This Victorian residence with distinctive second floor windows was designed by Wichita Falls architect Joseph C. Pate. Built for local businessman Guy DeWitt Anderson and his wife, it was completed in 1907. A noted civic leader, Mrs. Anderson also . . . — — Map (db m287218) HM
The oil boom of 1918 was still benefitting Wichita Falls in the 1920s as the population increased to 55,000 residents. Drs. R.L. Hargrave and M.M. Walker saw the need for another medical facility besides the Wichita General Hospital and built the . . . — — Map (db m287310) HM
"Until This is a High School, I Won't Be Your Principal"
Prior to 1922 the black community of Wichita Falls did not have a high school. When A.E. Holland was asked to become the principal, he made the above statement. In 1922 Booker T. . . . — — Map (db m287154) 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
Sensing the need for spiritual enrichment amongst the residents of the brand-new town of Wichita Falls, Harriet Seeley began conducting Sunday school classes in her bedroom in 1876. The Episcopal Bishop of Dallas, Alexander Garrett, discovered this . . . — — Map (db m287217) HM
Rall D. Davenport (1902-1998), a native of Arkansas, and Ora L. Davenport (1905-1997) moved to Wichita Falls around 1920 and settled in their home at 3rd and Seymour Street (now Farris Street). Recognizing the need for a grocery store, the . . . — — Map (db m287166) HM
Following the local oil boom in 1918, the African American population in Wichita Falls increased as did the need for businesses and services. Dr. Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark was born in rural Texas in 1894 and educated at Paul Quinn College in Waco. . . . — — Map (db m287164) HM
Born in 1920 in the East Texas town of Terrell, Colonel Bertram Fuller attended Wiley College in Marshall. Dr. Fuller then earned his medical degree in 1947 at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, the first medical school in the south . . . — — Map (db m287159) HM
Kentucky native Samuel H. Burnside, an 1882 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, opened a medical practice in Wichita Falls in 1883. Mary Margaret Grice, a native of Philadelphia, moved to Wichita Falls in 1885 at the invitation of her uncle, . . . — — Map (db m287319) HM
Felix L. Lindsey was born in Gallatin County, Kentucky on October 10, 1847. His mother was mulatto and his father was full-blood Creek Indian. He was sent to live with a white family named Meeks when he was seven years old and was provided a small . . . — — Map (db m287315) HM
Begun under the direction of the Rev. H.M. Burroughs in 1883, this church was organized in a log schoolhouse with eight charter members. Work on this sanctuary, the third for the congregation, was begun in 1919. Designed with classical elements, the . . . — — Map (db m287216) 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
This congregation, the first to be organized in Wichita Falls, began in March 1881 at the home of Alfred H. Harris. With F.O. Miller as pastor, six charter members held services in a log schoolhouse and later in the courthouse. Two sanctuaries were . . . — — Map (db m287214) HM
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Kell helped build Wichita Falls into a major commercial and manufacturing center. Born in Clifton, he worked there and in Galveston in the milling and mercantile businesses in his early career. In 1885 he . . . — — Map (db m287314) HM
Native Texan Frank Kell (1859-1941), in partnership with his brother-in-law Joseph A. Kemp, became a prominent area businessman and civic leader. His developments in the grain business, banking, real estate, and railroad construction helped make . . . — — Map (db m287215) HM
This congregation first gathered to worship in local farmer A.W. Friberg's granary in 1896, using hay bales as seats. Largely due to the generosity of the Carey, Andree, and Friberg families, the congregation was able to build its first sanctuary, . . . — — Map (db m290731) 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
Lt. Gen. Leo Marquez rose to become Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Engineering, HQ USAF. Due to his legendary leadership in maintenance and logistics, he became affectionately known as the "Godfather of Maintenance," this maintenance statue . . . — — Map (db m287431) WM
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
The Joe and Lois Perkins estate is one of many surviving symbols of the legacy of the Perkins and Prothro families. The Tudor Revival home was designed by Fooshee and Cheek with a steep-pitched roof, arcaded loggias and steel casement windows. It . . . — — Map (db m287375) 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
Joseph Alexander Kemp was a visionary and entrepreneur whose business and civic activities were vital to the development of Wichita Falls. Kemp was born in Clifton (Bosque Co.), where he opened his first store at the age of eighteen. He married . . . — — Map (db m287317) 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
Joseph Bridwell was born March 23, 1885, near Northview, Missouri. He moved to Wichita Falls in 1909 and went into the real estate business. By 1915, Bridwell began buying selling, and trading oil leases. His first venture in drilling was the . . . — — Map (db m287169) 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 m290753) HM WM
This statue of a lone logistics professional is dedicated to Airmen past and present in the maintenance and logistics career fields and represents sustained superior performance over eight decades of service and mission generation. It is prominently . . . — — Map (db m287433) HM WM
Founded in 1891 by the Rev. Mr. Thurston and twelve charter members, this congregation was the first to be organized on the east side of Wichita Falls. The fellowship met in the homes of the members until 1894, when a small frame building was . . . — — Map (db m287147) 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
This municipal burial ground dates back to the early days of settlement in Wichita Falls. The area was sparsely settled before tracks of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad reached here in September 1882. Citizens received a state charter for . . . — — Map (db m287312) HM
In June 1884, the Grainger & Ballow Addition was platted in an area later called the Eastside, which became the center of the African American community of Wichita Falls. In this neighborhood in November 1905, Rev. W.M. Massey, Charles and Susan . . . — — Map (db m287145) HM
Lutheran missionary work in the Wichita Falls area was begun in 1886. This congregation was organized Sept. 2, 1894, by the Rev. Robert L. Mehlhorn, first resident missionary. Worship services were held in private homes or borrowed facilities until . . . — — Map (db m287221) HM
In July 1940, the U.S. Army Air Corps evaluated Call Field, a former World War I flight training base as a potential site for a technical training school. That site was not available. However, Kell Field was a viable alternative and the local . . . — — Map (db m287436) HM
Records indicate that by 1886, when Cora Robinson was chosen as a teacher, Wichita County operated at least one school for African American students in the Wichita Falls area. Other early teachers included A.L. Hedrick and M.E. Hunter, and students . . . — — Map (db m287153) HM
In 1902 Wichita County built a one-room schoolhouse here on land donated by H.F. Knippenberg. The school, named for county commissioner T.J. Cashion, opened with one teacher, Mrs. Lou (White) Dodson, and 12 students. The original school building was . . . — — Map (db m287423) HM
Friberg school was created in 1895 to serve families in this area. By 1896 students attended classes in a granary owned by Will Friberg; the following year John Friberg donated land here and a 2-room schoolhouse was erected. The school also served . . . — — Map (db m305378) 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 T-38 "Talon" Aircraft was manufactured by Northrop Aircraft in Hawthorn, California. More than 1,100 were built from 1961 to 1972. This aircraft has a maximum range of 1,093 miles and was powered by 2 General Electric J85 turbojet engines with . . . — — Map (db m287432) HM
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
Ed Howard, a pioneer area publisher, acquired a local newspaper in 1898. His "Weekly Times" became a daily afternoon paper in 1907, soon after several leading Wichita Falls businessmen established the Times Publishing Company to provide financial . . . — — Map (db m287219) 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
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
Although private junior colleges were operating in Texas before the 1900s, similar public institutions were not started until the 1920s. The first, Wichita Falls Junior College, began here in 1922, seven years before the adoption of related state . . . — — Map (db m287220) 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
The Wichita Falls Opera Company was formed in 1908 to establish a theater in the city. The first seven directors were C.W. Bean, N. Henderson, J.L. Jackson, Frank Kell, J.A. Kemp, W.M. McGregor, and T.R.T. Orth. The project was funded by public . . . — — Map (db m287309) HM
This company, founded by Frank Kell and J.A. Kemp in 1909, played a major role in Wichita Falls' growth during the early 20th century. After purchasing undeveloped land between the city limits and Lake Wichita, the company stimulated demand for it . . . — — Map (db m287378) HM
This building was constructed for members of the Wichita Falls Woman's Forum, organized in 1925. Designed by T.L. Sorey, it was completed in 1927 on land donated by the Hamilton-Martin Investment Company. Mediterranean influences include the use of . . . — — Map (db m287377) HM
Wichita Falls was a growing town in 1882 as professionals started to arrive looking for opportunities. Dr. Perrigo arrived in 1881 and is believed to be the first doctor to practice in Wichita Falls. In 1909, Dr. Samuel Burnside opened the first . . . — — Map (db m287222) 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
After growing up in an Alabama Foster Home, Zenobia Estelle married C.C. Trimble and came to Wichita Falls. They had two children. While her husband was principal of Booker T. Washington School, she taught and helped him begin science classes. She . . . — — Map (db m287320) HM
