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Marker Title: Annetta Cemetery
Address: 1283 O'Neal Ave. N
City: Aledo
Year Marker Erected: 1998
Marker Text: Community founder A.B. Fraser was a Confederate soldier
who went into exile in Central America rather than declare allegiance
to the Union. The Frasers named their daughter, who was born in Honduras,
Anneta. The family returned to the U.S. in 1872, settling in Fort Worth,
then moved a few miles west of the city in 1876. Fraser established
a store and freight station near Weatherford and named the station for
his daughter. When the Texas and Pacific Railroad built tracks through
this area in 1880, it adapted the Fraser name, spelling it Annetta.
Though it is likely that the site had already been used as a burial
ground for several years before Edgar M. King was interred here in September
1882, his is the earliest tombstone on this site. King was the first
of many of his family to be buried in Annetta Cemetery. Thirty-five
infants' graves are dated between 1882 and 1910, a testament to the
harsh conditions of pioneer life. Those interred here were civic and
church leaders, educators, politicians, farmers, ranchers, merchants,
and manufacturers. The Bell, Bledsoe, Chapman, Chew, Duncan, Nichols,
Otto, and Winslow families are prominently represented, as are others
who built the Annetta community. One burial is that of a veteran of
the Civil War; other graves are those of veterans of several major United
States and international wars and conflicts. More than 935 graves were
counted in 1998. Fading railroad tracks and the Annetta Cemetery are
all that remain to chronicle the passing of the pioneers of Annetta
community. (1998)
Marker Title: Authon Cemetery
Address: On Garner-Adell Rd, off US 180, about 20 mi. W of Weatherford.
City: Authon
Year Marker Erected: 1981
Marker Location: From Weatherford, take US 180 west about 10.5 miles,
turn onto FM 113 about 5.5 miles, turn east onto Authon-Bethesda Road,
(Old Authon Road), continue about 2 miles. Turn south onto Garner-Adell
Road, about .25 mile to cemetery.
Marker Text: Named for the nearby Authon Community, located on the Fort
Worth-Fort Belknap Military Road, this site first served as a cemetery
for the family of Kentucky native Isom Cranfill (1831-1902). The earliest
burial here was that of his 15-year-old son, Linn Boyd Cranfill (d.
1871), who was killed in an Indian attack near the family home (.75
mile south). The cemetery and adjoining land were later deeded to the
Authon Church of Christ, who worshiped in a sanctuary at this site until
the 1920s. Still in use, the public burial ground contains the graves
of many pioneer area settlers. (1981)
Marker Title: Colonel Alfred G. Cooper
Address: Spring Creek Cemetery, on FM 51, S of Weatherford
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: From Weatherford, take FM 51 about 8 miles south to
Spring Creek Cemetery. Marker is in northwest corner of cemetery.
Marker Text: Seminole Florida War, 1836. Captain in Mexican War, 1846.
Lt. Colonel Confederate Army, 1862. Born in Tennessee, June 22, 1817.
Died February 28, 1883. (1936)
Marker Title: Fondren Cemetery
Address: Fondren Cemetery Lane of US 180, via FM 113 and Authon Rd.
City: Fondren
Year Marker Erected: 1979
Marker Location: From Weatherford, take US 180 west about 11.5 miles,
turn north on FM 113 about 5.6 miles north. Turn east onto Authon-Bethesda
Road about 2 miles east and head south on Fondren Cemetery Lane, about
.25 mile to cemetery on west side of road.
Marker Text: In 1854 William B. Fondren (1811-1863) and his wife Susannah
(1816-1888) settled along nearby Dry Creek and the military road from
Fort Worth to Fort Belknap. This family graveyard was established in
the John W. Williams Survey, adjacent to Fondren's land. General Edward
H. Tarrant, for whom Tarrant County was named, died at the Fondren home
in 1858 and was buried here for a time. The first marked grave is that
of Fondren's son-in-law William Youngblood whose headstone, like others
in the cemetery, reads: "Killed by Indians, 1860". This pioneer
burial ground served until 1937. (1979)
Marker Title: Fort Wolters
Address: Washington and Hood Roads
City: Mineral Wells
Year Marker Erected: 1999
Marker Text: Located in the counties of Palo Pinto and Parker, Fort
Wolters' history dates back to the days of "Old" Camp Wolters,
created in 1925 as a National Guard training area under the guidance
of General Jacob F. Wolters. On October 13, 1940, the U.S. Army activated
Camp Wolters as an infantry replacement center, with the support of
Mineral Wells community leaders. Additional lands were bought or donated
to the army by local residents to expand the camp to over 7,500 acres.
In less than four months, more than 100 buildings were constructed.
The original buildings of "Old" Camp Wolters were converted
into a P.O.W. camp for German prisoners from North Africa. The prison
camp was closed on August 15, 1946, as the last prisoners were returned
to their homeland. At its peak, Camp Wolters was home to more than 30,000
soldiers per training cycle. Among the notable war heroes that passed
through the camp were Lt. Jack Knight and Audie Murphy, (More Hollywood Heroes) both of whom
were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. After World War II Fort
Wolters was deactivated as an army training facility and reactivated
in 1951 as Wolters Air Force Base. In 1956, it was designated Camp Wolters
Army Base, and was used for helicopter flight training with more than
1,000 helicopters stationed at three different heliports. The base was
expanded to cover nearly 722,000 acres of land for flight training purposes.
In 1963 it was designated Fort Wolters. The fort also became the site
of a Nike missile installation until it reverted once again to the National
Guard after the Vietnam War. Fort Wolters was officially closed for
military service on February 1, 1973. (1999)
Marker Title: Hoggard-Reynolds Cemetery
City: Azle
Year Marker Erected: 2000
Marker Location: S. Stewart St., 1.1 mi. W of SH 199, Azle.
Marker Text: According to oral history, pioneer farmer and Confederate
widow Sarah Hoggard gave a plot of her land for the burial of an African
American child who died while traveling through the area with his family
after the Civil War. Though there may be earlier graves, the first marked
burial on this site if that of Francis Reynolds, who died in 1865. Sarah
and James Hoggard's daughter Matilda married Benjamin Reynolds, whose
father operated the first cotton gin and grist mill in the area, and
his family name became as prominent among the graves as that of the
Hoggards. In 1899 the "Hoggard Graveyard" was set aside in
a deed to the Hoggard family land. Reynolds was formally added to the
cemetery name in 1984 after a Reynold's descendant deeded additional
land. The cemetery is a chronicle of area pioneers. (2000)
Marker Title: Bose Ikard
Address: Front Street, at Old City Greenwood Cemetery
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1990
Marker Location: Old City Greenwood Cemetery (west side), Front Street
-Weatherford.
Marker Text: Born a slave in Mississippi, Bose Ikard came to Texas as
a child with the family of his owner, Dr. Milton L. Ikard. He remained
as an employee of Dr. Ikard following his emancipation, but in 1866
joined a cattle drive to Colorado led by Charles Goodnight and Oliver
Loving. Ikard became one of Goodnight's best cowboys and a trusted friend.
Following his work in the cattle drives, Ikard settled in Weatherford.
He and his wife Angeline were the parents of six children. When he died
in 1929 at age 85, Goodnight had a granite marker erected at his grave.
(1990)
Marker Title: Jack Llewellyn Knight
Address: Holders Chapel Road, off US 180 W of Weatherford
City: Cool Community
Year Marker Erected: 1990
Marker Location: In the Holders Chapel Cemetery, from Weatherford take
US 180 12 miles west, turn north onto Holders Chapel Road in the Cool
Community, and continue about 1 mile to the cemetery.
Marker Text: Born on a farm near Garner (4 miles north) Jack L. Knight
enlisted in the Texas National Guard in 1940. Mobilized for service
during World War II, his unit was posted to Southeast Asia to help open
the Burma Road between India and China. During one of the last battles
in that region, Knight was killed while leading an attack on a Japanese
position. Four months later, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor, the only one awarded for the China-Burma-India Theater
of Operations. In 1949 he was buried in this cemetery named for his
great-grandfather. (1990)
Marker Title: Governor S.W.T. Lanham
Address: 604 S. Alamo St.
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1978
Marker Location: 604 S. Alamo Street, Weatherford.
Marker Text: A South Carolinian, Samuel Willis Tucker Lanham volunteered
at age 15 and fought 1861-65 in the Civil War. In 1866 he married Sarah
Beona Meng and moved to Texas. The Lanhams taught school, first in Bowie
County, then in Weatherford. Admitted to the bar in 1869, Lanham in
1871 became district attorney for five counties, including Parker. Also
in 1871 he began to built his home at this site, enlarging it later.
His speeches in 1871 at the trial of Indian chiefs in the Warren Wagon
Train Massacre brought him fame at age 25. Elected United States Congressman
in 1882 for the 98-county "jumbo" district of West Texas,
he served as a national lawmaker for 17 years. S.W.T. Lanham was the
last Confederate veteran to be Governors of Texas, 1903-07. He led in
reviving East Texas iron works, began fiscal balance practices in state
government, and invoked social justice. Laws made in response to his
policies covered vital tax reforms, child labor curbs, uniform textbooks,
and the Terrell Election Law to enable voters to nominate officials
by ballot rather than in conventions. Governor and Mrs. Lanham had eight
children, including U.S. Congressman Fritz Lanham. The Ex-Governor died
here at his home and is buried in Weatherford. (1978)
Marker Title: Lemley Cemetery
Address: Cold Springs Rd. off Old Authon Rd. via FM 920
City: Lemley
Year Marker Erected: 1992
Marker Location: From Weatherford, take FM 920 6.6 miles northwest,
then 1 mile west on Old Authon Road, turn south onto Cold Springs Road,
about 1 mile to cemetery.
Marker Text: The earliest marked grave in this cemetery, that of Elizabeth
Moore, dates to 1857. She was buried on part of a 160-acre tract of
land settled by the Thomas B. Martin family in 1853 and patented to
Martin by the State of Texas six years later. The existence of the cemetery
is reflected in the Parker County deed records as early as 1869, when
Martin sold his property to John H. and Thomas J. Lemley. The Lemleys
came to Texas from Illinois in the mid-1850s and eventually settled
in Parker County. The cemetery on their property, which came to be named
for them, was used over the years for members of the family, as well
as for friends and nearby settlers. Tombstones mark the graves of landowners
Thomas Martin and George Lemley, as well as others who lived and died
in the area, many of whom were victims of the hardships of pioneer life
on the Texas frontier. At least five veterans of the Civil War also
are buried here. Many graves are marked only with native rocks. The
historic Lemley Cemetery is thus an important reflection of the heritage
of this part of Parker County. (1992)
Marker Title: Oliver Loving
Address: Front St. in Greenwood Cemetery
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1977
Marker Location: Greenwood Cemetery, Front Street, Weatherford.
Marker Text: 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.
Marker Title: Nelson Cemetery
Address: Nelson Road, of FM 370 via Peden Rd.
City: Azle
Year Marker Erected: 1985
Marker Location: From Azle, take FM 730 north about 3.5 miles to Peden
Road, take Peden Road .5 mile west; turn south on Cardinal Lane, then
take next turn west on Nelson Road to cemetery.
Marker Text: Hugh Nelson (1821-1884), a native of Tennessee, donated
the original two acres of this burial ground. The earliest dated stone
marks the grave of his infant son Hugh, who died in 1864. Earlier burials
were marked only with field-stones. A number of children's graves date
from a dysentery epidemic in 1884. Known at one time as Walnut Creek
Cemetery, this is the burial place of many area pioneers, including
members of the Cruse, Helm, Nix, Osburn, Parker, and Peden families.
Nelson Cemetery contains over 700 known graves. (1985)
Marker Title: Old City Greenwood Cemetery
Address: 400 Front Street
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1996
Marker Location: 400 Front Street, Weatherford.
Marker Text: 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)
Marker Title: Parker County Courthouse
Address: College St. & US 180, Courthouse Square
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: Courthouse Square, College Street at US 180, one on
west side, one on east side, Weatherford.
Marker Text: Scene of many noted trials. Built 1884-86. Cost $55,555.55.
Fourth courthouse in history of county, organized 1856. An oak on Fort
Belknap Road was court site that year. In this building practiced S.W.T.
Lanham, who was Governor of Texas 1902-1906. Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark, 1965.
Marker Title: Parker County, C.S.A.
Address: College St. at Courthouse Square
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: Courthouse Square, east side, College Street, Weatherford.
Marker Text: Part of a colonial grant to S.M. Williams and Stephen F.
Austin, father of Texas, but with no permanent settlers before 1850,
this county was created in 1855 and named for Isaac Parker, its legislative
sponsor. By 1860 it had 4,213 people and in 1861 its voters favored
secession 535 to 61. Oliver Loving, a settler, was an official stock
raiser, furnishing beef to the Confederacy in the Civil War. He and
18 other men organized a full-time patrol against the frequent, bloody
Indian raids. Citizens of adjacent counties took refuge here. In 1864
three local men were charged with treason. One admitted inviting Federal
General J.G. Blunt to come from the Cherokee nation and give Parker
County protection from the Indians. General John R. Baylor, a local
rancher, was an officer in the Arizona-New Mexico campaign to make the
Confederacy an ocean-to-ocean nation, and after victories there became
Governor of Arizona. He was in the Confederate Congress from 1863 to
1865. Parker County sent the Confederate army nine companies. Its Company
E, 19th Texas Cavalry, served in Parsons' Brigade--which fought over
20 engagements in three years with considerable distinction. (1964)
Marker Title: Isaac Parker
Address: Ragle Rd. off FM 730, NE of Weatherford
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: From Weatherford, take FM 730 about 5 miles northeast,
turn south onto Ragle Road, and continue 2 miles to intersection with
White Settlement. Marker in yard across the street.
Marker Text: To the memory of Isaac Parker pioneer, soldier and law
maker. Born April 7, 1793 in Elbert County, Georgia. Came to Texas in
1833. Served in Elisha Clapp's Company in 1836. Member of Congress of
the Republic of Texas, 1839-1845, of the Constitutional Convention in
1845. State Senator. Died April 14, 1883 in Parker County. (1936)
Marker Title: Isaac Parker
Address: Ragle Rd. off FM 730, NE of Weatherford
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1986
Marker Location: In center of Turner Cemetery, from Weatherford, take
FM 730 northeast about 5 miles, turn south on Ragle Road (at the Cedar
Fork Church) and continue 1.4 miles to the cemetery, on the east side
of the road through a cattle guard.
Marker Text: A native of Georgia, Isaac Parker came to Texas in 1833
as part of the pioneer family that built Fort Parker in Limestone County.
He fought in the Texas Revolution and served in the Republic of Texas
Congress, representing part of East Texas. He participated in the 1845
Statehood Convention and later represented Tarrant and Ellis Counties
in the State Legislature. In the 1850s, Parker introduced the bill creating
this county, which was named in his honor. Recorded, 1986
Marker Title: Porter Cemetery
Address: US 180, 10 mi. W of Weatherford
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1978
Marker Location: From Weatherford, take US 180 about 10 miles west.
Marker Text: Robert Scott Porter (1795-1877), first Parker County Judge,
dedicated this land near his cabin as a family cemetery in 1867 after
the death of his 3-year-old granddaughter Syrene E. Newberry. Judge
Porter's grandson Elbert T. Doss (1847-1869) and the judge's daughter
Mary, her husband, W.G. Light, and child were killed by Indians and
buried here. This site may contain about 50 burials, but only 28 are
identified. The graves of Judge Porter and his wife Nancy Ann (Pearce)
(1806-1901) are here. Their daughter Elizabeth Jane Doss Upton (1826-1908)
was the last burial. Porter family descendants restored this cemetery
in 1976. (1978)
Marker Title: Soldier Spring Park
Address: Thrush St. at Soldier Springs Park
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1979
Marker Location: Soldier Springs Park, Thrush Street, Weatherford.
Marker Text: Confederate soldiers are said to have camped here in the
1860s because of the inviting spring. In 1890, veterans used the site
for their 25th reunion. During the next year, 55 acres were set aside
as "Soldier Spring Park". Chautauqua programs (1910-28), circuses,
town gatherings, other reunions, and the public hanging of a criminal
(1908) occurred here before the park fell into disuse. The city dump,
1934-53, and then a caliche mine, the area reverted to park use in 1973.
Civic groups joined to develop recreational facilities and restore natural
beauty with native plantings. (1976)
Marker Title: Veal's Station
Address: Veal's Station Rd off FM 51 E of Weatherford
City: Veal's Station
County: Parker
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: From Weatherford, take FM 51 about 13 miles, head east on Veal's Station Road, about 2 miles to markers.
Marker Text: Settled in 1852. Here was established in 1858 by William G. Veal (1831-1891), a leading spirit in all public improvements of the region, an outstanding school of Parker County which functioned more than a half-century. (1936)
The following is from the website Handbook of Texas Online:
VEAL'S STATION, TEXAS. 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,qv who opened a general store a quarter mile from the site of the present town. Originally the location of the store was referred to as Creamland or Cream Hill. In 1857 Veal and fellow settlers John Lantz and G.W. Coleman constructed a large building that served as a Masonic meeting hall and a common school. A huge bronze bell above the building was used to warn settlers of imminent Indian attacks. Soon after the building was finished Veal moved his general store near the school, and gradually the place came to be known as Veal's Station. Postal service began in 1857. Despite its location on a stage line from Weatherford, the community developed slowly due to the continuing Indian threat. In 1868 postal service was discontinued. By the late 1870s the Indians had been driven out, and the town began to grow. Postal service was resumed in 1878. By the mid-1880s Veal's Station was a farming center. An estimated 100 residents were served by a school, three churches, and a general store. Area farmers processed their cotton at two gins. In the 1890s the common school, called Parsons College after its director, Sam W. Parsons, had an enrollment estimated at 500. The high enrollment was attributed to an energetic agent who promoted the school throughout West Texas and accepted anything of value as payment for tuition and board. When Parsons resigned in 1899, he received as his last year's salary 100 cow ponies, sixty of which he traded for a store at Veal's Station. After it was bypassed by the railroads the town ceased to grow, and gradually the number of businesses, students, and residents declined. In 1906 postal service was once again discontinued. In 1936 the state erected a historical marker at the site of the school building.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Joe Harper, The History of Education in Parker County, Texas (M.A. thesis, Southwest Texas State Teachers College, 1951). Gustavus Adolphus Holland, History of Parker County and the Double Log Cabin (Weatherford, Texas: Herald, 1931; rpt. 1937). Henry Smythe, Historical Sketch of Parker County and Weatherford (St. Louis: Lavat, 1877; rpt., Waco: Morrison, 1973). Weatherford Democrat, August 11, 1939.
David Minor
Marker Title: Weatherford
Address: US 180 on Courthouse grounds
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: West side of Courthouse, US 180 -Weatherford.
Marker Text: 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)
Marker Title: Woolfolk-McCall House
Address: 202 S. Waco
City: Weatherford
Year Marker Erected: 1974
Marker Location: 202 S. Waco, Weatherford.
Marker Text: One of the first brick homes in Weatherford, this structure
was begun in late 1860s and occupied by Joseph A. Woolfolk (1836-1918),
one of two attorneys who defended Indian Chiefs Satanta and Big Tree,
charged in 1871 wagon train massacre. In 1879 it was purchased by lawyer
George A. McCall (1849-1915) and greatly enlarged with stone and frame
additions. After almost 100 years of ownership, the McCall family sold
the house in 1972 to Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Wiley. Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark - 1975
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