,248,117. The

I ource of the county and tlu progress of ten years are shown in the

last census report. At that lime there were 510 farms in the counts.

Ompared with 186 in 1900 < >f a total area of 574.720 acres. 298,117

were included in farms, while 113,000 acres were classified as

"improved land." as compared with about |(>,l)()lt acres in 1900, In

FORT WORTH \NI) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 833

1920 the number of cattle was 22,40'', horses and mules, 5,507. The
largest crop was hay and forage, including about 250 acres in alfalfa, the
total acreage for 1909 being 22,477 ; in kafir corn and milo maize, 10,859
acres were planted; in wheat, 4,240 acres; in oats, 2,414 acres; in corn,
2,644 acres. Some 200 acres are now in cultivation, the wheat yield for
the year of 1(,2() amounting to some one and a half million bushels.

Tulia

The county seat of Swisher County has an estimated population at
tlu\ time of l.(>00. It has five churches and a public school building,
built in 1907, at a cost of $18,000. There are five grain elevators, with
an estimated capacity for storage of 175.000 bushels. The courthouse
building is valued at $60,000 and there are two banks, four hotels, :
foundry and municipally owned light and water systems. Tulia has an
abundance of shallow pure water.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County, with Fort Worth as its chief city, was created by
act of the Legislature December 20, 1849, about a year after the estab-
lishment of the military garrison at Fort Worth. This act contains
some directions as to the location of the county seat, "the place receiving
the highest number of votes shall be the place established as the county
seat of said county of Tarrant and shall be called Birdville." The
county was organized in August, 1850, and the county offices located
at Birdville, an old settlement now marked by a few weather-beaten
buildings that hardly tell the story of its ambitious struggles to become
a metropolis. The rivalry between Fort Worth and Birdville over the
county seat was an important chapter in the early history of the county.
The act of the Legislature August 26, 1856, ordered an election to be
held in the following November to decide among the proposed sites for
the count\- seat, and at that election Fort Worth won by a bare plurality.
The election was contested, and finally the Legislature directed that
the citizens of the count}- should again vote to determine the matter.
That election occurred in April, 1860, when Fort Worth received 548
votes, over 301 cast in favor of the location at the center of the county,
wdiile old Birdville received only four votes out of the total.

Tarrant County until after the Civil war was on the frontier. Its
settlement began under the auspices of the Peters colony grant of 1841.
and the first settlers came into Tarrant County about 1843-44. A place
known as Bird's Fort was in existence as early as 1843, and an important
council with the Indian tribes was held there. The establishment about
1848 of Fort Worth and Fort Graham, the latter in Hill County, was
the signal for the influx of permanent settlers. In a few years the
establishment of other forts further west caused the tide of emigration
to move out to the counties west of Tarrant, but the unsettled conditions
that began with the Civil war decade and the persistent incursions of
hostile Indians beginning about the same time and continuing until
about 1870 drove back manv of the more western settlers. Indian raids
occurred in Parker County as late as 1870, and one or two murders were
committed by the Indians in Tarrant County as late as 1865.

834 FORI' WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

At the census of 1850 the white population of Tarrant County was
599. and sixty-five slaves. In 1860 the total population was 6,020; in
1870, 5,788, showing a slight decrease from the preceding census ; in
1880, 24,671 (2,160 negroes); in 1890, 41.142; in 1900, 52,376 (5,756
negroes) ; in 1910, 108,572; in 1920, 152.809. In its agricultural develop-
ment Tarrant County has shared similar fortunes to those of other
Xiirth Texas counties, and the early settlers derived their chief income
from the grazing of stock rather than from the production of the field
crops. In 1858 it was estimated that about sixteen thousand acres were
in cultivation in the county. Corn and cotton were the chief crops,
but it was soon demonstrated that wheat could also be grown, and at
different points over the country were established small mills. Supplies
came by long and difficult transportation from the railroad points in
South Texas. A short time before the war communication was opened
to St. Louis and tributary country by the establishment of the Southern
Pacific Mail Route, which ran a line of stages from St. Louis to tin-
Red River, and thence across Northern and Western Texas toward San
Francisco.

As the figures of population above indicate, the real settlement and
development of Tarrant County began in the '70s, at which time all of
North Texas was opened up by the advent of railway lines. The build-
ing of the various railroads that now center at Fort Worth is described
in the history of that city. Some facts relative to the agricultural activi-
ties of the county as they existed in 1882 are quoted in part as follows:
"'Until within recent years cotton was the chief agricultural product, but
now wheat holds the first place, cotton being next in order of value. The
soils of the county are admirably adapted to the growth of both, as well
as of many other products common to the latitude.

"The rapid development of the agricultural interests of the county and
the opening of new farms have operated to greatly reduce the area of
grazing lands, and stock raising, as a distinct pursuit, is rapidly giving
way to agriculture, though the stock interests of the county are as yet
of great importance. Many of the larger herds of cattle have been
driven further west, but much attention is being paid to improved breeds,
and the aggregate value of livestock lias not been greatly diminished."
In 1870 it was estimated that the livestock of the county, in round mini
hers, were 36,000 cattle. 10.000 horses and mule-. 11.000 sheep and goats,
and about 12,000 hogs.

The agricultural interests of the county, as measured by the statistics
of the last Federal census, are detailed as follows; The total area of the
county is 577,920 acres, of which 467,411 acres were included in farms
in 1910, and 262,228 acres in "improved land." It should be mentioned
in this connection that in recent years co-operative enterprise has been
directed to the reclamation of lands along the river bottoms, and a
drainage district established covering about three thousand acres. The
chief crops in l')()<) were: Cotton. 75.938 acres; corn, 41,550 acres; ha\
and forage crops, 9,883 acres; wheat, 7,432 acres; oats, .^.M7 acres; pea
nuts. 1,169 'ires, and sweel potatoes, potatoes and other vegetables, about
1 350 acres. The county also lias important rank in the fruit industry,
about one hundred and sixty-four thousand trees being enumerated in

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 835

orchard fruits, and about nine thousand pecan trees. Tarrant is one
of the leading counties of the state in the construction of good roads,
and besides many miles of graded highways has 300 miles of improved
roads, costing about one thousand dollars per mile.

The general progress of the county is also illustrated by aggregates
of assessed valuations for different years. The taxable wealth of the
county in 1870 was $1,392,877 ; in 1882, $7,300,686; in 1903, $24,515,220;
in 1909, $84,413,490; in 1913. $97,696,872; in 1920, $124,986,000. In
this respect the county holds fourth place among the counties of the state,
just as Fort Worth is the fourth city in population.

City of Fort Worth

The figures for the census of 1920 place Fort Worth among the
largest Texas cities. The ranking order of the four chief cities of the
state, on the basis of population, are San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and
Fort Worth. Though population figures are supposed to furnish an
estimate of a community's greatness, a more convincing standard con-
sists of the aggregate of material and civic resources.

On the latter basis Fort Worth has for many years presented a
varied array of commercial and industrial enterprise that justifies the
showing that this is one of the largest cities of the Southwest.

When Fort Worth was first enumerated as a corporation apart from
Tarrant County, in the census of 1880, its population was 6,663. Dur-
ing the following ten years there was a gain of nearly 250 per cent,
the citv having 23.076 inhabitants in 1890. In 1900 the population was
26,668, or a gain of about 16 per cent. In 1910 the population was
73.312. The increase, of more than 170 per cent, was greater than that
>hown by any other large citv of Texas. In lc)20 the population was
106,874.'

The county is about two-thirds prairie and one-third timber. The
Cross Timbers, that novel strip of territory extending from the Arkansas
River nearly to the Gulf and about ten miles in width, lies along the
entire eastern border of the county. The timber is small and of great
variety. The soil in the Cross Timbers is a light, sandy loam productive
of all the crops of this section except wheat. Cotton, oats, corn, milo
maize and all the vegetable and fruit crops are found in abundance.

Prior to the advent of the railroads the only towns in Tarrant County
were Grapevine, Mansfield and Johnsons Station. The latter was
named for M. T. Johnson, a pioneer settler, and was a thriving village.
It was on the stage route from the Fast, and did a prosperous business.
When the Texas &• Pacific Railway was constructed through the county
Johnson's Station was supplanted by Arlington, which is now easily the
first among the towns of the county. Keller is a substantial, enter
prising town on the Trans-Continental branch of the Texas & Pacific,
fourteen miles north of Fort Worth. These and other towns in the
county are described elsewhere in this volume.

Public Buildings, Roads and Bridges

Tarrant County justly claims to have the finest public buildings and
the best system of roads and bridges of any county in the state. The
Tarrant County courthouse, erected in 1894. is of Texas granite from

836 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Burnett County, and is an attractive and commodious building. It has
three stories and a basement, which comfortably cares for all of the
county officers, district officers and the Court of Civil Appeals. It cosl
in the neighborhood of S500.000 and is easily the finest county building
in the country.

The Criminal Court Building provides for the offices of the sheriff,
the criminal court and the county jail. It is an imposing three-story
structure, with all modern equipment and conveniences.

Tarrant County was the first county in the state to inaugurate a
system of public roads with convict labor. It secured the enactment,
by the Legislature, of a law providing that short-term convicts might
be worked on the county roads. The limitation was that the convicts
who were sentenced to the penitentiary for a period less than two years
might be so utilized. It soon became a custom of the juries to a^-es^
a penalty a little less than two years, by which means men convicted
in the Tarrant County courts served their sentences by working on the
Tarrant County roads. This compensated in a large measure for the
expense incident to their trials.

These roads were constructed with gravel, to a large extent, and
extended to all the principal points in the county. There was erected
over even- stream on every public road in the county a substantial steel
bridge.

In 1913 the county voted a bond issue of $1,000,000 for the con-
struction of roads and bridges in Tarrant County. On the proceeds of
these bonds $600,000 were set aside for the construction of the Paddock
Viaduct, across the Trinity, and the Seventh Street Viaduct, across
Clear Fork. Both of these structures are of concrete and reinforced,
steel and are solid and substantial. One million dollars was used in
constructing 136 miles of bituminous surfaced roads radiating out of
Fort Worth in every direction.

In July. 1020, the county voted another bond issue of $3,450,000
with which to construct a system of highways, second to none in the
state, totaling in number sixty-eight, with a gross mileage of 375 miles.
To this fund tin- Federal Bureau of Public Roads, through the State
Highwaj Department, allotted to Tarrant Countv $375,000, which is
to be expended on the two -tale highways, known as the "Bankhead
Highway." running east and west, anil the "Miridian," running north
and south through Tarrant County. In addition to these two highways,
which are to be constructed with federal and state aid, there are three
other roads, one leading to tin southwest, from lout Worth, another
to the southeast, from Mansfield to Waxahachi, while the third lead-- from
Fort Worth to 1 lehton.

In order that these highways ma) be eligible for both federal and
state aids, they are being planned to meet every requirement of both
the United States Bureau of Public Roads and of the State Highway
I lepartmenl of Texas.

\ minimum width of -,i\i\ feel will be provided :t^ a tight of way;
a minimum roadwa) of twenty-eight feel in width; a minimum surface
of eighteen feel ni width; a maximum gradient of four per cent; a

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES1 837

minimum curvature of 500 feet radius, and in accordance with plans
already approved by the federal and slate departments.

It is estimated that it will require from two to three years to com
plete this work; and that, when it is accomplished, Tarrant County will
be able to boast of a county highway system second to none in the Smith.

Mr. R. Y. Glenn, a member of the American Society of Civil Engin-
eers and of the American Association of Engineers, is in charge oi
the work.

When the county seat controversy was being waged the citizens oi
Fort Worth entered into an agreement that if the county seat was
removed to Fort Worth the citizens of the town would erect a courthouse
without expense to the taxpayers of the county. A bond to this effect
was entered into, which was signed by David Mauch, Thomas < >. Moody,
Lawrence Steele. M. T. Johnson, Julian Field. E. M. Daggett and M
J. Brinson. Other signers of the guaranty were the following: A. C
Coleman. John Kidder. Joe Purvis, Geo. Kidder, J. S. Henley, J. W.
Chapman, G. I'. Farmer, J. P. Loving, L. J. Edwards. Francis Knaax.
|. W . Connor. J. X. Petty, W. A. Henderson, B. P. Ayres, Abe Harris.
W. D. Connor. A. C. Davenport, A. D. Johnson, S. Gilmore, Win.
Moselev, W. M. Robinson, A. Goehenant, N. Terry, W. B. Tucker, E.
Wilburn, Paul Isbell, G. T. Petty, P. E. Coleman, C. M. Peak, W. L.
Brazendine, I.. Steele, Jack Inman. A contract was entered into with
David Mauch for the construction of the courthouse in January. 1859.
Work was inaugurated at once, hut the tocsin of war was sounded before
its completion and work was suspended and the building was never
completed. Sufficient work was done to justify its occupancy, hut the
floor was never laid or doors hung on the lower story.

This building was destroyed by tire on March 29, 1876, and all pub-
lic records burned.

Prior to the tire the law firm of Hanna & Hogsett had made an
abstract of the land titles of Tarrant County. Subsequently an act was
passed by the Legislature of Texas providing that this abstract should
be prima facie evidence of title, and every one was importuned to have
his deed recorded, which was done.

In 1877 the contract was let to Messrs. Thomas & Werner for the
construction of a new courthouse at a cost of $65,000. This building
was constructed of surface stone gathered on the prairies in the vicinit\
of Fort Worth.

In 1893 the county, by practically unanimous vote, voted a bond
issue of !s5( 10.000 for a new courthouse, and the present handsome, com-
modious and substantial building was erected. It is claimed to be the
finest county building in the entire country. It is constructed of gray
granite from the granite mountains of Burnett County, trimmed with
Texas marble from the same county and finished with the wood from
the forests of Texas. It is claimed that the copper roof, glass in the
windows and hardware are the only materials used in the construction
of the building that are not products of Texas

Early Settlement
There is great divergence of opinion as to the location of the first
settlement in Tarrant Count}-, hut the preponderance of testimony seems

838

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

to favor Johnson's Station on the cast line of the county. It was named
for M. T. Fohnson, who first settled there, afterwards moving to Fort
Worth.

The largest early settlement was at Birdville, the first county seat.
The pioneer settlers there were George Akers. J. W. Elliston, L. G.
Tinsley, John York, the first sheriff of the county; Seaboum Gilmore,
the first county judge: Sanders Elliott, Ben P. Avers and William
Xorris. Norris and Ayres donated the land for the first county seat.

Trior to the advent of the railroads the towns in Tarrant County
wen- small and relativelv unimportant. The three larger towns were:
Mansfield, Johnson's Station and Grapevine.

■ -.. • •..■... .

m

mm

Sip J#fN

Grubbs Vocationai i ge, Arlington

When a railroad was constructed through ["arrant Count) it passed
about three miles north of [bhnson's Station and the town "I Arlington
w as established.

There were also the hamlets of Oak Grove, Dido, Double Springs,
Bedford and Miranda \ll of these have been supplanted by other
towns being stations on the railroads, among which are Crowley, Hand
ley, Everman, Kennedale, Kellar, Benbrook and Saginaw.

\ R I I \ I , 1 1 1 \

Arlington is the most prosperous of the above named towns. A
tract of laud was donated i" the railroad and a town lot sale was held on
1 1 1 1 \ l<>. 1876, it which time twenty two lot-, were sold, aggregating
$1,738.50 I. \ II. rlosack was the auctioneer and ( '. II Erwin, an
engineer, represented the railroad companj

FORT WOKTII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 839

The town now has a population of 4,987 people, according to the
last census, but the actual population will probably reach 5,500.

The citizenship of Arlington is of the most enterprising and public
spirited to be found in any town of its size in the country. The broad,
well kept streets, wide sidewalks and substantial public buildings all
testify to the public spirit of the people.

The town lias a commission form of government, with W. 11. Rose
as mayor, tour commissioners and ]. I. Carter, city secretary.

The assessed valuation for the year 1920 was $2,225,000. It has a
splendid system of water works and electric lights, proving it to be a
wide-awake and up-to-date municipality. There are two state banks,
with a capital of $50,000 each, and deposits aggregating nearly $700,000;
two commodious, substantial public school buildings. The Arlington
schools stand Al. admitting the graduates to the Texas University with-
out examination. The churches arc all commodious and substantial
buildings, well supported and attended.

The principal public institution is Grubb's Vocational School, a
branch of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, which was estab-
lished by an act of the Legislature in lc)17.

This will be treated more at length in the chapter on the educational
facilities of Texas.

Grapevine

Grapevine is situated in the extreme northeast corner of the county,
but a short distance from the Dallas and Denton County lines. It is
the center of the finest agricultural area in this section of Texas. The
people are among the most prominent in this part of the state.

The place was some times called Dunnville from the fact that there
was a large number of people living there by the name of Dunn and
who were prominent citizens of the place. It was afterwards called
Grapevine Springs, bv reason of a large grapevine which grew on an
oak tree over a large spring. This was a favorite resort of the Indians.
In 1838 a treaty was held with the Indians at this spring, at which some
of the most prominent men of the state at that time were present. John
II. Reagan was there with a company of Rangers. The Indians agreed
to be good, but soon forgot their promises and in a short time made a
raid in the countv which resulted in the killing of John Denton, for
whom the county of Denton was named.

The name of Grapevine was finally adopted for the town, which now
has a population of about 1.800. The property valuation is about
.SI, 000,000. It has three good banks, with capital, surplus and deposits
of $.1,300,000. It has a good high school, with an enrollment of 425;
four good churches, with substantial buildings and good membership.

There is the usual complement of mercantile houses, all substantial
and prosperous and doing a good business.

Mansfield

Mansfield is situated in the extreme southeast corner of the county,
near the lines of Johnson, Ellis and Dallas counties. It was founded
in the early '50s by Captain Julian Field. He erected a small lumber
mill to saw post oak logs, and the first few stores built here were made

\"l. It— 20

840 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

largely of oak lumber. Captain Field started the first store, general
merchandise, hauling the goods by wagons from Houston, Texas. In
the late '50s Captain Field and R. S. Man erected a three-story steam
flouring mill, the first to be built in this part of the state, the only mill
before this being small water mills on the Trinity River, at or near
Fort Worth and Eagle Ford. This mill had practically a state-wide
patronage. There would be trains of Mexican ox-teams from the San
Antonio country, of eight or ten yoke of oxen to the wagon. The
"xen would push the wagons by having wood bars strapped in front of
t heir heads instead of pulling their loads by vokes and bows around
their necks, the American way.

Messrs. Field and Man had a government contract to furnish flour
and meal to the posts of Fort Belknap and Fort Griffin, which was
shipped by wagon trains. On one trip the train crew was ambushed by
Indians and the whole crew massacred, the wagons burned and the
mules run off. This was in Loving's Valley, near the Young and Jack
county line.

About 1869 Rev. John Collier started Mansfield College, a co-ed
institution, the best known educational institution in north central Texas,
with a large patronage from various counties in the state. It was the
pride of the town and one of the most successful institutions in this
section of the state.

In 1877 Professor Collier was joined by Professor Smith Ragsdale.
an educator of state-wide prominence, and his estimable wife, "Aunt
Patsy," as she was affectionately called by the students. Mrs. Ragsdale
was the daughter of the pioneer educator of Texas, Dr. McKensie. of
Clarksville, Texas.

Among the prominent men educated here are Judge Ocie Speer.
William Poindexter of Cleburne, J. H. Stephens, for a long time con-
gressman of the "Jumble District" in West Texas: Oscar Gillespie, con-
gressman from the Fort Worth district, and I. eon Fox, congressman
from Mississippi.

Among the earliesl recollections of the writer is an address, delivered
to the Students of the school, by Captain B. B. Paddock, then editor and
proprietor of the Fori Worth Democrat, in the winter of 1S75.

Prior to 187<> there were no furniture or undertaking houses here
or in Fort Worth. Whenever a death occurred P. G. Davis, one of the
••arliest settlers, would have to make the coffin. He would make it of
lumber and tack black velvet on the top and sides, making a fine job
for those days.

The old mill was torn down a few /ears back and on the site is a
Memorial Hall, erected in honor of the boys who responded to the call
to the colors in the World war in 1917 A granite shaft is nearly com-
pleted with names. Mansfield is very proud of the number that went
from there and grateful for the fact that only one of them failed to
return, This one was Jesse Nelson, son of Mrs. R. A. Smith of
Mansfield, The citizens of the town also showed their loyalty when
called upon for Red Cross funds and the purchase of Liberty Bonds.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 841

NlLES City

Contrary to the common belief the packing houses and stuck yards
are not in Fort Worth, they are of but not in Fort Worth. When thi-*
city inaugurated the commission form of government the committee
on city boundaries, consisting of B. K. Paddock. Clarence Owsley
and F. M. Rogers, conceived the idea of leaving, as far as practicable,
a large area of trackage property outside of the city. Their idea was
that it would be an inducement to factories to locate near the city,
where they could be exempt from city taxes. The Chamber of Com-
merce inserted advertisements in many of the trade journals of the
country offering factory sites, free of city taxes, to manufacturing
concerns to locate here. Their expectations were not realized. Too
few factories were secured to compensate for the loss of city taxes
by reason of leaving this large area outside of the city. The stock-
yards and packing houses and the other industries connected there
with were embraced in the territory not incorporated.

When the new charter was passed by the Legislature the stock
yard and packing house people incorporated Niles City, naming it for
one of the minoritv stockholders of the Stock Yards' Company, Mr.
L. V. Niles of Boston.

The area of Niles City comprises one square mile, and it has a
resident population of 650. Probably between 8,000 and 10,000 people
who work and do business there live in Fort Worth. The city has a
city hall ; police force, consisting of chief and eight policemen ; a cot-
ton mill, two grain elevators, pottery works, roundhouse of the Belt
Railway, three groceries, and one drug store. The actual value of
property in the city will aggregate from $20,000,000 to $25,000,000.

Considering the area and population it is probably the wealthiest
city in the country. It has an aldermanic form of government and
the mayor is Mrs. E. P. Croarkin. At the last general election Mr.
Croarkin was elected mayor of the city, but died shortly after the
election and his widow was elected to fill his unexpired term.

Handley

Handle}' is a station on the Texas & Pacific Railroad seven miles
east of Fort Worth. Until the construction of the interurban line
between Fort Worth and Dallas it was an unimportant station. The
interurban company located its power house, machine shops and other
facilities at Handley, and the growth of the place was at once rapid
and substantial. An attractive resort was established, known as Lake
Erie, with a beautiful pavilion for the entertainment of the patrons
of the line. The town now has a large number of prosperous com-
mercial establishments, and good school buildings and churches are
among the evidences of prosperity.

Kellar

Kellar succeeded Double Springs. It is a station on the Missouri,
Kansas & Texas Railway, but a few miles from the Denton County
line.

842 FORT WORTH AM) THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Saginaw

Saginaw is the successor of Dido. It is situated at the crossing
of the Fort Worth. Denver. Rock Island and Santa Fe railways.

Benbrook

Benbrook, a station on the Texas & Pacific Railway, nine miles
west of Fort Worth, and the successor of Miranda, is the smallest of
the railroad towns in the county.

Crowley

Crowley is fourteen miles south of Fort Worth, on the Gulf, Colo-
rado and Santa Fe railways, surrounded by a very fertile agricultural
area producing a fine crop of cotton, corn, wheat, oats and other
cereals.

Everman, on the I. ec (i. N. Railway, and Kennedale, on the H. &
T. Railway, divided what business there was at Oak Grove. Both
are flourishing hamlets situated in the Cross Timbers, which are very
productive of fruits and vegetables, also producing fine crops of oats,
corn and cotton.

Rramsford and Smithfield are both small country towns on the
Cotton Belt Railway northeast of Fort Worth.

Taylor County

Taylor County was formed from portions of Bexar and Travis
counties, February 1. 1858, and a change in boundaries was made in
1876. The county was formally organized July .i 1878. Near the
center of the county was the old town of Buffalo Gap, which was the
first county seat. The county had received more than a proportionate
-hare of settlers (hiring the '70s. and over 1.000 inhabitants were
enumerated by 1880. In 1881 the Texas & Pacific Railway was built
across the north side of the county, and that gave stability to condi-
tions which hitherto had depended upon the migratory enterprise o!
range stockmen.

A quite accurate summary of conditions and developments of the
county is quoted from an issue of the "Taylor County Year Book:"
"Cattle, horses, mules, sheep and goats up to about twenty-live years
ago constituted the principal available wealth of the section. The
conditions as to climate, rainfall, water, native grasses and forage
plant- were all especially favorable to the live stock industry. As
late as 1875 large herds of buffalo ranged almost undisturbed over all
of the section, and -till later small herds found their way in. to be
killed off quickly by hunters and the pioneer stockmen. They Were
in the section because the) found here precisel) what they needed,
namely, abundant supplies of forage and water. Passing through the
county as late as 1X7(>, established ranches were to be found only at
long intervals, and there were then in Taylor and Jones counties,

for illustration, comparatively few settlers, and most of them in the

main were engaged in stock raising, and had been attracted to the
COUIltr) bj the abundance and luxuriance of the native grasses. \
stockman who traveled through the entire section as late as the sum

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 843

nier of 1876 says that the grasses everywhere were from one to three
feet high, and that sometimes they were as high as a cow's hack, not
only in the bottoms, but also in spots on the dried upland. It was,
indeed, an ideal stock country. There was plenty of stock water,
and the man with the hoe had not yet put in his appearance to dispute
with the stockman the right and title to the boundless meadows.
Some sheep men even then were scattered here and there along the
uplands, where there was a shorter and richer growth of herbage,
but they were so few in number that they were tolerated by the
cattlemen for the reason only that there was such a plethoric abun-
dance of both grass and water. Few, if any, of the stockmen then
owned or had in fact any exclusive right to a foot of the land occupied
by them, but there was plenty for everyone and range rights there
were determined by rules that were agreed upon by all, though there
was no statute laws to bind anyone. Now there is no longer any open
range in Taylor County and the farmer is distinctly "on top," and
the one traveling from one neighborhood to another must travel
through lanes, or along well defined public roads, between well
improved farms on both sides. The natural conditions are quite as
favorable for the live stock industry as they were in the former
years mentioned, except that instead of large herds of cattle, horses
and sheep roaming almost at will on free grass, now live stock are
fenced in on the pasturages of the farmers and stock farmers who
have purchased and now hold the land under title that the courts
recognize as being good. It is the current opinion of those not
informed on these subjects that in consequence of the changes noted
there are not nearly so many live stock throughout this section of the
state as there were in the former years, when on every hand they
were to be seen on the open range. The fact is, however, as shown
by the books of the several tax assessors and collectors throughout the
section, that there are not only more live stock, but that the)- are
superior in quality. In no other section of Texas are to be found
cattle, horses, mules and sheep that class better, on the pastures and
in the markets, than do those now in Taylor County, and every year
the grade of each is improving.

These latter statements are particularly true, not only of Taylor
County, but of many other counties, and the facts have been indi-
cated in other county sketches. Taylor County, in 1882, had in round
numbers 13,000 cattle, 11,000 sheep and goats, 2,300 horses and mules,
and about 1,000 hogs. The Federal census in 1910 enumerated the
live stock as follows: 18,199 cattle, 12,000 horses and mules, 6.837
hogs, 4,532 sheep, and 78,779 poultry. Numerically the sheep indus-
try alone has declined since 1882.

Taylor County now has several railroads. All except the original
Texas & Pacific have been constructed within the last ten years.
About 1905 the Abilene & Northern was chartered to build from
Abilene to Stamford, and a little later the Abilene & Southern Rail-
road was started at Abilene and constructed as far as Ballinger in
1909. During the present decade the Pecos & North Texas division
of the Santa Fe system has been constructed through the county.

844 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

The population of Taylor County in 1880 was 1,736; in 1890, 6,957;
in 1900, 10,499; in 1910, 26,293; in 1920, 24,081. In 1882 the assessed
value of taxable property was $733,809, a third being represented by
live stock; in 1903, $5,047,167; in 1913. $14,114,950, and in 1920, $14,
249,615.

For the past twenty years Taylor County has been the home of
many prosperous farmers, and agricultural development has proceeded
on diversified lines. The total area of the county is 581,120 acres,
of which 468.377 acres were reported as included in farms or ranches
in 1910. The amount of "improved land" at the last census was about
201,000 acres, a large increase during ten years, about 80,000 acres
having been so classified in 1900. In 1910 the county had 2.404
farms, as compared with 1.152 in 1900. The stock interests have

Taylor County Court House

already been noted. Few counties in West Texas have a larger
acreage in crops, and the figures for 1909 are as follows: Cotton,
101,075 acres; kafir corn and milo maize, 20.961 acres; hay and forage
crops, 19,778 acres; corn, 1,588 acres; oats, 1,227 acres; wheat, 1.557
acres. About 58,000 trees were enumerated in orchard fruits.

Taylor County voted out saloons from its area in 1902. It has
been progressive in many lines, has voted a large amount of monej
for the construction and improvement of roads, has many farmers'
institutes organized, and another important expression of the charac
ter of society is found in the fine public schools and colleges and the
mam beautiful churches in the county.

The chief dtv and county seal i^ \hileiic. but the count} lias many
othei thriving small towns. The largest is Merkel, on the Texas ,\
Pacific west of Abilene, with a population in 1910 or 2,008. Other

towns on the Texas & Pacific are Trent. I've and Elmdalc. Mong

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 845

the line of the Abilene & Southern are located Tuscola, also a junc-
tion point for that road and the Pecos & Northern Texas, Ovalo,
Guio, Iberis and Bradshaw. On the line of the Pecos & Northern
Texas are Buffalo Gap, the oldest town in the county, and other sta
tions are Blair, Lawn and View. Some of the rural villages are
Hamby, Potosi, Moro and Inkum.

Abilene

The city of Abilene has for thirty years been an important center
of trade and has become known because of its educational and church
advantages, its railroads, its large local and wholesale business, and
its excellent municipal improvements. Founded when the Texas &
Pacific Railroad was built, its population in 1890 was 3,194; in 1900,
3,411 ; and in 1910, 9,204, so that at the present time more than a third

Girls Industrial School, Simmons College. Abilene

of the county's population live in the chief city. A visitor at Abilene
in May, 1881, described the town as follows: "Three months ago
Simpson's ranch was the only house in this country where the weary
cowboy could find shelter. Not a tent had been stretched, and noth-
ing but the bark of the prairie dog and the lowing cattle disturbed the
stillness. Now a city of 1,500 people adorns the broad level prairie.
There are wholesale and retail stores, commission houses, hotels,
churches and schools, a fine water supply, and this is a distributing
and trading point for Buffalo Gap, Phantom Hill, Fort Concho, and
other Government posts. The railroad depot was found to be inade-
quate to hold the goods brought for shipment and tents had to be
stretched to shelter them. This is a cattle shipping point, but the
farmers are already beginning to encroach."

Since 1888 Abilene has been the county seat. It has recently been
organized under a commission form of government. Abilene has

846 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

water works, has paved streets in the business section, a sewer system,
a street railway, electric lights, and arrangements have been made to
introduce natural gas from the Moran fields. Besides its business
and municipal advantages it enjoys a reputation as a college and
school town. Simmons College was established there in 1892, under
the auspices of the Baptist Church, and is now regarded a> one of the
best equipped small colleges in the state. The Abilene Christian Cub
lege was founded in 1906, and there are several other private schools.
The public school system comprises a fine high school building and
four ward schools. Near the city is located the state colon}- for epi-
leptics, which was established by virtue of an act of 1892. The popu-
lation of Abilene is 10,274.

Terrell County

In 1905 the south end of Pecos County was detached to Eorm the
new county of Terrell, named in honor of the late A. W. Terrell.
Terrell has as its southern boundary the Rio Grande, and as a portion
of the eastern limit the Pecos River. In this section of Texas both
the Rio Grande and Pecos cut through deep canyons, which are inac
cessible, and these canyons, together with the long ranges of moun-
tains and high mesa lands, give to Terrell County an array of mag-
nificent scenery. Only the rather limited areas along the valleys
are suitable for cultivation, but a large portion of the uplands i>
adapted to grazing, and the raising of sheep, cattle, horses and goats
is the principal occupation of the people, The sheep industry is
especially important, and Sanderson is one of the large wool shipping
points in Texas. Sanderson is a freight and passenger division point
on the Southern Pacific Railway, and it was in this vicinity that the
engineers encountered some of the most trying difficulties in the con
Struction of that road between San Antonio and El Paso about 1880
i >n the organization of the county Sanderson was made the county
seat, and through this and its railway interests is a town of growing
importance, furnishing most of the commercial facilities for the large
area of grazing country on all sides. A number of other small slop
ping stations arc located along the Southern Pacific, which is the onl)
railroad.

In 1910 Terrell Count) had a population of 1,430, including about
501) Mexicans. The assessed valuation of Terrell County in l'M.^ was
$3,828,624, in 1920, $4,817,000. The county is one of the large divis-
ions of Southwest Texas, with an area of about 2.750 square miles,
or 1,686,400 acres. While the last census reported over 600,000 acres
included in farms or ranches, onl) 80(1 acres were classified as
"improved land." The live stock enumerated included 20,330 cattle,
about 3,(1(10 horses and mules, 111,056 sheep, and 18.530 "oats. In

1920, 15.033 cattle. 7,909 horses and mules, 14.731 sheep, and 2>,2^

goats were enumerated. There were no important agricultural Sta
tistics.

1 1 kkv County

Terr) < ounty, created in 1876, but nol organized until l'H)4, has
recentl) come within the scope of developing activities in West

■ ORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

847

[Texas. The count) lies just west of Lynn County, and the railroad
which have penetrated Lubbock a ii<1 Lynn counties have been an
important factor in directing settlement toward Terr) < ounty. Dur-
ing the last ten years considerable progress has been made in the
improvement of land for farming purposes, and the breaking up of th<
large pastures has already begun. The county seal is Brownfield,
mar the center of the count}', and there are several oilier small \il
lages. The Panhandle & Santa Fe has been constructed diagonall)
through the counts to Brownfield, near the center of the county, run-
ning from Lubbock to Seagraves, and full train service is in operation.
The population of the county in 1890 was 21 and 48 in L900. By
l'HO the county had 1,474 inhabitants, in 1920, 2,236. The total area
is 556,800 acres, of which all were reported in Farms or ranches in

Tkry County Exhibit at South Plains Fair

1910. In 1900 onh 115 acre- were in cultivation, but the last census
classified about 23000 acres as "improved land." There were 2.\?
farms in 1910 as compared with only six in 1900. The live -lock
interests, by far the greatest resource of the county, in 1910 were
enumerated a- 25.554 cattle, about 2,900 horses and mules, 1.282 hogs
and 2,569 sheep. In 1920, 21 778 cattle, 2.855 horses and mules. In
1909, 5,896 acre- were planted in corn. 4.509 acres in hay and forage
crops, and 1,908 acres in kafir corn and milo maize. The count) is
considered a fruit section and the last census enumerated about 6,500
orchard fruit tree-. The tax valuation of property in the county in
1913 was $1,909,552. and in 1920 $2,816,383.

It is developing into a successful corn raising country.

Brownfield has two bank-, a large gin, and a school building.
There are several independent school districts in the county. .Much
work is being done to improve the road-. The transcontinental high-
way runs through the county.

Brownfield has recently been incorporated.

848 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Throckmorton County

This is almost the only county in Northwest Texas outside of the
Panhandle district which as yet has no railway. Stockmen invaded
the section during the 70s, and it is only in comparatively recent
years that many of the large ranches have been cut up into farms.
The old range cattle were displaced a number of years ago in favor
of improved breeds, and some of the best stock in West Texas come
from the Throckmorton County ranches. A number of years ago it
was a favorite country for sheep men, but that feature of the business
has been almost discontinued.

Throckmorton County was created in 1858, but was not organ-
ized until March 18, 1879. A traveler through that part of the state
in 1878 said that Throckmorton County was uninhabited except by
stockmen, and one feature noted by him was described as follows:
"Some genuine dugouts, the cowboy palaces, may be seen, being
excavations from the sides of steep hills, walled with rock, covered
with poles, buffalo hides and dirt, these being the homes of the cattle-
men whose ranches are located along the creek valley."

From a population of 111 in 1880. the census of 1890 gave 902
inhabitants; in 1910 the population was 1,750; in 1910, 4,563; in 1920,
3,589. The county seat is Throckmorton, an isolated country town,
and two other settlements are Spring Creek and Woodson.

The assessed value of taxable property in 1882 was $733,809, more
than a third being represented in live stock; in 1903, $1,879,827; in
1913, $4,241,138; in 1920. $4,611,467.

The cultivation of the soil had hardly begun in 1880. In 1882 the
live stock interests were estimated in round numbers at about 18,000
cattle, 18,000 sheep, and 1.750 horses and mules. The total area of
the county is 562,560 acres, and the last census reported 461,985 acres
enclosed in farms or ranches, but only about 52,500 acres as "improved
land." The amount of improved land at the preceding census was
about 30,000 acres. There wen- 694 farms, as compared with 274 in 1900.
The live stock enumerated in 1919 were: Cattle, 13,453; horses and
mules, 4,513. In 1909, 20.655 acres were planted in cotton, 6,093 acres
in hay and forage crops, 3,120 acres in corn, and 910 acres in kafir
corn and milo maize. About 7,500 orchard fruit trees were enum-
erated, and about 10,000 pecan trees.

Throckmorton is a small country town of about 700 inhabitants.
It was founded as the county site in 1879. Until this time Williams-
burg had been the scat of county government, but with the founding
ol I hrockmorton it> central location resulted in the removal not only
of the county government but of the town as well. Nothing remains
of Williamsburg now but a few scattering stone foundations of old
buildings. Highways to Graham, Seymour, Haskell and Albany

radiate from Throckmorton The Community has three churches, one
modern -tone high school building, one gin, one Hour mill, eleven
mercantile establishments, three garages, two hotels, ami one bank,

with a capital of $75,000.

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS XORTHWEST 849

UPTON COUNTV

This count), though given forma] boundaries in 1887 and detached
from original Tom Green County, long remained among the unorgan-
ized counties of West Texas, and the county government was estab-
lished in 1910. Previously it had been attached to Midland County
for judicial purposes. Until very recently it has been essentially
a stock raising country, and its limited population almost entirely
engaged in that vocation. Since 1910 two important developments
have occurred. The first demonstrated that Upton County lies in the
area of the "shallow water belt," and by means of pumping it is possi-
ble to irrigate large quantities of land on an economic basis. About
1912 the Kansas City, Mexico X- ( )rient Railroad was constructed
across the southern border of the county, and that railway promises
to inaugurate a new era of improvement, and the coming of new
settlers of a farming class will bring about a more general utilization
of the natural resources of this section.

The population of Upton County at the last three census years was:
In 1890, 52; in 1900, 48; in 1910, 501. In 1920 the population was 253.
The county seat town is Upland, which is located near the center of the
county and was the only postoffice until the coming of the railroad,
since which time the station of Rankin has been located on that
line.

The report of the last census furnished only meager statistics on
agricultural development. One hundred and five farms were enum-
erated, as compared with eighteen in 1900. Of a total area of 764,800
acres, 1,638 acres were "improved land," while at the preceding cen-
sus only eighty-five acres were so classified ; 9,959 cattle were enum-
erated, 1,239 horses and mules. Assessment values in 1903 were
$364,440; in 1909, $1,122,850; in 1913, $2,672,275; and in 1920,
$2,220,365.

\\ II EELER (. olXTV

The oldest organized county in the entire Panhandle, Wheeler, has
had rather more than its proper share of the vicissitudes of growth
and progress, and only in recent years has it begun to develop on a
substantial basis. The figures of population would indicate one phase
of its history. In 1880 there were 512 inhabitants, probably more
than all other Panhandle counties combined. By 1890 the population
was 778, and then followed a decline so that only 636 inhabitants were
found in 1900. Since then a new era has been inaugurated, and in
1°40 the population of the county was 5.258, in 1920, 7,397.

As elsewdiere noted, the pioneer stockmen began operations in the
Panhandle about 1876. A yrear or so later Fort Elliott was established
as a military garrison in Wheeler County, and in that general vicinity
a number of stockmen established their headquarters. One of the
results of this settlement in the Panhandle was the organization in
1878 of Wheeler County, parent county of all the Panhandle counties.
The organization was effected by the Commissioner's Court of Clay
County, to which all the Panhandle counties had up to that time been
attached. Then Donlev and Oldham counties were organized bv the

850 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Commissioner's Court of Wheeler County, and soon the Thirty-first

Judicial District was formed, its court being the onlj one in the Pan-
handle for a long time and its seat being Mobeetie, which is a town
with many pioneer associations, and practically all the old time law-
yers practicing in Northwest Texas, and many of the cattlemen and
merchants have many recollections of that old court town. Wheeler
County was the nucleus of settlement in the Panhandle until the rail-
road came. After the Fort Worth & Denver City began building
from Fort Worth, ii was expected that the line would pass through
Wheeler County, and a considerable impetus to building was given to
Mobeetie. When the railroad did reach the Panhandle in 1888 its
line was many miles south of old Mobeetie, and no railroad pene-
trated Wheeler County until 1903, when the Choctaw, Rock Island &
Gulf, now a division of the Rock Island System, was completed along
the southern border to Amarillo.

A statistical report on the county in 1882 estimated that about 1,000
acres were in cultivation, while stock raising was the almost exclusive
pursuit of the inhabitants, and the assessment rolls for thai year
indicated about 65,000 cattle in the county. The same report said :
"Mobeetie, the county seat, has about 200 inhabitants, a good free
school and a number of general merchandise stores. Religious con-
veniences are meager, and the population is as yet so scattered that
free schools have not been thoroughly organized." Wheeler Counts
in 1882 had an aggregate of taxable property valued at $764,838. o\ei
two thirds of which was represented by live stock; the valuation in
1903 was $1,302,120: in 1913. $3,811,538; in 1920, $4,914,370. The
principal shipping points in the county are Shamrock, Benonine and
Ransdell.

The rather rapid development of the county in recent years is indi
cated in the increase of "improved land." as designated by the United
States census, from about 12.000 acres in 1900 to about 169,000 acres
in 1910. In 1900 there were about 119 farms, and in 1910. 736. The
total area of the county is 572,800 acres, of which 458,080 acres were
reported in farms or ranches in 1910. In 1920 there were enumerated
38,767 cattle, 6,866 horses and mules. The county is well watered,
with both a surface and underground supply, and there are splendid
possibilities for agricultural development, which, up to the present
time, has only fairly begun. In 1919 the acreage in the principal
crops was as follows: Corn, 43,198; liaj and forage crops, 10,638,
including about 950 acres in alfalfa: kalir corn and milo maize, 4.777:
cotton, 3,590; wheat, 1,631; also a limited acreage in oats; aboul 550

acres in potatoes, sweet potatoes and other vegetables, while COnsid
erable progress has been made in horticulture; about 19,000 orchard
fruit trees have heen enumerated, besides a number of vineyards and

small fruits.

Wichita Coun ry

Wichita County has come into special fame in recenl years as one
of the chief centers of oil and gas production. The gas field at
Petrolia in Cla) Count) had heen opened in l(,()7. In June, 1911, the
bringing in of a 1,000-barrel well at Electra in the western part of

FORT WoInTII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES'J

851

Wichita County inaugurated the development of a field which at the
beginning of 1913 had over 300 producing wells, and is now regarded
as the chief center of oil production in the state. During 1911 the
production of the Electra field was nearly 900,000 barrels. In Jul}.
1912, at the north side of the county and three miles from the town oi
Burkburnett, near the Red River, another successful well was brought
in. The development of these fields has brought a wealth to Wichita
County which excels that of other productive industries, but so recent
as to furnish no reliable statistics to measure their results. ( las and
oil have contributed to the making of Wichita Falls, already a flour-
ishing railroad and commercial center, one of the most attractive cities
for manufacturing enterprises in North Texas.

Wichita County was created in 1858, but was not permanently
organized until |une, 1882. Practically all of its history has been

1 1 icii School, Wich ha Falls

written within the last thirty years. The Red River is its northern
boundary, and. like other counties adjoining, its position was too
exposed with reference to the Indian Territory to allow settlement
and substantial industry until the beginning of the '80s. , At the census
of 1880 the population was only 433. and the stock raisers who inhab
ited the county attempted a minimum of agriculture. During 188?
the Fort Worth & Denver Citv Railway was completed from Fort
Worth to Wichita Falls, which remained its terminus until 1885. At
that time there were three postoffices in the county, Wichita Falls.
Gilbert and Toksana, the last two having disappeared from local
geography.

With the railroad the county progressed rapidly, and by 1890 its
population was 4,831 ; in 1900, 5.806; in 1910, 16.094; in 1920. 72,911.

Small farmers have developed the possibilities of fruit, vegetables
and melon crops. The value of taxable property in the county in

\\ km ma Counts 1 1 \s Fi \i F vrms

FORT WORTE AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 853

1882 was $412,031; in 1903, $3,899,660; in 1913, $18,507,195; in 1920,
$72,043,810. During the past ten-year period the increase of wealth
was nearly 500 per cent, and few counties of the state have developed
so rapidly in the same length of time.

In the development of the county and particularly of the chief
city railroads have played an important part. The Missouri, Kansas
& Texas extended its line across the northern tier of counties as far
as Henrietta by 1887, and soon afterwards to Wichita Falls. In 1890
the Wichita Valley Railroad was built from Wichita Falls southwest
to Seymour. During 1903-04 the Wichita Falls & Oklahoma Railwa)
was constructed from Wichita Falls northeasterly to Byers on the
Red River, passing through what later became the Petrolia gas
district. During the past decade the Wichita Falls & Northwestern
has been constructed from Wichita Falls into Oklahoma, while the
Wichita Falls & Southern leads south through Archer County.
These lines have placed the chief citv in direct communication with
all the rich and developing territory of Northwest Texas, Southwest
Oklahoma, and the chief market points in the entire southwest and
western part of the United States.

While the development of Wichita County has been along the
lines of stock raising and general farming, it has also become famous
for its melons, particularly cantaloupes, and the growing of many
special crops is the chief industry of a numerous colony of small
farmers. A large amount of northern capital and northern settlers
as well have come into the county during the past fifteen years, and
the town of Iowa Park, a few miles west of Wichita Falls, developed
as the seat of an enterprising colony from the state of Iowa.

Statistics on live stock and agriculture as supplied by the last
enumeration report as follows: Total area, 386,560 acres; 326,628
acres in farms; about 175.000 acres in "improved land," as compared
with 106,000 acres in 1900. The number of farms at the last census
was 1,039, and 423 in 1900. There were 11,607 cattle; horses and
mules, about 4.866: hogs. 4,933. In 1909. 46.215 acres were planted
in corn, which is the leading crop ; 23,794 acres in cotton, 33,000 acres
in wheat. 7,214 acres in oats, 6,584 acres in hay and forage crops.
About 13,000 trees were enumerated in orchard fruit.

Outside of Wichita Falls the chief towns are Iowa Park, Electra
and Burkburnett. At the last census Electra had a population of 640
and Iowa Park of 603.

The city of Wichita Falls has always been the chief center ot
population, and in 1910 more than half the inhabitants of the county
were located there. The population in 1890 was 1.987; in 1900, 2,480;
in 1910, 8.200; and in 1920, 40,079. It is easily one of the most pro-
gressive and prosperous small cities of the state. Railroads gave it a
start, and since then the presence of enterprising citizens and the
abundance of such resources as oil and gas have brought about a city
whose prosperity comes from its railway division points and shops, its
extensive retail and wholesale trade, and its varied manufactures.
The supply of natural gas, which is piped from the Petrolia field and
sold to manufacturers at from four to eight cents a thousand feet, has

/,

V.

■/.

-

f-

ir.

FORT Wok I II AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST .S3?

brought several important industries from other cities and states to
Wichita Falls. The city also is benefited by the daily production of
more than 33,000 barrels of oil. At the beginning of 1914 the Cham
ber of Commerce enumerated more than forty manufacturing plants,
most of which had been established within the last five years. Thesi
include a factory for the manufacture of auto trucks, a window glass
factory, a bottle factory, a pottery, a fruit jar factory, flour mill, rail
road shop, iron foundry, machine shops, ice factories, planing mills.
brick and tile plants, broom factory, cotton compress, oil mills and
many minor enterprises. About ten or twelve years ago some enter-
prising capitalists built a dam across Holliday Creek, five miles south-
west of Wichita Falls, and thus created Lake Wichita, a body of
water two miles by seven miles, furnishing water for the irrigation
of several thousand acres of truck and fruit and other crops, water
for the city and manufacturing purposes, while the lake itself has
become a most attractive resort for the people of the city and of
several counties. Owing to the rapid progress of the last ten years
Wichita Falls now has 40,079 people. It has fully a third of the
taxable values found in the entire county. It is a city of many hand
some churches, well equipped and thoroughly organized with public
schools, has a Federal building, hospital, street cars, the business sec-
tion is paved, and its business buildings and the character and atmos-
phere of the city in general are in advance of older and more populous
centers in the Southwest.

Wichita Falls, the City that Faith Built

While Wichita Falls is known throughout the world as the chief
city adjacent to the great new oil fields of North Texas, the far-seeing
city builders who have built Wichita Falls from a village to the
metropolis of the Northwest Texas Plains wish it to be known for its
advantages as a home city, its new and magnificent buildings and its
jobbing and agricultural resources as well as for its oil supremacy.
As this book is being .prepared for the press Wichita Falls is just
coming into its own as a metropolitan city, having passed through
the trying "growing pains" incident to the oil boom, which began here
in July, 1918, and has lasted with more or less intensity until late in
1920, and the community has been busily engaged in transforming
itself with the facilities necessary to take care of a population three
times that which it had two years ago.

In June, 1918, Wichita Falls was a live, prosperous little West
Texas city with a population of about 18,000. By June, 1919, this city
was the center of oil operations and activities the like of which the
world has rarely, if ever, witnessed. The population by that date,
including transient oil operators, workmen and curious sight-seers,
probably ran as high as 50,000, though all of these were never con-
sidered as citizens. The United States census of 1920 gives Wichita
Falls 40,079, and this is believed to have been a very accurate count.
The population of the city in 1910 was 8.200. The increase in popu-
lation from 1910 to 1920 was 388 per cent, possibly the largest percen-
tage of increase shown by any city which was listed in the 1Q10 census.

VOL. II— ->7

856 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Wichita Falls enjoys the rare distinction of being the distributing
center and the home city for the operators of a vast oil region without
the unpleasant features of having oil wells right in the city. If the
oil wells of the Wichita Falls district had been arranged by a blue
print plan in advance they could not have been much more desirably
located. There is one field at Burkburnett, sixteen miles north ; the
Northwest Extension, twenty-five miles northwest : the Petrolia
field, twenty-five miles northeast ; Iowa Park shallow field, twenty-
five miles west ; Electra field, twenty-six miles west ; the Kemp-
-Munger-Allen field, sixteen miles southwest; the Texhoma field,
twelve miles north; the new Parker field, eight miles west; the Holliday
wells, seven miles south ; South Bend, forty miles south ; Breckenridge.
seventy-five miles south ; all of which fields recognize Wichita Falls as
the center of finances and supplies.

The people of Wichita Falls realize that the accidental discovery
of oil is a bit of good fortune which is to be utilized to the utmost,
but they do not depend upon oil exclusively as the reason for the
future growth of Wichita Falls.

The actual pipe line runs for this district at this time (Decem-
ber, 1920) are approximately 85,000 barrels per day. This remark-
able "crop" turns into the coffers of this city and its various com-
panies and operators about $9,000,000 per month.

Cities, like men, come face to face with circumstances in the course
of their lives which test the utmost there is in them. And it is at
such epochal times that the final degree of success can be truly pre-
dicted— for man or city. When a man gets "his chance" and makes
good, we say he has arrived. When a city has met the problems that
such a critical time has brought to it, the world bows in homage and
commercial ratings are revised in favor of the new metropolis.

Did you ever see an overgrown boy who needed to discard short
trousers and don the larger garments of a man? He was uncomfortable,
lit- was passing through a trying stage in his development. But his
"growing pains" were a sure sign that he was about to he a man — a full-
grown man.

Wichita Falls has had a spell of "growing pains." Here we have
more than 40,000 live and hustling citizens where only about 18,000
lived a few short months ago. This is destined to be a man-size cit)
—a new metropolis of the Southwest.

And Wichita Falls is meeting the new- civic problems rapid!}
Her changing skyline looms large against the western horizon. A
multitude of oil derricks are overshadowed by great sky-scrapers in
this new citadel of fortune.

Banking

Wichita Falls has the largest hank in West Texas, the City National
I '..ink of Commerce, with resources of more than $20,000,000. The six
banks of Wichita Falls had deposits at the last call of approximately
$31 1.000,000. Wichita Falls is fifth among the cities of Texas in bank
deposits and eighth in population, Wichita Falls paid more income tax
to tin 1 'tn'icd States Government than am othei >it\ in Texas,

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

857

New Buildings

Wichita Falls has more newly completed buildings than any mini
city of twice its size in the Southwest. The list includes the twelve-
story City National Rank of Commerce Building, twelve-story American
National Bank Building, eight-story Bob Waggoner Building and eight-
story Kemp Hotel, newly opened and representing an investment of
$1,500,000. There is not a more elegantly appointed hotel in the South-
west than the Kemp, of this city.

An Oil Scene

Oil Money Stays in Wichita Falls

It is a source of gratification to the leaders of Wichita Falls that
a very large proportion of the money made by operators in this field
has stayed in Wichita Falls in the form of permanent investments in
magnificent residences, tall office buildings and in fertile farms in this
county. The custom of investing in country home; adjacent to the new
$5,000,000 irrigation project is growing in favor. The fertile lands of
the valley of the Wichita River are to be irrigated by a project now being
started. The bonds have alreadv been voted and work on constructing
the dam will be begun early in 1921. This project will make Wichita

858 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Fall;- the center of a thickly populated agricultural section in which the
twenty-acre, intensively cultivated, one-family farm will he typical.

Roaps

$3,000,000 is being spent for the construction of a system of forty -
mx miles of concrete roads throughout the county. Five miles of this
road has just been completed, from Wichita Falls south to the Archer
County line.

$8,000,000 will be spent by the city and county on public works,
including roads, streets and large sewer and water systems and municipal
improvements during the next two years.

Railroads

Wichita Falls has six railroads and Wichita halls capital is now
extending the Wichita Southern from Newcastle south through Graham
and Fliasville to Breckenridge to connect with these important points-
in the Southern oil fields.

Manufacturing and Jobbing

Wichita Falls has a manufacturing and jobbing business totaling
approximately S40.000.000 annually. Two of its factories, the Wichita
Motors Company, making Wichita Trucks, and the Wichita Mill and
Elevator Company, making Belle of Wichita Flour, distribute then-
products to many foreign countries.

Magnificent Storks

\\ ichita Falls prides itself on the quality of its retail mercantile
establishments. Its stores, in appointments and in range of stock and
selection, rank with the best among the cities of the Southwest. Its
annual volume of retail sales approximate $30,000,000.

The Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest and
Inst financed organizations of any city of twice the size in the South.
Without disparaging its great material resources. Wichita Falls counts
the spirii (if its people its greatest asset. It is proud to be known as
"The City That Faith Built," and the chief idea of its Chamber of
i ommerce is "To Make Wichita Falls a Better Place in Which to Five."

Winkler County

Winkler I ount) touches the southeastern corner of New Mexico,
and was created from Tom Green County in 1887, bul remained without
a county government until 1910, Its soil is sandy for the most part.
.unl while an underground water supply may be obtained in mans places
it is a country which will have very little agricultural development al
least for many years. Its ranges have been occupied by stockmen for
thirty years or more, and there is no important development to be re-
corded except a very gradual breaking up of the larger ranges and the
cultivation of limited areas by dry farming methods. The Texas X

I'm il'ii- Railway touches the southeast comer of the comity ami made
cces ible mam years before settle,-- came in any numbers.

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 859

In liS'K) the county was accorded a population of eighteen; in 1900,
sixty; in 1910, 442; and in 1920, 481. Since the organization of the
county the Village of Kennit, near the center of the county, has been
made the county seat, and is the only town in the county. The total
assessment in 1909 was $818,363; in 1913, $1,085,473; and in 1920,
$7,997,670. Of the total area of 540,160 acres, more than half was
classified as farms or ranches according to the last census report, but
only 638 acres were "improved land." There were 128 farms enumer-
ated, as compared with twelve at the preceding census. The last census
afforded no statistics on agriculture, except about 200 acres planted in
hay and forage crops. The number of cattle were 8.445; horses and
mules, 273; sheep, 7,441.

Wise County

Wise County, northwest of Tarrant County and Fort Worth, was
created by the Legislature from the original Cooke County in 1856, and
its county government was organized on May 5th of the same year.
The first settlers penetrated into the county under the protection of the
military post at Fort Worth, and its population by the end of the '50s
was over fifteen hundred. In 1858 it was estimated that about six
thousand acres of land were in cultivation, lint throughout that decade
the county was on the frontier. In 1856 the only postoffices in the
county were Odessa and Taylorville. The county seat was established
at Decatur, and that was a point on the route of the Overland Southern
Pacific Mail, the government stage line put in operation about 1858.
During the Civil war decade population decreased in Wise County.
The Texas Almanac for 1867 said : "There is not a mill in Wise County,
the nearest being at Weatherford, forty miles away. A large quantity
of wheat is raised in the county, and large numbers of cattle are raised
and driven away to market." In January, 1870, a Decatur citizen wrote
that there had been no Indians for three months, and "most of our
citizens who moved away last spring are moving back again. This
county, although on the borders, is establishing three good schools, at
Prairie Point, on Deep Creek and at Decatur." A traveler in Wise
County in the next year speaks of Boyd's Mill in the south part of the
county, the town having been located soon after the war, where at the
time of writing there were a postoffice, steam mill, two dry goods stores.
"While there," continues this observer, "I was informed of a new town
that had sprung up two miles away, and rode by. On the roadside is
a handsome new storehouse. This place we proposed to christen
'Aurora.' " The Almanac for 1867 gives the voting population of Wise
County at about four hundred, and goes on to state that there are "few
freedmen in the county ; we have no bureau, and they are quite happy
and contented. There are as yet no postoffices established ( meaning
that postal service had not been resumed since the close of the war).
Decatur and Prairie Point were two flourishing villages before the war,
and are beginning to look up again. Owing to the defenseless state of
the frontier Indian raids are frequent."

The first permanent settler in Wise County was Sam Woody, a not-
able character in North Texas. In 1854 he built his log cabin home in

860 FORT WORTH A X I > THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

Wise County, two years before settlers in sufficient numbers had col-
lected to justify a county organization. Some idea of how the pioneers
not only of that locality but of other points in West Texas lived is
obtained from Mr. Woody 's own words, quoted as follows:

"It was easv to live in those days. Sow five or six acres of wheat
and it would often produce tift\ bushels to the acre, cut it with a cradle,
tramp and fan it out. then once or twice a year load up a wagon to
which five or six steers were hitched, and after a week's trip to Dallas
you would have enough flour to give bread to your family and some
iif the neighbors for a number of weeks, until it would be the turn of
some one else to make the trip. If we had not bread enough, game
was always plentiful. Hogs would get so fat on acorns that the)
couldn't walk. After marking them we let them run wild, and trained
our dogs to run them in whenever we wanted a supply of pork. Now
and then we sent a wagon to Shreveport or Houston for coffee and sugar
and such groceries, but we did not use sugar much. I paid a dollar for
a pint of the first sorghum seed planted in Wise County, and molasses
was the commonest kind of "sweetening." When we got tired of game
and pork we killed a beef. By swinging a quarter high up to the limb
of a tree it would be safe from wild animals and would keep sweet for
weeks, and it was a common sight in our country to see the woman of
the house untving the rope and letting down the meat to cut oft enough
for dinner."

By the latter part of 1876 Wise County claimed a population of
15.000. and although without railroads development was substantial and
rapid. Decatur, the county seat, had a population of 1.500 in 1878, and
its citizen^ were enthusiastic in advocating the building of a railroad
through the country. Aurora, already mentioned, had grown to 500
population, with a dozen business houses and a two-story school build
ing. The Town of Chico was started in 1878.

Towards the close of 1881 actual construction work was begun on
the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway, near Fort Worth, and during
the following year the line was constructed through Wise County as
far as Wichita Falls, which was reached in September. 1882. This was
the first line to penetrate the country to the northwest of Fort Worth,
and its results in the upbuilding of towns along the way wen- remark-
able, not to mention the transformation caused in the line of agricultural
improvement and settlement. At Decatur the driving of the last -pike
in the railroad connected that town with Fort Worth on April IS, 1882.
The railroad at once gave a great impetus to the upbuilding of Decatur,
while the old Town of Aurora was left live miles to one side, and its
population migrated bodily and concentrated its two schools, four
churches, twelve merchandising bouses, three gins and other enterprises
around the railroad station. The genesis of several towns in the count)
dales from the laying of track for the Fort Worth & Denver City. In
IS72 the Village of Herman was described as consisting of a side track

and several box cars Cowen was distinguished as a side track with
out anj cars. \ report on the resources of the county in L882 said
"The Fori Worth & Denver Citj Railway passes diagonally through the
count) from southeast to northwest, via Decatur, having a length of

FORT WORTH A.ND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 86]

thirty-five miles of road within its limits. Decatur, the county seat,
has a population of about 1,500, it is situated on a commanding eminence
on the divide between the west and the Denton forks of the Trinity
River, and has a large and increasing trade. Aurora, a thrifty town
of 400 inhabitants, is situated fourteen miles southeast of Decatur.
Chico, Greenwood, Pella, Audubon, Crafton, Paradise, Bridgeport, Wil-
low Point, Boonville, Cottonvale, Cactus Hill and Cowen are all growing
towns. A coal bed has been opened at Bridgeport, and the coal is in
use as fuel.

The second railroad in the county was the Rock Island lines. This
road was opened between Red River through Bridgeport to Fort Worth
in August, 1893. The branch from Bridgeport was built to Jacksboro
in 1898 _nd extended to Graham in 1902.

In 187*0 the population of Wise County was reported as 1,450; with
the danger of Indians removed and with the rapid development that
followed during the '70s in all North Texas the population by 1880 was
16,601 ; in 1890. 24,134; in 1900, 27.116; in 1910, 26,450; and in 1920,
23,363.

Of the many towns and villages in the county the two largest are
Decatur and Bridgeport. Decatur in 1890 had a population of 1,746;
in 1900, 1,562, and in 1910, 1,651. Bridgeport in 1890 was a town of
498 population; in 1900. 900. and in 1910, 2,000. Besides being the
junction point of the two branches of the Rock Island Road, Bridgeport
is also an important coal mining town, and has several small industries.
Wise County claims about three hundred miles of improved public
highway, built at a cost of about five hundred dollars per mile. It is
one of the well developed counties of North Texas ; diversified farming
is now the rule, and as most of the population is rural, nearly all the
lands are occupied and utilized in the joint activities of stock farming
and agriculture. In 1870 the value of property as returned by assessors
was $378,411; in 1882, $2,980,602; in 1903, $6,555,910; in 1913. $14,-
010,450; in 1920, $14,833,224.

While population fell off during the first ten years of the present
century, the number of farms and ranches also declined from 4,029 in
1900 to 3,721 in 1910. The total area of the county is 552.320 acres, of
which 489,121 acres were occupied in farms and ranches in 1910. The
amount of "improved land" in 1910 was about 250,000 acres, an increase
over the preceding census. The varied stock and agricultural resources
are indicated by the following statistics from the last enumeration report :
Cattle, 25.857; horses and mules, about 14,637. In 1909 the acreage
in cotton was 93,076; in corn, 72,919; in hay and forage crops, 12,245;
in wheat, 6,877; in oats, 2,512; in potatoes, sweet potatoes and other
vegetables, about 1,500 acres; peanuts are also a profitable crop; about
145,000 trees were enumerated in orchard fruit, and about 4,000 pecan
trees.

Decatur

When Decatur was selected as the county seat of Wise County in
1857 there were half a dozen candidates for the location. They were
Isbell Springs, about one and a half miles northwest of Decatur in the
neighborhood of Henry Greathouse's home ; the Finley place, known

862 FORT WORTH \\l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

as the Carpenter place, east of town ; Howell & Allen's store. Colonel
Bishop, one of the earlv settlers, championed the town of Decatur, and
he was hacked by a number of the most aggressive citizens. After a
hot contest Decatur received the plum. The Halsell Valley site had
as its champion Sam Woodv. Following the selection of Decatur as
the county site, Mr. and Mrs. James Proctor deeded sixty acres of their
160 acres for the site. Colonel Rishop assumed active charge of the
details of locating and laying out the town, which was to rest on the bald
hill of the prairie. The details were made after the town of McKinney,
in Collin County, which town Colonel Bishop had visited.

A public sale of town lots was held. The business lots around the
square had the following buyers: Howell & Allen, south corner lot
on west side; Joe Henry Martin, central lot on northwest corner; Mr.
Dean, south corner, south side; Thos. Stewart, central lot, west side;
Colonel Bishop, west corner, north side; Col. W. H. Hunt and Mar-
shall Birdwell were also buyers.

Immediately following the sale of town lots houses sprang up, and
within a short time Decatur was in the thriving village class. The little
courtroom on the northeast corner of the square provided sufficient space
for the transaction of the county's business. The first court clerks were
R. M. Collins and C. D. Cates. The name of Taylorville was held by the
little village until January 7. 1858, when it was officially changed to
Decatur.

< »n October 28, 1859, the first birth of a white child occurred in the
village. Benjamin Franklin Allen was born on that date. Mr. Allen is
now a citizen of Fort Worth.

After many thrilling contests between the settlers and the Indians,
Decatur "settled down" and became one of the principal trading pointf-
ul this section of the state. The Waggoner and -Halsell families lie-
came prominent in the cattle business, and Decatur became known as
the headquarters of the "cattle kings" of Northwest Texas. The town
continued to grow and prosper, and for many years it was the "biggest
and best" town north of the Texas & Pacific Railway. Later other
towns sprang up to the west, and as a result the magnificent trade
enjoyed by Decatur merchants was taken away. From a cattle com-
munity, the Decatur district became rich in agricultural products.

Today Decatur is a city of about 3.000 people, with the usual com
plement of business houses, churches, schools and banks incident to a
tc iwn of its size.

Wilbarger County

The history of Wilbarger County is a record of less than fort)
years. With the Red River as its northern boundary, the counts
derived its early importance from its location on the great cattle
trail leading up through Western Texas to Dodge City. Kansas.
Thai trail went through Wilbarger County, close to the present site
of Vernon, and across the river into the Indian Territory at the old
Doan's station. As the herds were driven north the vicinity of Wil
barger was regarded as an ideal resting place for the stockman and
cowboy. The line grasses and abundance of pure water made it a

FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 863

favorite place in the progress of cattle from Texas to the northern
pastures or the northern markets. This cattle trail was opened dur-
ing the early '70s, and it is said that the first permanent settler in
the county came in 1876. As an illustration of the activities of the
trail in one of its most prosperous years it is said that in 1885, 300,000
head of cattle, 200,000 head of sheep and 192,000 head of horses were
drven by Vernon. Since that time a large part of Wilbarger County's
area has been transformed into a rich agricultural district.

While boundaries were given to the county in 1858, the first
county government was organized in October. 1881. At the census
of 1880 only 126 inhabitants were enumerated. The rapid develop-
ment during the following decade is indicated by the presence of
7,092 population by 1890. The chief factor in this rapid advance-
ment was the building of the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway
across the northern half of the county. The earlier construction of
the Texas & Pacific across Western Texas was not followed by more
rapid development in its tributary territory than in the country lying
on both sides of the Fort Worth & Denver City. As elsewhere noted,
the Fort Worth & Denver City had reached Wichita Falls in 1882,
and that city remained its terminus until construction work was
resumed in May, 1885. By April, 1887, the road was completed
through Wilbarger County to Quanah. By 1890 the county was well
settled, agriculture had made important advances, and prosperous
times were in prospect. Then followed the decade of the '90s, noted
throughout Northwest Texas as one of financial stringency and suc-
cession of dry years, and as a result by 1900 Wilbarger County's pop-
ulation was 5,759, a decrease of more than 1,300 since the preceding
census. Since then a new era has come to the county, the experi-
mental stage of farming has passed, and the economic activities of the
people seem now to rest on a permanent basis. By 1910 the popula-
tion of the county was 12,000, having more than doubled in the pre-
vious ten years, in 1920, 15,112. During the '90s a branch of the
Frisco Railway was constructed across Red River into Wilbarger
County, and Vernon has since been its terminus. In 1905 the Kansas
City, Mexico & Orient Railway was opened from Sweetwater to the
Red River, passing through the northwest corner of this county.
The town of Vernon, which in 1882 was credited with about seventy-
five inhabitants and two general merchandise stores, received its
chief impetus from the railway, and has since become one of the
flourishing towns of Northwest Texas. The population in 1890 was
2.857; in 1900. 1.993, and in 1<J10. 3.195. Other towns in the county
are Odell, on the Orient Railway, Harrold, Okla Union and Tolbert.

In 1882 the countv's taxable property was assessed at $582,283;
in 1903 values had risen to $3,815,973; in" 1913 to $11,466,140; and in
1920 to $12,873,620. While no farming was attempted in Wilbarger
County previous to 1880, and for years was an industry of very lim-
ited possibilities, statistics of the last census show that Wilbarger
has a larger proportion of cultivated land than many of the older
counties of the state. The total area is 593,920 acres, of which 411.-
936 acres were reported in farms or ranches in 1910. Of this amount

864 FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

about 202,000 acres were classified as "improved land," as compared
with 116,000 acres in 1900. There were 1,435 farms in 1910, against
636 in 1900. The stock interests at the last enumeration were: Cat-
tle. 13.376; horses and mules, about 8.537. The largest crop was
corn, to which (>2.??>'> acres were planted in 1(|0'': ??,077 acres in cot-
ton. 19,625 acres in wheat, 10,997 acres in oats, 6,122 acres in hay and
forage crops, 2,185 acres in kafir corn and milo maize, about 750 acres
in potatoes, sweet potatoes and other vegetables, while about 18.000
orchard fruit trees were enumerated. In comparison with many other
counties of the state Wilbarger has a high rank as an agricultural
country. Large well improved farms greet the eye in every direction.

Vernon

Vernon is the wealthiest town per capita of eighteen cities of its
class in Texas according to a survey of cities from 5,000 to 11.00U
population, which survey has just been completed by the Vernon
Chamber of Commerce. Vernon, with a population of 5.142, has a
per capital wealth of $2,076. The per capita wealth is found by add-
ing together the bank deposits as of January 1. 1920. and the city tax
values and dividing the sum by the population as of January 1. lu20.
The year 1920 has been the year of the greatest progress in the his-
tory of Vernon. There were more than $2,000,000 worth of building
done in the city in 1920. Forty-one business buildings were built or
added to. at a total cost of $777,000. Two hundred and fifty-two resi-
dences were constructed at an outlay of $1,254,50(1 These figures
were obtained by an actual survey.

Vernon has the distinction of being one of tin- few towns in West
Texas that did not show a loss in population in the last census.
Vernon had in 1"1(). 3,195 people. In 1920 it had 5.142, a gain of
2,000 or 66'<" . This condition is attributed to the wist wealth of the
people and to the sub-irrigated soil which enabled this county to
weather the drouth better than some other counties.

Vernon is said to have the world-wide distinction of having a
i hamber of Commerce which received the highest per capita support
■ >f any commercial organization on the globe. The annual income of
the Chamber of Commerce is above $15,000. or more than $3 per
capita. There are fifty blocks of paved Streets, miles of sewer and
water lines, one high school, three public ward schools, one parochial
school, one business college. It has eight churches and two churches
for negroes. In the Vernon Record, this city has the gold medal

weekly paper of Texas. This publication has twice been awarded the
medal.

Yoakum County

Lying on tin- extreme western side of the Staked I'lains. with New

Mexico as its western border, Yoakum Countj is many miles from
railroads, has only two or three postoffices, including I'lains, the
county seat. Sligo and Bronco, and its population consists almost en-
tirely of stockmen and their followers. The following description ot
the countj is from the last issue of the Texas Mmanac : "Farming is

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 865

a secondary occupation, the raising of live stock occupying the atten-
tion of the people. While fully 80 per cent of the land is suscept-
ible to cultivation by dry farming methods, very little attention has
been given to agricultural lines. Indian corn, maize, kaffir corn, cot-
ton and various forage plants have been successfully grown in a lim-
ited way. A few small orchards and vineyards are found at various
ranches, but no effort has been made to develop the fruit industry.

Yoakum County was created in 1876, and for a number of years
had no permanent population. At the census of 1890 only four in-
habitants were enumerated, and in 1900 only twenty-six. By 1910 the
population had increased to 602, and in 1920, 406 were enumerated.
A county government had been instituted in 1907, with the county
seat at Plains. In 1900 the census reported only one farm or ranch in
the county, but by 1910 there were 107. In a total area of 562,560
acres, 439,779 acres were included in farms in 1910. While ten acres
were classified as "improved land" in 1900 the amount had been in
creased to 8,339 acres.

The live stock interests in 1910 comprised 22,506 cattle and about
1,000 horses and mules. In 1920 there were 25,247 cattle and 1,250
horses and mules.

In 1909, 2,703 acres were planted in kaffir corn and milo maize, and
1,676 acres in corn. The assessed valuation of property in the county
in 1913 was $1,412,232, and in 1920, $1,620,079.

Young County

Young County may probably be considered the cornerstone in the
history and development of Northwest Texas. For many years the
Young Land District and the Young District Court comprised a juris-
diction greater than that of many states in the Union. Around the
nucleus of a military post, settlement at Fort Belknap was begun
during the '50s. The county was created by the Legislature in 1856
and a county government instituted, but as a result of the depreda-
tions of the savages, organization was abandoned in 1864. It was
during the '70s and early '80s, before any railroads were built into
Northwest Texas, that Young County exercised so extensive an official
relation with the vast district to the north and west. In April, 1874,
the county government was permanently organized, after a lapse of
ten years.

Two years after the establishment of the military post at Fort
Worth, owing to the continued advance of settlers, a new line of
frontier had to be drawn, and in 1850 the government directed the
establishment of two forts, one of which was Fort Belknap, on the
Brazos River in what is Young County, and the other Fort Phantom
Hill, on the Clear Fork of the Brazos in the southeastern part of
what is now Jones County. The first company of soldiers reached
Fort Belknap in November, 1850.

Besides its importance in protecting the line of frontier Belknap
was a center of population during the '50s. In "Information About
Texas," published about 1857, Fort Belknap and the surrounding coun-
try are thus described: "Young County is the extreme northwest

860 L-OR'l WiiKIII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

county of the state. It was formed by the Legislature of 1856-57 out
of Cooke. Fort Belknap and Indian Reservation are within its limits.
Following the beaten track from Fort Graham in Hill County to Fort
Belknap, you will, after a tedious journey through the Cross Timbers,
reach a range of rugged but open hills, with the Brazos meandering
through the narrow valley. Fort Belknap may be seen in the distance.
It is a situation of considerable importance, has a spacious magazine,
comfortable quarters for the troops and buildings for the officers.
Below the fort is a fine spring and a well of considerable depth, afford-
ing abundance of water.

"South of the fort half a mile is the count)- seat. Follow a trail
from Fort Belknap about twelve miles in a southeast direction and
you come to the villages of Wacos and Tonkawas upon the Indian
Reservation. At the distance of a mile is the large trading house of
Charles Barnard and the residence of the Indian Agent. Six miles
further you come to the villages of the Delawares, Caddoes and Shaw-
nees. The valley of the Clear Fork of the Brazos is already settled as
far up as Camp Cooper. During the year 1856 about 2,500 acres of
land were under cultivation in this county, and there are several
thousand head of stock in the county. The market is good, but lim-
ited at present to Fort Belknap and Camp Cooper."

Soon after the establishment of Fort Belknap and Phantom Hill a
grand enterprise was inaugurated by the State and Federal govern-
ments in conjunction. It was thought that the native tribes of Texas
were entitled to a domicile in the state on some of its vast unoccupied
domain in order to reclaim them from the savage conditions by in-
struction in the arts of civilization. The Legislature set apart about
55,000 acres of land to be reserved to the United States for this pur-
pose. Two agencies were located, one the Brazos Agency on the main
Brazos River close to Fort Belknap, and the other fifty miles south-
west, on the Clear Fork in Shackelford County. The latter agency
was called Cam]) Cooper. All the Caddo tribes, together with the
Nomadic and Pacific Tonkawas. were placed upon the Brazos Agency.

The southern Comanches, the dread scourge of the Texan frontier,
were placed at Camp Cooper. This attempt at civilizing the Indian
failed. Some reprobate Indians at the Reserve occasionally got awa)
and indulged in a marauding expedition among tin- white settlements.
and the crime, when traced to tin agency, because of the difficulty of
fixing it upon the responsible parties, was laid to the whole tribe.

Then, too. the robberies and murders committed by the wild tribes
outside the Reservation confines were often charged to the agency
tribes. Further, the reserves on the Clear Fork ami the Brazos were
located in a region possessing unexcelled grazing facilities, and the
Texas stock raisers, in const an tl) increasing numbers, braved the
dangers of Indian attacks and brought their herds to fatten upon the
rich pasturage. The Reserve Indians were accused of committing
depredations as w ell as hostile-, and a conflict ensued in which a mini
her were killed. The restlll was that the experiment of domiciling the

Texas tribes within the state was abandoned, and in \ugust. 1859,
l.iior George IT Thomas of the United States army, transferred the

FORT WoKTII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 807

tribes to the Indian Territory. It was this removal which incensed the
Texas Indians and became the signal for the series of depredations
which devastated the Texas frontier for many years.

With the beginning of the Civil war, the western posts were aban-
doned, and that gave an opportunity for the Indians to press their
attacks with greater vigor than ever. Under the Confederate govern-
ment a regiment of troops was stationed on the frontier, but it was
insufficient for adequate protection. Before the beginning of the war
it was reported that the Indians had been scourging Young County.
and during the persistent warfare that followed, the country was
largely depopulated and the settlements receded so far that Belknap
was almost isolated. In October, 1864, a large party of three or four
hundred Indians raided the settlements adjacent to Fort Belknap and
murdered several families and drove off a number of horses. That
was probably the immediate cause for the abandonment of county
organization.

Beside the military post at Fort Belknap the route of the Overland
Southern Pacific Mail lay through Young County, and the line of
stages went through Fort Belknap from 1858 until the opening of
the war. Because of the military post and the location on this over-
land route, and notwithstanding that Young County was thirty or
more miles west of Parker and Wise, it received a great influx of
settlers throughout the '50s, so that for years afterwards it main-
tained its pre-eminence among the surrounding counties. A Belknap
correspondent in 1859 says: "We have in town five dry goods stores,
one hotel, several public buildings, two blacksmith shops, one wagon
shop and 'nary' grocery."

The conditions following the war are described in the Texas
Almanac: "Fort Belknap has long been a place of rendezvous for
surveying, exploring and scouting parties. This county was included
in the Peters colonv or Texas Emigration & Land Company, and in ii
a great portion of its best lands were located. Young County was set-
tled some five years in. advance of the surrounding counties, but dur-
ing the war became nearly depopulated." In the publication of elec-
tion returns in 1871 Young was mentioned in a list of counties "once
organized but now abandoned on account of Indian raids, and not
voting."

The progress of the county is indicated in its population statistics.
In 1860. 592 inhabitants were enumerated. By 1870 the population
was only 135. During the succeeding ten years came the influx of
permanent settlers, and by 1880 the population was 4,726: in 1800.
5.040; in 1900, 6,540: in 1910. after the first railroad had penetrated
the county, 13,657; in 1920, 13,113.

The closing phases in the career of old Fort Belknap are sug-
gested in a brief newspaper item published in the spring of 1878:
"Belknap, which once had fifteen business houses and a military post,
now has three mercantile linns. The shattered walls of the old mili-
tary buildings are monuments of its former activities." In the mean-
time, another pioneer era had been inaugurated. Edwin S. Graham, a
Kentuckian, came to Young County and in 1871 bought the old salt

868 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

works on Salt Creek, where the manufacture of salt had been con-
ducted in a crude way for several years. Mr. Graham and his brother,
G. A. Graham, installed improved machinery, brought the plant to a
capacity of about 2,500 pounds of salt per day, and the product was
marketed in sacks and hauled east and south by freighting trains.
After the salt business proved unprofitable Mr. Graham invested
heavily in Young County lands, and in 1872 laid out the town of
Graham, about ten miles east of old Belknap. Due largely to the
enterprise of its founder, the town grew, and when the county was re-
organized it was selected as the county seat. A traveler through
Graham in the spring of 1876 speaks of the pasture lands all along
his route from Jacksboro as being dotted with cattle and here and
there deer, antelope and turkeys, indicating how far the country was
from being closely settled. In February, 1877, a writer says, the
buildings in town number over 100. while a year before there were
only seven, and the industries were represented by a sawmill, flouring
mill, cotton gin, salt works, etc. Graham was more fortunate than
most frontier towns in respect to communication with the outside
world, for, though no railroads reached there for many years, the mili-
tary telegraph gave the citizens daily reports of current events and
was a convenience much appreciated by the townspeople. Scarcity of
lumber interfered with building in Graham and all other West Texas
towns. The first stage in the history of these towns might be referred
to as the "Picket-house" stage. Rough shelters were built from up-
right pickets, plastered over with clay or mud, seldom boasting of any-
thing better than a dirt floor. Then came brick and stone buildings.
the abundance of stone making that material cheaper than lumber,
which had to be transported from the Eastern Texas markets and
which sold for almost fabulous prices. Thus the lumber for the school
houses in Graham was brought in by ox teams and wagons from
Fort Worth.

Thirty years ago it was estimated thai less than three per cent of the
total area of the county was under cultivation. Young County was then
and for a number of years afterwards one of the chief centers of the
Texas cattle industry, and it was ai ( Iraham in February, 1877. that the
Cattle Raisers' Association of Texas was organized. A report on the
count} in 1882 mentioned the towns as Belknap, (iraham. Farmer and
Eliasville.

In founding hi- town on Sail Creek in 1S72 Mr. Graham was led b\
the hope thai the Texas & Pacific would be built through Young County.
Thai line eventually passed about forty miles to the south, and Young
i OUnt) remained without a railroad until 1902, when the Rock Island
was extended west from Jacksboro to (iraham. By 1907 the Wichita
Falls >^ Southern was completed from Wichita Falls south as far as
( (lney, and has since been extended to a terminus at Newcastle, in this
county. About three or four years ago. ihe Gulf. Texas & Western

was huili through tin' county from Seymour to Jacksboro.

As a resull of the building of railroads, tin- economic activities of the

i : i • t v have hern largely changed during the last deeade. \s already men

tioned, population more than doubled, and most of the large ranches have

FORT WORTH VXD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 869

been broken up and farming is now an importanl industry. A consider
able quantity of land along the many streams in the county is irrigated.
The county also has mineral resources. Seventeen miles southwest of
Graham on Fish Creek is found the thickest vein of coal in the entire
state. The slate deposits about Graham arc no longer worked. Tin-
county also has several gas wells.

The last census report furnishes some statistics on the general agricu!
itiral development and conditions in the county during the last decade. < If
the total area of 560,000 acres. 458,754 acres were reported as in farms or
ranches, and of this, about 132,000 acres were improved land. The amount
of improved land in 1900 was 65,000 acres, about half the amount found
ten years later. There were 1,796 farms enumerated in 1910, as com-
pared with SO') in 1900. Live stock statistics: Cattle, 21,802; horses and
mules, 7.877 ; hogs. 7,350. The crops in 1909 were : Cotton, 50,776 acres ;
corn, 17,493 acres; hay and forage crops. 0.426 acres; wheat, 4.082 acre-- :
oats, 1,374 acres; kaffir corn and milo maize, 1,297 acres. About 39,000
orchard fruit trees were enumerated and about 9,000 pecan trees.

As a result of railroads, several new towns have sprung up. Graham,
the old county seat, is still the metropolis, and its population in 1800 was
667; in 1900.' 878; in 1010, 1,569; in 1920, 2.560. The second town is
Olney, which was first the terminus of the Wichita Falls & Southern, now
a part of the M. K. & T., and is now the junction point of that road and
the Gulf, Texas X- Western. Its population in 1010 was 1.005. Other
towns are Orth, lean, Loving. Newcastle and Dakin. In 1870 Young
County's taxable values amounted to only $42,251 ; in 1882. $1,408,880; it
1003. $2,089,605; in 1913, $8,170,578; iii 1020, $8,701,370.

GRAHAVf

The town of Graham was founded about 1874 by Air. E. S. Graham,
who was largely interested in the Peters colony, which did much for tin
advertisement of the section of country lying northwest of Fort Worth.
It has a population of 2.560. according to the census, but has been granted
a special charter as a city of 3,000, which is a result of the recent oil de-
velopment in that city. Its assessed valuation for 1920 is $2,364,649.

There are six churches, two national banks, one state bank, the total
deposits of which are around $1,500,000. It owns the water works and
sanitarv sewers, has electric lights and the usual business enterprises in-
cident to a city of its size. The Graham Mill & Elevator Company is a
model plant and one of the largest in the state. An adequate supply oi
natural gas has been discovered about ten miles from the city, and within
the next few months will he piped to the city.

Construction of a railway from Newcastle through Graham to Breck-
enridge is in progress and will soon he open for business.

REMINISCENCES

This chapter may not be of much interest to the general reader. It
may not be entitled to the dignity of history, and still it is history, because
correct history is nothing but an authentic record of efforts and achieve-
ments of individuals and communities, whether these be serious or trivial.

If the general reader concludes that this chapter will be of no interest
to him or her, it may be skipped. There are hundreds and thousands of
people in Fort Worth, and in the territory adjacent to Fort "Worth, who
were once residents of the city to whom it will be of interest and who
will peruse these pages with avidity and pleasure. It will serve to recall
to the early settlers incidents which interested and entertained them at
(he time of their occurrence and which may have escaped their memories
altogether. It is for these that this section of the work is intended. It is
the earnest desire of the author to avoid anything that may wound the
sensibilties of any who may be mentioned, or of any of their descendant s.
It is written without prejudice or malice.

Texas Spring Palme

This unique and attractive place of amusement came at a date within
the memory of thousands now living, but it was such an unusual and
beautiful edifice that a few lines in regard to it may not be inappropriate.

It was erected in the winter and spring of 1888-89. and was located on
the Texas & Pacific reservation, north of and opposite the intersection of
Railroad and Galveston Avenues.

At that time Toronto, Canada, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, were having
Ice Palaces, and Sioux City, Iowa, its Corn Palace. Gen. R. A. Cameron,
who was the Colonization and Immigration Agent of the F>rt Worth &
Denver, conceived the idea of having such an exhibition of the products of
the field, forest, orchard and garden at Fort Worth and having it in the
spring, when there were no other places of entertainment and amusement
anywhere in the country.

A company was soon organized with a capital of $50,000, of which
$38,000 was subscribed when the company commenced business. B. B,
Paddock was made president, W. A. Huffman, treasurer, and Willis 11
Post, secretary. W. F. Sommervillc was made director general and
General Cameron his assistant.

The contract for the building, which was in the shape of a Saint An-
drew's cross and was 225x375 feet in dimensions, was let to Thos. J.
Hurley and his associates, who were then in the business of constructing
buildings. I-;. D. Allen, of Chicago, was employed to superintend the
decorations. There was not an inch of timber in the structure, except the
floors, but that was covered with some product of Texas, wrought in the
most artistic manner into pictures. It was easily the most beautiful struc-
ture ever erected on earth. It was opened May 10, 188f>. with impressive
ceremonies, and everybody in town was present. Governor Thurston, of
Nebraska, made the opening address, and the music was furnished by the
band of the Elgin Watch Factory, of Elgin, Illinois. The National Hand
of Mexico and other hands from different sections of the country were in
attendance din ing the season

870

]•( >KT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWES1 871

No expense or pains were spared in advertising the Palace in all
parts of the country. Special committees, traveling in "special ears," were
sent to Washington and to the City of Mexico to present invitations to
Presidents Harrison and Diaz of the two Republics to attend the Spring
Palace. These invitations were the limit of the engraver's art and were
handsomely bound in silver. This is but a sample of the extravagant
management that attended the work from start to finish. The result was
that, notwithstanding the generous patronage of the home people and the
public, when the gates were closed on the 10th day of June there was a
deficit of over $23,000. It took President Paddock and the directors about
an hour to raise the money and pay off the bills of the company.

In January, 1900, the directors for the second year opened subscrip-
tion lists for the money for the second year. It was soon subscribed and
the work inaugurated for the second year. More economical plans were
adopted and more system observed in the expenditure of funds. One
hundred feet were added to the east and west wings of the building, and
the decorations were as elaborate and beautiful as for the first year. One
hundred of the patriotic women of the city were organized into groups of
ten each, and they worked eight and ten hours a day for over 100 days in
decorating the building. Such another example of patriotic purpose was
never before seen in any community.

The building, when completed, was as beautiful and more elaborate
than the first. Cities and counties from all over the state were assigned
space in the building and prizes offered for the most attractive decoration.
This enlisted the interest of many towns and counties, and the result was
very gratifying.

The attendance for the second year exceeded that of the first, as the
beauty and attractiveness as well as the utility of the exhibit had been
heralded over the state and adjoining states. The season was most profit-
able and successful from every standpoint.

The last night but one was dedicated to a grand fancy dress ball, to be
held on the ground floor of the building, which had a space for dancing of
approximately 16,000 square feet. A most extensive ballroom. Special
trains were run from nearbv cities and towns, that from Dallas bringing
over 1,000 people in their best "bib and tucker." But they were destined
not to enjoy the occasion. Just as the floor had been cleared and the visitors
were entering the gates, the cry of "Fire ! Fire ! ! Fire ! ! !" rang through the
building, carrying terror to every inmate of the vast structure. How the
fire originated was never determined. It started on the north side, about
the center of the main building, and in less time than it takes to write
these lines, the entire structure was a mass of flames, inside and out. It
was estimated that there were 7,000 people in the building, and why hun-
dreds did not perish is a mystery. The officials of the company, who were
present, directed the visitors to the various exits, of which there were
sixteen, and no Sunday school in the country was ever dismissed with more
decorum and good order. Every person accented the direction of those in
charge as if they were on dress parade on a military plaza. In four min-
utes the building was a mass of flame, inside and out, and in eleven min-
utes the building fell to the ground. So rapid was the spread of fire that
the firemen, who were stationed in different parts of the building with

VOL. 11—28

872 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

their hose connected to the fire hydrants, did not have time to turn on the
water.

That the loss of life was not appalling is one of the wonders of the
occasion. About thirty people were injured, more or less seriously, and
many were burned. Low-necked and short-sleeved dresses of the ladies
exposed them to the falling cinders and pieces from the decorations, which
were of the lightest and most inflammable character.

One life only was sacrificed, that of Al Haynes, a civil engineer, who
was one of the most active and efficient in directing the moving throngs to
the various exits and rendering assistance to the people. He seemed to bi-
as cool and collected as any person in the building. But he seemed to have
lost self-control at the last minute and ran and jumped through a window-
to the ground below, a distance of seventeen feet. The fall broke both
ankles and prevented him from getting away from the fire, which was
raging over that part of the exterior. Souk- gallant men took the "fly"
from a tent that stood in the garden, and, holding it before them, rushed
up and threw it over Haynes and then dragged him away from the build-
ing. The most conspicuous man in this was a workman named Mahoney,
wlio was badlv burned. Haynes was removed to the hospital and received
the best medical treatment that could be obtained, but he succumbed to
the injuries received the following day.

The ladies of the city, under the leadership of Mrs. Drew Pruitt, now
of Los Angeles, solicited the funds and erected the monument to his
memory that now stands in the triangle at the foot of Main and Houston
Streets.

The Spring Palace, which was a credit to the public spirit of the peo-
ple of Fort Worth, went out in a blaze of glory.

A Railway Map

( )n fuly 26, 187.V the Fort Worth Democrat, of which the editor of
these volumes was the proprietor, printed a map showing the future rail-
road situation at Fort Worth. At that time there was not a line of rail-
road headed toward Fort Worth within 100 miles. The map showed nine
roads entering the city from every point of the compass and afforded eleven
nutlets.

The map was drawn by Mr. Zane Cetti, a member of the engineer
corps making a survey of the transcontinental division of the Texas &
Pacific from Texarkana through Paris and Sherman to Fort Worth, and
when the survey was completed Mr. Cetti located at Fort Worth and is
still a respected and honored resident of the city. This map elicited much
comment and ridicule from the press of Texas and from the interests op-
posed to Fort Worth. It was utilized by the real estate firm of Lawrence
Cetti & Brewer for advertising their business. A replica of the map, ten
feet square, was erected in front of the court house at the head of Main
Street, where it could be seen by every visitor to the city.

I aptaill Paddock assisted in securing the construction of each of the
lines shown on the map, all of which had been constructed by the year
1R85.

In November of that year. Captain Paddock's attention was called to
the fact that one of the lines, which hi- had predicted, the one to the south-

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 873

west, now called the Fort Worth & Rio < Irandc, had not been constructed.
He announced that he would build this road himself in order that his pre-
diction might be fulfilled, lie was then the paying teller of the Firsl
National Bank ; lie resigned his position and visited the financial centers of
the country soliciting funds for the construction of this road. After about
ten months of arduous labor, he secured a contract with a hank in New
York and one in Philadelphia for the necessary funds. Mis contract was
executed on October 11, 188(>, and work of construction was commenced
on November 23.

Four roads in addition to those shown on this map, to-wit: The Rock
Island, the Frisco, the Cotton licit and the International and Great North-
ern, have been built into the city.

After serving as president of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande, Captain
Paddock resigned, thinking that his experience would be of value in addi-
tional work of the same character, and endeavored to promote a road to
the northwest, through Springtown to Graham and beyond. A surveying
corps was put in the field, the profiles and maps drawn and executed, and
he again appealed to the large financiers in the East for funds. He spent
many years and from $50,000 to $60,000 in a futile effort to construct this
road. He enlisted the interest of capital at various times, he had inspec-
tions made by engineers, always receiving a favorable report, but never
-ucceeded in getting the money.

His last effort in this direction was in 1013, when a coterie of gentle-
men in Fort Worth, five in number, joined him in another attempt to
secure this much-desired outlet for the business of the city. They were
successful in securing a contract for large sums of money, and again sur-
veying maps and profiles were made; but the advent of the world war put
an end to their activities.

Captain Paddock insists that he will live long enough to see this road
constructed, and if he dies before this consummation it will be over his
protest.

Cynthia A. Parker

In May, 1830, the Comanche and Caddo Indians made a raid into
Limestone County and attacked Parker's Fort on the Navasota River.
They captured thirty-five prisoners, among whom was a little girl named
Cynthia Anne Parker, the daughter of the man after whom the fort was
named. There is no record accessible as to what became of the other
prisoners, but the little girl was adopted by the Indians, with whom she
lived for many years.

In 1860, Capt. L. S. Ross, subsequently a brilliant brigadier general in
the Confederate army and governor of Texas, in command of a company
of Texas Rangers, in an engagement with the Indians in Parker County,
captured, among other prisoners, Cynthia Anne Parker, then a grown
woman. She was returned to her relatives in that county, and it is related
that she was never satisfied with the customs and manners of civilized life
and yearned to return to life among the Indians. She was the mother of
three children, one of whom was Quanah Parker, for whom the town of
Quanah, in Hardeman County, was named.

Quanah Parker was a consistent friend of the white man. He recog-
nized that the wild and untrammeled life of the Indian was past and cheer-

874 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

fully submitted to the government of the whites. He, with his wives, of
whom there were four, made frequent visits to Fort Worth and was
always welcomed and entertained by the people. He became a protege of
S. B. Burnett, who had large cattle interests on the Comanche reservation.

On one occasion, Quanah and Yellow Bear, the chief of the
Comanches, visited Fort Worth and were the guests of the El Paso Hotel.
Retiring at night, in their room, they blew out the gas and the next morn-
ing, when thev failed to make their appearance, the room was entered
and Yellow Bear was found dead and Quanah unconscious. By strenuous
and heroic efforts. Quanah 's life was saved.

In company with some of the citizens of Fort Worth who were familiar
with the circumstances, Quanah took the remains of his dead chief back
to the Reservation. He did this with much trepidation, not knowing how
the Indians would receive the untimely death of their chief. However, no
trouble was encountered and the story of Yellow Bear's death accepted.

Quanah Parker was elected as the successor to Yellow Bear as the
chief of the Comanche Indians, which position he held until his death.

In the summer of 1878 there came to Fort Worth a burly, husky indi-
vidual from East Tennessee, en route for Palo Pinto County, where he
had relatives. Learning of his destination, some of the loafers around
the El Paso Hotel remonstrated with him and insisted that it would be
unsafe for him to go to Palo Pinto County. They asked him if he knew
the dangers of the trip and whether or not he was armed for any circum-
stances which he might encounter. He protested that he was not and.
acting upon the advice of his newly-made friends, he went to a hardware
store and purchased a pair of six-shooters and a cartridge belt and buckled
them around his waist. When he returned to the hotel he was asked if he
thought his baggage was safe. Mis friends pointed to the transfer man
and told him that they had seen that man carry more than 100 pieces of
baggage out of the hotel when the owners were not looking. He pro-
ceeded to get his two grips and ensconced himself in a chair in the office
with a grip on each side of him. Here he patiently awaited the arrival of
the stage coach. Soon another Friend approached him, saying: "Mister.
vou are carrying a pistol." "Indeed, I am." was his response, "two of
them." He was informed that it was against the law to carry pistols in
Texas and that he was under arrest. It was arranged with the hotel clerk
that he should take the pistols as security and go on the stranger's bond,
and he was allowed to depart. Before the stage left, another friend ap-
proached him and told him thai the wolves were very bad along the route,
and he was advised to get some assafoetida and put it in his clothes, as
that would keep the wolves away. He went to a drug store and secured
some 'if the drug and started on his way. He had gone but a short dis-
tance, when the other occupants of the coach became aware of the pres-
ence of the assafoetida and asked who the custodian was. When it was
discovered thai he was the possessor of the drug, he was made to get out
and walk hack to town. When he found that he was being made game of
he was about as highly incensed an individual as one could imagine, hut

had prudence and sens,' enough to accept the situation good-naturedly. Mis

pistols were returned to him and he took the Stage the next day to Palo

PORT WORTH \.\'l> THE TEXAS NORTHWEST X7?

Pinto County, where it is presumed he arrived in safety and lived happily
ever after.

During what was known as the wild and woolly days of Fort
Worth, when gambling houses were operated with wide open doors
on the lirst floor of business houses, Fort Worth was the abiding
place of several of the most noted desperadoes of the Southwest.
Among these were Luke Short, who came from Dodge City, Kansas,
with a record for being handy with his gun, Jim Courtright, a prod-
uct of Colorado, and Ben Thompson, who made his home between
San Antonio and Austin but made frequent visits to Fort Worth,
where he often indulged in his favorite pastime of "shooting up the
town." Ben was "as mild mannered a man as ever cut a throat or
scuttled a ship," when not engaged in a fracas he was as quiet and
debonair an individual as one would care to meet. He finally met
his fate in a variety theater in San Antonio, where he was killed by
a man by the name of Fisher. Many people drew an easy breath
when they read of Ben Thompson's demise.

Luke Short was a man of small stature, pleasing address and
always wore a captivating smile. He was handy with his gun and ill
fared the man who aroused his ire.

Jim Courtright was a rough ashler, fearless and courageous. He
was at one time city marshal of Fort Worth and, while indulging in
many lawless escapades of his own, he was vigilant and untiring in
his efforts to preserve the peace and arrest the law-breaker. He
finally met his death at the hands of Luke Short in a gambling house
known as the White Elephant. At one time Courtright went to New-
Mexico on a mission of some kind and while there a robbery and
murder was committed in which it was thought Courtright was
involved. He managed to elude officials and returned to Texas.

Shortly thereafter two United States marshals came to Fort Worth
and sent for Courtright. asking him to meet them at the Windsor
Hotel to look over the photographs of some noted criminals, to see
if he knew any of them and could be of assistance in effecting their
arrest. Not suspecting anything, Courtright went to the hotel and
to the room of the deputy marshals and, while he was looking over
the photographs, they covered him with their guns, disarmed and
arrested him.

He was taken to the countyr jail for safe-keeping, until the evening
train should take them away. Some of Courtright's friends pre-
vailed upon the marshals to allow them to give him a farewell dinner
before leaving the city, and they repaired to a restaurant on Main
Street on the corner of First, and the three occupied a table, sitting
against the wall, one on each side of Courtright. Two six-shooters
had been hung to hooks under the table and, while the dinner was
in progress, Courtright took one of these in each hand and, rising
from his chair, pointed the pistols at the deputy marshals admonish-
ing them to keep their seats, but he was going. Keeping them cov-
ered with the guns he backed out of the door, mounted a horse which
stood in readiness nearbv and made his escape.

876 FORI WoRIII AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

It was learned shortly that Courtright had no connection with
the killing and robbery in Xew Mexico and the indictments against
him were dismissed. He was in some manner advised of this and
returned to Fort Worth to meet his death shortly after at the hands
of Luke Short.

Short died a natural death in a Fort Worth hospital.

Outlawry

For ten years following the Civil war Texas was the Mecca of the
lawless element of the entire country.

When a man was accused of any major crime, where the proof
was positive, his attorneys would advise him to go to Texas, where
he would probably escape punishment for his misdeeds.

The country between the Brazos and Rio Grande was so thinly
populated that he would be almost, if not quite, immune from detec-
tion and arrest. As a usual thing these men were not petty thieves
and preferred to engage in some enterprise where the risk was greater
than that of ordinary theft or burglary.

The stage lines offered an unusual and attractive field for their
operations, and the holding up of the mail coaches was of very fre-
quent occurrence. Mountain Creek in Dallas County and Mary's
Creek in Tarrant Count}- afforded splendid opportunities for the
activities of these "Knights of the Road." These streams, being
heavily timbered, enabled them to approach the coaches without
observation, and affored an easy means of seclusion and escape. \'er\
often a single bandit would stop a coach, cause the occupants to get
out and hold up their hands, while he relieved them of their watches.
jewelrv and purses. Having a high regard for the activities of the
United States marshals they never disturbed the mail pouches but
satisfied themselves with depriving the passengers of their valuables.
These depredations continued for a long time and coaches were
robbed within a mile of the Fort Worth postoffice on Clear Fork of
the Trinity and at other points along the line, with impunity. The
authorities finally perfected an organization and utilized trie numer-
ous freighl wagons going west with lumber and merchandise as a
means of getting in contact with these robbers without observation.
Employing several freight wagons on each of which would be an
officer heavily armed, they would camp on points frequented by the
bandits and when a stage coach was halted they would open lire
on the robbers with long range guns and charging upon them would
effect their arrest. In a short while the gang, which infested this
immediate section, was entirely broken up. and some of it -• members
found to be residents of the city and adjacent territory. Several of
them were convicted and sent to the penitentiary and this industry
eliminated. One of the veteran stage diners. Joe Hunter, by name,
who had driven mail coaches over the entire West, declared that his
vocation was getting to be monotonous and uninteresting when these
depredations were broken up.

During this period, as alrcadv stated, pett) thie\er\ was prac-
tically unknown. As an illustration of this the tax gatherer, for Tar

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 877

rant County, was accustomed to go out over the county instead of
having the tax-payer come to the county seat. At that time paper
money was scarcely known, gold and silver being the exclusive
medium of exchange, and he would put the money obtained in lii>
saddle bags. Staying over night at a country house, he would set his
bag behind the door and would find it there the, next morning undis-
turbed. Horse stealing was the one crime from which there was no
escape. The accused was given a speedy trial and, if found guilty,
was sent "over the road" without delay. Burglary was unknown.
People would leave their houses for a day or a week without turning
a key, and almost all of them were without locks, and upon their
return would find them undisturbed.

The influx of new population, coming from the cities throughout
the country, brought in its train the burglar and petty thief, which
now inflict every community throughout this section.

Practical Jokes

The practical joker had plenty of time in which to indulge in his
fun. One of the best of these was on General Peers, who kept the
Commercial Hotel, at the corner of Fifth and Commerce streets. As
usual, every one was on the qui vive for railroad news. One day
John S. Hirshfield had a spurious telegram delivered to the General,
purporting to be from the private secretary of Jay Gould, the then
president of the Texas & Pacific, announcing that Mr. Gould and a
party of capitalists would arrive on the stage that afternoon and
asking that provisions be made for their entertainment. It was
signed by "Tom Collins," at that time the cognomen for all imaginary
and fictitious persons. But the General did not know this and pro-
ceeded to buy up all the turkeys in the market and all the other deli-
cacies to be had. He was instigated to invite about fifty of the more
prominent citizens to dine with Mr. Gould. The plan was for each
of the invited guests to pay for his dinner so that the hotel would
suffer no loss. Along in the afternoon, Charles Fallbush, who trav-
eled for the wholesale liquor house of Day & Co., came in from a
western trip, dusty and travel stained, and was introduced to General
Peers as Tom Collins, the secretary of Mr. Gould. Fallbush explained
that he had driven over from Dallas ahead of the party to see that all
the arrangements were made for the entertainment of his chief. The
scheme was working beautifully until "Tuck" Boaz, not being advised
that the invited guests were to pay for the dinner and not wishing the
General to suffer such a loss, gave the game away.

The "tender-foot" was an easy mark for the practical joker and
many of the "tales that were told" about the conditions of affairs in
Texas were the result of the jests played on men unused to the cus-
toms of Texas. On one occasion a man by the name of Robinson,
who traveled for the Hall Safe & Lock Co., badgered his friends about
being afraid of Indians. At that time there was not an Indian in
Texas, but, of course, he did not know that. He was persuaded by
some of the traveling men, who then made the western territory, to
accompany him on a trip out West. The man consented and went as

S7S FORT WORTH WD THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

far as Comanche. They laid over there on Sunday and the stranger
being regaled all day with stories of the hair-breadth escapes that
members of the party at the hotel had made in the recent past. The
"tender-foot" was not afraid of Indians. About the middle of the
afternoon the party dissolved, one at a time, until the stranger and
the drummer he was with were left in the hotel. Then a suggestion
was made that the two take a walk up the banks of Indian Creek,
which runs by the town. He was glad to go. Was not afraid of
Indians. Oh, no. About half a mile from town those who had gone
ahead suddenly rushed out of the mesquite firing their pistols and yell-
ing like mad. The stranger was told to run for his life — and he did.
His companion soon fell to the ground calling on him to run. He ran
into town and under the hotel. The Democrat published a column
or two about the event and sold Robinson 150 copies at ten cents per.
He mailed them to every one of his acquaintances east of the Missis-
sippi and was a hero, until the next issue told the truth about the
event. He did not order any extra copies of that issue.

These are sample tricks of what was going on most of the time,
and will suffice to indicate that life was not a burden to those who
were waiting for something to turn up, and who knew how to enjoy
their enforced idleness.

Following the panic of 1873 and up to the advent of the railway .
in 1876, a period of nearly three years, when business was practical!)
at a standstill, and the citizens had but little to do except to enjo)
themselves and contribute to the pleasure of their fellows, the Demo
crat perpetrated an April fool joke for three successive years. The
first was an account coining from Brown wood in substance that the
party sinking a deep well had encountered a vein of silver ore which
assayed 2.300 pounds of pure silver to the ton. The casual reader
did not stop to reflect that there could hardly he 2,o00 pounds of
silver to 2.000 pounds of ore; and many, seeing visions of fabulous
fortunes awaiting them, started at once for Brownwood. There were
no telegraph or telephone lines between this city and Brownwood
at the time, and it was impossible to get word to them until they
had proceeded some distance on the journey. Naturally, some oi
them were verj angry hut a little reflection convinced them that
they had only themselves to blame for the trouble and expense to
which they had gone.

The following year the paper announced the arrival in Fort Worth
of Prof. C R, Sold, who had come from Washington with a supply of
dynamite, the explosive qualities of which had just been discovered.
It was announced that he would give an exhibition at the confluence
of the Clear Fork and the West Fork of the Trinity, and if anyone
wanted fresh fish it was a good opportunity to scenic them, as the
force of the dynamite would probably kill large numbers. Scores ot
people wire at the stream at the appointed hour with baskets and
buckets, and waited patiently for the professor until someone made
Hi' announcement that it was April first, and the\ returned to town

madder but wiser men and women,

FORT Wok I II AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 879

When the stage robberies were most frequent and were attracting
universal and widespread attention the Democrat announced, one
morning, that one of its reporters had discovered an excavation in the
side of the hill, about where the Texas & Pacific now crosses the
western limits of the city, in which were found many articles that
had been taken from passengers on the robbed mail coaches and
complete culinary outfit and provisions which clearly indicated that
it was the resort of the bandits, who were robbing the mail coaches.

As soon as the paper was distributed and read by the people, large
numbers of them proceeded at once to that locality to see the cave.
When they got to the designated spot, they saw a crude sign on the
tree lettered April first. Each of the fooled proceeded to swear his
neighbor to secrecy and came back to town with vivid descriptions of
the cave and its contents, thereby inducing still others to visit the
place. Hundreds of people went on horseback and by foot and were
rewarded only by reading the crude sign on the elm tree.

Dr. W. P. Burts, who was the first mayor of Fort Worth, was
himself a great practical joker. One night he was sent for in great
haste and told that W. H. Nanny, who was acting city secretary
doing what little work there was in the office for John F. Swayne,
who had an office at the corner of Main and Second streets, had
broken a leg. and the doctor was wanted at once. He proceeded in all
haste to the designated place and found that Nanny in leaning back
against the side of his office had broken one of the legs of his chair.
The doctor, unlike many practical jokers, took his medicine gracefully,
but threatened vengeance on the perpetrators of the joke, if he should
ever discover their identity.

One of the most prominent citizens of the town at that time made
an extravagant use of the personal pronoun. He seemed never to
weary of telling of his own experiences and exploits during the Mexi-
can war, fighting Indians and other activities of a like nature.

One day a message reached him telling him that there was an
important letter for him at the postofifice. He went there with due
haste and, looking in his box. found a crude letter "I" awaiting him.
lie was very angry for a time but finally he saw the point and pre-
tended to enjoy the joke as well as those who had perpetrated it.

On one April first a lady conceived the idea of treating her friend>
from the northern states to a confection. She proceeded to make a
large number of pies using cotton seed. The pastry was delicious.
as she was a fine cook, but when the pies were cut and the guests
tried to masticate them, they experienced some difficulty and were
curious to know what kind of berries they were made of. The joke
created a good deal of amusement, but one or two of the guests, who
were supersensitive, never forgave the poor woman.

Efforts at Uplift

The reformer was here then as now and tried to reform every one
else but himself, just as thev do now and with about the same suc-
cess. The town was "wide open" to the horror of some and an effort
was made at intervals to put a stop to the open gambling house.

880 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

One Grand Jury falling under the influence of the "up-lifters" brought
out indictments against about thirty members of a whist club that
played whist in the rear of a saloon owned and managed by Henry
Byrne. (His widow, Maggie, lives here still.) The club was com-
posed of the business men of the city ; not one of whom ever entered
the wide open gambling houses. Having no business, they played
whist. The stakes were a bottle of beer — if any one wanted beer.
A dozen or more indictments were found against each member. The
District Attorney was a Dallas lawyer. The fee in each case was ten
dollars. A pretty good sum for one term of court. The juries were
compelled to find verdicts of guilty and assessed the fine at from
1/37 of a cent up to one cent. But it carried the costs. The county
paid many hundreds of dollars for the fun and the district attorney
gathered many thousands. He was not a candidate for re-election.

Stealing an Excursion

One of the most amusing incidents of the time occurred in the
Spring of 1875. A man by the name of George W. Cole from some-
where up in Pennsylvania had plotted a townsite out in Palo Pinto
Countv which he called Lamar. He alleged in his advertisements
that it would be a division point on the Texas & Pacific. He sold a
good many lots to the "sucker" element that is always ready to grab
at anything that sounds cheap. He went over to Tennessee and
worked up an excursion to come and see Texas. It was farthest from
his thought to show them Lamar. He only intended to let them see
what a good country Texas was. Hearing about the excursion, the
Democrat got out an extra edition, telling about Tarrant Count} in
general and Fort Worth in particular. The editor took a bundle of
the papers and went to Texarkana to meet the excursion train. It
took breakfast at that place and while the excursionists were enjoying
their matutinal meal, tin- papers were distributed in every seat in
the train. After they had time to look the paper over, the editor
went through the train and made their acquaintance. He so in-
gratiated himself with them that by the time the train reached Dallas,
they were nearly all reach tn come tn Forth Worth, to which place
he promised them free transportation. That night he preempted ever)
seat in the stage coaches and engaged hacks for the rest of the party.
They spent the night at the Crutchfield Hotel and in the morning were
to have had a reception b\ the business men. General W. L. Cabell
was the mayor of the town. When the hour for the reception arrived
there was no one to receive. They had gone to Fort Worth, where
t lies- had a royal good time.

Later some of them settled in Tarrant County. Mayor Cabell
said he had heard of thefts of every kind but that it was the first time
he ever heard of any one stealing an excursion

The era of greenbacks and free silver brought to the fore main
person- who imagined thai lhe\ could solve the financial questions
of the country. \nioni_; these was an apostle of greenbackisni. 1 > \
the name of Payne, who hailed from Dallas. Me announced as a can

didate Foi Congress and proceeded to stump the district advocating his

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 881

election and promising speedy relief from all the financial ills that
afflicted the body politic. His denunciation of coupon bonds was
vehement and vitrolic; he portrayed in glowing terms the evils which
followed the issuance of "pecan bonds." He was evidently ignorant
of what was meant by the coupon bonds. It is needless to say thai
he was not elected.

During the free silver craze, which swept over the country, an
editor of a daily paper in Fori Worth was an ardent advocate of free
silver at the ratio of sixteen to one regardless of any other nation
on earth. One of his readers, desiring to be enlightened on the sub-
ject, asked him what was meant by "sixteen to one." The editor's
reply was that the government should be forced to coin $16 in silver
to every one in gold, which was eminently satisfactory to a large mini
her of the adherents to the doctrine of free silver.

During the greenback craze a man announced as a candidate for
the Legislature from Tarrant County. As an evidence of his fitness
for the position he promised many reforms in the national govern-
ment not only in matters of finance but also in other governmental
questions. It was his custom, when he had an appointment to speak
in a particular neighborhood, to make inquiries among the people as
to what interested them most. When he spoke at Miranda, which was
near the present town of Renbrook, he was told that the question,
that agitated and interested the people of that precinct more than
any other, was an amendment to the law relative to the appointment
of postmasters. He was informed that the people resented the idea
that the postmaster at Fort Worth should be authorized to appoint
postmasters throughout the country. He promised them that, if
elected, the first bill, he would introduce in the Legislature, would be
one to authorize the people of any community to elect their own
postmaster. The frequent exposition of his ignorance did not deter
him from the continuance of the system, which he had originated, to
please the people.

These incidents are not given as an illustration of the ignorance
of the people but of the lack of information on the part of men who
sought to mould public opinion on these abstruse questions of finance
and government.

For many years after the influx of population from the older states
became numerous some of the older citizens, few in number but posi-
tive and explicit in the expression of opinion, resented the activities
of what they pleased to term the "new comer." One of the most
active of these was one of the very best citizens of the early days
Mr. Isaac Duke Parker, a sturdy, independent, rugged old farmer
living a mile or two east of Rirdsville. He was the most pronounced
in his opposition to the new element, who assayed to take an active
part in public matters. To illustrate his position : when the pub-
lisher of the Fort Worth Democrat, then the only paper in the county,
approached him for a subscription he gave as a reason for his refusal
to subscribe "you stole our court house and I do not want to have
anything to do with you or your paper." The publisher was ignorant
of the circumstances connected with the county seat war and dis-

882 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

claimed having stolen any court house or having an\ court house in
his possession, he was then and there enlightened upon the facts con-
nected with the location of the county seat, which was very interest-
ing and instructive to the publisher, who, thanking Isaac Duke for
the information, commended him for his loyalty to his convictions
made of him a fast friend, which endured during .Mr. I'arker's life
time. Another illustration of Isaac Duke's peculiarities arose when
the Democrat advised the laying out of public roads in a straight
line from the county seat to the principal towns in the adjoining
counties, arguing that this was a particularly good time for this
project while the land was cheap, even if these roads were not im-
proved. Isaacc Duke's retort was "before you came to Texas, when 1
wanted to go anywhere, I got on my horse and rode straight across
the prairies to my destination, it was good enough for me then, and
it is good enough for you now, if you don't like it, what did you conn-
here for, we never sent for you." It is a pleasure to state that this
sentiment was indulged in by very few of the early settlers of the
county. Most of them welcomed the "new comer" and co-operated
with him in his efforts to improve conditions.

One of the early settlers called the attention of the editor of these
volumes to an incident which was quite common in some parts of
the South prior to the Civil War. The case in point relates to a
man by the name of Crawford, who came south in 1860, from Ohio,
commissioned, as he thought, to assist in the abolition of slavery.
He obtained employment wherever he could doing work by the day.
and when night came, would meet the negroes in some out of the way
place and induce them to run away and become free men. A negro,
who was loyal to his owner, told of his activities; and one day three
men drove up in a wagon to where he was shoveling sand threw him
into the wagon and drove off at break-neck speed to the Clear Fork of
the TrinitV and linns,' him on an elm tree, the limbs of which extended
out over the road.

This was the only instance of this nature, which has come to the
notice of the writer, and it is thought it had a salutary effect upon
those who attempted to overturn established conditions.

When the editor of these volumes was mayor of Fort Worth, in the
early '90s, he went to Waco to a meeting of the Travelers' Protec-
tive Association, for the purpose of inviting it to hold its succeeding
annual convention in Fort Worth.

He was confronted b) a large and strong committee, from Dallas,
which was there for the purpose of inviting it to hold its next meeting
in Dallas. The mayor succeeded in arranging with the president
of the convention to permit him to make the first address. He
depicted in glowing terms the advantages to accrue to the convention
by holding the meeting in Fori Worth, the hospitality of the people,
the many things which it would enjoj and the usual stereotyped
message on an occasion of this kind. When he had concluded his
peroration, he reached over and picked up the president's gavel and
put the motion: "As mam of you, who favor meeting in Fort Worth
next year, will sav 'I.'' II" entire assemblage including the

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 883

reporters, visitors, men and women vociferously responded, "I." lie
pretended to put the negative, but before anyone, who desired to do
so, could vote no, he declared the motion carried. With mock gravity
he returned the gavel to the president thanking him for being per-
mitted to preside over the convention for so brief a time and retired
from the platform.

Rising from his seat the president said: "Well, boys, what are you
going to do about it?" One of the delegates responded, I move that
the action had, by the committee of the whole bouse, be confirmed
and approved. The motion was heartily seconded ; the president put
the question, and it was unanimously carried.

The committee from Dallas did not have an opportunity to present
its invitation and was very much chagrined and disgruntled.

An Exciting Election

The first election held in Tarrant County, after the adoption of tin-
present constitution, was the most interesting and exciting one ever
held in the county. The new organic law created quite a number of
new offices, for which there were many aspirants.

At this election Mr. C. C. Cummings, a young lawyer from Missis
sippi, was a candidate for the county judge. There was a good deal of
feeling about what was styled the "new comer" aspiring to official
position. Mr. Cummings adopted a very drastic and positive method
of campaign. He proceeded to array in opposition every candidate,
for all of the offices, by accusing them of forming, what he called, the
court house ring. He asserted in positive fashion that a combination
had been formed by which all the candidates for the several offices
had entered into an agreement to assist each other in the election,
lie arraigned these men, mentioning their names, at each gathering
which he addressed.

He was successful in his campaign and was elected count}- judge b)
a handsome majority, but every other member of "the ring" was
elected. He held the office for two terms giving more than the usual
satisfaction in the discharge of the many duties devolved upon him.

Marriage Under Difficulties

It is a trite saying that love laughs at Locksmiths. Its risibilities
are also excited by other obstacles. It was related that when the
Rev. W. H. Rowland, one of the pioneer settlers in the northwest-
ern part of the county, was to be married, he encountered a difficulty
of an original and unique character. When the date of the nuptials
arrived a torrential storm visited that section of the country, and
Ash Creek, on the banks which he lived, became a raging stream.
A minister, engaged to perform the ceremony, lived on the west bank
of the stream, and Rowland and his affianced on the east bank. There
were no bridges over the stream at any point or any boat to be had.
The wedding party assembled at the appointed hour on the east bank
of the creek, and the minister stood on the west bank, and across the
raging stream the ceremony was performed. This was not onh

884 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

effectual, but, as every one knew the high contracting parties were
convinced, proved to be a matrimonial success. A long, happy and
prosperous life followed this unique wedding and their descendants
are still among the honored citizens of the county.

"Law and Lager West or the Brazos"

In the early '70s, and before the settlements had penetrated tin-
western border of Texas, one Roy Bean was made justice of the peace
at Marfa, in Presidio County. He did not know, or if he knew, he
did not care that the tenure of office was limited, and he continued
to exercise the functions of the position indefinitely. His principal
business was a saloon, and the sign over the building read "Law and
Lager west of the Brazos." It was never definitely determined
whether he held court in the saloon or had a saloon in the courtroom.

As an indication of his method of distributing justice one or two
instances will illustrate.

On one occasion a man was hailed before him charged with having
killed a Chinaman. The evidence was conclusive as to his guilt, but
after searching the statutes diligently Bean announced that he could
find no law in the book against killing a Chinaman and discharged
the defendant.

One morning a man was found dead in the stream, which ran by
his place, and Bean was summoned to hold an inquest, There was
found on the body a six-shooter and $50 in gold coin in his pockets.
The law was positive against carrying six-shooters and provided as
a part of the penalty that the weapon should be forfeited to the state,
and the defendant might be fined in any sum not less than $10 not-
more than $100. Roy proceeded to fine the man $50 for carrying a
six-shooter and confiscated the weapon.

After the advent of the railroad the train stopped one morning at
the water tank near Bean's place of business, and one of the pas
sengers seeing the sign disembarked and proceeded to order a glass
of lager. After quenching his thirst he handed Bean a $20 gold piece.
which Bean was unable to change, he retained the coin in his hand
and berated his customer, who. becoming exasperated, proceeded to
tell Bean what he thought of him. Bean took off his apron and sal
down behind the table, where In- held court, and arraigned the custo
mer for disorderly conduct and the use of profane language in a pub-
lic place and lined him $l°-.75. As the train was ready to start the
man had no redress and hastih boarding tin- car took his leave.

On one occasion he found a man guilty of some offense punishable
by imprisonment in the penitentiary. Bean sentenced him to five
years in the penitentiary, giving him a letter to the superintendent of
the penitentiary and telling the prisoner to report at Huntsville for
incarceration, The record does not show whether or not the man ever
reported to serve his time.

Bean, as related above, continued to hold tin- office indefinitely and
until the countn settled up to some extent, when he was supplanted
i>\ a man mi >re \ ersed in the law .

FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST 885

James H. Grimsley, a worthy farmer living near Mansfield, was
elected justice of the peace at Precinct No. 8, in 186"), which office he
continued to hold from term to term until his death lie was a sturdj
man of the highest integrity, but without education or knowledge of
the law. He realized the fact that his court was i "court of justice"
and not a court of law and his decisions were based on this conclusion.

On one occasion a man was arraigned before him for stealing some
cattle. The state was ably represented by the prosecuting attorney of
Tarrant County and the defendant by Capf. J. C. Terrell, one of tin
pioneers of Fort Worth. The prosecution succeeded in establishing
that only one of the steers could be held as being stolen. The justice
found him guilty of having this steer in his possession without a bill
of sale, but was undetermined as to what punishment should be in-
flicted. Capt. Terrell succeeded in convincing him '.hat !u: could not
pass judgment on the defendant but could only hold aim under bond
to the higher courts. The justice conceded this point, and the ques-
tion arose as to the amount of the bond. Capt. Terrell proceeded to
read him the statutes, which provided that in cases of attachment,
sequestration and replevin, the bond should be double the amount of
the property involved and argued that the same rule would apply in
this case. The justice was convinced that the logic of the defendant's
attorney was good and fixed the bond at $20, the steer having been
valued at $10. The defendant put up a $20 gold piece for security and
gave Terrell some logs with which to build a smokehouse, fur his
fee.

One of the most amusing incidents showing the cupidity and griilli
bility of the average individual occurred in Eastland County about
thirty-five years ago.

A Texas & Pacific eastbound train had a carload of copper ore
from some point in California, destined for a refinery or smelter in the
East. The car was derailed on an embankment and some of the me
was spilled on the bank near where a farmer was digging a well in
close proximity to the right of way, some of the lumps of ore being
thrown on the dirt from the well.

A rain which fell soon thereafter discolored the earth from the
well, bringing out a vivid green. The farmer, like Bret Haiti's
Heathen Chinee, had "ways that were dark and tricks that were vain."
He gathered some of the lumps of ore and took them to the town of
Eastland and exhibited them, in a confidential way. to some of his
acquaintances, pledging them to secrecy as to where they originated.
He was very careful not to say they came out of his well or to make
any statement that would incriminate him.

Among those to whom they were shown was a man who had held
high political position. He organized a small syndicate and proceeded
to investigate. It was not a difficult matter to locate the place on the
farmer's land and negotiations were opened for the purchase of the
farm. No mention was made by either party of the copper. Of course,
the farmer did not want to sell. He was too wily for that, but he was
finally persuaded to part with his farm for a price far in excess of its
value.

886 FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST

When the transaction was completed the farmer left for distant
parts and the syndicate proceeded to complete the well. They did so
to their complete satisfaction and obtained an abundant supply of
water.

An incident which occurred at the State Democratic Convention in
1894 was largely instrumental in engrafting the Primary Election Law
upon the state of Texas.

Two prominent and popular citizens were candidates for a state
office. They were so evenly matched that predictions of which would
pass under the wire first were not hazarded by the most astute poli-
ticians. As they are still living, their names will not be mentioned,
but resort will be had to the legal fictions of John Hoc and Richard
Roe

When the balloting was in progress, the friends of Roe kept tab
• in the votes as they were announced, and when the roll call was tin
ished they knew the result before the tellers and secretaries had footed
up the totals. It was discovered that Doe was the winner by twent)
two votes. Then was sprung the most astute of convention tricken
One of Rue's friends addressed the chair and announced that I'lanl-
County, which had already voted for Doe. changed its vote for Roe
Another county in the secret followed the example of Blank (Hunt)
and then another and another. Delegates who wanted to be on the
winning side soon caught the contagion and commenced changing
their votes, and enough changes were made to give the nomination to
Roe instead of Due. who had been honestly nominated. The result
was announced and the nomination of Roe proclaimed before th<
friends of Doe discovered the trick that had been played on them.
The most intense indignation was expressed, but it was of no use.
Roe was declared the nominee and was elected, but it sealed his doom
and put an end to bis political aspirations. The Primary Election
Law was passed by the next Legislature. This i< treated under th<
caption of "Men and Measures."

T.TP" »W

:,~v ' oRNIA.

A
'*_*•

THE LIBRARY

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