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Temple, Texas

Everything Temple is known for

7 songs mention this city 9 artists from here

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Temple, Texas, located in Central Texas, has a musical identity shaped by artists who call it home and songs that mention the city. Seven artists are from Temple, including the Latin music artist Little Joe and country artist Garrett Smith. The city is also mentioned in eight songs, such as "All My Ex's Live in Texas" by George Strait and "Rockabilly Blues (Texas 1955)" by Johnny Cash.

Music in Temple

Songs About Temple

All My Ex’s Live in Texas
George Strait
50%
"And Dimples, who now lives in Temple's"
So Long Ago
Nanci Griffith
50%
all my exes live in texas
george strait
45%
All My Ex's Live in Texas
George Strait
18%
"Dimples, who now lives in Temple's"
the interstate 35 waltz
garret t. capps & justin boyd
10%
Rockabilly Blues (Texas 1955)
Johnny Cash
6%
"It's the same old tune in Temple"
All My Ex’s Live In Texas (Live 2014)
George Strait
4%
"And Dimples who now lives in Temple's"

Artists From Temple

L
Little Joe
latin
E
Eric Paslay
country
E
Everyone Dies In Utah
metal
B
Britt Daniel
indie
L
Little Joe & La Familia
latin
L
Little Joe And The Latinaires
latin
S
Stephen Butler
country
J
JacObAllTrades
electronic
G
Garrett Smith
country

Rivers & Roads in Song near Temple

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

Interstate 35 45 songs Brazos River 43 songs

History of Temple

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Temple, Texas, is a principal city in Central Texas, founded in 1880 as a railroad construction camp. It quickly became a major railroad junction and division point, once nicknamed 'Tanglefoot' due to its rough early character. Today, Temple thrives as a regional medical center, with a large hospital system as its biggest employer. It also serves as a key goods distribution hub, home to multinational companies and a developing customer service industry. Its location on Interstate 35 places it between the rich Blackland Prairie and the rolling Texas Hill Country.

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Temple, Texas, was born as a railroad town, founded by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad in 1880. It began as a construction camp called Temple Junction and was officially named after Bernard Moore Temple, the chief civil engineer of the railroad. The town was incorporated just two years later in 1882. Temple's early years were marked by a wild west atmosphere, with many saloons and tough characters, earning it the nickname 'Tanglefoot'. The city's growth was significantly influenced by its role as a major railroad junction and the establishment of medical facilities, including the Santa Fe Hospital and Scott and White Memorial Hospital, which later merged to form the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple.

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

The founding of Temple, Texas, dates back to 1880 when it began as a Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad construction camp known as Temple Junction. In January 1881, a post office was established, and the settlement was officially named Temple after Bernard Moore Temple, the chief civil engineer of the GC&SF. The town was incorporated in 1882, marking a significant step in its development.

Baugh, Samuel Adrian [Slingin’ Sammy]

1914

Samuel Adrian (Sammy) Baugh, star quarterback at Texas Christian University and record-setting passer for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League, was born on March 17, 1914, in Temple, Texas. He was the son of James Valentine Baugh and Lucy (Ray) Baugh. In 1931 the family moved to Sweetwater, where Baugh starred for Sweetwater High School before entering Texas Christian University in 1933. Baugh became the Horned Frogs’ starting tailback when Leo Robert “Dutch” Meyer took over as coach in 1934 and led TCU to a 29-7-2 record over the next three seasons. Baugh was named to All-American teams in 1935 and 1936 and led TCU to victories over Louisiana State University in the 1936 Sugar Bowl and over Marquette University in the 1937 Cotton Bowl . His college passing record included a total of 39 touchdowns and 3,384 yards. Baugh’s first love was baseball, however, and he claimed that he earned his famous nickname, “Slingin’ Sammy,” for his throwing ability as a third baseman on the TCU baseball team, not for his passing prowess. After graduating from TCU he joined the Pampa Roadrunners, a semiprofessional baseball team, and at a tournament in Denver, Colorado, Rogers Hornsby signed him to a baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League. After leading the College All-Stars to a 7-0 upset of the National Football League champion Green Bay Packers in the annual College All-Star football game in Chicago, Baugh spent the summer of 1937 playing shortstop for the Cardinals’ minor league affiliates in Rochester and Columbus. The Redskins, who were moving from Boston to Washington for the 1937 season, offered Baugh $4,000 to forsake baseball. Baugh later recalled that he asked for $8,000 to join the team and eventually received it. He enjoyed a sensational rookie season—throwing a record 81 passes for 1,127 yards. He led the NFL in passing and took the Redskins to the league title. Afterwards NFL president Joe F. Carr said of Baugh, “In one short season, his first as a professional, he became football’s greatest thrill.” His record of 335 yards passing by a rookie quarterback in a playoff game stood until 2012. Baugh went on to lead the NFL in passing five more times during the 1940s and at one time held literally every NFL single-game, season, and career passing record. He is credited as leading football’s offensive revolution that fundamentally changed the game. He led the Redskins to another championship in 1942 and played in a total of five championship games. He also led the league in punting from 1940 to 1943 and set the highest-ever season punting average of 51.4 in 1940. As a defensive back, he was the first player to make four interceptions in one game. In 1943 he led in passing, punting, and interceptions. His 70.3 passing completion percentage in the 1945 season topped NFL records and remained in the top five in 2014. He was named to the all-NFL team seven times. So great was his fame that in 1941 he starred in King of the Texas Rangers , a Republic Studios movie serial. Honored by the Washington Redskins on “Sammy Baugh Day” at Griffith Stadium on November 23, 1947, Baugh passed for 355 yards and 6 touchdowns. He passed for a total of 21,886 yards during his professional career, and his number, #33, was later retired by the Redskins. Before his sixteenth and final NFL season, in 1952, Baugh worked as a part-time assistant coach at Hardin-Simmons University. After he retired from the NFL he joined the Hardin-Simmons staff as a full-time assistant, then was appointed head coach in 1955. In five seasons as head coach Baugh compiled a 23-28 record at Hardin-Simmons, although the team did win the Border Conference and went to the Sun Bowl in 1958. In 1959 Baugh was the second coach hired by the fledgling American Football League (AFL), which was challenging the NFL’s monopoly on professional football. Baugh coached the New York Titans (later the New York Jets) for the first two years of their ex

Tsha Handbook →

Ferguson Home

1907

Built 1907 for James E. and Miriam A. Ferguson, each later elected twice to governor's office in Texas. Mrs. Ferguson was the first woman elected Governor in any state. During their terms the Texas Highway Department and public schools achieved great importance. This was family home until Jim Ferguson became Governor in 1915, and again from 1917 to 1925, when Mrs. Ferguson was first inaugurated. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

Historical Marker →

Cora Anderson Negro Hospital

1953

Officially opened on May 17, 1953, Cora Anderson Negro Hospital offered medical services to the growing African American population of Temple and Greater Bell County. The hospital featured 16 patient rooms and a surgical suite. It was located only two blocks from Scott & White Hospital and Clinic, thereby providing African American patients access to technology and specialized care that was previously denied to them. The hospital was administered by a Public Advisory Board comprised of an equal number of African American and white citizens. Final decisions were made by the Scott & White Board of Trustees. U. S. Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson served on the Scott & White Board of Trustees at this time and partook in the fundraising campaign. Cora Woods Campbell Anderson, the largest individual donor to the campaign, was known community-wide for her commitment to helping out college students and families with financial issues and generously giving to the Negro Hospital Project. The Advisory Board unanimously agreed to name the facility after her. Once the facility opened, Scott & White physicians provided care, but the nurses and support staff were overwhelmingly African American. The hospital operated until December 1963 when Scott & White moved to integrate facilities at South 31st Street. In late 1969, the Bell County Commissioners Court acquired the building. Now called the Cora Anderson Building of the Bell County Health District, the Public Health District runs the facility as an outpatient health clinic, though it preserves the building’s original mission of serving the poor and disenfranchised.

Historical Marker →

Jones, W. Goodrich

1888

Known as "Father of Forestry in Texas." Came to Temple, 1888, as a banker. Planted first tree (a pecan) in town; this led to establishing Arbor Day in Texas in 1889, through legislation introduced by Sen. Geo. W. Tyler. In 1914 Jones organized Texas Forestry Association, which saw creation of Texas Department of Forestry, signed into law in 1915 by Gov. James E. Ferguson. For 60 years, Jones advocated conservation. A state forest at Conroe and this park bear his name. A fellowship in Forestry Conservation and Research has been established by his family. (1970)

Historical Marker →

Bird, John

1830

John Bird, soldier and Indian fighter, was born in what was later Perry County, Tennessee, in 1795, the son of William Bird. After service under Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812 he returned to Tennessee, where he married Sarah Denton. The couple had four children. The Bird family moved to Stephen F. Austin 's Texas colony in June 1830 and the next year received a league of land in what later became Burleson County. Bird was elected captain in the colony's militia and in 1832 led a column of volunteers up the Brazos River on an expedition against the Comanches. During the Texas Revolution he commanded a unit of Texas cavalry against the Mexicans near San Antonio in 1835, and in March 1836 he commanded sixty volunteers in defense of the western frontier on the Brazos. On April 2, 1839, Bird was elected captain of a company of rangers, which he led to Fort Milam on the Texas frontier. He and a single companion, N. Brookshire, set out on the morning of April 20, 1839, scouting for Indians. After crossing the Little River on the morning of May 25, the two encountered a party of Comanches skinning buffalo. The Indians fled but returned on the following morning, May 26, heavily reinforced, and stampeded a herd of buffalo thorough the rangers' camp. Bird and his men pursued the retreating Indians for four miles before discovering that they had ridden into a trap laid by an estimate 300 warriors. The rangers attempted to fall back to Fort Milam but were overtaken and attacked after about a quarter of a mile, at about 3:00 p.m. The rangers repulsed several mounted charges by the Comanches but were severely beset by Indians on foot, who approached Bird's position by way of a sheltered ravine. At sunset, however, the Indians withdrew, "yelling like devils," according to one survivor of the fight. Five of the rangers had been killed, including Bird, who was shot through the heart by an arrow. "He was the bravest of the brave," according to one of the rangers, "and died encouraging his men to fight like heroes." Comanche deaths were variously estimated at between thirty and seventy-five. Despite having successfully defended themselves in what is now known as the Bird's Creek Indian Fight , the rangers were too badly weakened to sustain their position any longer and immediately began their retreat toward Fort Smith, which they reached at 2:00 a.m. on May 27. Reinforced at Nashville and commanded by N. Brookshire, they returned to the field to bury their dead and found that Bird and the others had been mutilated by the Comanches. The rangers set out in pursuit of their enemies but were unable to catch them. They took revenge on the body of a Comanche chief who had been killed in the battle and buried near the Indians' abandoned camp. At the time of his death Bird owned 354 acres of land in Austin County. Blair Alexander was named administrator of his estate. A marker commemorating the Bird's Creek Fight was erected near Temple by the Texas Historical Commission .

Tsha Handbook →

Jones, William Goodrich

1873

William Goodrich Jones, acclaimed as the "father of Texas forestry," was born in New York on November 11, 1860, the son of John Maxwell and Henrietta (Offenbach) Jones. His father was a merchant, watchmaker, and jeweler of Galveston, Texas, with interests both in the East and abroad, and his mother was the sister of French composer Jacques Offenbach. Because of the looming Civil War , John Jones left his family with friends and hastened back to Texas. His wife and three small children joined him later, completing the trip from New Orleans by ship despite the Union blockade. The family soon moved to Houston to escape the naval warfare and soon after the war returned to New York. In 1873 they went to Europe for two years, and young Goodrich studied in a German grammar school. In the summer his father took him on a walking tour of the Black Forest, where they talked with rangers and forestry workers. There the younger Jones gained a deep appreciation of the beauty and commercial advantages of a well-managed forest. The continuous planting, cultivating, and cutting rotation enabled the villagers to make their livings from the forest, generation after generation. The maxim that when one cuts a tree from the forest he must plant another in its place became one of the abiding principles of Jones's life. Upon return to the United States, he entered Princeton, where he graduated in 1883 with a degree in business. After serving an apprenticeship in banks in Galveston and South Texas, he became president of a new bank in Temple. There he soon established himself as a civic and business leader. Wherever he went he urged the townspeople to plant trees, and soon Temple looked like "a green oasis in a sea of black plowed land." To promote tree planting statewide, Jones advocated the adoption of an official Arbor Day. The state legislature so designated February 22, but later changed the day to the third Friday in January. During his early years Jones made repeated trips through East Texas, observing the developing lumber industry , which followed the penetration of the piney woods by the railroads. In 1898 B. E. Fernow, chief of the United States Bureau of Forestry, made a trip to Texas and asked Jones to make a survey of the region and write a report on the condition and future of forestry in Texas. The resulting document became a blueprint for conservationists in Texas. Jones denounced the haste and waste of the large logging operators and predicted that under current methods the great forest would disappear within twenty-five years. He recommended that the state and federal governments cooperate to regulate a planned-cutting, sustained-yield, systematic reforestation program that would prolong the life of the Texas forest indefinitely. When President Theodore Roosevelt and chief forester Gifford Pinchot called a White House Conference on Conservation, Jones attended as one of the Texas delegates. After this meeting Jones led in organizing a conservation agency for Texas. In 1914 he gathered key lumbermen, conservationists, and public officials together for a meeting in Temple to found the Texas Forestry Association ; Jones served as its president until 1921. With assistance from the United States Forest Service, this group drafted legislation to establish a state department of forestry and lobbied for its enactment. Jones proved to be a very able lobbyist, and, after some compromises, the bill passed and the Texas Department of Forestry became a reality. Jones and the TFA participated in choosing the chief forester and in expanding the department, which, in 1926, became the Texas Forest Service . During the 1920s Jones led a drive to enact a severance tax on timber cut in Texas. Though this effort failed, the legislature provided more funds for the TFS, which developed a pine-seedling nursery and expanded fire-protection services. Later the state authorized a system of Texas state forests, one of which has been named the W. Goodrich Jones

Tsha Handbook →

Things to Do in Temple

quirky 21.9 mi away
Texas Chain Saw Massacre Gas Station

The original 1974 filming location is now a BBQ restaurant. Life imitates art.
food 21.4 mi away
Hwy 77 Cafe

A small-town local favorite on US Highway 77 in Rosebud, about 36 miles south of Waco. Texas country cooking — chicken fried steak, pork chops, liver and…
day trip
Day Trip to Temple 🚂 (FULL EPISODE) S14 E13

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

Sports in Temple

⭐ HOMETOWN LEGENDS Class 6A · Football

Temple Wildcats — Temple — a college & pro athletic pipeline

6 alumni who reached major-college or pro sports

Temple High School has a proud tradition of athletes who have gone on to compete at the highest levels of college and professional sports. The Wildcats have seen several of their own make their mark, including Ki Aldrich, an NFL center for the Chicago Cardinals and Washington Redskins, and Brad Dusek, an NFL linebacker also for the Washington Redskins. Rufus Granderson played as an AFL defensive tackle for the Dallas Texans, showcasing the depth of talent from Temple.

More recently, Tre Hawkins III has made his way to the NFL as a cornerback for the New York Giants. Dan Remsberg also played as an NFL tackle. The current generation continues this legacy, with Taurean York playing college football as a linebacker for the Texas A&M Aggies, demonstrating the ongoing success of Temple High School's athletic program.

Pro/D1 alumni
6
Class
6A
Founded
1883
Key Players
  • Ki Aldrich — , first pick of the 1939 NFL draft, NFL center for the Chicago Cardinals and Washington Re
  • Brad Dusek — , NFL linebacker for the Washington Redskins
  • Rufus Granderson — , AFL defensive tackle for the Dallas Texans
  • Tre Hawkins III — , NFL cornerback for the New York Giants
  • Dan Remsberg — , former NFL tackle
  • Taurean York — , college football linebacker for the Texas A&M Aggies
The moment

Tre Hawkins III played as an NFL cornerback for the New York Giants.

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

Everything Near Temple

438 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • Temple, TX

    Temple, Texas, is a principal city in Central Texas, founded in 1880 as a railroad construction camp. It quickly became a major railroad junction and division point, once nicknamed 'Tanglefoot' due to its rough early…

  • Maruna Meadow · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Maruna Meadow, a rare glimpse into the past. In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1881</say-as>, Czechoslovakian immigrants arrived in Bell County, finding this Blackland Prairie much like the…

  • Temple Public Library · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the site of a library with a story that's all about community power! Back in 1900, two women's clubs, the Literary Club and the Self Culture Club, joined forces to create…

  • Temple Daily Telegram · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Temple, where for over a century, one newspaper has shaped the very landscape. The Temple Daily Telegram, born in 1907, grew from humble beginnings into a powerful voice for Central Texas. By 1929,…

  • Temple · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Temple, Texas, a town born from the iron horse! Back in 1881, the Santa Fe Railroad laid its tracks here, and the town sprung up, named for a Santa Fe official. Imagine: June 29th, 1881, a grand…

  • Texas Forestry Association · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here, a banker named W. Goodrich Jones had a big idea. He arrived in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1888</say-as>, a time when this prairie town needed trees. Jones…

  • 42nd Reunion of Hood's Texas Brigade · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and just a little ways back, this marker honors the 42nd reunion of Hood's Texas Brigade. These Confederate veterans met annually, starting in 1872, with their final reunion in 1934. This…

  • Former Site of Y.M.C.A. · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here, you're passing the former site of the Y.M.C.A. Back in 1898, the Santa Fe Railroad started this organization to give lodging and recreation to its workers. But it wasn't…

  • Christ Episcopal Church of Temple · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Christ Episcopal Church of Temple, a beautiful Gothic Revival building. It started as a mission way back in 1889, but it wasn't until 1902 that it became a full parish. After a public fundraising…

  • First Christian Church of Temple · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the First Christian Church of Temple. When this town was founded by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1880, churches got free land if they built here. A group of Christians took that offer, organizing their…

  • First United Methodist Church of Temple · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the First United Methodist Church. Organized in 1882, it was one of the very first institutions established in this city, just a year after Temple itself was founded. The…

  • Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, A.F. & A.M. · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the location of Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, a Masonic lodge founded in Bell County in 1875. For over a century, they've been involved in fraternity, charitable works, and public service, supporting…

Show all 200 nearby places
  • Ferguson Home · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker

    Built 1907 for James E. and Miriam A. Ferguson, each later elected twice to governor's office in Texas. Mrs. Ferguson was the first woman elected Governor in any state. During their terms the Texas Highway Department…

  • First Presbyterian Church of Temple · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the First Presbyterian Church of Temple. This congregation was the very first church established in Temple, organized way back on October 19, 1881. Twenty-four charter members, dismissed…

  • Cora Anderson Negro Hospital · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    Officially opened on May 17, 1953, Cora Anderson Negro Hospital offered medical services to the growing African American population of Temple and Greater Bell County. The hospital featured 16 patient rooms and a…

  • Grace United Methodist Church · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here stands a piece of German heritage. In 1882, German immigrants founded this congregation, calling it Friedens, or Peace Church. The very next year, in 1883, this sanctuary…

  • Eighth Street Baptist Church · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, a town that owes its start to the railroad. Back in 1882, the Rev. L.J. Mackey organized a church specifically to serve the African American railroad workers who were building this new…

  • Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Church · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Church, a cornerstone of Temple's African American community. It all started back in 1883, when missionary elder George Connor organized the congregation. They built their first…

  • Dr. John S. and Mary McCelvey House · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Dr. John S. and Mary McCelvey House, completed around 1906. Notice the concrete blocks it's built from – they were cast right on the Horne family plantation near Waco! Dr. McCelvey was a…

  • City Federation of Women's Clubs · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here, you're passing the site of a century of women's civic leadership. After Temple's first women's club successfully founded a library and disbanded, this City Federation rose…

  • The Hospital That Built a Medical City · 0.8 mi

    As you pass the enormous Baylor Scott & White campus, you're looking at the evolution of a hospital built for railroad workers. In 1891, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway established a hospital here for its…

  • The Engineering of Group Medicine · 0.8 mi

    The massive medical center you see in Temple is more than just a big hospital; it's the result of a revolutionary idea about how medicine should be organized. Dr. Arthur C. Scott and Dr. Raleigh R. White Jr. became…

  • The Grocery Wholesaler That Went Global · 0.8 mi

    You’re in the headquarters city of a company that keeps America’s convenience stores, restaurants, and retailers stocked. McLane Company started in 1894 not here, but in a small town nearby, as a tiny retail grocery. By…

  • Walker, C.L. · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the C.L. Walker residence, a home built in 1912 by contractor Will Campbell for the Walker family. C.L. Walker himself served as Temple's mayor from 1922 to 1924, and he and his wife Daisy lived here…

  • Immanuel Baptist Church · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Immanuel Baptist Church. It began as a West Side Mission shortly after 1900, organized as Emmanuel Baptist in 1913. The church built its first new structure in 1923 and later formally…

  • Jones, W. Goodrich · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker

    Known as "Father of Forestry in Texas." Came to Temple, 1888, as a banker. Planted first tree (a pecan) in town; this led to establishing Arbor Day in Texas in 1889, through legislation introduced by Sen. Geo. W. Tyler.…

  • Santa Fe Memorial Hospital, Inc. · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Santa Fe Memorial Hospital in Temple. This was the very first hospital in town, opening its doors in 1891, specifically for the employees of the booming Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad. The…

  • Fletcher, Omar L. · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former home of Omar L. Fletcher, a Bell County native who built a business empire right here. Fletcher Enterprises, a major banking and industrial firm, grew from a family business started way…

  • First Lutheran Church · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the site of the First Lutheran Church. It started in 1886 as Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, organized by Rev. Carl Kreutzenstein for the city's German-speaking…

  • Fletcher, James A. · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former home of James Andrew Fletcher, a true Temple titan. Born right here in Bell County in 1858, Fletcher built a business empire. By 1907, he and his son Omar took over a local business,…

  • Bird Creek Battlefield · 1.1 mi

    You're driving past the site of the Bird Creek Battlefield, a pivotal clash in Texas Ranger history. On May 26th, 1839, Captain John Bird and just 34 Texas Rangers faced a massive force of 240 Native Americans right…

  • Yee Pat Ling · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, where Yee Pat Ling, a Chinese immigrant, built a life despite facing immigration restrictions. Arriving in 1898, he became a respected businessman and restaurateur by 1899. He even married…

  • Raleigh Richardson White, Sr. · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a remarkable life, that of Raleigh Richardson White, Sr. Born into wealth in Missouri, he defied his father to join the Confederate army, even serving under the legendary Nathan Bedford…

  • Cyrus Maxwell Campbell · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the heart of Temple, where Cyrus Maxwell Campbell built a lumber empire. He fought in the Civil War as a captain, then returned to Texas to build a business from the ground up. His C.M. Campbell &…

  • Nora Lee Mayhew Wendland · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the heart of Temple, where Nora Lee Mayhew Wendland left her mark. A violinist and musicologist, she led the State Federation of Music Clubs during World War II, donating musical items for the war…

  • Hillcrest Cemetery · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Hillcrest Cemetery in Temple. What started as a simple family graveyard in the 1870s, known then as Williamson Branch, grew into a sprawling urban resting place. In 1884, the landowners deeded the…

  • White, Jr., Raleigh R., M.D. · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a medical pioneer in Temple. Raleigh R. White, Jr., a Mississippi native, came to Texas in 1882. After graduating from Tulane's medical school, he was hired in 1895 as the house physician…

  • Seven Star Cemetery · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Seven Star Cemetery, a place with a name that whispers of freedom. Though its exact beginnings are lost to time, many believe this was a burial ground for African Americans in the 1860s, possibly…

  • Ralph Wilson, Sr. · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, Texas, the home of a man whose ambition and innovation reshaped modern furniture and building design. Ralph Wilson, Sr., started with just a high school education and a move to California…

  • Scott, Arthur Carroll, Sr., M.D. · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a Texas medical giant, Dr. Arthur Carroll Scott, Sr. Born in Gainesville in 1865, Scott graduated medical school in 1886 and quickly rose through the ranks. By 1892, he was Chief Surgeon…

  • Potter, Claudia, M.D. · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a true medical pioneer! Claudia Potter, born in 1881, became one of Texas's first female doctors. After graduating from UT Medical Branch in 1904, she made history right here at Scott and…

  • George Valter Brindley, Sr., M.D. · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the story of Dr. George Brindley. A Texas native, he graduated from medical school in 1911 and came straight to the Temple Sanitarium, which you might know today as Scott…

  • Dunbar High School, Temple (Mean Joe Greene) · 1.4 mi

    The old Dunbar High School in Temple, Texas (now Meridith-Dunbar Early Childhood Academy) is where Charles 'Mean Joe' Greene played on a team with a losing record before a scholarship to North Texas State. There the…

  • Log Cabin Study of Dr. Arthur Carroll Scott · 1.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a unique medical retreat. This humble log cabin, originally two small corn cribs, was the private study of Dr. Arthur Carroll Scott, co-founder of the renowned Scott and White Memorial…

  • Bird Creek Indian Battle · 1.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a fierce clash on May 26, 1839. Captain John Bird and his Ranger force of 34 men faced overwhelming odds, battling 240 Indians. Though Captain Bird, Sergeant Weaver, Jesse Nash, H.M.C.…

  • Trooper Thomas Nipper Memorial Highway · 1.6 mi · Historical Marker

    Honors Trooper Thomas Nipper, 35-year veteran of Texas DPS Temple, killed November 4, 2017, when a pickup struck him during a traffic stop on I-35 in Bell County. Honorary segment runs I-35 MM 294-297 between Temple and…

  • Lake Polk Park · 1.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of what used to be Lake Polk Park, a place born from a railroad's need for water. Right after founding Temple, the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad Company built a dam on Bird Creek. By…

  • Scott & White Hospital · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the heart of what started as a railroad town. In 1881, the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway laid out Temple. Just ten years later, they opened a hospital for their workers. Two ambitious doctors,…

  • Raleigh R. White, Jr., M.D. · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a pioneering medical institution in Temple. Raleigh R. White, Jr., a young doctor fresh out of Tulane at just 21, arrived here in 1895. He was hired as the house physician at the Gulf,…

  • Claudia Potter, M.D. · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a true Texas medical pioneer, Dr. Claudia Potter. Born in 1881, she graduated from UT Medical Branch in 1904, one of only six women to do so. Hired in 1906, she became the first woman…

  • Arthur Carroll Scott, Sr., M.D. · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a true Texas medical pioneer! Arthur Carroll Scott, Sr., M.D., born in Gainesville, arrived in Temple in 1892 to become Chief Surgeon for the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Hospital. He…

  • Former Site of Scott & White School of Nursing · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former site of the Scott & White School of Nursing in Temple. Founded in 1904 by Doctors Scott and White, this school was part of their Temple Sanitarium, aiming to train nurses in the Florence…

  • Wilma Carlton · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a pioneer in Texas nursing. Wilma Carlton, born in 1882, came from humble beginnings in Milam County. After her father's tragic death in 1899, she left Texas to train as a nurse in…

  • Anna Laura Cole · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the site of a true nursing pioneer, Anna Laura Cole. Born in 1909, she graduated valedictorian from Scott & White School of Nursing and went on to lead the school for…

  • George Valter Brindley, Sr., M.D. · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the heart of Temple, and right here is the story of Dr. George V. Brindley, Sr. Born on a farm, he graduated medical school in 1911 and immediately joined the Temple Sanitarium. He rose through the…

  • Messer-Limmer Farmhouse · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Messer-Limmer Farmhouse, a rare survivor from a time when Bell County was dotted with farm complexes just like this. Built in 1895 for Mary Margaret Messer by her family, it features the…

  • Cultural Activities Center · 2.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the site of a groundbreaking arts organization. Back in 1958, during a national surge in the arts, a group of Temple women, led by violinist Nora Lee Wendland, decided to…

  • Lancaster Cemetery · 2.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Lancaster Cemetery, a place with roots stretching back to 1851. That's when Thomas Lancaster, a farmer and rancher, arrived in Bell County and decided to set aside this very spot for neighbors to…

  • Dennis, Joseph · 2.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, Texas, home of Joseph Dennis, a Tennessee native who arrived here in 1849 with his wife and children. After Bell County was formed in 1850, Dennis was crucial in choosing the spot for the…

  • Hodge Cemetery · 2.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Hodge Cemetery, a pioneer graveyard in Bell County. Burials here date back to at least 1868, with the Clary family interred before the cemetery was named for J.W. Hodge, who bought the land in 1870.…

  • Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board · 2.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, the birthplace of a vital Texas agency. Back in the 1930s, the Dust Bowl devastated the nation, and Texas knew it needed a better plan. Governor Dan Moody called for a committee in 1931.…

  • King's Daughters Hospital · 2.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a hospital founded by a group of dedicated women. Back in 1893, the Temple Charter of the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons, a Protestant ecumenical group, came…

  • King's Daughters Hospital School of Nursing · 2.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the King's Daughters Hospital School of Nursing in Temple. Nursing training started here way back in 1897, with formal classes beginning in 1903. The school officially got its charter in…

  • Baugh, Samuel Adrian [Slingin’ Sammy] · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Samuel Adrian (Sammy) Baugh, star quarterback at Texas Christian University and record-setting passer for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League, was born on March 17, 1914, in Temple, Texas. He was the…

  • Bird, John · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    John Bird, soldier and Indian fighter, was born in what was later Perry County, Tennessee, in 1795, the son of William Bird. After service under Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812 he returned to Tennessee, where he…

  • Jones, William Goodrich · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    William Goodrich Jones, acclaimed as the "father of Texas forestry," was born in New York on November 11, 1860, the son of John Maxwell and Henrietta (Offenbach) Jones. His father was a merchant, watchmaker, and jeweler…

  • Little Joe y La Familia · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here in Temple, a musical legend was born. In 1959, José María de León Hernández, known to the world as Little Joe, formed his band, initially called Little Joe and the…

  • Mayborn, Frank Willis · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, and right here is the area that Frank Mayborn helped shape. He wasn't just a newspaper publisher; he was a kingmaker and a military booster. In the late 1930s, as president of the…

  • Potter, Claudia · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here in Temple, you're passing the historic Scott and White Memorial Hospital. For over forty years, this was the domain of Dr. Claudia Potter, a true pioneer. Born in…

  • Scott, Arthur Carroll · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, Texas, a city that owes much of its medical legacy to Dr. Arthur Carroll Scott. Born near Gainesville in 1865, Scott returned to Texas after his medical training in New York. He quickly…

  • Torn, Elmore Rual [Rip] · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here in Temple, a legend was born. Elmore Rual 'Rip' Torn, a name synonymous with intense acting, got his start right here. After studying agriculture and then theater at…

  • Site of 1920's Factory of the Temple Monoplane · 2.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a pioneering Texas aviation factory. Back in 1927, George Williams and his partners formed the Texas Aero Corporation right here in Temple. They designed and built the Temple Monoplane, a…

  • Douglas, Clifford [Boots] · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, maybe even passing through Temple, the birthplace of Clifford 'Boots' Douglas. Born in 1908, Douglas became one of the state's top jazz bandleaders during the 1930s. He got his…

  • Olin E. Teague Veterans Center, Temple · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the Olin E. Teague Veterans Center. Its story begins back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1942</say-as> as McCloskey General Hospital. It was a massive…

  • Procter, Leslie Clay, Jr. · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Travis County, and right here, Leslie Clay Procter Jr. made a name for himself fighting corruption. Born in Temple, Procter was a decorated Marine who served in both World War II and the Korean…

  • Russell, Levi James · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, Texas, and you might be passing near the town of Temple, where Dr. Levi James Russell lived. He was a doctor and a botanist, but he also held some radical views for his time. In fact,…

  • Scott and White Memorial Hospital · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, the heart of a medical empire that started with a couple of ambitious doctors. Arthur Scott, originally from Gainesville, came here in 1892 to run the Santa Fe Railroad hospital. He soon…

  • Temple, Bernard Moore · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, Texas, a city named for the man who built the railroad that made it possible. Bernard Moore Temple was a Confederate veteran turned railway engineer. In 1881, he was surveying a line for…

  • White, Raleigh R., Jr. · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, Texas, a city that owes much of its medical legacy to Dr. Raleigh R. White, Jr. After graduating medical school at just twenty years old, he came to Temple in 1895 to take a position as a…

  • High, A. J. · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, maybe near Temple, and you're thinking about taking to the skies. Well, back in December 1941, a young A.J. High, just seventeen, was determined to fly. He'd scraped together some…

  • Barclay, William Archibald · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through North Texas, maybe near Temple or Fort Worth, where William Archibald Barclay made his musical mark. Born in Temple in 1907, this prodigy was playing piano as soon as his hands could reach the…

  • Brindley, George Valter · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, perhaps near Temple, where Dr. George Valter Brindley spent over half a century shaping one of the region's most important medical institutions. Born in Auburn back in 1886,…

  • Pendleton, George Cassety · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, Texas, and right here in Temple, George Cassety Pendleton built a remarkable career. Born in Tennessee in 1845, his family moved to Ellis County when he was just twelve. After serving…

  • Temple, TX · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, a town that owes its very existence to the railroad. Back in 1880, Jonathan Moore sold land to the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway for a construction camp. It was first called Temple…

  • Dienst, Alexander, Jr. · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, Texas, a town that was home to Alexander Dienst, Jr. While he was a practicing dentist, Dienst was also a passionate historian and collector, especially focused on the Texas Navy. His…

  • Fleming, Richard Tudor · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Temple, Texas, where Richard Tudor Fleming was born in 1890. Back in college at the University of Texas, Fleming was more than just a pole vaulter and yearbook editor. He was one of the…

  • Lang, Cecil Herbert, Sr. · 2.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, maybe near Temple, where Cecil Herbert Lang, Sr. was born back in 1891. He became a Presbyterian minister, serving churches all over the South. But Lang wasn't just a preacher; he…

  • Blackland Experiment Station, Substation No. 5 · 3.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the site of the Blackland Experiment Station, Substation Number 5. Authorized by the Texas Legislature back in 1909, this research facility opened in 1911. Texas A&M…

  • Steakley Home - Temple's Oldest Home · 3.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Temple's oldest home, built way back in 1874. That's seven years before the city of Temple even existed! It was built by F. L. Wright, a Confederate veteran who settled here in 1867. Imagine, this…

  • Little Flock Cemetery and Primitive Baptist Church · 3.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Little Flock Cemetery and Primitive Baptist Church. This place started with land donated by J.W. and Mary Moore, who ran a local gristmill and cotton gin. The first burial here, around 1860, was a…

  • Green Oaks Farm · 4.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the historic Green Oaks Farm, a place that's been central to this area since before Texas was even a republic. It all started with the Maximo Moreno land grant back in 1834. Moses and Barzilla…

  • Temple Founder Lions Club · 4.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Temple Founder Lions Club, a group that's been serving this community for over a century. They officially launched in May of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1917</say-as>, with…

  • Stokes-Nelson Cemetery · 4.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Stokes-Nelson Cemetery, a small family graveyard that's a reminder of Bell County's pioneer heritage. The family settled here in the late 1850s, and the cemetery began in 1858 with the burial of…

  • K.M. Jones Family Cemetery · 4.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the K.M. Jones Family Cemetery, a resting place for a true Texas pioneer. Keeton McLemore Jones himself was buried here in 1890, but his story goes way back. He fought in the Texas War for…

  • Memorial Baptist Church of Temple · 4.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, a town that grew fast in the late 1800s. Just a decade after Temple was founded, plans for this church began. It was chartered in 1892 as Memorial Mission Chapel, with just 12 members. The…

  • Marshall, John Leggett · 4.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where John Leggett Marshall lived out his long life. Born in Illinois in 1811, he came to Texas with his family way back in 1829. He worked as a farmer and blacksmith, but when Texas fought…

  • Greathouse Cemetery · 4.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Greathouse Cemetery, a final resting place with roots stretching back to the Texas frontier. Reverend Early Greathouse, a minister and former Alabama legislator, arrived here in 1870. He built…

  • First Baptist Church of Temple · 5.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Temple, and right here is the site of the First Baptist Church. But this congregation started way back in 1874, just a mile west of here, as Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. Their first little…

  • Hill Cemetery · 5.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Hill Cemetery, established back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1852</say-as>. It was recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">2005</say-as>.

  • Trooper Tom Nipper Memorial Highway · 5.9 mi · Historical Marker

    The three mile stretch of Interstate Thirty Five between Belton and Temple, from mile marker two ninety four to two ninety seven, is named for Senior Trooper Tom Nipper. On the afternoon of the fourth of November, two…

  • The Grain Dealer Who Became Honest John Grey · 6.0 mi

    In March of nineteen sixteen, a Temple grain dealer simply vanished. His name was A. B. Crouch, a farm boy raised near Heidenheimer who had become one of the most prolific grain dealers in the country. Within days his…

  • Named for a Blockade Runner · 6.0 mi

    The little railroad town of Heidenheimer carries the name of a Galveston merchant with quite a past. In eighteen eighty-one, when a railway station and post office opened here, both were named for S. Heidenheimer, a…

  • The Town That Moved a Mile · 6.4 mi

    The place you know as Troy is not the original. The first settlement sat two miles north of here on Elm Creek, and it was called Troy too. Then in 1882 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad ran its line through, and…

  • The Interstate That Remade Troy · 6.4 mi

    The road you're driving on right now, Interstate 35, is the single most important piece of engineering in Troy’s modern history. When it was built in the late 1950s and early '60s, it was a monumental undertaking of…

  • Troy, TX · 6.4 mi

    In a unique event, Troy renamed itself Troy Aikman, Texas, for a brief period in the 1990s in honor of the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl-winning quarterback. This quirky name change was reflected on signs posted at the city…

  • The Town That Waited to Be a City · 6.4 mi

    Troy was founded in 1882, but for nearly eighty years it wasn't officially a city. It was an unincorporated community, meaning it had no mayor, no city council, and no local police force. It relied on Bell County for…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Lake Belton (Temple) · 6.5 mi

    Lake Belton (Temple, TX) placed on the 5A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Logan Winkler (3 HR).

  • Hamilton, Jeff · 6.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where Jeff Hamilton lived for over fifty years. Born a slave in Kentucky, he was brought to Texas as a child and became Sam Houston's personal servant and companion to his sons. Hamilton…

  • Missouri, Kansas & Texas (Katy) Railroad Bridge · 6.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a vital piece of Texas industry: the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Bridge, or the Katy Bridge. When the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad initially bypassed Belton, the town rallied…

  • Gaines, James Taylor · 6.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what used to be Pendleton, a town founded by James Taylor Gaines. He was a ferryman on the Sabine River, bringing four-fifths of the colonists across from the United States. But Gaines is most…

  • Pendleton · 6.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Pendleton, a town that started life as Pendletonville in the 1880s. It was renamed in 1904 for George C. Pendleton, a true Texas political powerhouse. Pendleton served as a State…

  • Sanderford Log Cabin · 6.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Nolan Valley, and right here is one of the earliest homes built in this community. Look for the hand-hewn oak logs! This cabin was built in 1867 by John Rice Sanderford, a Civil War veteran, who…

  • Harrison, Willis L. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, near Troy, where Willis L. Harrison, a surgeon and preacher, made his mark. In the late 1890s, he served in the Texas Senate as one of only two Populists. He championed a bill to…

  • Norman Austin · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Norman Austin's final home and business in Belton. Born in New York in 1811, Austin arrived in Texas in 1835 and immediately joined the fight for independence. He survived the Goliad…

  • Troy, TX (Bell County) · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving north on I-35, and right here is Troy, Texas. This town didn't just appear; it grew up around a railroad station built in 1882. It actually supplanted an earlier community, also called Troy, that was two…

  • Troy, TX (Freestone County) · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Freestone County, and right here, you're passing the site of what was once Troy, also known as Pine Bluff. Established around 1847 by a handful of families, Troy quickly became the most important…

  • First Presbyterian Church · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Belton, passing the site of the First Presbyterian Church. A congregation was established here in 1860 with just eight members. Over the years, the church building moved to a few different…

  • Wedemeyer House · 7.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're passing the Wedemeyer House, a distinctive Victorian home built in 1891. It's connected to one of Bell County's historic private schools. Charles Wedemeyer, who had a career in education at Baylor and other…

  • Curtis Mansion · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising past the Curtis Mansion in Belton. Built in 1902 by cotton broker William Ray Miller, some folks called it 'A Monument to King Cotton' thanks to its impressive cost. Miller and his family lived here only…

  • Baggett, Ele B. · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Ele Baggett house, a beautiful Queen Anne home built starting in 1892. Look for the sunbursts in the gables and those fish-scale shingles! Ele and his wife Mary built this place, but Ele had…

  • S.P.J.S.T. Lodge No. 47, Hvezda Texasu · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Hvezda Texasu, the first Czech lodge of the SPJST in Bell County. Back in January of 1903, Frank Motl and J.F. Sefcik gathered Seaton men in a blacksmith shop to form this benevolent…

  • A fireplace in every room · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Curtis Mansion, a grand dame built in 1902 by cotton money. W.R. and Ida Miller spared no expense on this late Victorian home, blending Queen Anne style with the popular Shingle style of the East…

  • Jeff Hamilton · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Jeff Hamilton lived out his later years in Belton. Born a slave in Kentucky, Hamilton's life took a dramatic turn when Sam Houston himself rescued him from a cruel master at a slave…

  • Robert Emmet Bledsoe Baylor · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the birthplace of a true Texas legend, Robert Emmet Bledsoe Baylor. Born in Kentucky in 1793, Baylor was a lawmaker and judge who served in Congress before heading to Texas in 1839. He became an…

  • The Rev. George Washington Baines · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the resting place of the Reverend George Washington Baines, a towering figure in early Texas Baptist life. Born in North Carolina in 1809, he moved to Texas in 1850, quickly earning a reputation as a…

  • Tennessee Valley · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former site of Tennessee Valley, a community that thrived for nearly a century. It was named in 1851 when eight families from Tennessee arrived, seeking fertile land nestled between the Sparta…

  • Luther Memorial · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Luther Memorial, a symbol of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. It has ties to the school's founding in 1845, then known as Baylor University's female department. The original Luther Hall here…

  • Scott and White School of Nursing · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a pioneering nursing school, the Scott and White School of Nursing. Founded in 1904 by doctors Arthur C. Scott and Raleigh White, Jr., it was part of their Temple Sanitarium. Modeled…

  • Texas Baptist Educational Society · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the birthplace of higher education for Baptist women in Texas. Back on October 7, 1841, the Union Baptist Association met in Fayette County and formed the Texas Baptist Educational Society. Their…

  • A Memorial to Civil War Education in Texas · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Belton, and right here is a reminder of how the Civil War changed education across Texas. Before the war, Baylor University was thriving, but by 1861, things took a turn. State funding for…

  • Mary Allen Oliver Cemetery · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Mary Allen Oliver Cemetery, a resting place established in the heart of Bell County. It all started in 1885 when Franklin Allen was buried here, the first to be laid to rest on his…

  • First Baptist Church of Belton · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Belton, and right here is the site of the First Baptist Church. It was organized way back in the summer of 1853 with just eight charter members. They met in a small frame building on Pearl Street.…

  • Belton Woman's Commonwealth · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Belton Woman's Commonwealth, a truly unique community founded in 1867. After Martha White McWhirter experienced a religious vision, she and other Belton women formed a group committed…

  • Belton House · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Belton House, built in 1850 by Sarah Lawler. Back then, it was little more than a shed, but Mrs. Lawler used it to board the workmen who were busy surveying and building this very…

  • Cochran, Blair and Potts Department Store · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Belton, and right here is the site of a mercantile empire that spanned a century. It started way back in 1869 with Henry Mansfield Cook's first store. By 1876, his business in Buffalo was stocking…

  • Fellrath Building · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Fellrath Building in Belton, a structure that's seen nearly a century of commerce. Built sometime between 1881 and 1891, it first housed a hardware and buggy shop, then a grain company. But in…

  • First United Methodist Church of Belton · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the First United Methodist Church of Belton, a cornerstone of this community since 1850. It started as part of a circuit, a traveling ministry, until 1869. By the 1880s, the congregation needed more…

  • Bell County Jail · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the old Bell County Jail in Belton. The first jail here, a simple log structure, went up in 1854. But it was this limestone building, finished in 1873, that made history. In 1874,…

  • Peter Hansbrough Bell · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Peter Hansbrough Bell. 1812 - 1898. (right panel) Fought at San Jacinto April 21, 1836. Assistant Inspector General and Inspector General of the Texas Army 1837-1839. Captain of Texas Rangers and…

  • Central Manufacturing Co. · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Central Manufacturing Company, founded right here in Belton back in 1893 by a Scotsman named Robert Naismith. Initially powered by steam, this shop supplied and repaired machine parts…

  • Woman's Wednesday Club of Belton · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    Hey road-trippers! You're passing through Belton, Texas, where you might just be driving by the oldest active women's club in Bell County. That's the Woman's Wednesday Club, founded way back in 1898. It started with…

  • Bell County Courthouses · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of three Bell County courthouses, right here in Belton! It all started back in 1850 when the county was created. Before the first official courthouse, county business was handled in a…

  • Carnegie Library Building · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the old Carnegie Library in Belton, a beautiful Beaux Arts building completed in 1904. This wasn't just any library; it was funded by a generous donation from industrialist Andrew Carnegie himself.…

  • Home of Capt. A.J. Harris · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the home of Captain A.J. Harris, built in 1866 right here in Belton. Harris was a state senator, a Confederate veteran, and a lawyer. This limestone house, quarried nearby, has a unique construction…

  • Bell County Courthouse · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Bell County Courthouse in Belton, a stunning example of Renaissance Revival architecture. Designed by Jasper N. Preston & Son, this courthouse was completed in 1885. Notice the arched passageways…

  • Belton Farmers Co-op Gin · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Belton Farmers Co-op Gin, a rare survivor built in 1927. While most cotton gins back then were wood, this one's made of solid brick. It served as the heart of Belton's cotton industry until…

  • A Tale of Two Towns · 7.8 mi

    As you drive down the main road here, you're crossing the invisible seam between two different places. For a century this wasn't one town, but two, and they sit about a mile and a half apart. On one side, Little River,…

  • Engineering a Town's Fate · 7.8 mi

    The fate of Little River was decided by 19th-century engineering. When the railroad pushed through Bell County in the 1880s, its surveyors weren't thinking about existing towns. They were solving a physics and economics…

  • Belton, TX · 7.8 mi

    Belton's history is marked by significant events that shaped the city. Initially settled in 1850 and named Nolanville, it was renamed Belton in 1851 after becoming the county seat of newly created Bell County, named in…

  • Fort, station, then a merger · 7.8 mi

    Listen for a train. The tracks that parallel the highway here are why Little River sits where it does. The story starts in 1836 with Fort Griffin — Little River Fort, most people called it — thrown up to shield…

  • Little River-Academy, TX · 7.8 mi

    In 1836, a fort named Fort Griffin was built in what is now Little River-Academy, providing early Texans a place to settle amidst conflicts with Native Americans. The railroad arrived in 1880, followed by the post…

  • Hardin-Kelton, Sarah Ann · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Sarah Ann Hardin Kelton lived, a woman who showed mercy in the heat of revolution. After the decisive victory at San Jacinto, many Mexican officers and soldiers found themselves in her…

  • William Whitaker Reed · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Belton, Texas, where William Whitaker Reed made his mark. Reed arrived in Texas with his family back in 1833, settling near the Little River. He and his brother fought in the Republic of Texas…

  • Isbell, James H. · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the resting place of James H. Isbell, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. Born in Tennessee in 1814, Isbell fought for Texas's independence. He passed away in 1858. His wife, Amanda, born in…

  • African American Education in Belton · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Belton, and right here is the site of a historic educational journey for African Americans. Back in 1882, Mrs. Aleck McGee was hired to teach the first colored school. Then, in 1890, Fisk…

  • Captain Andrew Caddell · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the resting place of Captain Andrew Caddell, a veteran of the Texas Revolution. He fought as a private at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto, then later commanded his own company of Texas volunteers.…

  • South Belton Cemetery · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the South Belton Cemetery, established way back in 1851. It's also recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery, with that designation coming in 2003. This ground holds the stories of early Bell County.

  • The Woman Who Lived on the Courthouse Square · 7.9 mi

    Look at the Bell County Courthouse. It's a grand, impressive building from eighteen eighty-four, and it has occupied its own full block on Belton's Public Square ever since. Now picture that same square in the years…

  • Nine Troys Under One Hill · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: the archaeological site at Hisarlik in modern Turkey is not one frozen city. People built, destroyed, repaired, and rebuilt settlements on the same strategic hill…

  • The War Between Evidence and Epic · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: Greek tradition describes a ten-year war after Paris of Troy took, or eloped with, Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. Archaeology confirms that a fortified…

  • The Horse That May Never Have Existed · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: the wooden horse appears after the events of Homer's Iliad, in later Greek and Roman tellings. Greeks supposedly hid warriors inside, left it as a gift, and sailed…

  • Achilles and Hector · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: Achilles is the Greeks' greatest fighter, but the Iliad does not tell the familiar heel story. It focuses on his rage after a dispute with Agamemnon and the human…

  • The Excavator Who Cut Too Deep · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: Heinrich Schliemann made Troy internationally famous in the nineteenth century, but his determination to find the Homeric city damaged the site. He drove a large…

  • The Captain Comes Home · 7.9 mi

    In 1944, millions of Americans read a newspaper column by Ernie Pyle and felt they knew a soldier named Captain Henry Waskow. Pyle described the quiet, profound respect of Waskow's men as his body was carried down off…

  • The Engineering That Made a Town · 7.9 mi

    The very ground Morgan's Point Resort is built on exists as a town because of a massive work of civil engineering just a few miles away: the Belton Dam. Authorized by Congress after devastating floods in the region, the…

  • Helen, Paris, and the Cause of a War · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: Helen of Troy became the face that launched a thousand ships, though that famous phrase was written long after Homer. In the myth, Paris judges a contest among…

  • What the Iliad Actually Covers · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: Homer's Iliad covers only a short period near the end of the supposed ten-year war. It does not begin with Paris taking Helen, and it ends before the wooden horse…

  • From City Wall to Computer Screen · 7.9 mi

    Since you're in Troy, Texas, here's the Troy tangent: Troy's reputed walls made Trojans a natural mascot for strength and defense, while the trick that bypassed those walls gave computing the opposite metaphor. A…

  • The University That Moved to Town · 7.9 mi

    Belton's identity is deeply tied to the university you see here, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, or UMHB. Its history is one of the oldest in Texas, chartered in 1845 as the Female Department of Baylor University…

  • Taming the Leon River · 7.9 mi

    The landscape around Belton was shaped for centuries by the Leon River, a waterway known for a classic Texas problem: cycles of drought and devastating floods. The flood of September 1936 was particularly destructive —…

  • Peyton, TX · 7.9 mi

    Established around 1865 by formerly enslaved people, Peyton, Texas, was named for one of its founders, Peyton Roberts. After emancipation, Roberts left Lockhart for the area that would become Peyton, acquiring land…

  • Becoming a 'Resort' City · 7.9 mi

    By 1970 this peninsula on the east shore of Belton Lake was brand new. Developers had bought 1,277 acres of the old James E. Morgan family land and cut it into lakeside lots, and at the end of June that year the people…

  • Fort Griffin · 7.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a frontier fort, once known as Fort Griffin, or maybe Fort Smith, or even Little River Fort. In November of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1836</say-as>, George B. Erath and…

  • Morgan's Point Resort, TX · 7.9 mi

    The ethnic heritage of Morgan's Point Resort is diverse, with the 2000 census indicating a population that was 91.03% White, 0.43% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, and 5.82%…

  • Clark House · 7.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Clark House in Belton, a home with a story that stretches back to the 1890s. Built in the early 1890s, it was a wedding gift in 1895 from prominent businessman Peter Hammersmith to his son, John…

  • Muehlhause House · 8.0 mi · Historical Marker

    Look to your right, past the modern homes, and you might catch a glimpse of the Muehlhause House. Fred Muehlhause, a German immigrant, arrived in Texas in 1885. He became a shoemaker and eventually opened the Belton…

  • Willingham Spring Baptist Church · 8.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Willingham Springs Baptist Church, organized back in 1911. Local farmer Wilson Willingham gave the land, and oral history says Hanna Elizabeth Kidd Myers, known as 'Grandma' Kidd, drove…

  • Seaton Cemetery · 8.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Seaton Cemetery, a final resting place for many Czech immigrants who settled this area in the late 1800s. The community of Lost Prairie-Seaton had a post office, school, store, and even a saloon.…

  • Seaton Brethren Church · 8.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Seaton, a community founded by Czech immigrants seeking religious freedom and opportunity. In 1906, these immigrants organized the Seaton Czech Moravian Brethren Church, holding services in homes…

  • Little River-Wilson Valley Cemetery · 8.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Little River-Wilson Valley Cemetery, a final resting place for a pioneering family. In 1867, the Wilson brothers and their families left Mississippi, seeking to escape the devastation of the…

  • Belton Woman's Commonwealth · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in Belton, you're driving past the birthplace of a remarkable experiment in female independence. In the late 1860s, Martha McWhirter gathered a group of women seeking spiritual and financial autonomy. Tired…

  • Brown, George Rufus · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here is the birthplace of George Rufus Brown, a man who helped build modern Texas and beyond. Born in Belton in 1898, Brown returned to Texas after a mining accident and…

  • Brown, Herman · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Belton, where a business empire got its start with eighteen mules. In 1914, Herman Brown received those mules instead of back wages, and decided to go into the construction business. By 1919, with a…

  • Ferguson, James Edward · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, perhaps near Belton, where a charismatic figure named James E. 'Pa' Ferguson got his start. He wasn't born into politics, but worked fields, railroads, and eventually practiced law.…

  • Hamilton, Jeff · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, perhaps near Belton, and you might be passing a historical marker honoring Jeff Hamilton. Born a slave in Kentucky in 1840, he was brought to Fort Bend County, Texas, as a young…

  • Hare, Luther Rector · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here in Belton, Luther Rector Hare got his start. Born in Indiana in 1851, Hare moved to Belton as a boy. He went on to West Point, graduating in 1874, and joined the…

  • Howell, Thomas Alva, Jr. [Tom] · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here, in the early 1900s, a young jazz musician named Tom Howell was making a name for himself. Born in Belton in 1906, Howell grew up surrounded by music. His father ran…

  • McWhirter, Martha White · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Belton, Texas, where in 1866, Martha White McWhirter experienced a profound religious revelation. After losing family members, she believed she had been 'sanctified' and began leading a women's…

  • Walker, Walton Harris · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here in Belton, Walton Harris Walker was born. He rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army, serving in World War I and World War II, even earning commendations from General…

  • Allen, Samuel Tabor · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Navarro County, not far from where Samuel Tabor Allen met a violent end. Allen, an early Texas public figure, was part of the prerepublic political scene, even getting arrested with William B.…

  • Hare, Silas · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, maybe near Belton, and right here is the story of Silas Hare. He was a soldier, a lawyer, and an explorer who found himself in a desperate situation. In 1858, Hare joined an…

  • Saunders, Xenophon Boone · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, Texas, right near Belton. This town elected its first mayor in 1860, and that man was Xenophon Boone Saunders. Now, Saunders was a staunch opponent of secession, even stumping against…

  • Belton, TX · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Belton, Texas, a town with a name change and a dramatic origin story. It started as Nolan Springs in the late 1840s, named for adventurer Philip Nolan. When Bell County formed in 1850, Nolan…

  • Allen, Moses · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, Texas, an area that was just a wild frontier when Moses Allen first arrived. He came here from Louisiana in 1826, drawn by the promise of land and a new life. Allen fought in the…

  • Blitz, Julien Paul · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, and right here in Belton, Julien Paul Blitz, a Belgian-born musician, made his mark. In 1906, he taught at Baylor Female College. The very next year, he composed the "Bell County…

  • Denison, Franklin Lodowick · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, maybe near Belton, where Franklin Lodowick Denison spent the last decade of his life. He was a man of many trades: lawyer, journalist, and even a Confederate officer. Denison…

  • Dennis, Joseph · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Bell County, Texas, near Belton. Right here, back in 1850, a man named Joseph Dennis was tasked with choosing the exact spot for the county seat. He was part of a commission that had to decide…

  • Marrs, Ina Caddell · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Belton, Texas, the birthplace of Ina Caddell Marrs. Around 1875, she was born here and went on to become a powerful force in education and social reform. In 1920, Ina was elected president of the…

  • Thirty-Sixth Texas Cavalry · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here in Belton is where the highest-numbered Texas cavalry regiment was organized: the Thirty-sixth Texas Cavalry. <break time="400ms"/> Organized on March 22, 1862, these…

  • Tyler, Orville Thomas · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, heading toward Belton. Right here, in what is now Bell County, lived Orville Thomas Tyler, a man who wore many hats. He arrived in Texas in 1834, eventually settling near the site…

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