In Weatherford's Greenwood Cemetery lies a man whose life inspired one of the greatest characters in American fiction. His name was Bose Ikard. Born into slavery in Mississippi, Ikard was brought to Texas as a boy. After emancipation, he joined a cattle drive with Charles Goodnight, one of the most famous ranchers in Texas history. For years, Ikard worked as Goodnight's most trusted hand and tracker on the Goodnight-Loving Trail. He was known for his incredible skill, loyalty, and unwavering courage. Years later, writer Larry McMurtry used the stories Goodnight told about Ikard as the basis for the character 'Deets' in his epic novel 'Lonesome Dove.' Goodnight himself commissioned a granite marker for Ikard’s grave, which you can still see today. It reads: 'Served with me four years on the Goodnight-Loving Trail, never shirked a duty or disobeyed an order, rode with me in many stampedes, participated in three engagements with Comanches, splendid behavior.'

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Two Bombers Over Weatherford RoadyGoat

Folks in Weatherford were lounging in their yards and watching movies on the square when the sky over the southwest side of town lit up like lightning. It was Friday evening, August seventeenth, nineteen forty five, and the war was coming to a close. Two B-twenty-nine Superfortress bombers on training flights had just collided over Weatherford. One crew had flown in from Clovis Field, New Mexico, to make radar bombing runs on Meacham Field in Fort Worth, its last training run before shipping out to Saipan. The other came from Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. The Clovis plane fell on the Edwards farm off the old Brock Road, just south of the Ranger Highway. The Alamogordo plane came down in a pasture off the Jacksboro road, now the Peaster Highway. Eighteen young airmen died. Only two lived, both from the Clovis plane. Co-pilot Edwin Smith of Glasgow, Kentucky, woke up falling under an open parachute. Waist gunner Earl Wischmeier of West Burlington, Iowa, grabbed a parachute that slid toward him, kicked out a gun blister and jumped. A memorial marker for the crews stands in front of the Weatherford Public Library, next to the statue of Mary Martin as Peter Pan.

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The Town That Was a Refuge RoadyGoat

1856

For roughly the first twenty-five years of its existence, Weatherford served a function most towns never have to fill: it was a place to run to. Families homesteading the Parker County countryside faced the constant threat of raids during the era of intense conflict on the North Texas frontier. When danger came, settlers fled into town, where numbers and proximity to neighbors offered protection that an isolated farmstead could not. Weatherford was not just an economic center or a county seat. It was a walled-off reality in a landscape that was still, for decades, genuinely dangerous to live in.

Ikard, Bose

1866

Bose Ikard was born a slave in July 1843 in Noxubee County, Mississippi, and became one of the most famous Black frontiersmen and traildrivers in Texas. He lived in Union Parish, Louisiana, before his master, Dr. Milton Ikard, moved to Texas in 1852. Several months later Bose helped Ikard's wife, Isabella (Tubb), move the family's belongings and five children to their new home in Lamar County and soon afterwards to Parker County. The young slave grew to adulthood with his owner's family, learning to farm, ranch, and fight Indians as the Civil War drew near. The war left Bose a free man, and in 1866 he went to work for Oliver Loving as a traildriver. After Loving was killed by Comanche Indians in New Mexico, Ikard continued in the service of Loving's partner, Charles Goodnight , for four years. The two men became lifelong friends. Goodnight later commented that he trusted Bose Ikard "farther than any living man. He was my detective, banker, and everything else in Colorado, New Mexico, and the other wild country I was in." In 1869 Ikard wanted to settle in Colorado, but Goodnight persuaded him to buy a farm in Parker County, Texas, because there were so few Blacks in Colorado. Ikard settled in Weatherford and began his family at a time when Indian attacks were still common in North Texas. In 1869 he participated in a running battle with Quanah Parker 's Comanche band, riding alongside his former master, Milton Ikard. Bose married a woman named Angelina in 1869 or 1870, and they had fifteen children. In his later years he attended several cowboy reunions. Goodnight visited him in Weatherford whenever the opportunity arose and gave him presents of money. Ikard died in Austin on January 4, 1929. After his burial in Greenwood Cemetery, Weatherford, Goodnight bought a granite marker and wrote an epitaph for his old friend: "Bose Ikard served with me four years on the Goodnight-Loving Trail, never shirked a duty or disobeyed an order, rode with me in many stampedes, participated in three engagements with Comanches, splendid behavior."

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Loving, Oliver

1845

Founder of three major cattle trails, Oliver Loving came from Kentucky to Texas in 1845 and to Parker County about 1855. During the Civil War (1861-65), he supplied beef to Confederate forces. With Charles Goodnight as partner on a drive to New Mexico, Loving scouted ahead of the cattle, was badly wounded by Indians, lay five days without food before his rescue, and died of gangrene on September 25, 1867. His dying wish was fulfilled when his son Joseph joined Goodnight to bring the body 600 miles by wagon for burial in this county. Recorded, 1977.

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Old City Greenwood Cemetery

1863

This cemetery was formally established by the Weatherford town council in 1863 when lots were surveyed and the exact cemetery location was staked. Previous interments were made in the unmarked streets of the town. The mayor directed those remains be moved to the new cemetery. Historian H. Smythe noted in 1877 that the cemetery was a "sadly neglected spot," without a fence. By 1925 the civic league and cemetery association had been formed. The accomplishments of its women members were many. In addition to site beautification, the driveways were widened and graveled. A water well and windmill were installed, and a sexton was employed to secure the grounds. Cemetery care declined in the 1930's and later. Among the estimated 1,000 graves are Civil War medal of honor recipient Chester Bowen; trail drivers Oliver Loving and Boze Ikard; cattleman and founder of the Citizens National Bank J.R. Couts; Governor of Texas (1902-06) S.W.T. Lanham and his son, congressman Fritz G. Lanham; veterans of many wars; and pioneers of early Texas history. Restoration of the cemetery began in the late 1980's. The site continues to serve the area. (1996)

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Baylor, George Wythe

1860

George Wythe Baylor, Confederate military officer and Texas Ranger, the son of John Walker Baylor , was born in Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, on August 2, 1832. On June 5, 1860, Baylor, then living in Weatherford with John R. Baylor and others, ran down a party of Indian raiders on Paint Creek in Parker County and killed and scalped nine of them. Baylor is reputed to have raised the first Confederate flag in Austin. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in Company H of the Second Cavalry, John Robert Baylor's Arizona Brigade, and served as regimental adjutant before resigning to become senior aide-de-camp to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston in August or September 1861. After Johnston's death at the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, on April 6, 1862, Baylor returned to Texas and was elected lieutenant colonel and commander of the Second Battalion of Henry H. Sibley 's army. When the battalion merged with the Second Cavalry regiment of the Arizona Brigade, Baylor was elected its colonel. He also commanded a regiment of cavalry during the Red River campaign of 1864 and was commended for gallantry at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. On April 6, 1865, at the headquarters of Gen. John B. Magruder in the Fannin Hotel in Galveston, Baylor quarreled with and killed fellow staff officer John Austin Wharton . Their fight was said to have been about "military matters," specifically the reorganization of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate States. Wharton reportedly slapped Baylor's face and called him a liar, whereupon Baylor drew his revolver and shot the unarmed Wharton. Baylor later said that the incident had a been a "lifelong sorrow" to him. After the Civil War , when Lt. John B. Tays, commander of Company C, Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers in El Paso, resigned to enter the customs service, Baylor was commissioned a first lieutenant and appointed to take his place. At this time, according to Walter Prescott Webb , Baylor "was in his prime, forty-seven years of age, six feet two inches, a fine type of the frontier gentleman. He had a fair education, a flair for writing for newspapers and an inclination to fill his reports with historical allusions." Baylor left San Antonio on August 2, 1879, with his wife, two young daughters, and a sister-in-law, riding in an ambulance and with two wagons full of provisions and household goods, the latter including a piano and a game cock and four hens. The caravan, guarded by Sgt. James B. Gillett and five other rangers, was forty-two days on the road to Ysleta, where Baylor established his headquarters. From there he opened his campaign against raiding Apaches, whom he often pursued beyond the Rio Grande, in cooperation with Mexican officials. Soon after arriving on the border Baylor "generously extended" to the Mexican government "the privilege of coming over on our side and killing all the Reservation Indians" they could find. Through the rest of 1879 and most of 1880 Baylor's rangers were occupied in the pursuit of the Mescalero Apache chief Victorio and his band, an endeavor that proved largely ineffective. In September 1880 Baylor was transferred and promoted to captain of Company A. In 1882 he was promoted to major and given command of several ranger companies. During this period he was active in the fence-cutting conflict in Nolan County. After resigning from ranger service in 1885 Baylor was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from El Paso and served as clerk of the district and circuit courts for a number of years. He died at San Antonio on March 17, 1916, and was buried in the Confederate Cemetery there. Baylor, according to Wilburn Hill King , the nineteenth-century historian of the rangers, was "noted for excellence of personal character and conduct, and soldierly courage and zeal," but Webb, more reserved in his judgment, wrote that "though a courageous individual fighter," Baylor "lacked reserve, was a poor disciplinarian, and an indifferent judge of me

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Obenchain, Alfred T.

1861

Alfred T. Obenchain, planter, state senator, and Confederate officer, was born on February 11, 1824, in Buchanan, Virginia, to Samuel and Martha (Toller) Obenchain. On May 15, 1847, Obenchain married his first wife, Susan Fluke, in Botetourt, Virginia. He and his second wife, Delphine R. Beckwith (1831-1906), were married in 1850 in Hancock County, Illinois. The couple had five children. Later, Obenchain settled with his family in Parker County, Texas, where he became a leading citizen. By 1860 he owned $8,500 in real estate and personal property, including a plantation consisting of 905 acres of land and six slaves. In October 1860 Obenchain became part owner of the Weatherford newspaper White Man , a publication that was hostile towards Indians . The paper remained in operation until its office was destroyed in December 1861. Earlier that year, Obenchain had represented Parker County at the Texas Secession Convention , and on February 1, 1861, was one of the signers of the Texas Secession Ordinance. From November 4, 1861, to January 14, 1862, Obenchain served as senator in the Ninth Texas Legislature for District 20, which represented Erath, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, and Tarrant counties. On January 29, 1862, Obenchain was excused as a senator and appointed by Gov. Francis R. Lubbock as lieutenant colonel and second-in-command to Col. James M. Norris in the Texas Frontier Regiment . Norris soon tired of the strain of military command, however, and returned to his law practice in McLennan County. Lieutenant Colonel Obenchain took over the force at Fort Belknap and caused controversy due to his lack of understanding of the frontier and his strict discipline. Charles Goodnight , an officer under his command, described him as "tyrannical and arrogant." This unpopularity led to his murder by two of his own men at Hubbard Creek in Stephens County near Camp Breckenridge on August 16, 1862. He was buried in an unmarked grave on the frontier.

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Weatherford

1856

Founded 1856. Named for Jefferson Weatherford, state senator and a confederate soldier. Frontier people found protection here from constant Indian threat during Civil War. Long the only town between Fort Worth and El Paso. Home of Chandor Gardens and Texas Railroad Museum. Nearby is Double Log Cabin Museum. (1964)

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Things to Do in Weatherford

quirky 19.3 mi away

Chewbacca's Grave — May the 4th

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historical 15.0 mi away

Where Every Vietnam Helicopter Pilot Learned to Fly

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Springtown Dinosaur Tracks

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historical 16.4 mi away

The 14-Story Skyscraper in the Middle of Nowhere

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historical 17.3 mi away

WWII Marine Glider Base at Eagle Mountain

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quirky 17.3 mi away

The Azle Earthquake Swarm

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quirky 18.6 mi away

Accidental Lithium Therapy Before Science Caught Up

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quirky 19.1 mi away

Chewbacca's Grave

The seven-foot-three British actor who played Chewbacca in every Star Wars film from 1977 to The Force Awakens is buried right here at Azleland Memorial Park.…

Everything Near Weatherford

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

The Real Cowboy of 'Lonesome Dove'
In Weatherford's Greenwood Cemetery lies a man whose life inspired one of the greatest characters in American fiction. His name was Bose Ikard. Born into slavery in Mississippi, Ikard was brought to Texas as a boy.…
Two Bombers Over Weatherford
Folks in Weatherford were lounging in their yards and watching movies on the square when the sky over the southwest side of town lit up like lightning. It was Friday evening, August seventeenth, nineteen forty five, and…
The Town That Was a Refuge
For roughly the first twenty-five years of its existence, Weatherford served a function most towns never have to fill: it was a place to run to. Families homesteading the Parker County countryside faced the constant…
Named for a Senator, Carved Out of a Captive's Story
The county you're crossing carries one of the most haunting names in Texas. When the legislature created Parker County in 1855, it honored Isaac Parker, the state representative who introduced the bill. He was also the…
When Weatherford Ruled the Watermelon World
Before peaches, this was watermelon country, and Weatherford did not whisper about it. The deep sandy land around town grew melons in volume, and the three railroads that reached the county between 1879 and 1891 let…
Weatherford's Peter Pan and the Son Who Played J.R.
On the lawn of the Weatherford Public Library at 1014 Charles Street, a life-sized bronze of Peter Pan keeps flying. It honors Mary Martin, born in Weatherford on December 1, 1913, the daughter of a local attorney and a…
The Crown Jewel of Parker County
You can't miss the building that defines Weatherford's skyline: the Parker County Courthouse. Completed in 1886, this masterpiece of Second Empire architecture is the town's crown jewel. Built from locally quarried…
The Science of a Perfect Peach
Have you ever wondered why Weatherford became the 'Peach Capital of Texas'? The answer is literally in the dirt. The town is located in the Cross Timbers region, which is defined by a specific soil type: a sandy loam…
Weatherford, TX
Weatherford is a large peach producer and was named 'Peach Capital of Texas' by the Texas Legislature. The peach is celebrated each year at the Parker County Peach Festival, which is Weatherford's largest event and one…
The Car on Tin Top Road
Out along Tin Top Road in Weatherford, the lot of an abandoned school called Southside Consolidated was a popular hangout in nineteen eighty three. It is where one of this town's longest unanswered questions begins. On…
Nine Hitless Innings, and Still a Loss
A Weatherford stonemason's son once pitched nine innings without allowing a hit, and still lost. James Vaughn was born in Weatherford on April ninth, eighteen eighty eight, finished school there, and started pitching…
Weatherford
You're driving past Weatherford, a town that sprang up in 1856. It was named for Jefferson Weatherford, a Texas state senator. For years, this was the only town between Fort Worth and El Paso, offering a vital refuge…

Show all 200 nearby places

Stray Day: The Trade Days Older Than the Courthouse
One of the oldest open-air markets in Texas grew straight out of frontier court schedules. In the nineteenth century, when the circuit court convened in Weatherford, farmers and ranchers poured into town and used the…
A Royal Portraitist's Secret Garden
Behind the walls at 711 West Lee Avenue is one of Weatherford's most improbable treasures: a 3.5-acre garden built by a man who painted kings. Douglas Chandor was a British-born portrait artist who painted more than 200…
The Spring Shop That Became a Global Drilling Company
Here's a piece of engineering history hiding in plain sight: one of the biggest oilfield-technology companies on Earth carries this town's name because this is where it was born. In 1941, Jesse E. Hall Sr. started the…
The Cutting Horse Capital of the World
Drive the country roads ringing Weatherford and you'll pass arena after arena, because this is the self-declared Cutting Horse Capital of the World, and the boast holds up. Cutting is the cowboy sport of a horse and…
The Son Who Never Came Home to Baker Mansion
After dark, the 1894 Baker Mansion at 704 South Lamar carries one of Weatherford's most persistent ghost stories, and it's rooted in a real disappearance. J.D. Baker arrived in town in the 1880s and became one of its…
Last Seen at The Wall
On the east end of Lake Weatherford, there is a spot locals have long called The Wall. On July eighth, nineteen eighty seven, a Weatherford woman named Wendy Kae Robinson was last seen near there. She was nineteen, a…
The Mayor Who Became Speaker
Before Jim Wright ran the United States House of Representatives, he ran Weatherford. Born in Fort Worth in nineteen twenty two, he attended Weatherford College, flew thirty combat missions in the South Pacific as a…
The Weatherford Rocker London Remembered
On December fifteenth, nineteen seventy seven, hundreds of kids dressed Teddy Boy style packed the Royalty Ballroom in London to cheer a singer who had formed his first band in Weatherford. Mac Curtis was born in Fort…
Yellowstone Comes to Parker County
Taylor Sheridan's cowboy dramas keep finding their way to Weatherford and the Parker County countryside around it. In October two thousand twenty his Yellowstone crew filmed at Mary's Brazos Cafe in Tin Top, where…
The Countdown Voice Who Chose Weatherford
The voice that counted down country's biggest hits for decades signed off from Weatherford. Bob Kingsley took over American Country Countdown in nineteen seventy eight, and in two thousand six he and his wife and…
The Painter Who Never Left His Garden
Chandor Gardens in Weatherford was carved out of a caliche hillside that had been a cow pasture. Portrait painter Douglas Chandor began designing his home and garden there in nineteen thirty four. It was first called…
The Judge Who Stayed On the Square
The Parker County Courthouse in Weatherford was built between eighteen eighty four and eighteen eighty six, and it cost fifty-five thousand, five hundred fifty-five dollars and fifty-five cents. It has been the scene of…
Sobbing and a Cold Nose at Greenwood
The Weatherford town council formally set aside Old City Greenwood Cemetery in eighteen sixty three, and the cattle trail driver Oliver Loving is buried there. The ghost stories told about Greenwood are quiet ones. In…
The Stagecoach on Main Street
Weatherford's Main Street has a ghost story that runs on wheels. As Teal Gray tells it in the two thousand twenty four book Haunted Weatherford, part of the Haunted America series, a phantom stagecoach materializes on…
Citizens National Bank · Historical Marker
You're driving through Weatherford, and right here is where a Texas banking legend got his start. James Robertson Couts arrived in town in 1868 after a massive cattle drive from Texas to California, returning with a…
Parker County Courthouse · Historical Marker
You're driving through Weatherford, home to the Parker County Courthouse. This impressive building, constructed between 1884 and 1886 for a cost of over $55,000, is the fourth courthouse in the county's history. Parker…
Newberry Community · Historical Marker
You're driving through Parker County, heading past the site of the Newberry community. It all started back in 1855 when Robert and Nancy Porter settled here. Just a year later, Robert became the first county judge for…
Merchants and Farmers State Bank · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Weatherford, and right here is the site of the Merchants and Farmers State Bank, chartered way back in 1889. For over a century, this bank was a major financial engine for Parker County, backing…
The Posse That Cleared Its Own Arena
The Parker County Sheriff's Posse was born in Weatherford in nineteen forty seven, the idea of rancher J.Y. Crum, backed by manufacturer Roger Williams and eleven other ranchers and businessmen. Its riders paraded on…
Battern Cemetery · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Battern Cemetery, established around 1860 when Henry Hill Battern moved his family to Parker County. His second wife, Sarah Jane, is said to be the first person buried here. Battern himself, a…
Peter Pan's Hometown · 0.1 mi
Mary Martin was born in Weatherford in 1913 and became one of the defining stars of Broadway's golden era. She is best remembered for playing Peter Pan in the 1954 Broadway production, a role she made so completely her…
The Limestone Courthouse That Still Runs the Square · 0.1 mi
The Parker County Courthouse has stood at the center of Weatherford since 1886, built from local limestone in the Second Empire style, with a mansard roof and a clock tower that still dominates the downtown skyline.…
The Physics of a Cutting Horse · 0.1 mi
Weatherford calls itself the Cutting Horse Capital of the World, and the claim is not idle boasting. The area is home to some of the top trainers and most valuable cutting horses in the sport. A cutting horse is trained…
First Monday: When the Court Was in Session · 0.1 mi
First Monday Trade Days started because farmers had to come to Weatherford anyway. When the county court convened, ranchers and farmers made the trip for legal business and brought things to trade: stray animals,…
The Official Peach Capital of Texas · 0.1 mi
Watermelons made Weatherford famous, but peaches made it official. As growers shifted from melons to orchards through the twentieth century, Parker County's elevation, mild slopes, and the cold winter snaps that fruit…
Parker County, C.S.A. · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
Did you know Parker County was once officially part of the Confederacy? Created in 1855 and named for Isaac Parker, its voters overwhelmingly chose secession in 1861. Oliver Loving, famous for his cattle drives,…
Franco-Texan Land Company Building · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Franco-Texan Land Company Building in Weatherford, a hub of political and economic life back in the late 1800s. Built around 1870, it housed the first bank west of Dallas, established by James…
Woolfolk-McCall House · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Woolfolk-McCall House in Weatherford, one of the first brick homes built here. Construction started in the late 1860s for Joseph A. Woolfolk, one of the attorneys who defended the chiefs Satanta…
Weatherford City Hall · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Weatherford City Hall, a beacon of hope during tough times. Back in 1933, with the Great Depression hitting hard, Weatherford citizens voted to fund a new city hall and fire station. Construction…
All Saints' Episcopal Church · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Weatherford. Back in June of 1875, Bishop Alexander Garrett organized a mission church here with just five members. Their first priest, Reverend Edwin…
First National Bank of Weatherford · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the First National Bank of Weatherford, a true Texas institution. Founded way back in 1880, this bank holds the distinction of being the fifth oldest federally chartered bank still operating in the…
First United Methodist Church of Weatherford · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Weatherford, and right here is the First United Methodist Church. This congregation got its start way back in 1857. They built a meetinghouse in 1867, but wouldn't you know it, a tornado ripped…
Santa Fe Depot · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're rolling through Weatherford, and right here is the Santa Fe Depot. This building represents a major turning point for this town. When the railroad came through, it connected Weatherford to the wider world,…
Weatherford Post Office · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Weatherford Post Office, a building that's served this town since 1914. Before this grand Classical Revival structure, postal services were scattered across several earlier buildings. Imagine,…
James Claude Wright House · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the James Claude Wright House, a beautiful example of Queen Anne architecture. Originally built by Robert Lowe between 1897 and 1899, the house saw renovations in the early 1900s, including enclosing…
First Baptist Church · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Weatherford's First Baptist Church, originally organized in 1856 as the United Missionary Baptist Church of Christ. By 1873, they had a sanctuary, becoming the only Baptist church in the…
Oliver Loving Came Home to Weatherford · 0.3 mi
Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight blazed the Goodnight-Loving Trail together, pushing cattle northwest from Texas toward Colorado and New Mexico. In 1867, Loving was wounded during an attack while scouting ahead of…
Kindel, R.W. House · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the R.W. Kindel House in Weatherford, a beautiful example of Second Empire-style Victorian architecture. Built around 1881 by druggist R.W. Kindel, this home boasts 20-inch-thick native stone walls…
Twentieth Century Club · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Twentieth Century Club in Weatherford. On February 8, 1900, twenty-nine local women organized this club, which became an affiliate of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs. For…
Samuel Joseph Redgate · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site where Samuel Joseph Redgate, a former member of the Texas Legislature, is memorialized. Born in England in 1800, he served from 1858 to 1861 and died in 1893. The marker also commemorates…
The Cattleman Brought Home to Greenwood · 0.4 mi
In Greenwood Cemetery, on the north edge of Weatherford, lies a grave that helped invent the American cattle drive and later seeded a Pulitzer Prize. Oliver Loving, born in Kentucky in 1812 and ranching in Palo Pinto…
Loving, Oliver · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
Founder of three major cattle trails, Oliver Loving came from Kentucky to Texas in 1845 and to Parker County about 1855. During the Civil War (1861-65), he supplied beef to Confederate forces. With Charles Goodnight as…
Lanham, Governor S.W.T. · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Weatherford home of Samuel Willis Tucker Lanham, a man who wore many hats. He fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War, then moved to Texas and became a teacher before practicing law. Lanham…
James Robertson Couts · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Weatherford, where James Robertson Couts made his mark. After fighting in the Civil War, he came to Parker County in the mid-1860s. Using money from a cattle drive, he opened a bank right here, which…
Old City Greenwood Cemetery · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
This cemetery was formally established by the Weatherford town council in 1863 when lots were surveyed and the exact cemetery location was staked. Previous interments were made in the unmarked streets of the town. The…
Ikard, Bose · 0.5 mi
You're driving past Weatherford, and right here is the story of Bose Ikard. Born into slavery in Mississippi around July of 1843, he came to Texas as a child. After emancipation, he became one of the most trusted…
Samuel Willis Tucker Lanham · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Weatherford home of S.W.T. Lanham, a South Carolina native who arrived in Texas after fighting for the Confederacy. Lanham was wounded in the Civil War, then came north to Texas, became a lawyer,…
Fred Rider Cotten · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Weatherford, the hometown of Fred Rider Cotten. Born in 1894, he earned a law degree but returned home to run the family furniture store, a swine farm, and a funeral home. In the 1930s, Cotten led…
The Portrait Painter Who Built a Garden With Dynamite · 0.6 mi
Douglas Chandor was a British-born portrait painter whose subjects included Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II and Franklin Roosevelt. He moved to Weatherford and in 1936 began transforming 3.5 barren acres behind…
Chandor Gardens · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Chandor Gardens. Portrait painter Douglas Chandor began designs for his home and garden in 1934. Originally called White Shadows, the garden was renamed Chandor Gardens by his wife, Ina, after her…
Snailum, Thomas C. · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the St. Charles Hotel in Weatherford, once run by Thomas C. Snailum. A native of England, Snailum arrived in Texas in 1834, fought in the Revolution in 1836, and then settled down. After…
Soldier Spring Park · 1.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Soldier Spring Park, a spot with a long history of gathering. Confederate soldiers camped here in the 1860s, drawn by the spring. Fast forward to 1890, and Civil War veterans held their 25th reunion…
Campbell Memorial Hospital · 1.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Weatherford's first modern hospital! It began in 1924 as the Bowie Memorial Hospital, a converted 28-room home. In 1958, it became Campbell Memorial Hospital, named for Dr. William…
Weatherford College Old Main Building · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Weatherford College's Old Main Building. This wing, originally the Weatherford Masonic Institute, was being built in 1869. Masons on their way to lay the cornerstone were even delayed by…
Central Christian Church · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Weatherford's Central Christian Church. This congregation got its start in 1894, when sixty-five members split from another church to form their own. They built their first home, a stone…
Baylor, George Wythe · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
George Wythe Baylor, Confederate military officer and Texas Ranger, the son of John Walker Baylor , was born in Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, on August 2, 1832. On June 5, 1860, Baylor, then living in Weatherford with…
Obenchain, Alfred T. · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Alfred T. Obenchain, planter, state senator, and Confederate officer, was born on February 11, 1824, in Buchanan, Virginia, to Samuel and Martha (Toller) Obenchain. On May 15, 1847, Obenchain married his first wife,…
Sanger, Isaac · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, you're passing through the heart of a retail empire! Isaac Sanger, a German immigrant, arrived in Texas in 1857, eventually landing in McKinney with a partner. But the…
Murray, William Henry David [Alfalfa Bill] · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, not far from where William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was born in 1869. He grew up right here in North Texas, running away from home at twelve and working farms while getting a bit of…
Veal's Station, TX · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Veal's Station is on a spur off Farm Road 51 twelve miles north of Weatherford in northeastern Parker County. The first White settlers arrived in the early 1850s. Among them was William G. Veal , who opened a general…
Whitt, TX · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Whitt is at the intersection of Farm roads 2891 and 52, twenty miles northwest of Weatherford in northwestern Parker County. Settlement began in the early to mid-1870s, and the community was named in honor of a man…
J.J. Hamilton Log Cabin · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the J.J. Hamilton Log Cabin, a structure built right here in Weatherford around 1858. Hamilton, who settled this area in 1855, built this two-room cabin with a dog trot connecting them,…
Mesquite Smoke on the Fort Worth Highway · 1.4 mi
For a meal that tastes like the cattle country it sits in, the Mesquite Pit at 1201 Fort Worth Highway has been firing the grills since 1993. The draw is exactly what the name promises: steaks cooked over mesquite, the…
Grace First Presbyterian Church · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Grace First Presbyterian Church in Weatherford. It was formed by the merger of three congregations, the earliest dating back to 1859. The church has a long history of community service,…
Ikard, Bose · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Bose Ikard was born a slave in July 1843 in Noxubee County, Mississippi, and became one of the most famous Black frontiersmen and traildrivers in Texas. He lived in Union Parish, Louisiana, before his master, Dr. Milton…
Collins, Henry Warren · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, the birthplace of Henry 'Rip' Collins, a true Texas sports legend. Born in 1896, Collins was a football and baseball phenom. In a legendary 1915 game against the University of Texas,…
Loving, James Carrol · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, maybe near Weatherford or Jacksboro. Right here, in the late 1800s, James Carrol Loving was carving out a life on the frontier. After serving in the Civil War, he took over his…
Loving, Oliver · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Texas, maybe near Palo Pinto County, and you're passing through the story of Oliver Loving. He was a Kentucky farmer who moved his family to Texas in 1843, eventually settling in what is now Palo…
Martin, Mary Virginia · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, Texas, the hometown of a true Broadway legend: Mary Martin. Born here in 1913, she started her journey with voice lessons and a dance school right here in town. After marrying and…
Chatwell, J. R. · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, Texas, where J. R. Chatwell was born in 1915. He became a legendary Texas fiddler, known for blending jazz licks into country music, creating a unique western swing sound. He played…
Franco-Texan Land Company · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through some of the counties once owned by the Franco-Texan Land Company, chartered way back in 1876. It all started with a railroad dream, the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific, that was supposed to connect…
Frantz, Ezra Allen · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, maybe near Weatherford, where Ezra Allen Frantz made his mark. Born in Illinois, he came to Texas in 1900. In 1902, Frantz perfected a wire buckle for cotton bales. Before him, the…
Lanham, Samuel Willis Tucker · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, not far from Weatherford, where Samuel Willis Tucker Lanham made his mark. Lanham, a Confederate veteran wounded in the Civil War, came to Texas in 1866 and studied law in…
Potts, Robert Joseph · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, the birthplace of Robert Joseph Potts, a true pioneer of Texas roads. Back in 1910, Potts established the very first Highway Engineering department at Texas A&M. He even wrote the law…
Tucker, Argyle William · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, and right here in Weatherford, you're passing through a place that was once a hub for Texas ingenuity during dangerous times. Argyle William Tucker arrived in Weatherford in 1857,…
Weatherford College · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, home to the oldest junior college in Texas. It all started back in 1869 when the local Masons, the Phoenix Lodge, got a charter to create a Masonic Institute. Classes finally kicked…
Simpson, William Hood · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, Texas, the birthplace of General William Hood Simpson. Born in 1888, Simpson wasn't initially a star student, struggling academically and almost missing out on West Point. But thanks…
The Double Log Cabin · 1.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Holland's Lake, a spot that served as a rugged headquarters for early Parker County pioneers. Look for the double log cabin, a monument to their resilience. The west room was Dan Waggoner's ranch…
Weatherford, TX · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, Texas, and right here, you're passing through a town that was once the principal frontier settlement in North Texas. For its first twenty-five years, Weatherford wasn't just the…
Where Parker County Keeps Its Memory · 1.5 mi
If you want the whole sweep of this county in one stop, the Doss Heritage and Culture Center at 1400 Texas Drive is it. For years the history of Parker County was crammed into a single room inside the Weatherford Public…
The Dirt That Drew the Cutters · 1.5 mi
Weatherford has called itself the Cutting Horse Capital of the World since the late nineteen eighties, and the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce says one of the biggest draws for cutters is right under the horses: the…
What's in a Cutting Pen · 1.5 mi
Drive around Weatherford and you will pass one cutting pen after another, and the dirt in them is not just dirt. Down the road in Fort Worth, Popular Science reported, the rodeo floor is red clay dredged from the bottom…
Lanham, Frederick Garland · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here in Weatherford, you're passing through the hometown of Frederick Garland Lanham. He wasn't just any politician; he was a congressman who left a lasting mark on American…
Parker County · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, named for Isaac Parker, a leader who petitioned for its creation back in 1855. This area was the wild frontier, controlled by Kiowa and Comanche tribes until settlers began arriving…
Stephens, Isaac Wetherstone · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, Texas, a town that became home to Isaac W. Stephens in 1874. After studying law and teaching in Tennessee, Stephens moved here and opened a law office. He partnered with some of the…
Weatherford, Thomas Jefferson · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County right now, and the town you're about to see, Weatherford, is named after a man who never even lived there! Thomas Jefferson Weatherford was a prominent state senator in the…
Lanham, Sarah Beona Meng · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, and right here in Weatherford, you're passing the lifelong home of Sarah Beona Meng Lanham. She wasn't just the First Lady of Texas from 1903 to 1907; she was the quiet force behind…
Bell, Robert Eagleton · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Titus County, and right here, you're passing near where Major Robert Eagleton Bell commanded Fort Sherman. Bell was a Tennessee native who enlisted as a private in the Twentieth Texas Infantry in…
Hood, Azariah Jesse · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, perhaps near Weatherford, where Azariah Jesse Hood settled in 1860. He was a lawyer and judge who also served in the Texas Legislature in the early 1850s. During the Civil War, Hood…
Nelson, Joe Thomas · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Weatherford, a town that owes much of its modern healthcare to Dr. Joe Thomas Nelson. After serving in the Navy and earning his medical degree, Dr. Nelson returned to his home state and dedicated…
Redgate, Samuel Joseph · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what is now Colorado County, and right here is the area where Samuel Redgate settled in 1839. Born in England, he came to Texas and quickly became involved in local politics, serving as a justice…
Texas Pythian Home · 2.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Texas Pythian Home in Weatherford. Back in 1886, the Knights of Pythias dreamed of a home for widows and children. It took years, but by 1897, they started a fund, with both the Knights and…
Parker County Poor Farm and Cemetery · 3.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Parker County Poor Farm, established in 1883. This wasn't just a place for the needy; residents and even county convicts worked the land, growing crops and raising livestock to…
The Orchard on Greenwood Cut Off · 3.4 mi
This is Hutton Peach Farm, out on Greenwood Cut Off Road, and the orchard here goes back to nineteen thirty eight. That year J. K. Johnson Senior planted his first peach tree, and over time the Johnson family grew the…
Greenwood Community · 3.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the historic Greenwood community, which formed around the 1880s on land sold to T.D. Wythe and W.J. Fain. It developed as a farming center with vital institutions like a general store, a cemetery,…
Zion Hill Church, School, and Cemetery · 4.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Zion Hill, a community that got its start thanks to Samuel Wolfenburger. He deeded land back in 1877 for a school, church, and cemetery. The school here, established in 1868, actually operated out of…
The Town That Said 'No' · 5.3 mi
The very existence of Hudson Oaks as a city is thanks to a fight for independence. Into the 1970s this was a comfortable but unincorporated stretch of Parker County, five miles east of Weatherford where US 80 runs…
Hudson Oaks, TX · 5.3 mi
In Hudson Oaks, history is marked by both tragedy and progress. The city, founded in 1978, has faced its share of sorrow with two family murder-suicides in the 2000s. Yet, it also cherishes the memory of Highway…
Harmony Cemetery · 5.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Harmony Cemetery, established in 1869 with the burial of Mary Green. Her son Rufus and his wife later purchased the land. The cemetery continued as the community burial ground, including descendants…
Wright Cemetery · 6.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the old Wright Community, near Weatherford. In 1874, L.F. Wright donated land here for a Union Church and School. This cemetery is one of the last traces of that community. While L.F.…
Parker, Isaac · 6.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Parker County, heading past the town named for the man we're talking about: Isaac Parker. Born in Georgia way back in 1793, Parker arrived in Texas in 1833, just in time to serve in the fight for…
Brock High School — State Softball 2026 · 6.9 mi
Brock High School in Brock, Texas qualified for the 2026 UIL state softball championships, reaching the state tournament (final four) in Class four A, Division Two.
Texas HS Baseball Playoff Leaders 2026: Brock (Brock) · 6.9 mi
Brock put a player on the statewide leaderboards of the 2026 Texas high school baseball playoffs. Evan O'Connor had 33 strikeouts (15th in the state), and the 16th-fewest hits allowed per inning in the state.
The Dam That Grew a Town · 7.1 mi
A few miles north of Willow Park sits the reason the town filled up with people. Construction on Lake Weatherford's dam began in June 1956, and the reservoir was impounded in March 1957, closing off the Clear Fork of…
Isaac Parker · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Weatherford, Texas, the county seat of Parker County. Ever wonder how a county gets its name? Well, you're looking at the history of Isaac Parker. Born in Georgia in 1793, Parker arrived in Texas in…
Named for a Baby Born in Honduras · 7.2 mi
The Annetta community owes its name to a man named Fraser, a Nova Scotia native and railway engineer. After the war between the states, Fraser spent five or six years in Honduras building railroad bridges, and his…
Where the Trinity River Begins to Gather · 7.2 mi
For a town under four square miles, Annetta North sits on a surprising amount of moving water. Two separate forks of the Trinity River, the Clear Fork and the South Fork, both run through the area, fed by smaller…
The Town That Split Itself Into Three · 7.3 mi
By the mid 1970s, Fort Worth's planning reach had crept so far west that it nearly surrounded the rural Annetta community. A resident named Charlie McLain studied a 1976 city map and realized the neighborhood was about…
The Oldest Grave at Willow Springs · 7.3 mi
Before there was a Willow Park, there was Willow Springs, a rural community that grew up around Elm Grove church, with a school and a cemetery that still stands just north of Interstate 20 near Exit 415. Its oldest…
Lawson Daniel Gratz · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Willow Park, where Lawson Gratz lived out his days after a remarkable life. Born into slavery in Kentucky, he enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving at the Siege of Petersburg.…
Cooper, Colonel Alfred G. · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the resting place of Colonel Alfred G. Cooper, a man who served Texas and the nation through multiple conflicts. Born in Tennessee in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1817</say-as>, Cooper…
Spring Creek Community · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Spring Creek community, just west of Weatherford. Settlement here kicked off in 1854, when the T.J. Shaw family arrived from Tennessee. They built their home on the south branch of Spring…
Lemley Cemetery · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through what used to be the Thomas B. Martin family's land, settled way back in 1853. This cemetery started here, with the earliest marked grave dating to 1857. Later, the Lemley family bought this land…
A Mayor Elected by Thirty-Three Votes · 7.4 mi
When Annetta North held its first official election in November 1979, the whole thing turned on just thirty-six ballots. Phyllis Studer was elected the town's first mayor with thirty-three of them. The first city…
Welcome to Horse Country · 7.6 mi
Look at the landscape around you: the white fences, the large barns, the sprawling pastures. You’re in the heart of Parker County’s horse country. This isn’t just a place where people happen to own horses; it’s a center…
Iron Horse, Iron Will: Engineering the T&P Railroad · 7.6 mi
The name on the sign here came from a freighter's stop, not a railroad timetable. In the late 1870s a man named Fraser set up a station on this route to serve teamsters hauling through the Cross Timbers, and he called…
Annetta North, TX · 7.6 mi
Annetta North, a small town in eastern Parker County, Texas, has a history that began with its split from Annetta and incorporation on August 11, 1979. Phyllis M. Studer was elected as its first mayor, a milestone in…
Clark Cemetery · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Clark Cemetery, a burial ground for early settlers dating back to the 1830s. Reverend John William Godfrey and his wife Anzaline arrived here in 1853. Anzaline, who passed away in 1859, has the…
Annetta Cemetery · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Annetta Cemetery, a final resting place with a story that starts in Central America. A.B. Fraser, a Confederate soldier, went into exile rather than join the Union. His daughter, born in…
The Tale of Three Annettas · 7.8 mi
You might be a little confused by the signs around here. Are you in Annetta, Annetta North, or Annetta South? The answer is, it depends on which side of the road you're on. This isn't one town, but three separate,…
The College on the Hill · 7.8 mi
It's hard to imagine now, but Millsap once had its own college — at least in name. The town got its start as a stagecoach relay station on the Weatherford-to-Palo Pinto run, and when the Texas and Pacific Railway…
Millsap, TX · 7.8 mi
Millsap's history began as a relay station on the stagecoach route from Weatherford to Palo Pinto. The town was named after Fuller Millsap, who moved to Texas in 1849 and to Parker County in 1856. A post office opened…
The Town of Two Railroads · 7.8 mi
Everyone knows the Texas and Pacific main line made Millsap. What's forgotten is that for a few years Millsap was the front door to one of the most famous destinations in Texas. In the 1880s Mineral Wells was booming as…
Annetta, TX · 7.8 mi
The town's name, Annetta, carries a personal touch, as it was named after the daughter of its founder, Mr. Fraser. In the mid-1870s, he established a station and general store in the area, which eventually grew into the…
Gratz, Lawson Daniel · 8.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, Texas, and right here, you're passing through the life of Lawson Daniel Gratz. Born a slave in Kentucky, Gratz volunteered for the Union Army in 1864, serving in the 114th United…
Annetta, TX · 8.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving past Annetta, Texas, a community that owes its start to a freighter's convenience. Back in the late 1870s, a man named Fraser set up a station right here for freighters heading east. He named it Annetta,…
Home of the Bearcat Dynasty · 8.5 mi
To understand the culture of Willow Park, you have to understand its connection to the Aledo Bearcats. Though the high school is in the neighboring town of Aledo, Willow Park is a key part of the Aledo Independent…
The Interstate That Built a Suburb · 8.5 mi
Interstate 20 shaped Willow Park, but it did not invent it. There were farms out here in the 1850s, and by the late 1800s a small place called Willow Springs. The name you know came after 1940, when U.S. Highway 80 was…
Willow Park, TX · 8.5 mi
Willow Park sits just west of Fort Worth, where the land begins to roll and the air feels a little lighter at its 932-foot elevation. You can almost feel the ancient seabed beneath your feet, a reminder that this part…
Willow Park, TX · 8.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Willow Park, a community that owes its modern existence to a scenic roadside park. Back in the 1950s, after Lake Weatherford was completed, people started moving into the area. But it wasn't until…
The Roadside Park That Named a Town · 8.7 mi
Willow Park owes its name to a picnic stop. Around 1940, when U.S. Highway 80 was finished across eastern Parker County, road crews built a scenic roadside park for weary travelers and Sunday picnickers, planting native…
Hoops on the Prairie · 8.8 mi
In Texas, small-town identity is usually forged on the football field. Here in Peaster, it was made on the basketball court. Under coach Danny Henderson, the Peaster Greyhounds won back-to-back Class 2A state…
The Science of Sandy Soil · 8.8 mi
Parker County is the 'Watermelon Capital of Texas,' and Peaster is a key reason why. The secret isn't just hard work; it's soil science. The ground here is mostly sandy loam, a product of weathered sandstone from the…
Peaster, TX · 8.8 mi
In the 1870s, Georgia native H.H. Peaster purchased 160 acres of land and built a house in what is now Peaster, Texas. The community that formed around his home was initially called Freemont, but in 1885, the name was…
Peaster Cemetery · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Peaster Cemetery, a final resting place with a surprising connection to a childhood icon. It all started back in 1870 when Henry Peaster bought land here. By the late 1880s, his land sales kicked…
Rock Springs Cemetery · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Rock Springs Cemetery, a quiet reminder of a village that once served as a social hub for local farmers. Many pioneers are buried here, with some graves marked only by native stones. The earliest…
A Full Service Center Without a Railroad · 9.0 mi
Most Texas towns in the 1890s needed a railroad to survive as a commercial center. Peaster had no railroad, and it built a commercial center anyway. By the end of the decade it had three churches, a school, a steam…
Three Names for One Town · 9.1 mi
The community of Peaster went through three names before it settled on one. It started in the 1870s when Henry H. Peaster, a Georgia native, purchased 160 acres and established a home in the area, attracting neighbors…
Steam Power Before the Electric Grid · 9.1 mi
Before electricity reached rural Parker County, Peaster was already running industrial machinery using steam. The steam gin and gristmill documented here in the 1890s converted a simple physical process into useful…
Conan the Barbarian Was Born in Peaster · 9.2 mi
Robert E. Howard was born in Peaster in 1906 and became one of the most influential genre writers in American literary history. He is best known for creating Conan the Barbarian, a character who first appeared in the…
The Depression Took Two-Thirds of Peaster · 9.2 mi
When the Great Depression hit, Peaster's cotton gin and gristmill could not survive. Not because the machines broke down, but because the farms they served could not survive. No crop income meant no cotton to gin, no…
Porter Cemetery · 9.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Porter Cemetery, a final resting place for Parker County's earliest settlers. It began in 1867, when Robert Scott Porter, the county's first judge, set aside land near his cabin for his family after…
Dilbeck Cemetery · 9.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Dilbeck Cemetery, the final resting place for many Peaster pioneers. The earliest marked grave here belongs to Richard W. Barnes, dated September of 1883. Over time, this five-mile radius cemetery…
The Town Named for Where the Mail Went · 10.1 mi
Brock started life under the gentle name Olive Branch, but it owes its real name to the post office, and very likely to a woman. A settler named John Brock bought land here in the early 1870s, and his wife Polly ran the…
From a Brush Arbor to a Church · 10.1 mi
Much of what held early Brock together came from a single family's gift. James and Sarah Maddux arrived from Arkansas in 1876, and in 1880 they donated the land for a church, a school, and the community cemetery, the…
The Sand That Grows the Peaches · 10.1 mi
The ground around Brock has an ancient secret that explains both the orchards above it and the water below. The town sits in the Western Cross Timbers on soils made from Cretaceous sand, deposited here when this was the…
Engineering the Iron Road · 10.1 mi
The railroad tracks near Annetta South arrived later than most people assume. The Texas and Pacific Railway came through this part of Parker County in the early 1880s — not the 1870s — and by the time it did, somebody…
The 1189er and What Came After · 10.1 mi
Out on Farm Road 1189, Brock's main crossroads, you will find the town's local kitchen: the Hungry Jalapeno, a Tex-Mex spot serving tacos, enchiladas, and tamales to the rural Parker County crowd. There is a little…
The Iron Horse That Built Annetta · 10.1 mi
Right near here runs the Union Pacific rail line, the modern successor to the Texas and Pacific Railway. But the track isn't why Annetta is here — Annetta got here first. In the late 1870s a man named Fraser set up a…
Annetta South, TX · 10.1 mi
In the 1980s, a small community broke away from Annetta to form Annetta South, a town that has since grown to a population of 621 by 2020. This pivotal moment in the town's history marked its incorporation and the…
Brock, TX · 10.1 mi
The town of Brock, Texas, was originally named Olive Branch. The name was changed to Brock in honor of Mrs. Polly Brock, who ran the post office. As mail was brought to her to determine its final destination among the…
Hood Family Cemetery · 10.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Hood Family Cemetery near Aledo. A.J. Hood, born way back in South Carolina in 1820, first came to Texas in 1846. After serving two terms in the state legislature, he moved his family right here.…
Brock Methodist Church · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Brock, Texas, where the story of this community's faith began back in 1876. That's when James and Sarah Maddux arrived from Arkansas, settling land that would become Olive Branch. By 1880, they'd…
Shaw House · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Shaw House in Weatherford. Thomas J. Shaw, a farmer, rancher, and carpenter from Tennessee, arrived here in 1854. Two years later, he built the first log room of this house. He and…
Tucker House · 10.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Tucker House in Weatherford. Moses Tucker and his twin brother Aaron arrived in Texas from Kentucky back in 1853, initially building a log cabin on this land. After serving in the Civil War,…
Parsons Station · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of what was once Parsons Station, a vital hub for over a century. It all started around 1854 when Amsley Parsons homesteaded here. But the real boom came in the 1880s when the railroad…
Hiner · 10.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Hiner, Parker County, a community that owes much to James J. Barnett. He settled here way back in 1857, helping newcomers find their feet with transportation and shelter. Around 1870, Wade Chapel…
Aledo Bearcats — 5A DI State Champions 2026 (def. Lake Creek 3-1, back-to-back) · 11.0 mi
Aledo High School (Aledo, TX — Parker County, west of Fort Worth) won the 2026 UIL Class 5A Division I state baseball championship, beating Montgomery Lake Creek 3-1 at Dell Diamond on June 5, 2026, to finish 39-3. It…
Aledo High School — State Softball 2026 · 11.0 mi
Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas qualified for the 2026 UIL state softball championships, reaching the state tournament (final four) in Class five A, Division One.
Aledo Bearcats — 12 state football titles, most in Texas · 11.0 mi
Aledo High School (Aledo, TX): 12 UIL football state championships — the most of any school in Texas — including 2022 and 2023. In 2025 the Bearcats went 14-1, their only loss coming in the state semifinal, a 56-52…
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Aledo (Aledo) · 11.0 mi
Aledo (Aledo, TX) placed on the 5A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Lucas Nawrocki (0.571 avg, 4 HR); Luke Gladchuk (0.523 avg, 1 HR).
Texas HS Baseball Playoff Hits 2026: Aledo (Aledo) · 11.0 mi
Aledo, TX placed on the Texas high school baseball PLAYOFF HITS leaderboard for the 2026 postseason: Landon Barnes (19 hits, #3 in TX).
Texas HS Baseball Playoff Leaders 2026: Aledo (Aledo) · 11.0 mi
Aledo, TX placed on the 2026 Texas high school baseball PLAYOFF leaderboards (H=hits, HR=home runs, RBI, R=runs, SB=steals, K=strikeouts, H/IP=hits per inning): Landon Barnes — 19 H (#3); Lucas Nawrocki — 45 K (#6), 3…
Walker Bend Community and Cemetery · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising past Walker Bend, a community named for W.J. Walker, who settled here in the 1860s. By 1884, the Walker Bend School opened its doors, serving students for over forty years until 1925. The nearby cemetery…
Authon Cemetery · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Authon Cemetery, a final resting place for some of Parker County's earliest settlers. This ground first belonged to the Isom Cranfill family. Their son, Linn Boyd, was only 15 when he was killed in…
Cartersville · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Cartersville, a town that thrived for decades right here in Parker County. Founded in 1866 by Judge Carter and friends, it grew into a bustling community with two main streets, stores,…
Bankhead Highway in Aledo · 11.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Aledo, on a road that once connected the nation. The Bankhead Highway, nicknamed the 'Broadway of America,' was one of the first transcontinental highways, organized in 1916. Texas alone has over…
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, and right here in Aledo is the headquarters of Tri-County Electric Cooperative. It was born out of the Great Depression, when President Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification…
The Sycamores Along the Broadway of America · 11.9 mi
The Bankhead Highway passed just north of Aledo carrying the nickname the Broadway of America, one of the country's first major transcontinental automobile routes, running from Texarkana to El Paso and connecting the…
Forty-Two (Domino Game) · 11.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here, near Garner in Parker County, is the birthplace of a Texas institution: the domino game 42! It all started in 1887 with two boys, twelve-year-old William Thomas and fourteen-year-old Walter Earl. Forbidden…
Knight, Jack L. · 11.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, Texas, not far from where Lt. Jack Knight was born in Garner. It's February 2, 1945, deep in Burma. Knight, leading his men against heavy enemy fire, single-handedly takes out two…
Garner, TX · 11.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, not far from Weatherford, and you're passing through Garner. This small community has a big claim to fame: it's the birthplace of the popular domino game, 42! The town started as…
Miller, Eugene · 11.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Parker County, and right here is where a remarkable life story began. Eugene Miller, who would become a Texas legislator, started as an orphan train rider. In 1906, after his mother disappeared…
The Aledo Bearcat Football Dynasty · 12.0 mi
In Texas, high school football is a big deal. In Aledo, it’s everything. As you pass through, know that you are in the heart of a modern football dynasty. The Aledo Bearcats hold the state record for the most UIL state…
Named for a Town in Illinois · 12.0 mi
The community that became Aledo started as Parker's Station, settled by families from Georgia before the Texas and Pacific Railway arrived in 1879. When the community applied for a post office, there was already a…
From Railroad Town to Highway Town · 12.0 mi
Aledo's first forty years were shaped by the railroad. The Texas and Pacific Railway arrived in 1879 and gave the community its name, its post office and its commercial reason to exist. Farmers shipped cotton and grain…
The Engineering Problems Behind the First Great American Road · 12.0 mi
The Bankhead Highway that passed through Aledo looks simple on a map: a line across the country. But building a road designed to carry automobiles reliably across hundreds of miles in the nineteen teens required solving…
Title Town: How a Small School Built a Dynasty · 12.0 mi
For a town this size, Aledo plays football like a city ten times bigger. The Bearcats have won a Texas-record dozen state championships, nearly all of them piled up since 1998, including two separate runs of three…
The Iron Compass: Engineering the Railroad · 12.0 mi
The railroad tracks cutting through Aledo represent a massive feat of 19th-century civil engineering. When the Texas and Pacific Railway pushed west from Fort Worth, surveyors walked this land with compasses and levels,…
A Town That Waited Until 1963 to Become a City · 12.0 mi
Aledo existed for more than eighty years before it became an official city. The post office opened in 1882. Incorporation did not happen until 1963. For eight decades the community functioned without formal city…
The Dirt Named After the Town · 12.0 mi
Most towns get a road or a school named for them. Aledo got a kind of dirt. In 1973, soil scientists working in Parker County formally established the Aledo series, a recognized soil type now mapped across the limestone…
The Backfield Record and the World Series Lefty · 12.0 mi
Two Aledo athletes who made national headlines came out of the same hallways within a few years of each other. Running back Johnathan Gray finished his Bearcats career in two thousand eleven as the all-time national…
The Night the Old Ranch House Lit Up the Sky · 12.0 mi
Out along Aledo Iona Road on the evening of July 30, 2015, the historic Walsh Northstar Ranch House caught fire and burned to the ground. Flames and a column of black smoke rose off the roughly 4,000-square-foot home so…
First Baptist Church of Aledo · 12.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the First Baptist Church of Aledo. Its story starts way back in 1879, when this congregation first organized. Their very first building wasn't even called a church at first! It was a hall named Alma…
Aledo at Its Agricultural Peak · 12.1 mi
By 1915, Aledo had a bank. In a farming community that is not a luxury: it meant farmers could borrow against a coming harvest, carry debt through a bad season, and move money without cash changing hands in a field.…
A Michelin-Touched Cafe on the Old Depot Street · 12.1 mi
Right in the heart of Aledo's historic downtown, at 109 South Front Street where the town's earliest stores once crowded against the railroad, sits Press Cafe. The Aledo location opened in early 2024 as the second…
City of Aledo · 12.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Aledo, a town born from the railroad. It started as Parker Station in 1879 when the Texas and Pacific laid tracks, later renamed Aledo in 1882. By the early 1900s, it was a commercial hub with mills,…
The Aledo Confession Still in Dispute · 12.2 mi
In two thousand fifteen, an Aledo man named Larry Driskill confessed to a Parker County murder from two thousand five. The Innocence Project of Texas says that confession was false. On March sixth, two thousand five,…

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