San Angelo in Tom Green County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Original Tom Green County
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 9, 2014
1. Original Tom Green County Marker
On transcontinental trail of California Gold Rush. Until 1846 a part of Bexar Land District, Republic of Texas. Private tracts were surveyed as early as 1847. German Emigration Company colony (90 mi. SE) had grants here, but in 1840s found Indians blocking settlement. Butterfield Overland Mail managers lived at stands in area, 1858-61. R. F. Tankersley family established a permanent home in 1864 in future Tom Green County. By 1874 there were five settlements here, including Bismarck Farm, a colony of 15 German immigrants. The county (12,756 sq. mil., 10½ times as large as state of Rhode Island) was created in 1874 and named for heroic Gen. Green (1814-64), a state official and gallant Texas soldier.
After a decade of progress, the original Tom Green County began losing outlying areas. Midland County — halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso on newly opened Texas & Pacific Railway — was created in 1885. Settlers remote from San Angelo petitioned for new counties in 1887, and the Texas Legislature created Crane, Loving, Upton, Ward and Winkler. Coke and Irion Counties were cut out of Tom Green in 1889. Ector and Sterling were created in 1891. Last diversions -- Glasscock (1893) and Reagan (1903) -- gave Tom Green its present size. It remains influential in the region.
Erected
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics • Patriots & Patriotism • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1846.
Location. 31° 27.732′ N, 100° 26.353′ W. Marker is in San Angelo, Texas, in Tom Green County. Marker is on Beauregard Avenue west of Irving Street, on the right when traveling west. Marker is on the south grounds of the county courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 112 West Beauregard Avenue, San Angelo TX 76903, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Tom Green County Courthouse (a few steps from this marker); Veterans Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Charles B. Metcalfe (within shouting distance of this marker); Crew of "Abbot 27" (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The San Angelo Standard (about 500 feet away); Emmanuel Episcopal Church (about 600 feet away); Chadwick Building (about 700 feet away); Myers Drug (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Angelo.
Also see . . .
1. Tom Green County, Texas, Official Website. (Submitted on February 24, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 9, 2014
2. Original Tom Green County Marker
2. Tom Green County. (Submitted on February 24, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
3. Thomas Green Bio. (Submitted on February 24, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
4. Germans (Immigration to Texas). (Submitted on February 24, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 29, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 24, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 588 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 24, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
