USA > Texas > Tarrant County > Fort Worth > History of Texas : Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition, Volume II > Part 29
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B. C. EVANS
B. C. Evans was born in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, De- cember 25, 1844. His father was a large planter in that county with the usual complement of slaves. He had a large family of sons and daughters.
B. C. Evans was educated at Columbia Military Academy and at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He was at this school when the war began, and although he was only a boy of sixteen, when all of his brothers volunteered to serve in the Southern army, he too, volun- teered, and was allowed to go as aide to one of his brothers, who was an officer in the artillery, and with whom he served until the end of the war, when he returned to his home in South Carolina, of which there was but little left except the "Big House" and a large body of worn-out land.
During the prosperous days before the war his father had given to each of his sons and daughters, a negro whose sole duty it was to attend and serve them in any capacity desired. The boy given to B. C. Evans followed him through the war, and when he returned and went to work this boy stayed with him, and working together they raised a crop of cotton on the old place. He then engaged in merchandising in Cheran. a small town in his native county. He was successful in this venture. and when he had accumulated a little money he came to Texas, set- tling in Forth Worth in 1872, and engaged in business there. He was among the first merchants doing an exclusive business in dry goods, notions and clothing.
On October 25, 1877, B. C. Evans married Miss Ella Dryden, a daughter of Dr. P. W. Dryden, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. They had three children, a son and two daughters, all of whom are still living.
Mr. Evans was a successful merchant and amassed a comfortable fortune. He was a liberal contributor to every enterprise looking to the promotion of the city and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. He died July 6, 1889.
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HENRY C. HOLLOWAY
Henry C. Holloway was born near Edgefield, South Carolina, in 1838. His education was very limited, but he possessed a strong and vigorous mind, which served to compensate in some degree for the lack of education.
He came to Texas in 1858, and was the manager of the plantation of Captain Ward south of Fort Worth. His frugal habits and self- denial enabled him to accumulate some money, which he invested in Tarrant County lands, and owned one of the finest farms on Village Creek, just south of the present town of Handley, as well as some vacant lots in Fort Worth which subsequently became very valuable.
He was a man of strong convictions on all subjects to which he never hesitated to give expression.
He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1862 and served until the close of the war.
He was elected a county commissioner in 1894, and was a member of the Commissioner's Court when the present courthouse was erected.
He was one of the most active and prominent in the formation of the Fat Stock Show, which held its first exhibition under the trees about where the packing houses now stand. He was one of the organizers and the first manager of the Stock Yards Company, the predecessor of the present organization.
Physically he was a splendid specimen. He was over six feet tall and strong and rugged. He died very suddenly in April, 1895, leaving a widow and one daughter.
JEREMIAH MARKLEE
The subject of this sketch was one among the first to come to Fort Worth when it was a struggling hamlet.
He was a Canadian by birth, but came to the United States at the age of sixteen years.
In 1850 he was among the numerous horde that crossed the plains in a wagon in response to the call of fortune in the gold diggings of California. He remained there a number of years prospecting in the mountains in search of the precious metal. He was so fortunate as to discover a gold deposit, and had the good judgment to dispose of it at a good sum and come to Texas.
He arrived in Fort Worth in the fall of 1872 and engaged in bank-, ing, organizing the California & Texas Bank of Loyd, Marklee & Com- pany. This was finally merged with the City National Bank, and he continued with that institution until the panic of 1893 put it out of business.
He died in 1882. A widow and one daughter, the latter the wife of A. H. Bauer, survive him.
DR. ELIAS JAMES BEALL
Dr. Elias James Beall was born in Macon, Georgia, February 5, 1834. He received his medical education at Tulane University, New Orleans. Louisiana, the foremost medical institution of the South. He settled in Marshall, Texas, in 1860.
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He entered the Confederate Army soon after hostilities began, as surgeon of the Seventeenth Texas Regiment, and later became chief surgeon of Walker's Division, which position he held until the close of the war.
Dr. Beall came to Fort Worth in 1870, and at once took a leading position in the practice of his chosen profession. This he maintained till his death, which occurred on October 20, 1914.
DAVID CHAPMAN BENNETT
David Chapman Bennett was born July 7, 1830, at Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
His father was David Bennett, the son of John Bennett, a Revolu- tionary soldier born in Connecticut. His mother was Sarah Boyle, daughter of Philip Boyle, a Protestant Irishman. She came to America with her parents when she was eight years of age.
David Chapman Bennett was educated at Binghamton, New York, and early in life was employed by a New York Railroad. He went West and opened a general merchandise store with his brother in Wis- consin. He moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where he engaged in the dry goods business. He bought out his brother's interest early in 1873, moved to Fort Worth and opened a dry goods store, which he continued until 1876.
He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Fort Worth, and was its first vice-president, continuing in that position until his death on July 19, 1910.
In politics he was a democrat and was a member of the Congrega- tional Church.
He was married, November 28, 1869, to Mary Carolyn Joy, the daughter of Hiram and Alice Merrill Joy. His wife's father was a state representative from Augusta, Maine, and her mother was a cousin of John Greenleaf Whittier.
His children were: Helen Mary Bennett, married to W. V. Newlin : Edith Adel Bennett, married to Charles E. Nash; Bertha Alice Bennett, deceased ; Mildred Vida Bennett; Grace Agnes Bennett, deceased ; and David Morrison Bennett, deceased.
Mr. Bennett was one of the most highly respected of the pioneer citizens of Fort Worth.
THE TEXAS NORTHWEST COUNTY SUBDIVISIONS
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ANDREWS COUNTY
Situated in the southwestern corner of the Plains country and adjoin- ing the State of New Mexico on the west, Andrews County has had practically its sole use as a grazing section, and though the county lines were formed in 1876, county government was instituted only in 1910.
While the county is in the semi-arid section of far West Texas, its rolling prairies comprise a rich soil, the grasses furnishing a fine pas- turage for cattlemen, and it has been lack of railroads perhaps more than any other thing which has delayed the progress in agriculture and in general settlement and upbuilding. At the present time the railroad enters the county to Seminole. To these points cattle are driven for shipment, and such products of the farm as are without local market are transported by teams. While the old ranch life may continue in this section for a number of years, the vanguard of farmers has already crossed the border and farming is being undertaken on an increasing scale. There is abundance of water underground, although the county has no running streams. For a number of years the ranchmen have raised gardens and some fruit by means of irrigating with windmill power.
At the census of 1890 only twenty-four inhabitants were found in the county ; in 1900, eighty-seven ; in 1910 the population was 975, and in 1920, 350. The county's area is 1,001,600 acres, about twice the size of a normal West Texas County. The last census reported 324,496 acres included in farms, but only 1,105 acres as "improved land," as compared with seventy acres in 1900. The number of farms or ranches in 1910 was eighteen, and twelve in 1900. At that time hardly two hundred acres were in cultivation in the staple crops of corn and kafir corn, and practically the only resource, as shown by the census statistics, was cattle, 54,322 of this stock being enumerated. The county has one small town, Andrews, which is the county seat. In 1913 the property valuation of the county was $2,387,860, in 1920, $2,722,873.
ARCHER COUNTY
Archer is one of the Northwest Texas counties still in process of transformation from the old range and ranch conditions to that of set- tled agricultural industry. With the rapid immigration into the Northern counties during the '50s, the legislature provided by act of January 22, 1858, for the boundaries of a new county in honor of Branch T. Archer, and directed that the county seat should be called Archer. Few, if any, settlers reached that county before the war, and more than twenty years passed before it was organized. The county government was instituted July 27, 1880. A report on the county for 1882 said : "Stock raising and farming are the only industries yet introduced. The former is by far the most general. That it is already assuming comparatively large pro- portions will be seen from the fact that with a population of perhaps a thousand, there are in the county 24,845 cattle, 4,258 sheep, 1,273 horses and mules. Agriculture is in its infancy in this county. The oldest farm is not yet five years old, and the few tracts under cultivation are small, varying from ten to one hundred acres. The only town is Archer
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City, which contains perhaps one hundred inhabitants. Riman is a small settlement."
At the census of 1880 the population of the county was 596; in 1890, 2,101; in 1900, 2,508: in 1910, 6,525; in 1920, 5,254. The decrease is attributable to the removal of tenant farmers occasioned by the pro- tracted drought. A considerable number of German and Austrian people have settled in Archer County, and have been effective factors in developing the agricultural resources.
Archer County's early development followed the construction of rail- ways into the Wichita Falls country during the '80s. The first rail- way line in the county was the Wichita Valley, which was built from Wichita Falls to Seymour across the northwestern corner of Archer County in 1890. About 1907 the Wichita Falls & Southern was com- pleted through the county, giving Archer City its first railway communi-
THRESHING
cation. A little later the Southwestern road was built from Henrietta to Archer City. Within the present decade, the Gulf, Texas & Western has crossed the southwestern corner of the county. It is largely due to these railways and the consequent influx of population that Archer County during the past ten or fifteen years has undergone a rapid evolu- tion from a strictly livestock county to one of farms and diversified agriculture. However, much of the county is yet undeveloped and it is classified more strictly as a part of the Texas "cow country" rather than as a farming section. The total area of the county is 558,080 acres. The last census reported 443,915 acres in farms and ranches, but only 80,000 acres as "improved land." In 1920 the livestock was: Cattle, 36,827, and horses and mules, 6,827. In 1909 the acreage in cotton was 18,058; in corn, 8,680; in wheat, 4,018; in hay and forage crops, 4,128; in oats, 2,740; and a limited acreage in kafir corn and milo maize. About nine thousand orchard fruit trees were enumerated.
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The total value of taxable property in 1881 was $695,170, of which about forty per cent was represented by livestock ; in 1903 the valuation had risen to $2,438,910; in 1913, to $6,869,114, and in 1920 to $7,801,064.
ARCHER CITY
Archer City, the county seat, is situated four miles southeast of the geographical center of the county. It has a population of about 800, a cotton gin, two grain elevators, a milk pasteurizing plant, flour mill, three banks, all kinds of mercantile establishments, two abstract plants, a magnificent school building, a beautiful courthouse and a jail. The Wichita Falls & Southern Railroad extends through Archer City to New
ANGORA GOAT
Castle, Texas, in Young County. Operations are in progress and the railroad will, in the near future, be extended and connect with the Texas & Pacific at Cisco.
Other towns in the county are: Dundee, Holliday, in the northwest part of the county on the Wichita Valley Railroad; Megargel, on the G. T. & W. Railroad, in the southwest corner of the county ; Anarene, Windthorst and Scotland.
ARMSTRONG COUNTY
The Palo Duro Canyon in Armstrong County is one of the most pic- turesque features of Texas physiography, and it has often been proposed that the Government should set it aside as a national park. It was in this locality that Col. Charles Goodnight established the pioneer Pan- handle Ranch in 1876, and even in recent years Armstrong has claimed
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the distinction of marketing more cattle, hogs and sorghum seed than any other county in the Panhandle. For many years the cattle indus- try has been the chief resource, and the county contains many large ranches, one of them, comprising about a fifth of the area, being one of the largest in extent in all Northwest Texas. Of late years stock- men have devoted a great deal of attention to the improvement of breeds, and as a result the ranches are stocked with splendid specimens of Here- fords, Polled Angus and other breeds of beef animals. Livestock farm- ing is taking the place of ranching in many sections, particularly in the northern and eastern portion in the vicinity of the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad. At Goodnight is found one of the few herds of buffalo in the United States. Colonel Goodnight has succeeded in domesticating the buffalo and cares for a large number on his place. His ranch has gained fame as the home of the "cattalo," an animal produced by a cross- ing of the native buffalo with Polled Angus cattle. It is said to be a splendid beef animal, capable of withstanding a severe climate and of existing on short forage if necessary. In the last two decades nearly a fifth of Armstrong County has been brought under cultivation, and the farmers and stockmen produce large quantities of the Panhandle forage crops, corn, oats, wheat and also considerable fruit.
Armstrong County was created in 1876 and was organized March 8, 1890. In 1880 its population was 31; in 1890, 944; in 1900, 1,205; in 1910, 2,682, and in 1920, 2,816. In 1888 the Fort Worth & Denver City Railroad was completed across the north half of the county, and one of the first stations established was Claude, which was given the honor of the county seat. By 1890 a prosperous little village has grown up on a site where eighteen months before not a house was to be seen. and at the last census it was a town of 1,200 in population. In 1887 the Southern Kansas Division of the Santa Fe Railroad was graded across the Panhandle as far as Panhandle City, and that road soon after- wards found entrance to Amarillo by extending a branch to Washburn in Armstrong County, and thence using the tracks of the Fort Worth & Denver Road to Amarillo. In recent years the Santa Fe tracks from Panhandle to Washburn have been abandoned, so that Armstrong County has now only one railroad line.
In 1903 the valuation of property in the county was $1,671,431; in 1913, $4,558,141 and in 1920, $4,712,794. The last census enumerated 28,186 cattle; 5,840 horses and mules; 1,296 hogs; 1,940 sheep. The total area of the county is 577,920 acres. At the last census about 117,- 000 acres were "improved land," as compared with about 22,000 acres in 1900. There were 172 farms or ranches in the county in 1900, and 387 in 1910. The acreage devoted to the principal crops in 1909 was : Kaffir corn and milo maize, 11,245; hay and forage crops, 22,311 ; oats, 10,725 ; corn, 3,453; wheat. 3,112; and about 15,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated.
CLAUDE
Claude, a town of 1,200 inhabitants, has never had a boom; but with a steady upward tendency has reached its present state and is regarded as one of the most prosperous little towns in the West. If there is one
-
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thing more than any other to distinguish Claude from other towns, it is the quality of its citizenship. The people are intelligent, progressive and have a high standard of morals very noticeable to travelers.
Claude has twenty-five mercantile establishments, and all are prosper- ous. It has four churches, one newspaper, two banks, showing deposits of nearly one-half million dollars, electric light and ice plants. There is an elevator, and another is expected to be built soon, a flouring mill running full time, and it has a splendid three-story brick school building and bears the distinction of having fostered the first County School Fair ever held in the state of Texas. One of the most beautiful courthouses in the country may be found here.
BAILEY COUNTY
Still unorganized, Bailey County was created in 1876. It lies against New Mexico, and until very recently has been almost uninhabited and in pasture alone has contributed to the economic wealth of the state. When the federal census of 1900 was taken there were but four people living in the county, and of these but one was a voter. In 1910 the census enumerated 312, in 1920, 517. In 1911 the division of the Santa Fe Railroad from Texico to Coleman was built through the county, and improved transportation has given agriculture and general development a great impetus. There were five farms in the county in 1900, and seventy-one in 1910. Of a total area of 659,200 acres, while more than half was included in farms in 1910, only 11,000 acres were "im- proved land," and the amount of land in cultivation in 1900 was only 275 acres. The last enumeration reported 13,389 cattle and 2,337 sheep. The chief crop in 1909 was kafir corn and milo maize, in which 3,094 acres were planted, and 1,409 acres in hay and forage crops, besides some wheat and corn. A description of the county and of some recent developments is taken from the Texas Almanac for 1914: "The surface is almost level plain, with wide, shallow valleys. In the shallow water belts all staples produce large yields, while fruit and vegetables grow luxuriantly. The possibilities of irrigation are many and development in the shallow water belt in the northern section is making rapid progress. Until a year ago Bailey County was practically one large pasture. Although the livestock interests predominate, stock farming and diversi- fied agriculture and horticulture in the irrigated sections are claiming an increasing amount of attention, these features being entirely respon- sible for the increase in population and wealth recorded during the last two years. While an accurate survey of the shallow water districts has never been made, it is estimated that there are approximately 45,000 acres in the northern portion of the county with an abundant supply of pure water at a depth ranging from eight to fifty feet." The assessed wealth of Bailey County in 1913 was $299,958, and in 1920, $2,822,424.
BAYLOR COUNTY
The legislature created Baylor County February 1, 1858, and named it for Dr. Henry Baylor, who was killed at the Dawson massacre in 1842. No settlements were made until the decade of the '70s, and the county was organized April 13, 1879. Among the pioneers was an in-
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teresting colony planted in 1878. In August of that year about forty persons arrived, under the lead of Captain J. R. McLain, having come all the way from the State of Oregon to find homes in North Texas and at that time it was said only ten other families lived in the county and those in the southeastern corner. The town which they began to build and which was chosen as the county seat was named Oregon. A visitor to the place in January, 1879, wrote that part of the inhabitants lived in caves on account of the scarcity of lumber and the distance from markets, and the dozen houses in process of construction were mostly of stone. Excellent building stone in large quantities is an important resource of the county, and at the present time a large part of the residence and business buildings at Seymour and elsewhere in the county are constructed of that material. The caves, which in 1879 comprised the habitations of the people, were dug out of the hillside, and at the side farthest from the entrance was placed a fireplace and flue, securing good ventilation. The Village of Oregon thus started was a transient center, for when the newly elected officers of Baylor County were sworn in they decided, after much delay, to locate the county seat on 640 acres of state school land near the center of the county, and thus Seymour was brought into being as the principal town of the county.
At the census of 1880, 715 inhabitants were found in Baylor County. The population at successive decades has been : In 1890, 2,595 ; in 1900, 3,052; in 1910, 8,411, and in 1920, 7,027. A considerable element of population comes from Austria, and the last census enumerated about five hundred inhabitants either natives or in the second generation. In 1881 the value of taxable property in the county was $614,849; in 1909, $5,249,873 ; in 1913, $6,249,391 ; in 1920, $7,085,942.
Thirty years ago the limited population in the county devoted all their energies to the raising of cattle and horses. In 1882 there were about 22,000 cattle, about 900 horses and mules, and a few hogs. Agri- culture had received scarcely any attention, only about a thousand acres having been brought under the plow. The only settlements deserving the name of villages in 1882 were Seymour, St. Bernard and Round Timber.
The first railroad was Wichita Valley, built from Wichita Falls to Seymour in 1890. During the present century it was continued to the southwest and was connected with the Abilene and Northern in 1907. About 1911 the Gulf, Texas & Western was completed between Seymour and Jacksboro. Seymour is an important trade and shipping center, and its population in 1910 was 2,029.
The general development of the county's resources are indicated by the following statistics from the last census. There were 1,040 farms, as compared with 327 in 1900. Of the total area of 563,200 acres, 491,218 acres were in farms or ranches; about 102,000 acres were "im- proved land," as compared with about 47,000 acres so classified ten years before. There were enumerated in 1920: Cattle, about 11,185; horses and mules, 6,421 ; hogs, 5,041. Cotton is the chief crop, 38,014 acres being planted in 1909 : 12,213 acres in corn, 5,517 acres in hay and forage crops, 2,621 acres in wheat, 2,402 acres in kafir corn and milo maize,
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and 1,006 acres in oats. About eleven thousand five hundred orchard fruit trees were enumerated.
SEYMOUR
The county seat of Baylor County has a population of 2,600 and an assessed valuation of $2,095,780.
It is one of the most attractive and home-like towns in the North- west portion of the state.
Its streets are generally well graded and paved, and there are no electric light or telephone poles allowed on the ten miles of concrete sidewalks. Underground wires are demanded of the Public Utility Corporations. It has two railroads with a union passenger and freight station.
There are two three-story school buildings, one of stone and one of brick. There are two National Banks, with a combined capital of $250,000 and deposits aggregating $771,648,000 and one state bank with a capital of $35,000 and deposits of $92,377,000.
There are three cotton gins and one cotton compress, an electric light plant, a cotton seed oil mill, an ice plant, two grain elevators, the city owns and operates the water works and sewerage plants and there is a well equipped fire department and telephone system.
There are seven churches. representing the more prominent denom- inations, and five of the fraternal organizations.
There is a splendid courthouse, the park of which is beautifully set with shade trees and flowers, and is one of the most beautiful and at- tractive in the state. There is also a beautiful city park of seventy acres, with swimming pool and a baseball park, provided with swings, slides and other entertainment facilities. It has a live Chamber of Commerce, a Post of the American Legion, Public Library, Social and Literary clubs, all of which contribute to make it one of the most desirable places of residence.
BORDEN COUNTY
This county was created August 21, 1876, and was organized March 17. 1891. Howard County lies on the south, and through the latter passes the Texas & Pacific Railway. Some of the stockmen who had their chief headquarters at Big Springs in the latter county extended the scope of their operations into Borden County, which for thirty years or more has been the scene of operations for West Texas cattlemen. At the present time, although nearly all the area is tillable, it is largely occupied by cattlemen, who, while they graze thousands of head of cat tle, also farm in a limited way, producing corn, sorghum, kafir corn, oats and other grain and feed stuffs. There are few real farmers, but the possibilities of agriculture and also of horticulture have been thoroughly demonstrated. The county is without railroads, and consequently there is little inducement to undertake the growing of crops which cannot be consumed on the farm or ranch.
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