When the Northwest Extension of the Burkburnett oil field opened in 1919, prospectors thronged this area. Bridgetown sprang up at the Texas end of a mile-long Red River toll bridge built for oil field traffic. It became the largest and wealthiest of . . . — — Map (db m187183) HM
One of the most famous Texas boom towns. Name was given to post office at request of President T.R. Roosevelt after his 1905 wolf hunt with rancher Burk Burnett in this area. Townsite was laid out in 1907 by Joseph A. Kemp and Frank Kell, . . . — — Map (db m74822) HM
In the 1870s, Samuel Burk Burnett started the 6666 (Four Sixes) ranch in Wichita County. Cattle operations were near the center of the county. Drought in the 1880s led Burnett and other ranchers to lease thousands of acres of grazing land from the . . . — — Map (db m187185) HM
In 1918, cotton farmers Shields and Cassie Fowler considered leaving their land due to oppressive drought conditions. Aware of small but successful oil finds in the area, however, Cassie suggested they drill a well on their land. With help from . . . — — Map (db m187179) HM
Herman Specht migrated in 1870 to Galveston from Germany. In 1884 he married Clara M. Vogel Lange (1853-1912), a wealthy widow. Adding to earlier property holdings in Galveston, he began buying extensive tracts of land in northern Wichita County, . . . — — Map (db m186739) HM
Oil exploration and production in this area was minimal until April 17, 1919, when the Bob Waggoner Well No. 1 blew in at 4,800 barrels per day. It was the first well in what became known as the Northwest Extension Oilfield, comprised of . . . — — Map (db m187182) HM
First called Getty's Creek, this stream was renamed by cowboys and settlers who found near its mouth, on Red River, remains of a military outpost garrisoned by the U.S. Tenth Cavalry from 1873 to 1875.
Most of the Negro soldiers and white . . . — — Map (db m186743) HM
A natural border of the Louisiana Territory when it was acquired by the United States in 1803, the Red River later served as a boundary between the states of Texas and Oklahoma. The exact location for the line of separation was challenged in 1920 . . . — — Map (db m187184) HM
Named for the red soil across which it flows, the main stream of the Red River is 1,360 miles long, and for 440 miles the river forms the Texas-Oklahoma boundary. For years, this was an international boundary. The 1819 treaty with Spain established . . . — — Map (db m74824) HM
"Newtown", or "Thrift", originated about 1919 in the Northwestern Extension of the Burkburnett Oil Field. Early in its existence it gained prestige by the founding of a bank - the only one in the area at that time. Mostly a tent city, Thrift . . . — — Map (db m187180) HM
Herman and Clara (Vogel) Specht platted the Clara townsite in 1886, and the community rapidly swelled with German immigrants. The Rev. Francis M. Rudi of Wichita Falls began to conduct Lutheran worship services in the Clara public schoolhouse in . . . — — Map (db m186741) HM
Building erected 1908, the first brick structure in Electra. Occupied 1908-1911 by Waggoner Bank; 1911-1931 by First State Bank; since 1931 by Electra State Bank.
Remodeled in 1952, using original foundations and walls. Recorded Texas . . . — — Map (db m128763) HM
Electra’s population surge in the 1910s led local business leaders to hire Meador & Wolfe of Ft. Worth to design a theatre to accommodate the town’s growing entertainment needs. It opened here in 1920 and featured vaudeville, operas, boxing and . . . — — Map (db m128764) HM
Named for its traffic in buffalo hides and bones, this North Texas road gave subsistence to pioneers while aiding in mass “harvest” of the American bison. As long as buffalo survived (providing food, shelter and clothing) the Indians were lords of . . . — — Map (db m220944) HM
When the United States entered World War I, April 1917, the Aviation Section, Signal Corps, U.S. Army, had only 112 pilots. Yet the allies, relying heavily on the U.S., planned the greatest of all aerial fleets, and the U.S. moved at once to meet . . . — — Map (db m186725) HM
Public school educators James Randolph Farris, Sr. and Roberta (Bell) Farris welcomed their only daughter, Charlye Ola Farris, on June 30, 1929 in Wichita Falls. Charlye graduated as valedictorian of Booker T. Washington High School at age 15, and . . . — — Map (db m128699) HM
First Anglo-Americans settled in Wichita County in 1856. The county was named for Indians, and Indian troubles delayed local organization until 1882. The first officials were: Judge, James S. Akers; Attorney, Robert E. Huff; Sheriff, F.M. Davis; . . . — — Map (db m96811) HM
Before coming to Wichita Falls George Alonzo Soule (1840-1913) owned a freight and stage line in Jacksboro and Fort Griffin. After the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad came through here, Soule brought his wife Lilla and Family in 1883. He opened a . . . — — Map (db m96800) HM
A native of Missouri, Henry C. Luecke (1861-1937) came to Texas about 1890. He opened a blacksmith shop at this intersection in 1903. Here he developed and manufactured the Wichita Gang Plow, patented in 1905. His device was similar to other plows . . . — — Map (db m96799) HM
Built in 1892, this structure housed the J. A. Kemp Wholesale Grocery business for 35 years. The building originally measured 50 by 100 feet and contained a full basement. A two-story brick addition was completed by 1901. The Industrial Supply . . . — — Map (db m96802) HM
Mississippi native John F. O'Donohue (1885 - 1967) first came to Wichita Falls in 1909 as a scout for the J. M. Guffey Petroleum Company, which later became the Gulf Oil Corporation. While staying in the Jolene Hotel, the
wildcatter O'Donohue . . . — — Map (db m96805) HM
A native of Ohio, Joseph Hudson Barwise brought his family to Texas in 1877 and to Wichita County in 1880. An astute businessman and community leader, he earned the nickname "Father of Wichita Falls" after he donated land to the Fort Worth and . . . — — Map (db m96814) HM
Planning for construction of the first bridge at this site began soon after the organization of Wichita County in 1882. The structure was built by the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and formally dedicated on July 4, 1886. This second span, . . . — — Map (db m128700) HM
In 1889 Edgar B. Gorsline (1859-1933) and his wife came to Wichita Falls from Indiana. For two years Gorsline operated a grocery and bakery. He opened the Fashion Livery Stable at this site in 1892. Horses and rigs were rented and horses boarded. . . . — — Map (db m187198) HM
Joseph Alexander Kemp (1861-1930), a Wichita Falls merchant, and Morris Lasker (1840-1916), a native of Prussia who later served as state senator from Galveston, formed a partnership in 1892 for the construction of a hotel at this site. Built by . . . — — Map (db m96801) HM
This monument erected
to commemorate the valor and
patriotism of the men who served
in the war with Spain, Philippine
Insurrection, and China Relief
Expedition, 1898 – 1902 — — Map (db m96095) WM
The Texan Santa Fe Expedition crossed the Wichita River near this spot August 4, 1841 Wichita Falls Junior Historians sponsored this marker on the Expedition’s 100th anniversary. — — Map (db m128805) HM
From this courthouse, James V. Allred began his career that led to highest state office. As lawyer with firm of O'Neal and Martin, he won elections as district attorney in 1923 and Attorney General of Texas, 1931. Governor from 1935 to 1939, he . . . — — Map (db m96813) HM
To the memory of those honored members of The Lost Battalion Native sons Members of the 2nd Battalion 131st Field Artillery 36th Infantry Division
On March 8, 1942, these gallant men were taken prisoner by the Japanese on Java. Held captive . . . — — Map (db m128745) HM WM
On the afternoon of February 25, 1896, two cowboys, Foster Crawford and Elmer "Kid" Lewis, robbed the City National Bank, then located at Ohio and 7th Street (2 blocks east). They killed cashier Frank Dorsey, took about $410 cash, and fled on . . . — — Map (db m96810) HM
In the early 20th Century, the Wichita Falls oil boom attracted several immigrant Russian Jewish families seeking a better life. One such immigrant to the town, Morris Bernard Zalefsky (1901 - 1995), began to learn the jewelry trade from his . . . — — Map (db m96803) HM
Formed from Young Land District
Created February 1, 1858
Organized June 21, 1882
Named for the Wichita Indians
who formerly resided here
County seat, Wichita Falls — — Map (db m187156) HM
Wichita County Water Improvement Districts No. 1 and No. 2 played major roles in the agricultural development of Wichita County. By 1900, Joseph Kemp, whose business activities were vital for the growth of Wichita Falls, developed plans for . . . — — Map (db m128678) HM
In November 1884 Masons living here who regularly made the 18-mile journey to Henrietta for meetings petitioned the Henrietta Masonic Lodge for a new lodge to be located in Wichita Falls. In December the Grand Lodge of Texas granted a dispensation . . . — — Map (db m128740) HM
