The Bridge Street History Center

The legendary Charles Goodnight's bison herd in the Texas Panhandle, 1903. I'm pairing this photo with the text of an article I found in the Galveston News. The article was written 10 years earlier, in 1893:

"Col. Charles Goodnight was in the city recently and entertained a number of friends and others who gathered around the stove in the hotel office, for a long time with stories when the Indians were here when the fastest means of transportation was by a schooner and of Llano Estacado. After talking until he grew almost weary the Colonel stopped to get his breath and Uncle Bill Hiltson asked if he still had his buffalo up there.“Of course I have,” he said, “I have twenty-four head of buffalo and they are increasing slowly. Also, have seventeen elk and I don’t know just how many deer, antelope, and such. The park comprises about 640 acres and has a wire fence of about fifteen wires and ten feet high around it. It’s almost worth a stranger’s life to go inside, but the buffalo and elk know who belongs there and you don’t and only make war on strangers and dogs. The railroad is nearby and the tramp decided one day to call on me, and being rather averse to going around, climbed the fence and came across the park, or rather partly. But an old buffalo bull helped him get out and didn’t do it very gently either. Another time a wagonload of people, mostly women, were driving through. A dog was following along behind; the buffalo thought his dogship was a Wolf and wanted to kill him. They surrounded the wagon and stopped the procession. When the men from the ranch got out to them the buffalo were about to tear the wagon to pieces in trying to get at the dog, which had taken refuge beneath it. I’ve had some of these animals for fifteen years and would not sell them at all. Buffalo Bill would have given me $1000 each for the buffalo, but I didn’t sell them and won’t.”I read this and just marveled at the number of iconic characters Texas history has produced! ... See MoreSee Less

The Red River County Courthouse in Clarksville is located a few blocks from the historic business center in a residential area. Built in 1885, the Renaissance Revival style building is the only intact representative of architect W.H. Wilson.

The courthouse had been damaged by temporary emergency shoring in the courtroom. The structure also exhibited stone deterioration, and current water infiltration from the roof and tower had damaged historic fabric.Through the THC’s Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, the water infiltration problems were remedied, interior finishes were restored, and the courthouse was brought up to current life and safety standards. A rededication was held on Oct. 26, 2002.This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Texas Historic Courthouse Prevention Program. The program provides technical assistance to counties and regulatory review of work on county courthouses and their squares to preserve these iconic Texas structures.The program’s origins can be traced to New Year’s Day 1993, when a tragic fire nearly destroyed the Hill County Courthouse in Hillsboro. The incident inspired concern for Texas’ distinctive collection of county courthouses, which have since been listed twice on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Properties.Learn more about the program: thc.texas.gov/preserve/preservation-programs/courthouse-preservation ... See MoreSee Less

Beautiful Bell County Courthouse! More Photos + History 👇 #TexasBlogger #ilovetexas #texastravel #traveltexas ... See MoreSee Less

Anderson, Texas is an almost forgotten historic small town. Explore Republic of Texas era sites, Civil War history, graves, and the iconic Grimes County Courthouse in this hidden gem.

Have you been here yet? #texastravel #texasvacation #visittexas #TexasBlogger ... See MoreSee Less

I love a good historical mystery. TOT reader Nancy Hutzler found this old photo in in a stack of papers and keepsakes that belonged to her great aunt, Roxie Teague Van Pelt. Roxie lived her life mostly in Mason County but briefly lived in McCulloch and San Saba counties. The notation on the back says "There are 7 graves under this tree. 5 were killed by the Indians". Nancy is trying to determine just where this tree was or hopefully still is. She guesses that the tree is in one of those three counties or possibly Llano County. Anyone recognize this tree and/or a hint on the graves? If y'all know somebody who lives in one of those counties please share this. Hopefully, somebody knows something.

Thank you, Nancy! It would be great if somebody recognized this. In the meantime, it's a cool photo just on its own merits. ... See MoreSee Less