James Wells Young was born March 5, 1880, in Lovelace, Texas. He graduated from Polytechnic College, taught school at Frog Liver, then, attended Texas State College of Medicine in Galveston. Upon graduation, Dr. Young stepped off the train in . . . — — Map (db m162073) HM
George W. Parks, Jr. (1906-1983), lived a life of service to the community. He was instrumental in the creation of Howard Park, the baseball field, and the city swimming pool, but more important than the physical reminders of his works is the impact . . . — — Map (db m80508) HM
One of first settlers in Roscoe (then called Vista) was rancher-wheat grower W.J. Turner, who purchased cemetery site for burial of his brother-in-law, Joe Cleckler, about 1887. Next interments: infants Frank E. Spires, 1892; Ethel Lena Turner, . . . — — Map (db m80485) HM
Dedicated By The Citizens
of
Roscoe, Texas
Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay
down his life for his friends
John 15:13 — — Map (db m80505) WM
The Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railway was one of the country’s most successful short-line railroads. Chartered on Oct. 1, 1906, by General F.W. James and a group of Abilene businessmen, it ran from Roscoe to Snyder and Fluvanna, though in 1941 the . . . — — Map (db m80509) HM
The Bankhead National Highway, from Washington, D.C. to San Diego, California, was the nation’s first all-weather, coast-to-coast highway. The southern road skirted the western mountains and was largely free from ice and snow, so it could be used . . . — — Map (db m80506) HM
Built in 1916 by Walter Wright Davis (1879-1933) and his wife Florence Weathers Davis (1880-1968), this house represents a transition from a craftsman style bungalow to a Colonial Revival style structure. The exposed rafter ends, knee braces, and . . . — — Map (db m212113) HM
Organized on December 11, 1881, by the Reverend Peter Turner (1812-1892), a native of England, this church served settlers of the pioneer railroad town of Sweetwater. The congregation's first church building, a frame structure with an ornate . . . — — Map (db m212109) HM
Organized 1922, the Sweetwater Hereford Breeders Association and Auction Sale (now Sweetwater Area Hereford Association) is considered Texas' third oldest group formed to promote this fine beef breed. First Officers: Walter L. Boothe, president; . . . — — Map (db m212116) HM
Ira Mose Newman, born in 1887 to a prominent Nolan County ranching family, was a leading area businessman, with interests including real estate and banking. He was an active civic leader, an award-winning trapshooter and a Texas Tech University . . . — — Map (db m212138) HM
Nomadic Indians crossed this region before Anglo-American pioneers arrived here in the 1870's. The first settlers were buffalo hunters such as I.S. (Tuck) Focht, who later became a rancher and businessman, and cattlemen such as confederate . . . — — Map (db m212069) HM
In 1882 R.A. Ragland (1858-1938) came to Sweetwater as one of the town's first lawyers. He served as city commissioner, school board member and county attorney. In partnership with R.C. Crane he set up a law office and abstract firm. In 1906 he . . . — — Map (db m212139) HM
Community leader R.A. Ragland (1858-1938) had this structure erected in 1901 as a one-story building with a random pattern of hand-hewed limestone. He added a second floor in 1906. Charles McFarland bought the building in 1909. The first floor . . . — — Map (db m212110) HM
Samuel Dale Myres began his career as an apprentice saddle-maker in Cleburne. He moved to Sweetwater in 1898. A highly skilled craftsman, Myres was soon known for his superior workmanship. He served as mayor of Sweetwater from 1908 to 1911, and . . . — — Map (db m212111) HM
Robert Mosby Simmons (1887-1955), noted civic leader and president of the Sweetwater Cotton Oil Company for many years, originally built this house as a one-story structure in 1919. In 1934-35 he hired architect Anton Korn of Dallas to remodel it . . . — — Map (db m212143) HM
At 6:05 A.M. on Friday, April 20, 1945, twenty-five Army Air Corps officers and enlisted men left Midland Army Air Field in a C-47 transport plane en route to Berry Army Air Field in Nashville, Tennessee. The flight crew consisted of the pilot, . . . — — Map (db m80486) HM
The oldest marked grave in this public burial ground is that of an infant, Purl Ray Scott, who died in 1880. It predates the founding of the town of Sweetwater on the Texas and Pacific Railroad by one year. Handcrafted tombstones and wrought iron . . . — — Map (db m88706) HM
Designed by the Page Brothers architectural firm of Austin, this auditorium was constructed for the City of Sweetwater in 1926-27. The building's Spanish Colonial Revival style is reflected in the use of arches, ornate balconies and elaborate . . . — — Map (db m212080) HM
Construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway began in East Texas in the early 1870's. By 1880 the line was expanding westward. It reached Sweetwater in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year. Sweetwater became a railroad . . . — — Map (db m212079) HM
Rancher and banker Thomas Trammell (1848-1919) was called the "Father of Sweetwater." He hired noted California architect John Young to design this house. Trammell, who helped bring railroads to Sweetwater, knew of Young's design work for the Santa . . . — — Map (db m88708) HM
Site of World War II drama. Here girls, like male cadets learned to fly United States Army Air Forces planes. WASPs had civil service status rather than military. Of the 25,000 applicants, 1,830 were accepted; 1,074 won wings and flew 60 million . . . — — Map (db m212078) HM
Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) trained here in military aircraft during World War II, from Feb. 21, 1943, through final graduation day, Dec. 7, 1944.
Avenger Field first served as a training base for British Royal Air Force Cadets . . . — — Map (db m88709) HM
Jacqueline Cochran, one to the most famous women pilots of the twentieth century, persistently lobbied U.S. Army Airforce General Henry "Hap" Arnold to establish a flight training program for women during World War II. Hard-pressed for pilots . . . — — Map (db m88710) HM
