McMullen County
Historical Markers |
|
Number 28
Marker Title: Boot Hill Cemetery
County: McMullen
Marker Location: Across from Town Square, Route 72, one block East
of intersection of 72 and Highway 16, Tilden.
Marker Text: Began with grave of a suicide. Some occupants are: Dick
Gosset, killed in Ft. Ewell gunfight, Feb. 1869. E.M. Crain, Confederate
veteran; one of 4 cholera victims, 1869. John Smithwick, murdered,
1870. Jim--, assassinated from door of old Rock Store, 1872. Unknown,
killed in gun battle while standing in front of old Rock Store, 1873.
Unknown, killed unintentionally by Clabe Young, while playing a prank.
S. Glenn Greer (12/7/1848-11/9/1874) thrown from a horse. Unknown,
a Negro drowned in the Nueces, 1875. Unknown, murderer of James Minter,
presumed to have been a Dalton gang member. Lige Harrison, Jr., killed
at age 17 in a hunting accident, 1876. Samuel Wm. McCreery, murdered
at his sheep ranch, 1877. Pemanio Palacios and Phelix Wheeler (infant),
both died of natural causes. (1964)
Marker Title: Camp Rio Frio, C.S.A.
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: On Highway 16 1/2 miles north of intersection of
Highway 16 and Highway 72 (across from Caja Hill), Tilden.
Marker Text: A Civil War home guard post, acting as buffer to protect
older settlements from Apaches and bandits. Scattered local men were
members of the 29th Brigade, Texas Militia. Picket homes with dirt
floors. Diet of prickly pear salad and fruit, Spanish dagger blooms,
hominy, turkey, quail and deer meat. Homespun and linsey clothing
dyed blue with Brazil root or gold with agarita. Such was local scene
the home guard protected. Camp Rio Frio was later Dogtown, then became
Tilden. It proved itself in a rugged era. (1964)
Marker Title: Dog Town Jail
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Location: Behind courthouse, located at intersection of Highway
72 and Highway 16, Tilden.
Marker Text: First County Jail, built 1880 at cost of $2800. First
expenses included 2 blankets, pair of leg irons, 2 pairs handcuffs.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966.
Marker Title: Moses William Hindes
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: Located in Boot Hill Cemetery across from town square
on Route 72, one block east of intersection of Highway 72 and Highway
16, Tilden.
Marker Text: A pioneer in settling of southwest Texas. Born in South
Carolina; married Mary Jane Mason. Moved in 1840's to Alabama, then
to Mississippi. With wife and 6 children came in 1855 by ox-wagon
and horse-drawn hack to Texas. After a year in Lockhart, moved (1856)
to this area of sparse settlements. To have adequate water for cattle
raising, tried living on Ash and San Miguel Creeks. Then settled on
the Frio, where in drouths "wells" were sunk in the river
bed. During the Civil War (1861-1865) Hindes and his son George were
Confederate scouts. In that time Indians plundered this area, stealing
children and horses. On Aug. 1, 1865, warning came of a new Indian
raid. Neighbors went to Hindes' home (9 mi. SW) for safety. 6 men
took turns guarding 40 horses held in the corral. At daybreak when
the Indians attacked, Moses Hindes was shot to death defending his
homestead. Buried at first in this Boothill, he was later reburied
in Pleasanton Cemetery, Atascosa County. His heirs remain loyal to
this area for which Mr. Hindes died. George, the eldest son, founded
the town of Hindes, Atascosa County. The Hindes & Beever Store,
Pearsall, sold first pearburner ever marketed. Every generation has
had men who rode with Texas Rangers. 1968 Incise in base: Erected
by great-grandchildren, Carrie Hindes Eppright and Leroy Hindes.
Marker Title: McMullen County
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: In front of courthouse on corner of Hwy. 16 and Hwy.
72, Tilden.
Marker Text: Created 1858. Organized 1862. Abandoned because of bandit
activities in thicket area during the Civil War. Reorganized 1877,
with Tilden as county seat. Named for John McMullen (1785-1853), founded
with James McGloin of the Irish Colony at San Patricio; President
Pro Tempore of the General Council which governed Texas in 1836, on
the eve of the Republic. Of the 254 Texas counties, 42 bear Indian,
French or Spanish names. 10 commemorate such colonizers as McMullen
and Stephen F. Austin, "Father of Texas". 12 honor Washington
and other American patriots. 96 were named for men who fought in the
Texas war for independence (15 dying at the Alamo), signed the Declaration
of Independence from Mexico, or served as statesmen in the Republic
of Texas. 23 have the names of frontiersmen and pioneers. 11 honor
American statesmen who worked for the annexation of Texas; 10, leaders
in Texas since statehood, including jurists, ministers, educators,
historians, statesmen; and 36, men prominent in the Confederacy during
the Civil War. Rockwall and 8 others have geographical names. San
Jacinto and Val Verde were named for battles; Live Oak and Orange,
for trees; and Mason for a fort. (1964)
Museum Name: McMullen County Historical Museum
Mailing Address: HCR 4 Box 17
Street Address: 502 River Street
City: Tilden
Zip Code: 78072-9302
County: McMullen
Marker Title: San Caja Hill
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: Highway 16 just .5 miles north of Wheeler Store on
west side of road before bridge, Tilden.
Marker Text: The name, originally "Sin Caja", means "without
coffin" in Spanish and may refer to the grim aftermath of the
Turkey Creek Indian Battle, which was fought a short distance west
of the hill in December 1872. The fight developed after raiding Indians
had stolen livestock, chased young rancher Andrew Tullis, and dragged
a herder to death at the J. Campbell place. The day following the
killing, 13 ranchers from Oakville overtook the band at Turkey (now
"Hill") Creek. Five Indians were slain, while one white
man, Sebastian Beall, had a tooth shot out. Others in the fight were
Caleb Coker, Tim Cude, John Edwards, Bob and Sam Nations, Tobe Odom,
Cullen Sanders, Andrew and Woodie Tullis, Rans Tullos, Pleas Waller,
John Wilson. The bones of the warriors, put in a cave in San Caja
Hill, later mysteriously disappeared. They were supposedly removed
by members of the same tribe. Legends of treasure also hinge upon
the name of the hill, for "Caja" can mean "box"
or "chest." This is thought to refer to money hidden in
boxes here by Mexican bandits who raided wagon trains and stages traveling
on the nearby Laredo-Goliad Road. Other tales tell of silver from
the rich San Saba mines once buried nearby, but now lost to history.
1968
Marker Title: Stringfield Massacre
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: From Tilden, take Highway 16 about 23 miles to Route
624, go west about 2.5 miles to rest stop.
Marker Text: On Sept. 28, 1870, the Thomas W. Stringfield family was
ambushed by Indians and bandits raiding from Mexico. Overtaken in
their horse-drawn wagon, the victims ran for a nearby house, but did
not reach it. Thomas and wife Sarah Jane were stabbed and shot to
death. Six-year-old son Adolphus was also murdered, but the fate of
Thomas, 4 years, was never known. The survivor, 8-year-old Ida Alice,
fought to avoid capture. She was then speared 7 times, trampled by
the raiders' horses, and left for dead. She was later rescued and
lived until 1937. 1968
Marker Title: Yarbrough Bend
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: (With townsite of Wentz Marker), from Tilden, take
Highway 72 six miles east to roadside marker.
Marker Text: Founded 1858. Named for John Swanson Yarbrough, an original
settler. Town contained about 30 log "picket houses". Settlers
were often harassed by Indians, cattle thieves and wild animals. Other
original settlers were: Dr. George Dilworth, John Moore, James Tope,
N.H. Walker, Joe Walker and Benjamin Franklin Winters. 1968
Marker Title: John Swanson Yarbrough
City: Tilden
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 2001
Marker Location: In Hill Top Cemetery, 0.8 mile east of SH 16 on Hackberry
St./Cemetery Rd., Tilden
Marker Text: (Dec. 25, 1774 - Oct. 20, 1862) A native of North Carolina,
John Swanson Yarbrough came to Texas in 1832 and settled in what is
now Houston County in east Texas. A veteran of the Texas War for Independence,
Yarbrough participated in the 1835 Siege of Bexar and in the decisive
Battle of San Jacinto. He moved from Houston County about 1850 and
led a group of settlers to the Frio River in 1858 to establish the
Yarbrough Bend settlement in what became McMullen County. Yarbrough's
grave was relocated to this site from the Yarbrough Bend Cemetery
in 1982 as part of the construction of Choke Canyon Reservoir. Recorded
- 2001
