Nocona, Texas

Everything Nocona is known for

1 song mention this city 1 artist from here

RoadyGoat plays music like this when you drive through Nocona. It's free on iPhone, and full songs play through Apple Music.

Music in Nocona

Songs About Nocona

Nocona

Carey Ott

Artists From Nocona

Tanner Fenoglio

country

Rivers & Roads in Song near Nocona

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

Red River 88 songs Interstate 35 45 songs Wichita River 2 songs Interstate 44 5 songs

Musical Heritage

Red River Station music venue RoadyGoat

2018

In Saint Jo, a block off the town square and right under the water tower, there used to be an abandoned, overgrown lumberyard. Curtis and Kathryn Goff bought it in 2014, cleaned it out, and by May of 2018 they'd built a music hall in its bones. The stage sits where the lumber stacks were. The old hardware storefront is a listening room now, original wood floors and all. Curtis is a Saint Jo native who's played in bands since the seventies, and he built the place to feel like Gruene Hall, Floore's, and Luckenbach. A photo of a young Guy Clark hangs by the door, and performers tip their hat to it on the way in. What you won't find: karaoke, open mic, or tribute bands. Lyle Lovett's played it. Robert Earl Keen's played it five times.

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History of Nocona

The Woman Who Built Nocona Boots RoadyGoat

In 1925 the Justin brothers decided the family boot company had outgrown Nocona, and they moved it to Fort Worth. But their sister, Enid Justin, put her foot down. She believed her father would have wanted the boot shop to stay where he built it, and she refused to leave her hometown behind. So she borrowed five thousand dollars, kept seven of her father's bootmakers who also chose to stay, and started the Nocona Boot Company from scratch — a direct challenge to her own brothers. Out of a small shop in town, with her husband Julius as president while she worked as shipping clerk, bill collector and salesperson, Enid built the company into a powerhouse of Western fashion. She was not just making boots; she was making a statement about loyalty, independence, and a woman's ability to lead in a man's world. Her success ensured that for generations the name Nocona would be famous for world-class cowboy boots.

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The Last American Ballglove RoadyGoat

In a town famous for boots, another leather legend was born. In 1926 the Storey family opened the Nocona Leather Goods Company here, selling wallets, purses, and belts. Under Robert E. Storey the shop branched into sporting goods in 1932, turning out footballs, helmets, and baseball gloves. When it came time to trademark the glove in 1934, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office wouldn't register the name of an incorporated town. So Storey simply changed the 'c' to a 'k,' and the Nokona brand was born. In the 1960s, when nearly every other sporting goods maker moved production to Asia, Storey refused to go with them, and the gloves are still being made right here. It's the last major American company crafting premium ballgloves in the USA. When you pass through Nocona, you're passing the home of a true manufacturing survivor, a place where tradition and quality are still stitched into every single glove.

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Black Gold Beneath the Cross Timbers RoadyGoat

While Nocona was building its reputation on leather, a different kind of boom was happening right under its feet. This corner of North Texas sits on the northern reach of what geologists call the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin, where deep layers of rock trap oil and gas migrating upward from below. Wildcatters found the proof in 1919, when the first Montague County strike came in about twelve miles north of Nocona. Using the drilling technology of the day, rickety wooden derricks and steam-powered rigs, crews began punching holes all across this country, and by 1925 there were twenty to thirty shallow wells producing near town. The county hit its peak in 1927, pumping more than four million barrels in a single year, a number it has never matched since. That money came in alongside the boot factories and the leather trade, steadying Nocona through the Depression and helping build the schools, the roads, and the downtown you see today.

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Boner, Charles Paul

1923

Charles Paul Boner, physicist, university administrator, and organist, was born in Nocona, Texas, on February 8, 1900, to Charles Wilbur Boner and Sallie Lee (Westmoreland) Boner. He attended schools in Montague and Bellevue, Texas, and graduated from Bellevue High School in 1916. In 1918 his undergraduate education at the University of Texas at Austin was interrupted by service in the U. S. Army. Afterwards, he received a B.A. in physics in 1920 and an M.A. in physics in 1922. He was a Whiting Fellow at Harvard University in 1927–28 and then earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas in 1929. He spent a year in commercial radio in 1923, during which he developed an interest in sound and electroacoustics. At the University of Texas during the 1920s, Boner worked under Professor S. Leroy Brown of the Physics Department and helped construct and operate the first studios for university radio station KUT. He also built the first large-scale public address system for the university’s Memorial Stadium . From 1920 to 1936 Dr. Boner held appointments as an instructor, assistant professor, and associate professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Texas and was appointed professor of physics in 1936. During this time Boner initiated the first electronics courses at the university and started a research program in acoustics that was advanced for its time. His studies on the pipe organ were especially noteworthy. The work involved not only research into the physics of organ pipes but also the construction of a large organ which was located in the physics building (now Painter Hall). Austin radio station KNOW used this four-manual organ daily during its University Hour program. Boner himself played the instrument on the Southwest Network’s weekly Organ Reveries program. More importantly at the university, Boner developed a program in architectural acoustics and became internationally known for his ability to design sound studios, auditoria, and other public buildings and for his ability to diagnose and correct poor acoustic properties in buildings. During the 1930s Boner conducted extensive research on various phases of acoustics and helped pioneer broadcast studio and music room design by employing sound diffusing structures. His design of WFAA -KGKO Studios atop the Santa Fe Building in Fort Worth, for example, was the first such constructed in the United States. Also in the early 1930s Boner reconditioned, rebuilt, and undoubtedly improved the mobile recording device used by John Lomax and Alan Lomax in their historic field recordings made for the Library of Congress. Their odyssey resulted in the first recordings of Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter). In the early 1940s Boner served as acoustical consultant for the new University of Texas music building, which incorporated a then-radical design using such techniques as acoustical diffusion, angled walls, and spring-isolated floors, walls, and ceilings. He took a leave of absence from the University of Texas in 1942 to serve as associate director of Harvard University’s Underwater Sound Labs, where he played a significant role in the development of sonar and the acoustic torpedo. In 1945 he returned to the University of Texas to head the newly-formed Defense Research Laboratory. He served as director from 1945 to 1965. Boner established the Office of Government Sponsored Research (OGSR) at the University of Texas in 1949. That same year he was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and served in that capacity until 1954. In 1953 Boner was also appointed to the specially-created dean of the university, a position corresponding to the current vice president for academic affairs. During 1956–57 he served as vice president of the University of Texas System but stepped down to continue research. In 1935 Boner launched an independent acoustical consulting firm in Austin that was still in practice in the early 2000s as Boner Associates, Inc. (BAI). Over man

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Justin, Herman Joseph

1877

Herman Joseph Justin, pioneer bootmaker, was born at Lafayette, Indiana, in 1859. His father was a cigarmaker, a trade that Joe disliked. Justin moved to Gainesville, Texas, in 1877 and found a job at the Norton Shoe Shop. For two years he worked for a pair of sisters who had inherited the store. Using the skills he developed at Gainesville and thirty-five dollars that the town's barber loaned him, he opened a boot shop at Spanish Fort in 1879. In a one-room frame structure Justin produced an average of two pairs of boots a week. The quality of his work soon established a statewide reputation for him. This renown, plus the location of Spanish Fort on the Chisholm Trail , increased his sales and enabled him to hire assistants and move to a larger workplace. For ten years cowboys would stop at Spanish Fort, order their boots, drive their cattle to Abilene, Kansas, get paid, and pick up the boots on the return trip. In 1887 Justin married Annie Allen, the daughter of the local physician. Two years later, shortly after the arrival of the tracks of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, he moved his business to Nocona. The shipping facilities there enabled Justin to enlarge his business, which grew because of his craftsmanship, his reputation as an honest businessman, and his inventiveness. In the 1890s rancher O. C. Coto, formerly of Montague County, wrote Justin from Montana that he wanted his cowboys to wear Justin's boots. The problem, however, was that Justin could not travel to Montana to measure the cowboys' feet and legs. To solve the problem he and his wife made a device by which the cowboys could measure themselves, so that boot orders could be sent through the mail. Although many suggested that Justin copyright the device, he refused, on the grounds that if it was good for the boot business it was good for him. Between 1892 and 1898 the young couple had three children. For the next twenty years Justin strengthened his reputation nationally. In 1917 he financed the construction of a large building to house his business, but he died the following year. His sons continued his business at Nocona until 1925, when they moved the business to Fort Worth. Justin's daughter, Enid, however, believed that "Daddy Joe" would have remained at Nocona, so she established the Nocona Boot Company there. Both businesses flourished.

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Nocona Boot Company

1925

The Nocona Boot Company, founded in 1925 by Enid Justin Steltzer in Nocona, Texas, had its antecedents about 1890 when H. J. (Joe) Justin , a leather craftsman who had moved from Indiana to Texas, moved his small business from Spanish Fort to Nocona to take advantage of the shipping facilities brought by the railroad. Joe taught his seven children bootmaking, and by 1918, when their father died, the children were able to carry on a successful business. In 1925, enticed by the Industrial Board of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce to relocate, the Justin brothers moved the bootmaking operations and equipment of H. J. Justin and Sons from Nocona to Fort Worth. Enid, thinking that her father would have wanted the company to stay in Nocona, organized the Nocona Boot Company as a copartnership with Julius L. Steltzer (her husband), Jess B. Thompson, and E. D. Keller. With $5,000, seven employees, and a small shop, Enid started what later became one of the most successful bootmaking operations in the country. Despite the financial drain of equipment purchases and local prejudice against buying boots made by a woman, the business began to prosper when, in 1926, the oil boom near Nocona caused a demand for strong, high-laced work boots. In the same year the Nocona Boot Company was incorporated, and a charter was granted by the state of Texas that authorized the issuance of $20,000 in capital stock. The assets of the copartnership were transferred to the corporation under the presidency of J. L. Steltzer. The company grew rapidly; net profits rose from $1,180 in 1926 to $14,998 in 1929. This was largely due to Mrs. Steltzer's extensive sales trips into West and Central Texas. The Great Depression bit deeply into the financial stability of the boot business in the early 1930s, but by the middle of the decade the Nocona Boot Company had sufficiently recovered to surpass predepression profits. Enid Justin became president of the company in 1934, and in 1935 she began sales outside of Texas. The addition of automated machinery increased production and, despite a manufacturing drop during World War II caused by the unavailability of leather and thread, the company continued to report a healthy profit. The success of the company and the pressures of increasing production led to the construction of a new plant in 1948, located east of Nocona on U.S. Highway 82, and the company expanded into the retail business with the establishment of the Nocona Boot Company Western Store in 1949. Although a drop in demand in the 1950s caused a general slump in the industry, the introduction of improvements in bootmaking and technological advances in high-speed automatic stitching enabled the company to make tremendous production and sales increases in the 1960s and 1970s. Production also increased with the addition of a plant in Vernon, Texas, in 1977. Company net sales had climbed to $19,420,390 by 1980. Through trend-setting advertising, promotion overseas, and production of a large variety of made-to-order styles, the Nocona Boot Company became a major contributor to the glamorization of the bootmaking industry. In June 1981 Justin Industries acquired all of the Nocona Boot Company's outstanding stock, and the company is now one of the eight subsidiaries of Justin Industries.

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Red River Station

1861

Established 9 miles northwest 1861 as Civil War outpost near major buffalo and indian crossing. Local soldiers, determined to guard edge of settlement against Indian raids, Union invasion from Indian territory, joined by Texas Frontier Regiment Cavalry Company. Families of settlers, cattlemen built log cabins within post stockade. Poorly fed, clothed and short on horses and ammunition Confederates patrolled area effectively. Comanche, Kiowa raid at Illinois Bend 15 miles east Jan. 1863. Major cattle crossing after war. A memorial to Texans who served in the Confederacy - Erected by the State of Texas 1963; (BACK OF RED RIVER STATION) Texas Civil War Frontier Defense 1861-1865 Texas made an all-out effort for the Confederacy after voting over 3 to 1 for secession. 90,000 troops, noted for mobility and and heroic daring, fought on every battlefront. An important source of supply and gateway to foreign trade thru Mexico, Texas was the storehouse of the south. Red River Station and other posts on this line were backed by patrols of state Rangers, organized militia, and citizens posses scouting from nearby "family forts." This was part of a 2000 mile frontier and coastline successfully defended by Texans. (1963)

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Molsbee Chapel Cemetery

1888

The Rev. Abraham Molsbee and his wife Susan Looney Molsbee brought their eight children to Texas from Tennessee in 1888. They purchased 965 acres of land for farming and stock raising. A minister in the Church of the Brethren denomination, Molsbee and Henry Brubaker established a church in Nocona in April 1889. Molsbee also was instrumental in the organization of a number of other congregations throughout northwest Texas. He did mission work in the communities of Williams Creek in Cooke County, Live Oak in Parker County, Lingleville in Erath County, Pampa in Gray County and Salt Creek in Montague County, as well as in the Indian Territory (later Oklahoma). This cemetery, located adjacent to the Molsbee Chapel Church, began as a family graveyard when the Molsbees' 20-year-old son, Orville, died in 1888. Other marked 19th century graves are those of the Molsbees' son Robert, who died at age two in 1895 and a neighbor, Wilfred Beck, who died in 1898. Though the graveyard was used by the community at large, it legally was a private cemetery until 1942, when David C. Molsbee, who inherited the land including this site from his parents Abraham and Susan, deeded two acres for a community burial ground. A cemetery association was established in 1971. Many veterans of the Armed Forces are interred here, among them Confederate soldiers John P. Watson of the 43rd Georgia Regiment and Fulton B. Loe, Jr., of Company A28, Louisiana Infantry. Other veterans include participants in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam conflict. The burial ground continues to serve the area and is a chronicle of northwest Texas history. (2000)

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Farmers and Merchants National Bank

1905

The oldest financial institution in continuous operation in Nocona, the Farmers and Merchants National Bank was founded in 1905 with capital stock of $30,000. Seven directors were named at the bank's organizational meeting, and W.A. McCall (1845-1915) was named President. Upon his death, he was succeeded by his son, Cadmus McCall (1876-1953), who served for thirty-eight years. First housed in the J.A. Foshee Store at Oak and Clay Streets, the bank moved to this location in 1926. Throughout its history, the bank has been active in the civic life of Nocona. (1987)

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Things to Do in Nocona

day trip

Day Trip to Nocona ⚾️ (FULL EPISODE) S9 E10

Featured on The Daytripper — a full-episode local travel guide.

Sports in Nocona

🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 2A · Girls Basketball · 2025

Nocona — 2025 UIL 2A Division 1 Girls Basketball State Champions

Most recent: 2025 2A Division 1

Nocona High School, a Class 2A institution nestled in the heart of North Texas, has established a notable record in girls' basketball. The Lady Indians have secured a state championship, bringing pride to their community through their dedicated athletic programs. This achievement reflects the commitment to excellence found within Nocona's halls.

The 2025 2A Division 1 UIL Girls Basketball State Championship stands as the program's highest honor. This success underscores the competitive spirit and hard work of Nocona High School's athletes. The town of Nocona continues to support its student-athletes, celebrating their accomplishments on the statewide stage.

State titles

2025

Most recent

2025

Class

The moment

The 2025 2A Division 1 UIL Girls Basketball State Championship represents a significant milestone for Nocona High School.

Sources: UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Nocona

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

Boner, Charles Paul · Tsha Handbook
Charles Paul Boner, physicist, university administrator, and organist, was born in Nocona, Texas, on February 8, 1900, to Charles Wilbur Boner and Sallie Lee (Westmoreland) Boner. He attended schools in Montague and…
Justin, Herman Joseph · Tsha Handbook
Herman Joseph Justin, pioneer bootmaker, was born at Lafayette, Indiana, in 1859. His father was a cigarmaker, a trade that Joe disliked. Justin moved to Gainesville, Texas, in 1877 and found a job at the Norton Shoe…
Nocona Boot Company · Tsha Handbook
The Nocona Boot Company, founded in 1925 by Enid Justin Steltzer in Nocona, Texas, had its antecedents about 1890 when H. J. (Joe) Justin , a leather craftsman who had moved from Indiana to Texas, moved his small…
Wichita Indians · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, around the site of present-day Nocona, was once the heart of Wichita Indian power. From the 1750s to about 1810, this Red River area was home to a prominent band of…
Nocona, TX · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Nocona, a town with a name that echoes the frontier. It started in the 1870s as a cattle ranch, but when the railroad came through in 1887, the owner, D. C. Jordan, donated land for a townsite. It…
Molsbee Chapel Cemetery · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
The Rev. Abraham Molsbee and his wife Susan Looney Molsbee brought their eight children to Texas from Tennessee in 1888. They purchased 965 acres of land for farming and stock raising. A minister in the Church of the…
Farmers and Merchants National Bank · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
The oldest financial institution in continuous operation in Nocona, the Farmers and Merchants National Bank was founded in 1905 with capital stock of $30,000. Seven directors were named at the bank's organizational…
Central Christian Church · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Nocona, and right here is the Central Christian Church. Founded in 1888 by The Rev. M.F. Smith, this church boasts a striking Gothic Revival design. Built by craftsmen Roger Brothers and R.…
Montague County Poor Farm · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Montague County Poor Farm. In 1888, the county bought this land to care for its needy citizens, with the first operator agreeing to provide food, clothing, medical care, and burials…
First Baptist Church of Nocona · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Nocona. Organized in the summer of 1889, the congregation first met in a schoolhouse before completing their own sanctuary in 1897. The church was renamed…
Bob Stone Camp · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the area where the Bob Stone Camp once stood. In 1880, Confederate veterans started this camp in Montague County for annual reunions, honoring Colonel Bob Stone. By 1899, it found a permanent home…
The Woman Who Built Nocona Boots · 1.0 mi
In 1925 the Justin brothers decided the family boot company had outgrown Nocona, and they moved it to Fort Worth. But their sister, Enid Justin, put her foot down. She believed her father would have wanted the boot shop…

Show all 104 nearby places

The Last American Ballglove · 1.0 mi
In a town famous for boots, another leather legend was born. In 1926 the Storey family opened the Nocona Leather Goods Company here, selling wallets, purses, and belts. Under Robert E. Storey the shop branched into…
Black Gold Beneath the Cross Timbers · 1.0 mi
While Nocona was building its reputation on leather, a different kind of boom was happening right under its feet. This corner of North Texas sits on the northern reach of what geologists call the Bend Arch-Fort Worth…
Nocona, TX · 1.0 mi
Nocona has a proud history of leather works and has been home to several notable companies in this industry. The Nocona Boot Company, Justin Industries, Nokona Ballgloves, Nokona Athletic Goods, and the Nocona Belt…
Where the Chisholm Trail Crossed · 1.0 mi
Before the town of Nocona ever existed, this land was part of one of the greatest migrations in American history. Just to the east of here ran the legendary Chisholm Trail. From 1867 to the mid-1880s, cowboys drove…
Red River Station · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker
Established 9 miles northwest 1861 as Civil War outpost near major buffalo and indian crossing. Local soldiers, determined to guard edge of settlement against Indian raids, Union invasion from Indian territory, joined…
Starkey Cemetery · 6.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the historic Starkey Cemetery area, which began in the 1860s. Oral history says it started when the Wells family, settling in for winter, buried their young daughter on Starkey land after asking…
San Teodoro · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Montague County, not far from Spanish Fort. Right here, back in the 1700s, stood San Teodoro, a major Taovaya Indian settlement. It wasn't just any village; it was a bustling intertribal trading…
Spanish Fort, TX · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Spanish Fort is located in north central Montague County at the end of Farm Road 103 one mile south of the Red River. Spanish Fort began in the eighteenth century as a fortified Taovaya Indian settlement, misnamed later…
Gladys, TX (Montague County) · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through eastern Montague County, not far from Saint Jo. Right here is the Clear Creek valley, the site of a brutal Kiowa raid back in 1868. On January fifth and sixth of that year, raiders swept through…
Italians · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Texas, and right now, you're passing through a story of migration. Between 1880 and 1920, thousands of Italians came to Texas, fleeing tough times back home. They settled across the state, from…
Spanish Fort Sites · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what used to be a major hub for Native American tribes, right here along the Red River. Settlers in the 1800s found earthworks and mistakenly thought they were Spanish forts. But later studies…
Fruitland, TX · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Fruitland is on State Highway 101 six miles southeast of Bowie in south central Montague County. Community development occurred in the early 1880s. For a few years residents called the settlement Plano; in 1884 they…
Red River Station, TX · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Red River Station was a small rural community in north central Montague County two miles south of the Red River on Salt Creek. The settlement was established in 1860 after earlier attempts failed due to hostile Indians…
Cable, Robert Lee · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Montague County, not far from Saint Jo, where Robert Lee Cable made his home. Cable wasn't just a farmer and stockman; he was a state legislator for over a decade, serving in the Texas House…
Matlock, Avery L. · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here is where Avery L. Matlock took on the desperadoes of the legendary XIT Ranch. In 1887, this attorney and former state senator was sent to the massive XIT properties.…
Rock Island System · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad pushed its way into the Lone Star State. In 1892, they chartered a company specifically to build south from the Oklahoma…
Belcherville, TX · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Belcherville is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and Farm Road 1816, fifteen miles northwest of Montague in northwestern Montague County. The settlement was first called Belcher, after John and Alex Belcher, area…
Forestburg, TX · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Forestburg is at the intersection of Farm roads 455, 1655, 922, and 677, some fifteen miles southeast of Montague in southeastern Montague County. It was settled in the early 1850s by cattlemen including Austin…
Saint Jo, TX · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Saint Jo is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 59, near the Cooke county line fifteen miles east of Montague in extreme east central Montague County. It was founded in 1849 by Ithane and Prince…
Chicago, Rock Island and Texas Railway · 7.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, a region transformed by the arrival of the railroad. Back in 1892, the Chicago, Rock Island and Texas Railway was chartered to push south from the Oklahoma border, aiming for…
Montague Cemetery · 7.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Montague Cemetery, a final resting place for many of this county's earliest residents. The first settlers arrived here in 1849, and by 1871, the town was growing fast. Back in 1862, pioneer James…
Montague County · 8.2 mi
You're driving through Montague County, right on the Oklahoma border. This land was once the site of major Wichita and Comanche settlements, even a Spanish fort! In 1759, Spanish soldiers tried to attack these villages,…
Montague, TX · 8.2 mi
Montague was founded in 1858 on 160 acres of land donated by the state of Texas. The community was named after Daniel Montague, an early surveyor, and a post office was opened in 1860.
Montague, TX (Montague County) · 8.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Montague, the county seat that almost got its own railroad! Established in 1858, this town was once the only place for farmers to get their grain milled. But as railroads bypassed Montague in the…
Montague County Courthouse · 8.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Montague, the county seat that's seen its share of courthouse troubles! Fires wiped out two previous buildings in 1873 and 1884. Then, a 1912 storm did a number on the next stone courthouse. But…
Montague County Jail · 8.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the old Montague County Jail, built in 1927 by the Southern Prison Company. The first floor housed the jailer and his family, with six cells upstairs. This solid stone building served as the county…
United Methodist Church of Montague · 8.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Montague's United Methodist Church. The fellowship began in 1873 with four members, led by The Rev. Joseph Clinton Weaver. The original meetinghouse was built in 1878, moved to this site…
Montague Catholic Cemetery · 8.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Montague Catholic Cemetery, a testament to the Italian immigrants who settled here in the early 1880s. They established St. John Catholic Church in 1901, and the bishop purchased this land for…
North Nocona Oil Field · 9.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Nocona, Texas, a town that owes a lot to what's bubbling beneath the surface. Back in the early 1900s, folks like George Williams and Cad McCall were drilling for oil and gas, starting around…
Center Point Cemetery · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Center Point Cemetery, first known as Fairview Graveyard. The earliest marked grave here is for three-year-old Xanthippa Rountree in 1875. The site was also home to a Baptist church and school, with…
The Stonewall Saloon · 10.3 mi
Right on the historic square stands a building that has seen it all: the Stonewall Saloon. Built in 1873 of native stone, it was the first permanent structure ever raised in Saint Jo, and it went up for one…
Last Stop on the Chisholm Trail · 10.3 mi
In the 1870s, the ground you're driving on would have been shaking. Saint Jo was a critical stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail, the cattle superhighway of its day. Millions of longhorns were driven from South Texas…
Red River Station music venue · 10.3 mi
In Saint Jo, a block off the town square and right under the water tower, there used to be an abandoned, overgrown lumberyard. Curtis and Kathryn Goff bought it in 2014, cleaned it out, and by May of 2018 they'd built a…
The Iron Horse That Built the Town · 10.3 mi
In 1886, a serious feat of engineering turned Saint Jo from a frontier outpost into a modern town. That year the Gainesville, Henrietta and Western Railway extended its tracks through here, and the town incorporated in…
Saint Jo, TX · 10.3 mi
Established in 1856 by primarily European Americans, the city was originally known as Head of Elm due to its location at the headwaters of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Joe Howell, a surveyor, laid out the town and…
The Town Called 'Head of Elm' · 10.3 mi
Before anyone called this place Saint Jo, it had a different, more practical name: Head of Elm. That simple name tells you everything you need to know about why people stopped here. The town is located at the headwaters…
Montague County, Early Trails in · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through what's now Montague County, but imagine this place over 150 years ago. It wasn't just open land; it was a crossroads of American expansion! The Chihuahua Traders Trail blazed through here in 1840,…
The Jovial Trooper of Montague County · 11.5 mi
From the Oklahoma line south to Bowie, Highway Eighty One is the Corporal David Slaton Memorial Highway. David Slaton spent thirty six years with the Texas Highway Patrol. Around Montague County, the Legislature's own…
Valley View Baptist Church · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving near Nocona, where the Tri-County Baptist Association voted to establish a church near Spanish Fort in 1895. Red River Baptist Church was organized that year after a revival service. The congregation…
Highway Paved with Gold · 11.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Ringgold, and you might be driving on gold! Forget those old legends of cities paved with gold. Back in 1936, the Texas Highway Department was paving U.S. Highways 81 and 287 right here. The sand…
Red Branch, TX (Leon County) · 12.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through northeastern Leon County, near Oakwood. Right here is the community of Red Branch. It all started around 1856, when the nearby community of Ringgold got a post office. Eventually, the Mount Pisgah…
Ringgold, TX · 12.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what's now Ringgold, Texas, a town born from the railroad. Back in 1892, Joe Harris sold land where two rail lines crossed, laying out a new townsite. He wanted to name it Harrisonia after…
Spanish Fort: The Fort That Was Never Spanish · 12.8 mi
At the end of Farm Road 103, about a mile south of the Red River in far north Montague County, a state monument marks the spot once called San Teodoro — known today as Spanish Fort. Despite the name, no Spanish fort…
Chisholm Trail Crossing - Red River · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
Between 1867 and 1884, an estimated five million cattle and a million mustang horses crossed the Red River at this point, headed north on the Chisholm Trail to the railheads in Kansas. It was the greatest organized…
Taovayo Victory over Spain; Site of the 1759 · 12.9 mi
You're driving through North Texas, near the Red River, where a dramatic clash unfolded in 1759. Colonel Diego Ortiz Parrilla, leading 600 Spanish soldiers and allies, marched north from San Antonio to confront the…
Spanish Fort · 12.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Spanish Fort. This spot was once a bustling Taovayas Indian village. In 1778, a Spanish explorer named De Mezieres renamed it Fort Teodoro, honoring a Mexican commander. But the real…
Red River Station · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Red River Station. "Jumping-off point" on the famous Chisholm Cattle Trail, (1867-87), Red River Station was a main crossing and last place on trail to buy supplies until Abilene, Kan.--350 miles…
Head of Elm (Saint Jo) · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Saint Jo, a town with roots stretching back to the mid-1800s. This area was a vital stop for early American expansion. In 1849, Captain Randolph Marcy passed through on a government survey trip.…
Stonewall Saloon · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Stonewall Saloon in Saint Jo. Built in 1873, this was the town's very first permanent building, originally made of native stone. It served as a saloon and a crucial rest stop for…
Head of Elm Cemetery · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Head of Elm Cemetery, the oldest graveyard in Saint Jo. Local legend says settlers Enoch Willett, his daughter Mary, James Box, Aaron Anderson, and James Harris were buried here in the 1860s after…
McGrady Cemetery · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past McGrady Cemetery, a quiet reminder of Montague County's pioneer heritage. It began in the 1860s when a McGrady employee was killed by Native Americans and buried here on the family farm. Later, an…
Dye Mound Cemetery · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Dye Mound, a community that sprang up in the late 1850s, named for a trapper's trading post. By 1889, the Dye Mound Cemetery trustees purchased over three acres for burials. The town saw…
First National Bank of Saint Jo · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Saint Jo, and right here is the site of the First National Bank. It opened way back in 1892 with twenty thousand dollars in capital. It became the First National Bank of Saint Jo in 1900. The…
Saint Jo · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Saint Jo, a town with a name that's as colorful as its past. Founded in the 1850s by brothers E.S. and Ithane Singletary, along with John Hughes, they hoped to strike gold right here! They called…
The Phillips House · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Phillips House, a grand old home that’s been a center of social life in Saint Jo for over a century! The story starts in 1873 when James Hoback Phillips and his family arrived by wagon train from…
Terral · 14.3 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Terral, a town that owes its existence to a railroad and a man named John Heidelburg Dace Terral. In 1892, Terral learned the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway was coming south. He quickly…
Lindale Cemetery · 14.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Lindale Cemetery, established in 1880 when the Lindale School District bought land for a burial ground. The first recorded burial was E. T. Foster, and the cemetery grew to three acres by 1893. It…
Illinois Bend Memorial Cemetery · 14.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Montague County, near where a community called Illinois Bend once thrived. It sprang up around the start of the Civil War, one of two settlements along the Red River. After the war, nearby Red…
Illinois Bend · 15.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Illinois Bend, a community that officially got its name in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1877</say-as>. By the 1890s, cotton farming made it a thriving spot. In <say-as…
Saint Peter Lutheran Church · 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Saint Peter Lutheran Church. Organized in 1894 by German immigrants, this congregation built its first sanctuary nearby in 1894, later moving facilities here in 1948. Services were held…
Salona Cemetery · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Montague County, past the site of the old Salona community. Settlers arrived in the 1870s, establishing a school by 1881 and a post office that served from 1889 to 1905. The Salona Cemetery itself…
The World's Largest Bowie Knife · 16.8 mi
You don't need to look hard to find Bowie's most famous landmark—it's a 20-foot-tall, 3,000-pound Bowie knife. Located in Pelham Park, this gleaming stainless-steel sculpture is a bold statement about the town's pride…
Born From a Construction Delay · 16.8 mi
The town of Bowie owes its existence to a railroad -- but not to a plan. In early 1882 the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway was pushing north out of Fort Worth toward Wichita Falls, and construction of the roadbed…
Bowie, TX · 16.8 mi
In 1884, a daring heist shook the town of Bowie when four men robbed the First National Bank, making off with over $10,000 in gold coins. The townspeople didn't take this lightly and gave chase, eventually capturing the…
Allred, Governor James V., Home County of · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Bowie, the hometown of James V. Allred, a governor who really shook things up in Texas. Born here in 1899, Allred worked his way up from a soda pop bottler and newsboy. He fought the Ku Klux Klan…
The Second Monday Tradition · 16.8 mi
For well over a century, Bowie has been a place where people come to buy, sell, and swap. If you're passing through on the weekend before the second Monday of any month, you'll see it happening. This is Second Monday…
Montague County · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Montague County, a place named for Daniel Montague, a man who lived a full life right here in early Texas. Born in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1798</say-as>, Montague was a pioneer…
The Brawl That Built a Legend · 16.9 mi
The name of this town points back to one wild afternoon that turned Jim Bowie into a household name. It was the nineteenth of September, eighteen twenty-seven, on a sandbar in the Mississippi River between Vidalia,…
From the Alamo to the Rock Stage · 16.9 mi
Now for a twist that connects a Texas frontiersman to one of the biggest rock stars who ever lived. The town you're passing through is named for Jim Bowie, and so, in a roundabout way, was David Bowie. The rock icon was…
How Jim Bowie Really Died · 16.9 mi
The picture most folks carry of Jim Bowie's last stand at the Alamo is a man swinging his famous knife until the very end. The truth is quieter and a little sadder. By the time the siege closed in during late February…
The Hero Was Also a Con Man · 16.9 mi
Here's a side of the town's namesake that doesn't make it onto many statues. Before Jim Bowie was an Alamo martyr, he was a slick and, frankly, crooked land speculator. He and his brother Rezin were both fluent in…
Anatomy of the Blade · 16.9 mi
Since this town honors Jim Bowie, the Alamo defender it was named for, let's talk about the knife that made his name legend. The very first one wasn't even made by Jim. His brother Rezin had a blacksmith named Jesse…
The Town That Chose a Hero's Name · 16.9 mi
Here's the honest story of how this town got its name. Back in eighteen eighty-two, when the tracks of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway pushed through this part of Montague County, settlers who'd been ranching out here…
One Name, A Whole Legend · 16.9 mi
As you roll through Bowie, it's worth appreciating just how much history is packed into these five little letters on the road sign. This town was named on purpose in eighteen eighty-two for James Bowie, and that one…
Brushy Mound · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Brushy Mound. From this lookout on whose summit an indian chief lies buried, Kiowas and Comanches spied on early settlers before launching unexpected attacks.
First National Bank of Bowie · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Bowie, and right here is a piece of its financial backbone. This is the First National Bank of Bowie, chartered way back on March 10th, 1890. That makes it the oldest financial institution in…
Queen's Peak Indian Lookout · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Queen's Peak, a place discovered by white settlers back in 1848. Permanent settlement in this region kicked off in 1858, but the early years were defined by constant Indian raids. This monument…
City of Bowie · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Bowie, a town born from the railroad boom. In the 1870s, the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad bought land here, leading to a temporary camp called 'Tent City' for the construction workers. Once the…
Elmwood Cemetery · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Elmwood Cemetery, a final resting place for Bowie's earliest residents. It all started in 1880 when settler James W. Stallings donated the first land, just two years before the town of Bowie itself…
First Baptist Church of Bowie · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Bowie. It was organized on Christmas Eve in 1882 by fourteen local Baptists and two ministers. The congregation has rebuilt its church building three times…
Wagonseller, Wayne Warren · 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, perhaps near Bowie, where Wayne Warren Wagonseller once practiced law. He was a decorated World War II veteran, a state legislator, and a rancher. But he’s most remembered for a…
Lamb, William Robert · 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Montague County, near Bowie, where William Robert Lamb became a powerhouse of the Populist movement. Despite having only twenty-five days of formal schooling, Lamb rose to become a leader in the…
Duke & Ayres · 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here in Bowie, you're passing the birthplace of a Texas retail giant. Back on October 15, 1894, Hardie Duke opened 'The Nickel Store' – the very first Duke & Ayres. This…
Bowie, TX · 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Bowie, Texas, a town that owes its very existence to the railroad. Back in the early 1860s, settlers were already here, but when the Fort Worth and Denver Railway pushed through in 1882, they…
Allred, Renne, Jr. · 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Bowie, Texas, the hometown of Renne Allred Jr. He was born here in 1901 and got his start learning shorthand and typing at the local "Knowledge Box" commercial college. Allred went on to become a…
Pelham Park · 17.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Pelham Park, a place with roots stretching back to 1878. Confederate Captain John J. Carter first owned this land, and veterans began meeting here as early as 1879. After the war, the…
M. Johnson Poultry Ranch · 17.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the M. Johnson Poultry Ranch, one of the largest of its kind in its day. It all started in 1905 with just five white leghorns and a rooster, but grew to cover 350 acres. The ranch's…
Brushy Cemetery · 18.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Brushy Cemetery, established around 1880. It serves as a reminder of the once thriving community of Brushy. The earliest documented grave here is W.C. Hatfield, who died in 1877.
Leon · 18.5 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Love County, just west of the Red River. Right here is Leon. It started as a ranching settlement around 1860, named after a stockman named Ike Cloud. His family, the Dibrells, took over the ranch…
Perryman Cemetery · 19.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Perryman Cemetery, a final resting place for folks who shaped this corner of Texas. The story here starts in 1862 with the unmarked grave of an infant. Not long after, in 1863, a well-digger…
Bellevue, TX · 19.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Bellevue, a town that almost didn't make it. It was founded in 1882 as a railroad shipping point, and things were looking good. But on April 26, 1906, a devastating tornado ripped through town.…
Melton, Amos W. · 19.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, maybe past Bellevue, where Amos W. Melton was born. He wasn't just a local kid, though. After graduating from TCU and touring Asia, Melton became a sports writer for the Fort Worth…

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