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Knippa, Texas

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Music in Knippa

Songs About Knippa

all my ex's live in texas
george strait
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Artists From Knippa

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Knippa

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Knippa.

Frio River 13 songs US Route 90 9 songs Nueces River 3 songs Interstate 35 45 songs

Musical Heritage

The Opera House the Vice President Bought RoadyGoat

You're outside the Grand Opera House on North Street in Uvalde, a brick building that's been standing since 1891 and is reportedly the second-oldest opera house in Texas. In 1917 it was bought by John Nance Garner, the Uvalde native who went on to become Vice President of the United States. Garner set up his office in the corner room and positioned his desk chair in the turret windows, so he could watch over his hometown. The Garner estate sold the building to the City of Uvalde in 1978 for ten dollars, and after a restoration effort that started the following year, it reopened in 1982. It's still an active theater today, hosting plays and concerts under the same roof where Uvalde gathered more than a century ago. Not many opera houses this old are still turning the house lights on for a live show.

RoadyGoat → · 11.4 mi away

History of Knippa

The Jefferson Davis Highway Plan RoadyGoat

1925

Several Texas highways carry an old honorary name, the Jefferson Davis Highway. It grew out of a plan conceived in nineteen thirteen and promoted by the United Daughters of the Confederacy: a coast to coast road named for the former president of the Confederate States. In April nineteen twenty five, the Texas State Highway Commission designated the highway from Orange to El Paso as a link in that transcontinental route. That July, Miss Decca Lamar West of Waco, an influential member of the group, wrote to the head of the federal Bureau of Public Roads. Abraham Lincoln already had a highway, from New York City to San Francisco. Her letter argued that two transcontinental highways should be named for the two great leaders of the critical period of American history. The group set markers along the route. Harris County lists one in Houston, near where Old Katy Road and Hempstead Highway meet, reading Jefferson Davis Highway Number Six. In nineteen twenty seven, a boulder with a plaque went up in Brownsville. By twenty twenty, markers had been removed in Elgin, San Antonio and San Marcos, and Brownsville had removed its boulder after a contentious debate. Others still stood along U S Ninety and Two Ninety, Interstate Thirty Five, and Highways Fifty Nine and Seventy Seven.

RoadyGoat → · 5.5 mi away

Uvalde County, TX RoadyGoat

On March 29, 2017, 13 senior citizens from the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels were killed in a collision between a pickup truck and a church minivan on U.S. Highway 83 near Garner State Park in Uvalde County. The crash was one of the deadliest in the county's memory.

RoadyGoat → · 8.6 mi away

Uvalde County, TX RoadyGoat

Uvalde County's history is marked by a series of significant events. Juan de Ugalde, the Spanish governor of Coahuila, led a decisive victory over the Apaches near modern-day Utopia in 1790, an event that led to the naming of Cañon de Ugalde. The county was later established in 1850 and organized in 1856. It was founded by Reading Wood Black, who also founded the city of Uvalde. The county experienced conflict between Mexicans and Anglos, with laws in 1857 prohibiting Mexicans from traveling through the area. During the Civil War, Uvalde County residents voted against secession from the Union, but the post-war period was marked by lawlessness and violence. The county also saw the introduction of Angora goats in the 1880s, which eventually outnumbered cattle. The Civilian Conservation Corps built Garner State Park in 1941, and the National Fish Hatchery was established in 1935, originally focusing on raising catfish, largemouth bass, and sunfish.

8.6 mi away

Knippa, TX

1880

Knippa, originally known as Chatfield, is on the Southern Pacific Railroad, U.S. Highway 90, and the Frio River, between Sabinal and Uvalde in southeastern Uvalde County. It was named for founder George Knippa, who moved his family to the site in the 1880s. Knippa had been a frequent visitor to the semiarid Frio River area of Uvalde County in the 1870s and early 1880s, a period of abundant rainfall in the area, and witnessed an open country of luxuriant grazing land traversed by spring-fed rivers. He moved his family from Fayette County to the railroad siding of Chatfield soon after the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway had extended its railroad line west from San Antonio to Uvalde. The period of abundant rainfall in the Frio River region ended with the drought of the early 1890s, dashing the hopes of many of the farming families who had followed Knippa to the area. Around 1900 the rains returned, and a new wave of settlers, mostly Germans, moved to Knippa. A post office was opened in 1898. On February 16, 1898, the Uvalde County Commissioners Court established School District No. 12 at Knippa and authorized a school building. In 1900 fourteen students attended the one-teacher school. A two-room school was built in 1907. A mine for traprock, an igneous rock used in road construction, was opened west of Knippa around 1905 and attracted Mexican laborers to the area. The traprock quarried at Knippa was used to ballast the Southern Pacific Railroad. Because the quarry was originally opened up as a gold mine, it was said that all of the railroad ballast contained a small amount of gold. Most of the original settlers in the community were Lutherans. A Lutheran church was built on land donated by George Knippa in 1910. Church services, directed by Rev. Gottlieb Langer, were conducted in German. At the beginning of World War I , however, the Uvalde Council of Defense prohibited the use of German. The community responded by taking the council to court, and the prohibition was eventually rescinded by the United States Supreme Court. By 1914 Knippa had a population of fifty, telephone connections, two cotton gins, two general stores, and two lumber companies. The St. Joseph's Church, a Catholic mission, was constructed in 1913 through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Knippa. In 1915 a Baptist church was built in the community, with Reverend Rubottom as minister. A two-room school building was built in 1907. The school was moved to a brick structure in 1924 and was accredited in 1926. A small one-room school, constructed in 1927, served as a catechetical center and was the site of many Mexican-American social events. In 1929 Knippa had a estimated population of 400 and twelve businesses; by 1933 the population had dropped to an estimated 150. By the end of World War II and for the four succeeding decades the population was 325. In 1944 the Methodist, Baptist, and Church of Christ congregations were holding regular services at Knippa; the Church of Christ constructed a new building in 1948. Rev. Raymond Wolf, pastor of the Knippa Lutheran Church between 1957 and 1967, was selected Rural Minister of the Year for Texas in 1964. In 1990 St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, and the Church of Christ were active in Knippa. The population was 360, and the town had nine businesses. In 2000 the town had 739 inhabitants and nineteen businesses.

Tsha Handbook →

Knippa Trap Rock Plant

1907

Volcanic lava deposited here more than 60 million years ago cooled and hardened over time to form basalt, a dark igneous rock also known as trap rock. M. B. (Pete) Walcott purchased acreage here about 1904 and in 1907 formed the Genevieve Mining Co. to search for gold. Although little gold was found, substantial quantities of high quality trap rock were discovered. The Texas Trap Rock Company established a quarry about 1911 and shipments of rock began in 1912. A large highly-visible screening house was completed in 1914. By 1919 Knippa's trap rock plant, the largest in Texas at that time, was capable of producing about 100,000 tons of trap rock per year. The company transported the trap rock by spur line to the Southern Pacific Railroad in nearby Knippa. The company and its employees became an integral part of the community. Knippa High School named its football team the "Rockcrushers" in 1946. The trap rock operation, purchased by White's Mine Company in 1968, was acquired by Vulcan Materials Company in 1987. Trap rock has been applied to various uses such as railroad ballast, decorative stone, and as insulation material. Its historic and primary use, however, has been as a road paving material. 1994

Historical Marker →

Knippa

1882

Served by the Texas & New Orleans Railroad since 1882, this area was settled in 1887 by George Knippa. A freighter who worked between East Texas and Mexico, Knippa also encouraged many friends to move to the fertile land of this county. In 1899 gold-mining was tried here by an aged, white-bearded stranger known as Wilson. In 1900 the community acquired a post office and in 1909 a town was laid out. Previously called Chatfield, it was renamed Knippa. The Trap Rock Mine, a stone and gravel business which started in 1913, is still in operation. 1969

Historical Marker →

Emmanuel Lutheran Church

1904

This church traces its origins to 1904 when nine charter members led by the Rev. Gottlieb Langner organized a congregation in Knippa. Services were held in the homes of its members, who were served by area pastors and traveling missionaries. George Knippa, for whom the town was named and a charter member of the church, died in 1905. The land he donated in his will to be used for a Lutheran Church was exchanged for this church site. A wooden church with a 67-foot bell tower was built in 1910. Pastor Langner became the first full-time pastor in 1912, organizing a Sunday School and choir. The German-speaking congregation conducted its services in German. During World War I, a Uvalde County resolution prohibited the use of the German language. Challenged and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1918, the court ruled it was a matter for the church to decide. German was spoken in church until 1942. A new sanctuary was constructed for the growing congregation, and was dedicated on the 50th anniversary of the church's founding in 1954. A new parsonage, annex and fellowship hall were later added. This church continues to serve its membership and the community as it has for more than 90 years. (1996)

Historical Marker →

Kincaid Site

-11000

Kincaid Site (Kincaid Rockshelter, Kincaid Shelter, 41UV2) is an archeological site near the Sabinal River in Uvalde County consisting of a rockshelter and an open area in front of the shelter. Stratified deposits in both areas contained archeological materials attributable to most of the regional prehistoric sequence, and a small number of historic objects of late nineteenth and twentieth century age were found in the shelter. A great hole was dug in the center of the rockshelter sometime in the 1940s, evidently by treasure-hunters, because in December of 1947 three students (Charles E. Mear, David S. Proper, and James Churchwell) from Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San Marcos found the dirt from the hole to be rich in artifacts. Mear with occasional help from Kenneth Rochat recovered artifacts from that dirt over the next several months until, upon finding Folsom Points of Paleoindian age, he reported the site to professional archeologists. An excavation of the rockshelter portion of the site was mounted in 1948 by a team from the Texas Memorial Museum led by Elias H. Sellards and Glen L. Evans. Their work defined six geologic strata and an artificial stone pavement in the shelter. From the base upward these are: (Stratum 1) river silt in excess of 1.8 m thick without artifacts or fossils; (Stratum 2) another silt deposit 1 m thick without artifacts, but the fossilized jaw of an extinct horse was found; (Stratum 3) a deposit of clay 0.5 m thick, highly plastic when wet, that formed in a spring-fed pool and contained fossil bones of extinct mammoth, jaguar, another cat, ground sloth, horse, camel, bison, wolf, antelope, raccoon, alligator, and turtles; (Stone Pavement) a large quantity of boulders from the Sabinal River had been carefully placed across the top of the clay while it was still wet and plastic as evidenced by the stones being partly embedded in the clay; (Stratum 4) a layer of gritty clay rested directly on the stone pavement and contained a small number of stone artifacts as well as the bones of slider turtle, alligator, pocket mouse, badger, raccoon, box turtle, horse, and mammoth; (Stratum 5) a cultural midden deposit close to 1 m in average thickness composed of ashy, silty dust, fire-cracked rocks, broken and burned bones, mussel shells, and prehistoric artifacts; (Stratum 6) a 70 cm thick midden deposit of loose ashy dust, charcoal, burned rock, bone, shell, pottery, and various artifacts of stone from the prehistoric period as well as a few pieces of metal and glass of the early historic period. On top of stratum 6 at the time the shelter was investigated were several piles of disturbed fill that had been dug up by persons evidently in search of treasure thought to be buried in the shelter. These piles contained mixed artifacts of different ages. Strata 1–3 are culturally sterile. The Stone Pavement and the artifacts in the lower part of Stratum 4 are identified as being of Clovis cultural affiliation. In the upper part of Stratum 4 Sellards and Evans found a partial skeleton of a fossilized bison believed to correspond to other bison bones and five Folsom points found in fill from the large treasure-hunters' pit. Stratum 5 artifacts are diagnostic of most of the long Archaic period, and Stratum 6 cultural materials belong predominantly to the Late Prehistoric and the Historic periods. Kincaid rockshelter provides important evidence that its Clovis occupants built the stone pavement, manufactured stone tools, and consumed a variety of large and small animals probably near 11,000 years ago. Among the Clovis artifacts is the base of a biface made of obsidian identified by trace-element analysis as originating in the state of Querétaro, Mexico, 1,000 km south of the site. A short time later, probably near 10,500 years ago, a bison wounded with at least five Folsom projectiles evidently died in the shelter but was not retrieved by the hunters who wounded it. Throughout the remainder of its estimated

Tsha Handbook → · 8.9 mi away

Blewett, TX

1888

Blewett, a mining community originally known as Carbonville, is on Farm Road 1022 and Turkey Creek five miles southeast of Cline in far southwestern Uvalde County. Outcroppings of limestone rock asphalt cover 50,000 to 60,000 acres in the area. The Lathe Carbon Company, formed, according to one source, by a group of New York capitalists, opened a bitumen mine at the site in 1888. Failure to sell its bitumen, in a market limited to the paint and varnish industry, forced the company to close before its second year. Beaumont capitalist John Blewett Smyth, for whom the community was probably named, used bituminous limestone to develop a new road-paving material in 1912. The first production of limestone rock asphalt for street and road surfacing began at the Blewett location in 1912. A post office opened at the community in 1928, two years after it had become the terminus of a spur line from the Texas and New Orleans Railroad at Cline. The township is often designated as Mine No. 2 to distinguish it from Smyth Mine No. 1, a mile distant. High-grade commercial asphalt was produced at an average annual rate of 1,250,000 tons during peak production in 1927, and 125,000 tons during the 1930s. By 1940 many of Blewett's buildings had been abandoned, though a school and a commissary were still in operation there. Although the community reported an estimated population of only fifty in 1940, some evidence suggests that it had as many as 500 residents during periods of peak operation at the mines. In 1948 Blewett had the asphalt mine, a nine-section group dwelling, a hotel or tourist camp, one additional business, a school, and a scattering of residences. Although the Missouri Pacific rail service to Uvalde was discontinued in April 1966, the railroad continued service to the Uvalde Rock Asphalt Company and White's Uvalde Mines near Blewett. By 1988 Blewett had an estimated population of twenty-five and two businesses, one of which housed the post office. The population was still reported as twenty-five in 1990, but dropped to ten in 2000.

Tsha Handbook → · 8.9 mi away

Things to Do in Knippa

food 24.1 mi away
Desi's Restaurant

Family-style Mexican on US Highway 57 in tiny Batesville. Homemade tortillas, hearty plates, and a reputation as the best Mexican food in a small South Texas…

Everything Near Knippa

93 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • Knippa, TX · Tsha Handbook

    Knippa, originally known as Chatfield, is on the Southern Pacific Railroad, U.S. Highway 90, and the Frio River, between Sabinal and Uvalde in southeastern Uvalde County. It was named for founder George Knippa, who…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Knippa (Knippa) · 0.7 mi

    Knippa (Knippa, TX) placed on the 2A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Joaquin G (0.509 avg).

  • Knippa · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker

    Served by the Texas & New Orleans Railroad since 1882, this area was settled in 1887 by George Knippa. A freighter who worked between East Texas and Mexico, Knippa also encouraged many friends to move to the fertile…

  • Knippa Trap Rock Plant · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker

    Volcanic lava deposited here more than 60 million years ago cooled and hardened over time to form basalt, a dark igneous rock also known as trap rock. M. B. (Pete) Walcott purchased acreage here about 1904 and in 1907…

  • Emmanuel Lutheran Church · 1.5 mi · Historical Marker

    This church traces its origins to 1904 when nine charter members led by the Rev. Gottlieb Langner organized a congregation in Knippa. Services were held in the homes of its members, who were served by area pastors and…

  • The Jefferson Davis Highway Plan · 5.5 mi

    Several Texas highways carry an old honorary name, the Jefferson Davis Highway. It grew out of a plan conceived in nineteen thirteen and promoted by the United Daughters of the Confederacy: a coast to coast road named…

  • Uvalde County, TX · 8.6 mi

    On March 29, 2017, 13 senior citizens from the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels were killed in a collision between a pickup truck and a church minivan on U.S. Highway 83 near Garner State Park in Uvalde County. The…

  • Kincaid Site · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Kincaid Site (Kincaid Rockshelter, Kincaid Shelter, 41UV2) is an archeological site near the Sabinal River in Uvalde County consisting of a rockshelter and an open area in front of the shelter. Stratified deposits in…

  • Blewett, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Blewett, a mining community originally known as Carbonville, is on Farm Road 1022 and Turkey Creek five miles southeast of Cline in far southwestern Uvalde County. Outcroppings of limestone rock asphalt cover 50,000 to…

  • Fort Inge · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, and right here, a mile south of Uvalde, you're passing the site of Fort Inge. Established in 1849, this wasn't just any outpost; it was part of the first federal line of forts…

  • Garner State Park · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, heading north on Highway 83, and you're passing Garner State Park. This beautiful spot on the Frio River owes its existence to a bit of family drama. In the early 1930s, former Vice…

  • McFatter, Joe Harry · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, not far from Montell, where Joe Harry McFatter grew up ranching. He traded his saddle for a bomber's seat in World War II, flying a B-25 Mitchell over Italy. Facing intense…

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  • Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria del Cañón Mission · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, not far from Montell, where you're passing the site of a Spanish mission that had a very unusual purpose. In 1762, Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria del Cañón Mission was founded not…

  • Garner Army Air Field · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Garner Army Air Field, established in July 1941 and named for former Vice President John Nance Garner. This field trained hundreds of cadets, including those from Latin America and…

  • Leona Ditch, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Leona Ditch, also known as the Ditch and Leona Chapel, was six miles southeast of Uvalde in far south central Uvalde County. The community was named for the irrigation ditch system used by the farming community. Leona…

  • Reagan Wells, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Reagan Wells, a small rural community, is located on Farm Road 1051 and the Dry Frio River twenty-five miles north of Uvalde in north central Uvalde County. The area was originally settled by the families of Lawrence…

  • Uvalde County · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, a land with a history as rugged as its canyons. Back in 1790, Spanish governor Juan de Ugalde led a decisive victory over the Apaches right here, near the site of modern Utopia. The…

  • Uvalde County Limestone Rock Asphalt · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through a unique stretch of Texas history, right here in Uvalde County. This land holds the state's only significant deposit of limestone rock asphalt – a natural paving material. Back in the late 1800s,…

  • Cline, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Cline is on U.S. Highway 90 and the Southern Pacific Railroad eighteen miles west of Uvalde in southwestern Uvalde County. The site was in Dawson County between 1858 and 1866. The community was first settled by Celeste…

  • Concan, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Concan (Con Can) is on the Frio River and State Highway 127 in north central Uvalde County. According to local lore, the town was named after "coon can," a Mexican card game. Though the site may have been settled as…

  • Dabney, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Dabney, also known as Whitesmine, was a mining community at the southern end of Farm Road 1022, six miles south of Cline in far southwestern Uvalde County. An asphalt-mining operation was opened by the Lathe Carbon…

  • Montell, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Montell is on State Highway 55 thirty miles northwest of Uvalde in northwestern Uvalde County. It is in the Nueces River canyon just north of the river's confluence with Montell Creek. The site was that of the Spanish…

  • Patterson Settlement, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Patterson Settlement was on the Sabinal River six miles south of Sabinal in southeastern Uvalde County. It was founded by and named for G. W. Patterson, Sr., who brought his family homesteading from Alabama to Texas in…

  • La Jita Site · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, not far from the Sabinal River. Right here is the La Jita Site, a place where people lived and worked for thousands of years. Imagine generations of hunters and gatherers returning…

  • Leona River · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving along the Leona River, a waterway that's seen thousands of years of history. Spanish explorer Alonso de León might have seen it as early as 1689. By 1875, an irrigation ditch was built to water the farms…

  • Farris, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Farris, on what is now Ranch Road 2690 thirteen miles north of Uvalde, was named for Charles Jefferson Farris, who moved to the area with his brother and a nephew in 1891. Farris subsequently bought the other two men…

  • Heard, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Heard is on Farm Road 1051 and the Dry Frio River, two miles north of Reagan Wells in north central Uvalde County. It was probably named after Augustin Heard, an early settler in the area. The community established a…

  • Laguna, TX · 8.9 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Laguna, formerly known as Good Luck and Norwood, was at the intersection of Farm Road 334 and State Highway 55, a mile west of the Nueces River and sixteen miles northwest of Uvalde in west central Uvalde County. The…

  • Camp Sabinal · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde County, not far from where Camp Sabinal once stood. Back on July 12, 1856, Captain Albert G. Brackett of the Second U.S. Cavalry established this spot. Its mission? To protect travelers on…

  • The Honey Capital of the World · 9.3 mi

    You might not guess it driving through, but this brush country was one of the great honey districts of the world. The title itself belongs to Uvalde, twenty miles down the road, honored as the Honey Capital of the World…

  • The Science of Sabinal Honey · 9.3 mi

    The reason this brush country became famous for honey isn't just history — it's botany. The landscape around you is a transition zone, with soils that support a very particular community of native plants, and the star…

  • Sabinal Methodist Church · 9.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Sabinal, where the Methodist Church began in 1876 as part of the Sabinal circuit. Services were held in other buildings until their own structure was finished in 1907. The church continued to grow…

  • Sabinal, TX · 9.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Sabinal, originally known as Hammer's Station. Right here, in 1854, Thomas Hammer established a stage stop on the Sabinal River, a vital outpost on the frontier. Just a few years later, in 1857,…

  • Sabinal Christian College · 9.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, not far from Sabinal. Right here, in 1907, a Church of Christ college opened its doors. Sabinal Christian College was built with red bricks from Laredo and local lumber, offering…

  • First Baptist Church, Sabinal · 9.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Sabinal. It began in 1899 with eight charter members and the Rev. Winter Green. The congregation worshipped monthly, meeting in various buildings before…

  • John M. Davenport · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde County, near Sabinal. Look for the marker honoring John M. Davenport, a tough stock-raiser and captain of volunteer Indian fighters. His life, from 1827 to 1859, was spent on the Texas…

  • Sabinal · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Sabinal, a town with a name that echoes from Spanish explorers. They called the river here 'Rio Sabina' for the cypress trees lining its banks. The town itself was officially founded in 1854 by…

  • USS Uvalde · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past USS Uvalde. Constructed and commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1944, the "USS Uvalde" was a C-2 type cargo ship named to honor former United States Vice-President John Nance Garner and the county of…

  • Black, Reading Wood · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde, Texas, a town that owes its very existence to a Quaker merchant named Reading Wood Black. Black arrived here from New Jersey in 1852, drawn by the promise of opportunity. He didn't just…

  • Briscoe, Dolph, Jr. · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through South Texas, and right here is Uvalde, the hometown of Dolph Briscoe, Jr. He grew up here, dreaming of the Governor's Mansion after a childhood visit where he slept in Sam Houston's bed. That…

  • Evans, Dale · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in Uvalde, Texas, was born Frances Octavia Smith, who would become the legendary Dale Evans. She was born October 31st, 1912, though she later discovered her birth certificate said October 30th, and her…

  • Getty, Thomas Murray · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Texas Hill Country, and right here, near what is now Uvalde, you passed by the site of old Fort Inge. From 1850 to 1854, this was home to Army surgeon Thomas Murray Getty. During his time…

  • Uvalde, TX · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde, a town with a story that starts back in 1853. Reading W. Black settled here, aiming to build a community. He opened a store, quarried rock, and even built a lime kiln. By 1855, he hired a…

  • Garner Army Air Field · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde, and right here is the site of Garner Army Air Field. Named for Texas legend John Nance Garner, this base was a vital part of the World War II effort. In early 1942, the very first cadet…

  • Leona Springs · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, and right here, the Leona River hides a secret: four groups of springs that once powered the area's early life. Back in 1858, these springs, rising from the deep Edwards aquifer,…

  • Shand, Terry A. · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde, Texas, the birthplace of Terry A. Shand. Born in 1904, Shand was a pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader who got his start playing piano in silent movie theaters as a teenager. By…

  • Smyth, Joseph Grigsby · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, the heart of a vast cattle ranching empire built by Joseph Grigsby Smyth. Born in East Texas, Smyth served in the Confederate Army before diving into the lumber business with his…

  • Southwest Texas Junior College · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde, Texas, where in 1946, a bold experiment in education began. Right here, Southwest Texas Junior College opened its doors as the very first tricounty junior college in the entire state.…

  • Arnett, William Washington · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, and right here, in what was once a wilderness, William Washington Arnett decided to settle. In 1852, he moved his family to the banks of the Leona River, building a simple shanty.…

  • Sevier, Henry Hulme · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, where in 1895, a young Henry Hulme Sevier arrived from Tennessee. He wasn't here for the scenery, though. He took over the local newspaper, the Sabinal Sentinel, and quickly caught…

  • North Uvalde, TX · 10.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Uvalde County, and right here is where Sansom used to be, a community that became Uvalde Junction. It started in 1891 as Sansom, named for Captain John W. Sansom, a Civil War veteran. By the early…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Uvalde (Uvalde) · 10.9 mi

    Uvalde (Uvalde, TX) placed on the 4A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Jordan Albarado (6 HR); Derek De La Cruz (3 HR).

  • Uvalde Methodist Church · 11.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Uvalde Methodist Church, organized way back in 1856. This congregation was the westernmost edge of the Methodist Ministry in Texas at the time. The church has built several…

  • Reading Wood Black · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Reading Wood Black's home and trading post. A New Jersey native, he came to Texas in 1853 and founded the town of Uvalde, even donating land for a public school. Black also served as a…

  • Dalton, Bertha · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former home of Bertha Dalton, a woman who dedicated her life to educating Texans. Built in 1893, this house was bought in 1905 by Captain James Dalton. His daughter, Bertha, began her teaching…

  • Benson, William · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, and just ahead is the site of the home of William Benson. A Maryland native and civil engineer, Benson found his way to Texas and became a teacher. But when the Civil War broke out, he…

  • Schwartz House · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Schwartz House in Uvalde, built in 1927. It was the home of Lee Schwartz, a local merchant and city alderman, and his wife Agnes. Designed by architect Will A. Noonan, this modest colonial…

  • First Presbyterian Church of Uvalde · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Uvalde's First Presbyterian Church. The Rev. James R. Bridges organized the church with eleven charter members in February 1882, after arriving to serve the wild western Texas areas in…

  • Newton Boys - Uvalde · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    The Newton brothers from Uvalde were the most successful bank robbers in American history, and they did it with a rule: nobody gets killed. Willis, Joe, Jess, and Dock Newton robbed over eighty banks and six trains…

  • The Opera House the Vice President Bought · 11.4 mi

    You're outside the Grand Opera House on North Street in Uvalde, a brick building that's been standing since 1891 and is reportedly the second-oldest opera house in Texas. In 1917 it was bought by John Nance Garner, the…

  • Uvalde, TX · 11.4 mi

    The John Nance Garner House in Uvalde is a significant landmark, as it was home to John Nance Garner, who served as Franklin D. Roosevelt's first vice president from 1933 to 1941. Garner was known for using his…

  • Uvalde County · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde County, a place named for a Spanish captain who routed Native Americans right here in 1790. Captain Juan de Ugalde's name was eventually softened to Uvalde over the years. This county,…

  • Grand Opera House · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Grand Opera House in Uvalde, a place that brought a touch of Broadway to South Texas. Built in 1891 by local businessmen, this theater was designed for professional touring companies, staging…

  • Kincaid Hotel · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, and right here is the site of the Kincaid Hotel, built in 1927. It was constructed by the family of William Davis Kincaid, a big-time Uvalde cattleman and businessman. This four-story…

  • Uvalde Leader-News · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the historic Uvalde Leader-News building. This paper has a long and influential history, tracing its roots back to the Uvalde Hesperian, founded way back in 1879. An English immigrant, Harry P.…

  • Fort Inge, Camp Dix, C.S.A. · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde County, where two forts once stood guard during the Civil War. Fort Inge and Camp Dix were part of a frontier defense line, protecting travelers from Indian raids and bandits. These posts,…

  • Early Texas Wagon Yards · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, and if you look around, you might imagine a bustling wagon yard. These weren't just places to park your wagon; they were hotels and social centers for travelers. Imagine cooking bacon and…

  • Schwartz, Louis · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, and right here, you're passing the site of a business that served this town for nearly a century. Louis Schwartz, an immigrant from Alsace-Lorraine, arrived in the U.S. in 1866. He…

  • Rice Hotel and Saddlery · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, and right here is the building that used to be the Rice Hotel and Saddlery. Constructed between 1909 and 1910, this place has seen a lot of Uvalde's history. The first floor started out as…

  • Uvalde County Courthouse · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Uvalde County Courthouse, completed in 1928. It's the fifth courthouse for the county, built in the Neo-classical style. Look for its impressive cast stone arches and Ionic porticoes at the…

  • Original Site of Uvalde High School · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the original site of Uvalde High School. The first school building, made of cedar logs, was completed right here in 1885, donated by the town's founder. After a fire in 1898, citizens rebuilt on this…

  • Cactus Jack's Front Porch · 11.5 mi

    Right here in Uvalde lived one of the most powerful and cantankerous politicians in American history: John Nance Garner. Starting as a county judge, he climbed the political ladder to become Speaker of the House, and…

  • The Walkout of 1970 · 11.5 mi

    In the spring of 1970, the schools of Uvalde became a battleground for the Civil Rights Movement. For years, Mexican American students had endured discrimination: they were punished for speaking Spanish, steered away…

  • Fisher, King · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, and right here is the story of King Fisher, a man who ruled a 5,000-square-mile territory in Southwest Texas. He started as an outlaw, imposing his own brand of order in the lawless…

  • The Roads Paved with Uvalde · 11.5 mi

    As you drive on Highway 90, you're rolling over a story of geology and engineering that literally paved the way for modern Texas. Just west of Uvalde, near a town called Blewett, lies a unique geological formation: a…

  • Memorial to Ettie R. Garner · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Garner, John Nance. Memorial to Ettie R. Garner, secretary to her husband in his long career as a statesman. John Nance Garner, born Nov. 22, 1868, was in Texas Legislature, 1898-1902; U.S.

  • An Opera House on the Frontier · 11.5 mi

    If you want to see the moment Uvalde transformed from a rough frontier town to a place of culture and ambition, look no further than the Grand Opera House. Built in 1891, its ornate brickwork and grand arches rise above…

  • The Lawman's Unsolved Case · 11.5 mi

    The Wild West passed directly through Uvalde, and it brought one of its most famous figures: Pat Garrett. Years after he was known for killing Billy the Kid, Garrett came to Uvalde in 1891, broke and out of the law…

  • Garner, John Nance · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, home of John Nance Garner. He was a rancher, banker, and a skilled lawyer who served as Uvalde County Judge. Garner's leadership and philanthropy left a lasting impact on Southwest Texas,…

  • John Nance Garner House · 11.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Pull over for a minute and check out the former home of John Nance Garner, Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt. You might know him for his colorful quote about the Vice Presidency being 'not worth a bucket of…

  • Ditch · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a community known as 'Ditch,' established back in 1874 by a group of ambitious farmers. They formed the Leona Irrigation and Agricultural Association, tapping into the local waterway to…

  • Fort Inge · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Fort Inge, established way back in March of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1849</say-as> by Captain Sidney Burbank. It was named for Lieutenant Zebulon M. P. Inge, who died in the…

  • Fort Inge · 11.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    This frontier fort once stood as a line of defense against Native American raids in the wild Texas territory. Fort Inge was established in 1849 on the Leona River. It was named for Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike…

  • Nicolas Street School · 12.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Nicolas Street School, a testament to the fight for educational equality in Uvalde. Built in 1938, this is the only surviving school that tells the story of African-American education…

  • Garrett, Pat · 12.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, Texas, a town that was once home to a legendary lawman. Patrick F. Garrett, the man who famously gunned down Billy the Kid back in 1881, lived right here on this site! Garrett first came…

  • Black, Reading Wood · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, a town founded in 1855 by Reading Wood Black. A native of New Jersey, Black was a true pioneer here, instrumental in forming Uvalde County just a year later. He served as county judge,…

  • Garner, John Nance · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde, the hometown of a man who went from county judge to Vice President of the United States. John Nance Garner, nicknamed 'Cactus Jack' for his rugged western style, started his political…

  • Silver Mine Pass · 14.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Silver Mine Pass, a place with a history as rich as any supposed silver vein. Long before the Spaniards opened a mine here in the 1700s, this area was a strategic point. Though the silver ore…

  • Saltpetre Mine, C.S.A. · 14.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a vital Civil War operation, right here in Concan! This cave system, stretching for miles, was once a booming saltpeter mine for the Confederacy. In the 1860s, workers dug out tons of bat…

  • Old Davenport Home · 15.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Uvalde County, past the site of the Old Davenport Home. This wasn't just any pioneer cabin; it started as a one-room log house built during a dangerous time, right in the era of Lipan-Apache raids…

  • In This Vicinity June 24, 1841, John Coffee Hays · 16.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Texas Hill Country, near Utopia. On June 24, 1841, a pivotal moment happened right around here. Captain John Coffee Hays, a legendary Texas Ranger, led a company of just 12 men. They teamed up…

  • Uvalde County, TX · 16.4 mi · Local history

    The Southern Texas Plains define Uvalde County, a land where the horizon stretches wide and the earth rolls gently. Here, the transition from the Hill Country's rocky terrain smooths out. The land, once part of…

  • Joe A. Kelley Home · 17.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Joe A. Kelley Home, one of Utopia's few remaining pioneer houses. Built in 1865, this two-room house with back shed rooms was constructed by Joe A. Kelley, who came to the area with his family in…

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