Olney, TX RoadyGoat
The Olney Community Library and Arts Center is a notable landmark located on the Olney school campus at 807 W. Hamilton, serving as a cultural and educational hub for the community.
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History of Olney
The One-Armed Dove Hunt RoadyGoat
One of the most remarkable things about Olney is not a building, it is an event. In 1972 two local men — Jack Bishop and Jack Northrup, each of them missing an arm at the shoulder, known around town as the One-Armed Jacks — got to talking at the drugstore about going hunting with muzzle-loaders and bolt-action rifles. It started half as a joke. The first hunt was held September 9, 1972, and ten one-armed hunters showed up. From there it grew into two full days of one-arm trap shooting, one-arm horseshoes, cow-chip throwing, and a ten-cents-a-finger breakfast. Every year on the weekend after Labor Day, hunters come from all over the country — men and women who lost limbs in accidents, in war, or to disease — and the whole town takes them in with guides, cooks and whatever else they need. Bishop died in 2011 and Northrup in 2015, and the gathering carries on as the Olney Amputee Dove Hunt. It is less about hunting than about proving a loss does not have to be a limit.
The Aviation Pioneer of Olney RoadyGoat
On the edge of Olney you will find a factory that changed agriculture around the world, and it is the legacy of Leland Snow. Snow designed his first agricultural airplane in the early 1950s and built it himself, because he could see the machines crop dusters were flying were not safe or efficient enough for the work. In January 1958 he hauled two partly finished airplanes into Olney in five cattle trucks — local businessmen, tired of the town living and dying on oil and ranching, had offered him money and a place to build at the municipal airport. He founded Snow Aeronautical here, and by that summer his S-2B was certified with orders behind it. In 1972 he started over under a new name, Air Tractor, and perfected the tough, reliable yellow airplanes that became the industry standard. These are not just planes; they are specialized tools that help feed billions and fight devastating wildfires. Snow was an inventor, an engineer and an entrepreneur, and he chose this small Texas town to build a global company.
Keathley, George Dennis
1944George Dennis Keathley, Medal of Honor recipient, was born on November 10, 1907, the son of William F. and Bertha Mary (Leberman) Keathley, near Olney, Young County, Texas. A native of Tennessee, William Keathley moved to Texas to teach in a one-room school where his future wife was one of his students. After his wife inherited her German-immigrant parents' 640-acre farm, William took up farming and raised cattle, hogs, cotton, and wheat. As youngsters, George and the other Keathley children found themselves doing numerous chores on the farm. Before graduating from high school in Olney, George Keathley moved to Lawton, Oklahoma, to live and work for his older brother. John Keathley ran a meat market on the Fort Sill Military Reservation and provided work for his younger brother. Keathley graduated from high school in Lawton and then enrolled at Cameron State School of Agriculture and Junior College (now Cameron University). He graduated from Cameron State in May 1930 with an associate degree in agriculture. In the fall of 1933 Keathley entered Texas A&M where he majored in agriculture and selected the cavalry branch for his military science requirement. Working his way through college, Keathley experienced economic problems that forced him to leave school in the spring of 1935; he later attended summer sessions in 1936, 1939, and 1940. He found employment with the Soil Conservation Service first in Dalhart and then in Lamesa and worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps on soil-erosion and other projects. While in Lamesa, he met Inez Edmunson. They married on April 12, 1942. He also became a stepfather to Inez's two daughters. Keathley joined the United States Army in Lamesa on May 15, 1942. Assigned to the 338th Infantry Regiment, Eighty-fifth Infantry Division, Keathley completed his basic and infantry training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and took part in his unit's maneuvers in Louisiana and South Carolina. From June through August 1943, Keathley participated in desert training in California. Although soft spoken, Keathley adapted to military training, and his leadership abilities earned him promotions to corporal, sergeant, and staff sergeant. On January 2, 1944, the Eighty-fifth Infantry Division arrived in French Morocco, North Africa. After a period of amphibious training, the 338th Infantry Regiment landed at Naples, Italy, on March 27, 1944. Over the next several months, Staff Sergeant Keathley witnessed the horrors of combat in Italy and earned a Bronze Star for directing his platoon after its platoon leader had been wounded. On June 5, Keathley experienced the liberation of Rome as the regiment entered the city. On September 14, 1944, Keathley's company found itself in a bitter confrontation with German defenders on the western ridge of Mount Altuzzo in northern Italy. The Germans had established pillboxes, minefields, and tank barriers in the region. After all the noncommissioned officers and officers of the Second and Third platoons in Company B became casualties, Keathley, a guide for the First platoon volunteered to take command of the two platoons' twenty survivors. Aware that his men were low on ammunition, Keathley crawled from one casualty to another taking their ammunition. He then proceeded to distribute the valuable ammunition to each man, provide encouragement, and administer first aid. Assisted by a mortar barrage, the Germans launched a counterattack using hand grenades and firing automatic weapons. Keathley continued to shout orders, and his men responded in kind. After suffering a mortal wound to his left side from an enemy grenade, Keathley continued to provide direction to his men while firing his rifle at the enemy. Supported with friendly artillery fire, the Americans held their position as the Germans withdrew. Minutes later, Staff Sergeant Keathley died on the battlefield in the arms of his close friend Charles Dozier. His final words: "Please write my wife a letter and tell her I love her a
Snow, Henry Leland
1953Henry Leland Snow, aeronautical engineer, industrialist, and crop dusting pilot, was born on May 31, 1930, in Brownsville, Texas, to Arkansas-born Carrie Beth (Sewell) Snow and Texas native Henry Evans Snow. His grandfather, Elbert C. Snow, had come to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in 1909 and had taken up farming south of Donna. By 1935 Henry Evans Snow moved his family to the farming community of Santa Rosa where he continued his vocation as a supervisory civil engineer. Henry Leland Snow, who went by his middle name Leland, developed a fascination with flying at an early age. At age six he had already made up his mind to be a pilot, and at the age of nine he was building balsa wood and tissue paper models with wingspans taller than he was. By 1942 the family moved to Harlingen, where his father later established his own engineering firm. Leland Snow attended Harlingen High School, where he was a member of the National Honor Society, the Shop Club, and a cast member in theatrical productions produced by the Masque and Wig Club. At age fifteen he began working at the Harlingen airport in exchange for flying lessons. He received his pilot's license at age sixteen and soon started flying crop dusters to earn money. He graduated from Harlingen High School in 1947. Just after graduating high school Leland learned of an Aeronca plane that had been heavily damaged in a bad storm. He purchased the wreck for $200, repaired it, and was able to fly it to College Station where he attended the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). While still in school, he began designing plans to construct an agricultural application airplane that would be superior to other planes in use, and to that end, he used his mother's car as collateral that enabled him to borrow $1,200 from a Harlingen bank in 1951. He graduated from A&M in 1952 and went on to study aeronautical engineering at graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin from where he graduated in 1953. While at UT he was a member of the student branch of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. After graduation Leland Snow returned to his Harlingen home and worked on his airplane construction; he used the family garage at 401 Buchanan Avenue. He envisioned his plane with wings attached to the base of the fuselage thereby providing greater stability. He completed his S-1 aircraft in 1953. Needing to earn a living, Snow used his plane for crop dusting farms in the Harlingen area. He flew out of Harvey Richards Field, once the municipal airport of Harlingen. When his work for the local agricultural scene ended, he flew a crop duster to Nicaragua and began treating crops there. He returned in early December 1953. Snow continued improvement of his plane in his home and garage and in 1955 had designed his advanced S-2 model applicator, but he needed working capital to further his dream. When he could not secure funding in the Valley, he found his financial opportunity in North Texas. In Olney, Texas, a small community about forty-five miles south of Wichita Falls, not only was capital offered to him but also a manufacturing location. During World War II Olney was the site of a U. S. Navy bomber pilot school with its large airfield. The local business leaders were aware of the volatile nature of oil and ranching, industries that had dominated the town’s economy, and looked for a more stable enterprise. They were impressed by Snow’s endeavor and agreed to provide the funds for him to pursue his dream. He moved his two partially-finished planes in five cattle trucks to Olney in January 1958. The existing facilities at the municipal airport served as the site of Snow's aircraft production. He founded Snow Aeronautical Company and began construction of his manufacturing facilities. In the summer of 1958 his S-2B was certified, and two orders for it soon followed. By 1965, 300 of Snow's aircraft had been manufactured and delivered. The company's upward rise was inter
Confluence of the Brazos, Trinity, and Red River Watersheds, The
1759The Trinity, a major Texas river rises 250 yards west of this 1250-foot mound. South of this site water drains to the Brazos, and north and west to the Red. This high point has been important in Texas history. It guided Capt. Diego Parilla to battle Indians on the Red in 1759 and aided Capt. R. B. Marcy in mapping a California trail in 1849. Marcy and Maj. R. S. Neighbors used it as a beacon point in finding a site for an Indian reservation in 1854. It also was on U.S. Cavalry maps for 1870s Indian campaigns. (1976)
Historical Marker →
· 3.0 mi away
St. Luke Lutheran Church
1883In 1883 when this area was still a roundup point on the cattle range, German families of the Lutheran faith began settling in the Salt Creek Valley. The following year William Bernhardt received a bible, prayer book, and a devotional book or "Hauspostille" from a visiting cousin. The families began using the books to conduct religious services in their rock and log cabins. Henry Kunkel, the pioneering son of a large family from Posen, Germany, acted as leader. They also started a Sunday School. In 1886 the first formal service was conducted by Pastor Bartelo of Hamilton County. Through the years, several Lutheran pastors conducted worship services for the fellowship. In 1896 the Lutheran Board of Missions assigned Pastor F. M Rudi to this field. On Reformation Day, October 31, 1897, Pastor Rudi officially organized the St. Luke Lutheran Church. The members met in the Terrapin School building until 1914 when a church house was constructed near their homes at a site which was two miles northwest of Olney. A second structure was built in 1926 at the same location. Many of the church members moved into Olney. In 1967 the congregation relocated in town and built this structure.
Site of Cottonwood Spring
184919th century oasis around a lone cottonwood tree and a good spring. Wagon ruts from heavy traffic attracted here are still visible on hill to the southwest. In 1849, Capt. Randolph B. Marcy, U.S. Army camped with his soldiers at this spring as they mapped a gold-seekers' road to California. Capt. Marcy was to return as escort (1851) for Col. W. F. Belknap, en route to establish Fort Belknap (15 miles southwest), and with Maj. Robert S. Neighbors (1854), exploring for Indian reservation sites. Maj. Enoch Steen of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons was here in 1855, platting a route to Fort Riley, Kan. The Leach wagon train camped here in 1857 while opening the Butterfield Overland Mail route, along the Preston Road to Red River. Riding to the north of Red River to fight wild Comanche raiders, two expeditions camped here in 1858: Capt. John S. ("Rip") Ford with Rangers, in April; Maj. Earl Van Dorn with U.S. Cavalry in the fall. Maj. Neighbors in August 1859, escorting Texas Indians to reservations in present Oklahoma, found the spring dry. Water returned, however. Cattlemen used the spring for generations, until in mid-20th century, the water table dropped permanently and the cottonwood died. (1974)
Historical Marker →
· 8.2 mi away
Everything Near Olney
123 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
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Olney, TX
The Olney Community Library and Arts Center is a notable landmark located on the Olney school campus at 807 W. Hamilton, serving as a cultural and educational hub for the community.
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Keathley, George Dennis
· 0.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
George Dennis Keathley, Medal of Honor recipient, was born on November 10, 1907, the son of William F. and Bertha Mary (Leberman) Keathley, near Olney, Young County, Texas. A native of Tennessee, William Keathley moved…
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Snow, Henry Leland
· 0.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Henry Leland Snow, aeronautical engineer, industrialist, and crop dusting pilot, was born on May 31, 1930, in Brownsville, Texas, to Arkansas-born Carrie Beth (Sewell) Snow and Texas native Henry Evans Snow. His…
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Olney, TX
· 0.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Olney, Texas, a town that boomed thanks to black gold. Settled in the late 1800s, Olney was a quiet ranching community until 1923. That's when oil was discovered, and the Swastika Pool, discovered…
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The One-Armed Dove Hunt
· 0.9 mi
One of the most remarkable things about Olney is not a building, it is an event. In 1972 two local men — Jack Bishop and Jack Northrup, each of them missing an arm at the shoulder, known around town as the One-Armed…
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The Aviation Pioneer of Olney
· 0.9 mi
On the edge of Olney you will find a factory that changed agriculture around the world, and it is the legacy of Leland Snow. Snow designed his first agricultural airplane in the early 1950s and built it himself, because…
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The Plane That Feeds the World
· 0.9 mi
The most important piece of technology to ever come out of Olney is the Air Tractor. These iconic yellow airplanes, built right here, are marvels of purpose-driven engineering. Founder Leland Snow designed them to solve…
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The Roaring Twenties on Main Street
· 0.9 mi
As you pass through downtown Olney, take a look at the buildings - those sturdy two-story brick fronts on Main Street are the receipts from a wilder decade. Olney was already a rail town; it incorporated in 1909 and…
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St. Luke Lutheran Church
· 1.1 mi · Historical Marker
In 1883 when this area was still a roundup point on the cattle range, German families of the Lutheran faith began settling in the Salt Creek Valley. The following year William Bernhardt received a bible, prayer book,…
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Confluence of the Brazos, Trinity, and Red River Watersheds, The
· 3.0 mi · Historical Marker
The Trinity, a major Texas river rises 250 yards west of this 1250-foot mound. South of this site water drains to the Brazos, and north and west to the Red. This high point has been important in Texas history. It guided…
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Little Salt Creek Indian Fight
· 5.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, not far from Olney, and you're passing the site of a fierce clash in Texas frontier history. On May 16th, 1869, a cattle roundup crew found themselves under an unprovoked attack by…
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Site of Cottonwood Spring
· 8.2 mi · Historical Marker
19th century oasis around a lone cottonwood tree and a good spring. Wagon ruts from heavy traffic attracted here are still visible on hill to the southwest. In 1849, Capt. Randolph B. Marcy, U.S. Army camped with his…
Show all 123 nearby places Show fewer
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Anarene
· 9.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, and you might be passing the site of Anarene, a town born from a railroad and a landowner's vision. In 1908, Charles E. Graham platted this town, named for his wife, Annie. He built…
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The Town That Exploded Overnight
· 11.3 mi
Imagine this: one day you live in a quiet Archer County farming town of under five hundred people. Two years later there are twice as many, and the place doesn't feel like itself anymore. That was Megargel after 1925,…
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Gushers, Geology, and Cable-Tool Rigs
· 11.3 mi
The Megargel oil boom wasn't magic; it was a triumph of geology and brute-force engineering. To reach the pay zone, wildcatters used cable-tool rigs. Imagine a massive, heavy, chisel-like bit, repeatedly lifted and…
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Megargel, TX
· 11.3 mi
Megargel's history began with the Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad extending services to Jacksboro and Seymour in 1910. The town was named for Roy C. Megargel, the president of the railroad that developed it. The…
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The Railroad That Made and Abandoned Megargel
· 11.3 mi
Megargel owes its existence to a railroad, and it is named for the man who ran it. The Gulf, Texas and Western built a single-track line running northwest from Salesville through Jacksboro to Seymour, ninety-eight miles…
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Megargel
· 11.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Megargel, a town that owes its existence to the railroad and oil. Back in 1910, the Gulf, Texas & Western Railroad pushed through this area, and the Trinity Townsite Company laid out a new town.…
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Archer County
· 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, a place named for Dr. Branch Tanner Archer, a key figure in the Republic of Texas. He served as Texas Commissioner to the U.S. in 1835, and later as Secretary of War. This county,…
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Farmer
· 11.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the tiny community of Farmer, named for a missionary who camped here back in 1877. Reverend William H. Farmer was more than just a traveler; he opened a general store and became the town's first…
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Comanche Exodus, On Route of the
· 11.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, heading north on the route of the Comanche Exodus. On August 3rd, 1859, this area was a campsite for Comanche Indians being removed to Oklahoma. They were escorted by a company of…
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Megargel, TX
· 11.7 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Archer County, and right here is Megargel. This town sprang to life in 1910, laid out by the railroad company president himself, Roy C. Megargel. Within three months, twenty-three stores, a hotel,…
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Farmer Cemetery
· 11.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, heading past the site of what was once the town of Farmer. In 1877, Baptist preacher W.H. Farmer and his family settled here, establishing not just a store and post office, but also…
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Newcastle, TX
· 12.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Newcastle, a town born from the earth itself. Back in 1908, this spot was chosen for a new community, named after a famous coal town in England. The real story here? Coal. The Belknap Coal Company…
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St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church
· 12.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Megargel. Czech immigrants started meeting here for Mass in 1909, and they built this church in 1916. It was dedicated in 1917.
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Harmonson Ranch
· 12.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, where Peter Harmonson established his ranch known as Harmonson Rancho. Harmonson, a Kentucky native who arrived in Texas in 1845, was a true frontier leader. He helped form Denton…
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How Oil and Gas Engineered a Ghost Town
· 12.5 mi
The story of Newcastle's decline is a lesson in energy technology. The town was built on a solid fuel: coal, first shipped out of here in 1908, and getting it took shafts, strip pits and a dedicated railroad. Then…
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Life in a Company Town
· 12.5 mi
Imagine living in a town where your landlord, your boss, and your grocer were all the same outfit. That was life in Newcastle. The Belknap Coal Company sank its shaft here in 1908 and shipped its first coal to Wichita…
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The Last Mine Whistle
· 12.5 mi
In 1942, a sound that had defined life in Newcastle for better than thirty years went quiet. The last working coal mine in town shut down, and the whistle that had called men underground since 1908 blew for the final…
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Megargel Cemetery
· 12.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Megargel, Archer County. Back in the 1880s, this area was settled by Irish immigrant James Colgan and his wife, Nancy, alongside many Bohemian families. Then, in 1910, the GT&W Railroad arrived,…
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Two Miles Southwest to Fort Belknap
· 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Young County, and just a couple miles southwest of here lies the site of Fort Belknap. Established way back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1850</say-as>, this was the largest military…
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Indian Raid on Elm Creek, CSA
· 14.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of one of the most brutal Indian raids on the Texas frontier during the Civil War. On October 13th, 1864, Comanches attacked the Fitzpatrick Ranch, just north of here. The violence was…
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Common Grave
· 14.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Newcastle, and just off the road here lies a grim reminder of frontier life. On July 17, 1867, a raid by Native Americans on Elm Creek claimed the lives of three young men. Rice Carlton, only…
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Proffitt Cemetery
· 14.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, near Newcastle. Look around and imagine this land in 1867. It was frontier life, and it could be harsh. Right here, in a common grave on John Proffitt's land, lie the first souls…
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Johnson, Britt
· 14.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, near Graham, where Britt Johnson lived a life etched by the frontier. Born in 1823, Johnson was a cowboy and an Indian scout. He even served as an orderly at Fort Belknap. But his…
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Hawkins Chapel
· 14.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, near the site of Hawkins Chapel. The Hawkins family settled here in 1876, building a school by 1879 and a Methodist church in 1884. Though the school and church closed by 1916, the…
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Major Robert Simpson Neighbors
· 15.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Major Robert Simpson Neighbors. Major Robert Simpson Neighbors who served in the Army of Texas, 1836 * Captured by General Woll, 1842 * U. S. Indian agent, 1845 * Born in Virginia, November 3, 1815 *…
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Elm Creek Raid - Britt Johnson
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
On October 13, 1864, several hundred Kiowa and Comanche warriors swept down Elm Creek in Young County, killing twelve settlers and soldiers and kidnapping six women and children. Among the captured were the wife and…
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Fort Belknap (Texas)
· 15.2 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This unassuming spot was once the northernmost outpost of civilization in Texas, a vital link in a chain of forts protecting settlers. In 1851, Fort Belknap was established by General William Belknap to defend against…
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Colonel William C. Young
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, home of Colonel William C. Young. A Tennessee lawyer and U.S. Marshall, he became a Texas Ranger, a Mexican War colonel, and commanded the 11th Texas Cavalry during the Civil War. He…
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Major Robert S. Neighbors
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the area where Major Robert S. Neighbors met his end. Neighbors was a forceful peacemaker and humanist, deeply influential over Texas' Native American tribes. He served as an Indian agent, improving…
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Tonkawa Scouts, C.S.A.
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, where the Tonkawa tribe played a crucial role during the Civil War. Unlike other tribes who were hostile, the Tonkawa allied with Texans, serving as invaluable scouts against enemies…
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Butterfield Overland Stages
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, following a route once vital to a nation. From 1858 to 1861, the Butterfield Overland Stages ran semi-weekly service between St. Louis and San Francisco, right through this area. The…
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Old Fort Belknap Powder Magazine
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Old Fort Belknap Powder Magazine. Best preserved of the original structures at Fort Belknap. The Fort, named for its builder, Brig. Gen. W.
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Camp Belknap, CSA
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, near where Camp Belknap, a Confederate frontier post, stood. In the spring of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1863</say-as>, local soldiers joined the frontier regiment here…
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Military Road (Ft. Belknap-Ft Phantom Hill)
· 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past a stretch of a crucial military road, first surveyed in 1849 by Colonel J. E. Johnson for the U.S. War Department. From 1851 to 1854, this route connected frontier forts Belknap and Phantom Hill.…
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Warren Wagontrain Raid
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas right now, maybe near Jacksboro, and you're passing through a place that changed the course of history for Native Americans on the Plains. It was May 1871. General William Tecumseh…
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Clifton, Elizabeth Ann Carter
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, near what was once Fort Belknap. Right here, Elizabeth Ann Carter managed a ranch and a busy boarding house. She was illiterate and epileptic, but she was also a successful…
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Goodnight-Loving Trail
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once the heart of cattle country, and right here in Young County, Texas, a legendary route began. In 1866, Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving blazed the Goodnight-Loving Trail, driving…
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Johnson, Britton
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once the wild West Texas frontier. Right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1864</say-as>, Britton Johnson’s family was taken in the Elm Creek Raid. Johnson, a man who was…
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Maman-Ti
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once Kiowa territory, a land shaped by powerful leaders like Maman-ti. Known as the 'Owl Prophet,' Maman-ti was a Kiowa chief and medicine man, born around 1835. He claimed to gain…
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Neighbors, Robert Simpson
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once the wild Texas frontier, a place where tensions ran high between settlers and Native American tribes. Right here, Robert Simpson Neighbors was a key figure, serving as an Indian…
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Salt Creek Prairie
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Young County, on what was once known as Salt Creek Prairie. For years, this rolling landscape was called 'the most dangerous prairie in Texas.' It was a favorite hunting ground for Comanche and…
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Young County
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Young County, a place that was once a flashpoint between settlers and Native American tribes. Back in 1851, the U.S. Army established Fort Belknap right here, hoping to bring order to the…
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Cement Mountain
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Young County, near Graham, and right here is Cement Mountain. It's not a mountain made of cement, but it's topped with boulders of sandstone and gravel, rising 200 feet above the prairie. This…
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Elm Creek Raid
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once western Young County, near Elm Creek, right where a dramatic frontier raid unfolded on October 13, 1864. Hundreds of Kiowa and Comanche warriors swept through the valley, attacking…
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Fort Belknap
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Young County, heading past the site of old Fort Belknap. Founded in 1851, this wasn't just any outpost; it was the northern anchor of a vital chain of forts protecting the Texas frontier. Troops…
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McLennon, John
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once Fort Belknap, a place that saw the birth of John McLennon in 1855. McLennon wasn't just born here; he became a soldier and a hero. In August of 1877, he was part of a fierce battle…
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Shumard, George Getz
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, maybe near the Llano Estacado, and you're passing through country that George Getz Shumard explored over 170 years ago. A surgeon by trade, Shumard was also a keen geologist who…
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Tackett, Pleasant
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Young County, Texas, and right here near Fish Creek, about eight miles south of Fort Belknap, is where a man known as the 'fighting parson' settled. Pleasant Tackett arrived in Texas in the 1850s,…
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Turtle Hole
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Young County, and right here is the site of Turtle Hole, a vital water stop on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route. But this peaceful watering hole has a darker history. In January of <say-as…
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Woolfolk, Joseph Alfred
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once frontier Texas, and right here, in the area of Belknap, a dramatic legal battle unfolded. In 1871, lawyer Joseph Alfred Woolfolk, a Civil War veteran and cattleman, took on one of…
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Belknap, TX
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Belknap was a half mile east of Fort Belknap and three miles south of the site of present Newcastle in Young County. The nearby fort was named for Gen. William G. Belknap , who selected the site and established Camp…
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Flag Springs
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Flag Springs is a popular spring-fed watering hole and cow camp on the Fort Worth-Fort Belknap road and an unnamed tributary of Salt Creek, ten miles east of Fort Belknap and three miles north of Graham in central Young…
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Camp Radziminski
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once Indian Territory, near the modern-day border of Texas, and you might be passing near the site of Camp Radziminski. Established in September of <say-as interpret-as="date"…
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M. D. Harrell Site
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Young County, near South Bend, and you're passing over a place that was once a bustling village. This is the M. D. Harrell site, a major archeological find on the Brazos River. Excavations in the…
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Military Road (Ft. Belknap-Ft Worth)
· 15.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, heading east on what was once a vital military road. Back in 1851, this route connected Fort Belknap and Fort Worth, serving as a lifeline for troops, travelers, and essential…
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Military Road (Ft. Belknap-San Antonio)
· 15.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the path of a vital Military Road, connecting Fort Belknap to San Antonio. Blazed in 1851 by Lieutenant Francis T. Bryan, this route served troops, supply trains, and settlers pushing the Texas…
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Farmer, TX (Young County)
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Farmer is near the junction of Farm roads 1769 and 2652, eight miles northwest of Loving and sixteen miles east of Olney in northeast Young County. The community, originally called Brush or Brushy, was renamed in honor…
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Eliasville, TX
· 15.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Eliasville is on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River near the intersection of Farm roads 1974, 3109, and 701, close to the Stephens county line in southwest Young County. The townsite was on the land of J. L. Dobbs, who…
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Buried Here are the Remains of Seven Teamsters
· 15.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Young County, near Loving. Look for this marker commemorating a violent clash. Here lie the remains of seven teamsters – Nathan Long, the Elliott brothers, the Williams brothers, and J.J. Baxter…
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The Boomtown of '25
· 15.9 mi
Imagine these quiet streets suddenly crowded with strangers. That was Woodson in the mid-1920s. The first well came in in 1923, and then in 1925 the Texas Company -- Texaco -- brought in the Stubblefield No. 1, a well…
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Woodson, TX
· 15.9 mi
In 1948, Woodson was hit by a tornado that destroyed 32 houses, significantly impacting the community. Additionally, on March 23, 1945, a rancher on the Barney Davis Ranch, 8 miles north of Woodson, Ivan Miller, found a…
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Drilling for Black Gold, 1920s Style
· 15.9 mi
The oil that transformed Woodson came in 1925, when Texaco's Stubblefield Number One blew in and set off a drilling boom big enough that the company put a refinery up north of town. Getting to that oil took brute-force…
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Woodrow, TX
· 15.9 mi
The unincorporated community of Woodrow, Texas, was named in honor of President Woodrow Wilson. There was initially a debate over whether to name the town Wilson or Woodrow, but supporters of Woodrow prevailed.
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Larry McMurtry's Archer City
· 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
Larry McMurtry grew up in this tiny ranching town northwest of Wichita Falls, and he spent his life writing about the place even when he was trying to escape it. Archer City is Thalia in The Last Picture Show, the dying…
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Battle of the Little Wichita
· 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, not far from where a desperate fight unfolded back in July of 1870. Captain Curwen McLellan and 56 men of the 6th Cavalry were on the hunt after a mail stage attack. On July 12th,…
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French Trading Area, In Vicinity of
· 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, near where French traders met Native Americans in the mid-1700s. These Frenchmen brought goods, including guns, that the Spanish rulers of Texas couldn't provide. Spanish explorer…
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Battle of Stone Houses
· 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
On November 10, 1837, eighteen Texas Rangers rode into a fight with 150 Kichai warriors near three stone formations that gave the battle its name. The Rangers were outnumbered nearly ten to one. For two hours, they…
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Archer County
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Archer County, a land that tested its first settlers with a brutal cycle of blizzard, drought, and blizzard. It was opened to settlement in 1875 after the Army removed Native American tribes. Dr.…
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Archer City, TX
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Archer City, a town born from a vision of railroads that never quite arrived. Back in 1876, this spot was surveyed with grand plans for three major rail lines. But the trains didn't come. Instead,…
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Man, William Whitaker
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Archer County, a place that was just getting organized when William Whitaker Man arrived in 1875. He came west looking for a real education in the cattle business, and he found it. He became the…
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The Novelist Who Made This Town Famous
· 17.1 mi
The town gets its name from a Texas Revolution diplomat, but its fame in the wider world comes from someone else entirely, a writer named Larry McMurtry. McMurtry grew up right here in Archer City, and he never really…
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When Hollywood Came To The Prairie
· 17.1 mi
Archer City has one honor almost no small Texas town can claim. Hollywood came here and made a movie that would win Academy Awards, filmed on these very streets. In nineteen seventy-one, director Peter Bogdanovich…
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The Man Who Went Begging For Texas
· 17.1 mi
The man this town is named for had one of the toughest jobs of the whole Texas Revolution, and it was not on a battlefield. In late eighteen thirty-five, the rebels needed money, guns, and volunteers, and they needed…
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The Doctor Who Fought A Duel
· 17.1 mi
Here is a side of the town's namesake you would not guess from a road sign. Branch Tanner Archer was a trained physician. He earned his medical degree back in eighteen oh eight from the medical school at the University…
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Who The Archer Really Was
· 17.1 mi
Here is a fun one. The name Archer City makes you picture a bow and a quiver of arrows, but the town was not named for anybody with a bow. It was named for a man, Branch Tanner Archer. Back on January twenty-second,…
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The Railroad Boom That Never Came
· 17.1 mi
You might assume a county seat like this one grew up around a busy rail line, the way so many Texas towns did. But Archer City's story is a bit of a myth-buster. When the townsite was first surveyed back in eighteen…
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From War Secretary To A Spot On The Map
· 17.1 mi
The diplomat who gave this town its name did not stop working once Texas won its independence. After the revolution, Branch Tanner Archer stayed at the center of the young Republic of Texas. In eighteen thirty-seven he…
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Archer City Methodist Church
· 17.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer City, where this Methodist congregation started as a mission back in 1880, the same year the town was organized. Early pastors were circuit riders serving multiple counties. The church…
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First Baptist Church of Archer City
· 17.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Archer City's First Baptist Church. Organized in February 1880 with eight members, they first met in a former saloon building. The congregation later erected a meetinghouse in 1890, which…
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The Town from 'The Last Picture Show'
· 17.2 mi
If the streets you're driving on feel familiar, it might be because you've seen them on screen. In 1971, director Peter Bogdanovich and author Larry McMurtry brought a film crew here to shoot 'The Last Picture Show,'…
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Booked Up: The Four-Building Bookstore
· 17.2 mi
For years, the main reason people made a pilgrimage to Archer City had nothing to do with oil or cowboys. It was for books. After achieving literary fame, author Larry McMurtry returned and began buying up empty…
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The Royal Theater's Second Act
· 17.2 mi
You can't miss the Royal Theater downtown. It's more than a building; it's a character in Archer City's story. It ran as the town's movie house for decades, until a fire gutted it in August 1965 and the owners couldn't…
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The Oil Beneath the Prairie
· 17.2 mi
As you look around Archer City, you'll likely spot the slow, steady rocking of a pump jack. These machines are the visible part of a deep geological story. Millions of years ago, during the Pennsylvanian and Permian…
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Two Gary Johnstons, Two Wars, One Highway
· 17.2 mi
State Highway Twenty Five between Archer City and Windthorst carries a long name: the U S Army Gary C. and U S M C Gary S. Johnston Memorial Highway. It honors an uncle and his nephew, two Archer County men who shared a…
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Archer City - The Last Picture Show
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
Larry McMurtry grew up in this dusty North Texas ranching town and spent his career writing about it. Archer City became Thalia in The Last Picture Show, his 1966 novel about a dying small town where the pool hall…
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Sheriff E. Harrison Ikard
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the memorial to Sheriff E. Harrison Ikard, who died in the line of duty right here on September 22, 1925. He was known for holding sacred his public trust and answering duty's call fearlessly, even…
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Archer City, TX
· 17.2 mi
Archer City, a place where the prairie wind seems to whisper tales of cattle drives and black gold booms, has seen its share of change. But the closing of Booked Up, Larry McMurtry's legendary bookstore, really marked…
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A Jesse James Hideout
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Archer City, where the infamous outlaw Jesse James once found refuge. He'd visit his sister, Susan, and her husband Allen Parmer right here, in a house built for the Stone Land and Cattle Company…
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Archer County Discovery Well
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, a place that's poured out millions of barrels of oil. It all started back in 1911 with the M. P. Andrews No. 1. This well hit oil sands at just 920 feet and started flowing in March…
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Cimmaron (Persimmon) Springs
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, near where these natural springs first appeared on maps as Cimmaron Springs. Early European settlers in the 1890s, unfamiliar with the word 'cimmaron,' started calling them…
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Camp Cureton, C.S.A.
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Camp Cureton, a Confederate stronghold established during the Civil War. This camp was part of a defense line stretching from the Red River to the Rio Grande. The Texas Frontier Regiment…
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Archer County Courthouse
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer City, home to the Archer County Courthouse, built way back in 1891. This building was more than just a place for government business; it was a hub for early pioneer social events. You might…
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Little Wichita River, Battle of the
· 17.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Archer County, near the Little Wichita River. Right here, on July 12th, <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1870</say-as>, a fierce battle took place. It was between the Sixth U.S. Cavalry and…
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Archer County Jail
· 17.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer City, and you just passed the old Archer County Jail. Built in 1910, this sandstone building was a major upgrade from the county's first jail. It even had living quarters for the sheriff…
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Dundee, TX
· 17.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
Dundee is on U.S. highways 82 and 277 twenty-seven miles southwest of Wichita Falls in northwestern Archer County. Several families were already living in the area when the town was laid out on the T Fork Ranch between…
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Copper Production
· 17.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Texas, a state known for many things, but maybe not copper. Captain Randolph B. Marcy first reported copper in Texas back in 1852. By 1864, they were even smelting a small amount in Archer County,…
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Anarene, TX
· 17.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
Anarene, in south central Archer County, was named for Annie Lawrence Graham, daughter of pioneer settler J. M. Keen, who, after serving in the Confederate Army, began ranching in the area and built up his herd to…
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Bowman, TX
· 17.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
Bowman is a small community located on Holliday Creek about eight miles southwest of Wichita Falls in northeastern Archer County. Settlers, many of German descent, arrived to farm in the area in the mid-1880s and…
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Mankins, TX
· 17.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
Mankins is on U.S. highways 277 and 82, nineteen miles southwest of Wichita Falls in northwestern Archer County. Enough families had settled in this ranching and farming area by 1889 for classes to begin at Lone Star…
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Westover School
· 17.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Baylor County, where the Westover School once stood. From 1910 to 1950, this school served local students, starting in a church building before getting its own frame house, and later, a two-story…
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West Fork School
· 17.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, past the site of the old West Fork School. It started life in the early 1880s as the Baggett School, taught by Silas Baggett himself. This little school served students in the rural…
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Westover
· 17.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Westover, a town platted in 1910 along the Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad. It served as a market center for local farmers and ranchers, with businesses like banks, cotton gins, and…
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Stone Houses
· 17.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, and right around here, you're passing the site of the Stone Houses. These formations, resembling teepees, were once an Indian ceremonial ground. But they're more famous for a brutal…
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Markley Cemetery Decoration Day
· 17.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Markley Cemetery, but this marker tells a story that's more about community than final rest. Back in 1881, this burial ground started next to a schoolhouse. By 1890, it was neglected, so…
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Salt Creek Massacre
· 18.6 mi · Wikipedia
On the afternoon of May 18, 1871, about 150 Kiowa and Comanche warriors waited behind a hill on the Salt Creek Prairie, nine miles from Graham, Texas. They were watching for a target on the wagon road that ran between…
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Round Timber Community
· 18.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Baylor County, passing the site of Round Timber. Named for the oak trees, this spot was first settled by C.C. Mills in 1863, but abandoned to Native Americans. It reopened in 1874, becoming the…
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Round Timber Baptist Church
· 18.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Round Timber Baptist Church. While non-denominational services began in the community in 1884, the Baptist congregation was first mentioned in church minutes in 1890. The church was…
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Bridwell Park
· 19.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer County, heading towards Windthorst. Keep an eye out for Bridwell Park, a gift to the community from Joseph Sterling Bridwell. This Missourian arrived in Texas in 1909 and quickly made his…
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Archer County Copper Mines
· 19.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Archer City, and you might be passing over a forgotten treasure trove! Back in 1860, Texas Rangers, including future governor Sul Ross, stumbled upon copper nuggets right here, near the surface.…
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Graham, Addie M.
· 19.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Graham, a town that owes a lot to one remarkable woman: Addie M. Graham. Born Agnes Kinter in Indiana in 1843, she followed her husband, Edwin, to Texas in the 1870s. Edwin and his brother founded…
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Graham Salt Works
· 20.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Graham, where a valuable resource once fueled local development: salt. Settlers were drawn here in the 1850s by saline residue along Salt Creek. Martin V. Bowers started commercial production…
