One of the oldest structures in Breckenridge, this ranch house was erected by Benjamin Tarver Brown (1831-1905), a Confederate Army Captain who came to Stephens County in 1866. He built this house in 1876, the year Breckenridge was founded as county . . . — — Map (db m129612) HM
The first burial here, for Dr. Alexander
Miller, dates from Dec. 27, 1872. W.R.
Brown officially patented the land from
the State of Texas in 1881 and began
selling cemetery plots. The cemetery was
dedicated as Oaklawn Cemetery in 1926;
some . . . — — Map (db m295825) HM
Breckenridge "Breck" Stephens Walker (1877-1929) was born to E.L. and Molena Jane Yancy Walker in Stephens County and named for the town and county of his birth. With his brother B.B., Walker operated a livery and a stage that ran between . . . — — Map (db m129605) HM
Established near this site 1862. Part Confederate frontier defense line from Red River to Rio Grande. Occupied by company of Texas Frontier Regiment. Posts were day's horseback ride apart and area patrolled regularly. Duties included curbing Indian . . . — — Map (db m44617) HM
Believed to have been organized in 1876, the first Baptist church met in members' homes, local church buildings and the county courthouse with the Rev. C.C. Slaughter as their first minister. In 1895 the members erected a wood building on this site . . . — — Map (db m129610) HM
The Half-Way Oak has been a popular rest stop providing shade and comfort for those traveling on foot, horseback, wagons and automobiles for 200 years. The live oak tree got its name from its location half-way between Breckenridge and the towns of . . . — — Map (db m129672)
The First National Bank of Breckenridge was organized in 1904, when Stephens County was primarily a farming and ranching area. The financial institution moved its headquarters to this building following its completion in 1920, during the height of . . . — — Map (db m226054) HM
Founded in 1918 and named for rancher J.W. Parks, on whose land it was located, Parks Camp was a company town built for employees of the Texas Company (Texaco). The discovery of oil on Parks' land caused an economic boom in the area, and the Parks . . . — — Map (db m295819) HM
One of Stephens County's first white settlements, Picketville was founded before the Civil War (1861-65) on Gunsolus Creek. Without military defense during the war, families "forted up" here for protection against hostile Indian attacks. The name . . . — — Map (db m226050) HM
Stephens County's first courthouse, erected in 1872, was a small pine building with desks for county officials lining the walls. In 1883, a new three-story red stone courthouse with a tower replaced the original structure.
Discovery of oil in . . . — — Map (db m225828) HM
This ornate doorway was main entrance of the three-story red sandstone courthouse built here in 1883. Carved into these columns are the names of Architect J.E. Flanders, County Judge E.L. Walker, and three of four commissioners. The fourth was . . . — — Map (db m129673) HM
Noted historian Walter Prescott Webb (1888-1963) came with his family to Stephens County at the age of four. Over the next seventeen years, Webb received an education in frontier life that formed the basis of his intellectual development and his . . . — — Map (db m129758) HM
In 1878, the hills of eastern Stephens County became the setting for confrontations between lawmen, citizens and members of a gang led by outlaw Sam Bass (1851-1878). With Texas Rangers on their trail, the gang took refuge near the town of Caddo, . . . — — Map (db m227780) HM
Founded in 1880, this cemetery was the community burial ground for South Prairie, a settlement which once included homes, a post office, blacksmith shop, mercantile, and school. The community gradually declined in favor of the nearby towns of Ivan . . . — — Map (db m263620) HM
In 1879 this land was owned by Ezekel J. and Louisa J. McCleskey. According to McCleskey Family tradition M.M. McCluskey, a relative of Ezekel and Louisa from Georgia, died while visiting in 1879 and was the first person buried here. Eventually her . . . — — Map (db m295815) HM
Records indicate that Gunsight existed on a wagon road from Fort Griffin to Stephenville in 1858. Settlement of the town, however, did not occur until the 1870s. The first recorded burial here was that of Lewis McCleskey is 1877. Gunsight . . . — — Map (db m155489) HM
Thirty former members of the nearby Macedonia Baptist Church organized the New Hope Baptist Church #3 in 1893 with The Rev. C.J. McDonald serving as its first pastor. The congregation shared facilities with its parent church until 1899 when they . . . — — Map (db m295817) HM
The Wayland Free School District was formed about 1883 when land was donated by a local fraternal organization for school and cemetery purposes. Early frame structures were replaced by a new brick and stucco structure in 1920. The new four-room . . . — — Map (db m295823) HM
