CONCHO COUNTY HISTORICAL MARKERS Contributed by: Joan Renfrow ******************************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ******************************************************************************** CONCHO COUNTY HISTORICAL MARKERS The Texas Historical Commission http://www.thc.state.tx.us/index.html JOHN S. CHISUM, CONFEDERATE BEEF CONTRACTOR Marker # 2808 Location: from Paint Rock, take US 83 north about 4 miles City: Paint Rock vicinity Marker Erected: 1965 Marker Text: (1824-1884) On this site during the Civil War and later, grazed by tens of thousands the Longhorns of cattle baron John S. Chisum. Ranch headquarters were 10 miles east. Here in 1863-1865, Chisum not only ranched but also was buyer of cattle to feed Confederate armies stationed west of the Mississippi River. Born in Tennessee, he came to the Republic of Texas in 1837. After a term as Lamar County clerk, started ranching in 1853. For room to expand, moved his well known "Jingle - Bob" herds to the Concho in 1863. Though he was not the man who gave the name to the famed northbound trail (this was Jesse Chisolm) John S. Chisum's drives were heroic. Herds bound in wartime for Louisiana army camps had to by-pass or to fight Indians, rustlers and occasionally a federal patrol. Concho cattle had to swim across the deep, cold Brazos River. Here cowboys would prod a heavy, wild bull till he was angry; then he would turn on men and horses. Or the Brazos itself killed men and horses. Still beef went through to the Confederates. After the war, Chisum developed ranches in New Mexico and was a bystander in the Lincoln County Wars of Billy the Kid and other desperados. (1965) RICH COFFEY HOUSE Marker # 4257 Location: 12 miles south of Talpa, in northeast corner of Concho County on the north shore of Lake Ivie City: Talpa Marker Erected: 1992 Marker Text: Rich Coffey (1823-1897) was a prominent pioneer and settler in the part of the state that now encompasses Runnels and Concho counties. In 1862 Coffey moved his family, cattle, and cowboys to a site near present day Ballinger. Several years later he established a settlement at the confluence of the Colorado and Concho Rivers. In addition to raising cattle, freighting, and trading in salt, Coffey served as a Coleman County commissioner, participated in the first county grand jury, and started a post office in 1879. Jonathan Cook, an Irish stonemason, was hired to build a rock house for Coffey in 1880. The house was completed in 1881 as a one-and-a-half-story dog run structure with exterior chimneys and a staircase in the dog run that led to a loft. Outstanding features included the quality of the masonry construction and the particular dog run configuration which was a form common to wooden structures in Coffey's home state of Georgia, but unusual for masonry buildings in central and west Texas. In 1889 the Rich Coffey house was moved to this site to avoid inundation by the construction of nearby Lake Ivie. (1992) CONCHO COUNTY Marker # 1017 Location: Courthouse Square (corner of US 83 and FM 380) City: Paint Rock Marker Erected: 1936 Marker Text: Created February 1, 1858 organized March 11, 1879. Named for the river which the Spaniards called the Concho because of the many shells that they found in it. CONCHO COUNTY COURTHOUSE Ref. # 77001433 Location: Public Square City: Paint Rock Description: The Concho County courthouse designed by architect, F.E. Ruffini and built in 1886 under the supervision of his brother Oscar, is a two-story structure of native stone. Built in the Second Empire style much favored for public buildings of the period, its dominant visual feature is its characteristic Mansard roof, treated with much greater elaboration than some of its contemporaries such as F.E. Ruffini's Blanco County Courthouse. The roof rises in three sections featuring elegantly enframed circular dormers, contrasting cornice and trim, all of galvanized iron, and wrought iron cresting over the entry pavilion. At each elevation the entrances are emphasized by a triangular pediment from which a Mansard-roofed pavilion rises. Projecting bays flank the north and south entries with cornices slightly higher than the adjacent wall surfaces. The walls are laid up in cream-colored ashlar masonry with substantial cut stone quoins and a string course between floors. A wide cornice is carried on ornamental brackets. Tall, narrow windows are capped with stilted arches of cut stone and a cut stone string course runs from the base of the arch and the band across the facade. The courthouse is laid out on the traditional cross axial plan with wide corridors that divide the ground floor into four equal quadrants. The disposition of the interior spaces follows the massing of the outside walls. Offices and storage were allocated in the original plan to the county and district clerks, sheriff, county treasurer, tax assessor, surveyor, county judge and chambers for the commissioners' court. Stairways at either side of the east west hall rise simply to a graceful curve at the top. The second floor is occupied by an imposingly scaled courtroom and several jury rooms. Much historic detail is preserved in the interior finish particularly in the pressed metal ceilings and handsome wooden staircase. In 1842 Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller received a contract for colonization of the Concho area, but it was still under the domination of the Apache and no important settlement was made until the 1870's. Concho County was attached to McCulloch County for judicial purposes until its incorporation on March 11, 1879. Paint Rock became the county seat although in 1880 it only had a population of 100 persons. On October 5, 1885 the commissioners' court received bids for the construction of the first permanent courthouse in Concho County. Plans and specifications for a two-story building of native stone in the Second Empire style were prepared by architect F.E. Ruffini of Austin and accepted by the county. J.B. Kane and John Cormack under the firm name of Kane and Cormack Contractors and Builders posted a bond for $20,000 and entered into a contract with Concho County to furnish materials and labor in the construction of a new courthouse. Bonds for $28,000 at 8% interest were issued to fund the project. In the meantime, F.E. Ruffini had died and on October 29, 1885 his brother, architect Oscar Ruffini of San Angelo, was named by the commissioners' court as supervising architect. The brothers Ruffini were both prominent in Texas architecture during the later part of the nineteenth century. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, of immigrant parents, they received their architectural training in firms in Ohio and Indiana. In 1876, F.E. Ruffini opened an office in Austin, where two years later he was joined by his brother. Before becoming established in Austin, Oscar worked for a time in the firm of E.E. Myers of Detroit, Michigan, the architect of the Texas state capitol. In 1884, Oscar moved to San Angelo. Apart from such work as F.E. Ruffini's design for the old main building for the University of Texas, the brothers were known chiefly as designers of courthouses. By the mid- 1880's they had developed a full-blown architectural vocabulary for this building type. Oscar Ruffini's Sutton County Courthouse (1891), and F.E. Ruffini's Blanco County Courthouse (1885), exemplified the style which appeared in a somewhat more decoratively evolved form in the Concho County Courthouse. While a high central tower was usual on many nineteenth century courthouses, the Ruffini's developed the Mansard roof of the Second Empire style as a dominant visual element in a composition lacking a tower. Also in contrast to the complicated massing of recessed bays and projecting pavilions usually encountered, the Ruffini's substituted a simpler geometry of superimposed elements in the facades. By March 17, 1886 construction on the Concho County Courthouse was almost completed, and at that time the commissioners' court contracted the firm of Thomas Kane and Company of Chicago to furnish the courthouse for a sum of $1,212.00. On June 21, 1886, Oscar Ruffini made his final report to the county commissioners stating that the wrought iron cresting above the entrance pavilion was yet to receive one coat of black paint. Despite its small population, Paint Rock continues to serve as the county seat of Concho county and the courthouse remains in use with relatively few modifications of the architectural fabric. BIBLIOGRAPHY ON FILE IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER CONCHO COUNTY COURTHOUSE Marker # 1018 Location: Courthouse Square City: Paint Rock Marker Erected: 1962 Marker Text: First permanent courthouse for Concho County. Built in 1886, replacing crude early structure. Architects were the brothers F.E. and Oscar Ruffini, who also planned and constructed first main building at the University of Texas. As F.E. Ruffini lived only long enough to draw plans for this courthouse, his brother completed it. Architecture is "French Second Empire". Use of rusticated stone - - which came from a quarry only a few miles away -- is unusual in this style. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962 COMMUNITY OF CONCHO Marker # 1008 Location: From Paint Rock, take US 83 north about 4.5 miles then go east on FM 1929 about 7 miles City: Paint Rock vicinity Marker Erected: 1983 Marker Text: As settlers came to the area in the late 1800's, a small farming community developed here along the Concho River. In 1905 a post office opened in the home of W. D. Cape. In 1906 J. W. Barr (d. 1964) opened a general store at this site. As the business center for the surrounding rural area, the settlement was also the site of a school, two churches, a cotton gin, a blacksmith shop, and a cemetery. Although the population had declined by the 1940's and the post office was closed in 1954, the site of the pioneer community serves as a reminder of the area's early settlers. (1983) EDEN Marker # 1387 Location: Town square, on US 83, 1 block off intersection of US 83 and US 87 City: Eden Marker Erected: 1964 Marker Text: Founded 1882. Incorporated 1910. Named for Frederick Eden, native of England and pioneer ranchman on whose land the town was located, and who donated land for this public square. Farming and ranching area. Wool and mohair marketing center. Elevation 2,052 feet. Location of Concho County Hospital. (1964) EDEN CHURCH OF CHRIST Marker # 11715 Location: 200 N. Main Street City: Eden Marker Erected: 2000 Marker Text: In 1903 a group of area residents began meeting for worship services in the Eden schoolhouse. Three years later, a few new families moved into the area and they were welcomed to the services of the existing Church of Christ group. A second schoolhouse was erected in 1910 and the congregation moved their services to the new structure. In 1915, trustees purchased land on Broadway Street and erected the Broadway Church of Christ. The small group that had joined the church in 1903 continued to meet with the Broadway congregation until 1925 when they formed a second congregation, the Church of Christ at Main and Bryan. Broadway Church of Christ erected a new building in 1939, adding an education wing and basement in 1947. By this time, the Main and Bryan congregation also had grown, adding a baptistery and other facilities to their site. The two congregations continued individual programs throughout the 20th century. By 1997 there were only about twenty-five members in each congregation, and they met together to discuss reunification. They debated the merits of the change and rotated services during the summer of 1997, and in September of that year they met as one congregation in the Main and Bryan facility. Now reunited as the Eden Church of Christ, the two historic churches continue to worship in the traditions of their founders. Eden Church of Christ is active in international and local mission work and community service. (2000) EDEN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Marker # 12350 Location: 10 Bryan Street City: Eden Marker Erected: 2000 Marker Text: The first Eden schoolhouse was erected in 1885, and itinerant preachers who stopped to give sermons in the schoolhouse attracted people of all faiths. A community Sunday school met in the building for several years. The First Methodist Sunday school was formed in 1901 in the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Williams, who lived northeast of Eden in the Maverick community. The Eden Methodist Church, South, is said to have been organized about 1904. The Community Ladies' Aid Society, consisting of members of all faiths, helped raise funds for a Baptist Church building erected in 1905. The Methodists met in the building until they could erect their own house of worship. The Methodist congregation purchased a house for use as a parsonage in 1907; it housed circuit-riding preachers until the Rev. G. E. Glasspool became the Methodist Church's first full-time pastor the following year. The Methodist Church erected its own building in 1909. Alterations and additions were made as the congregation grew. In 1923 the Lutheran Church held services in the Methodist building, upholding the ecumenical spirit of cooperation of Eden's early days. Mrs. Hixie Crump Potter, a charter member, turned the first spade of soil at the groundbreaking of a new church building in March 1948. The first service in the new sanctuary was held on Easter Sunday, 1949. Church membership grew, and the congregation thrived. At the dawn of the 21st century, the congregation continues in the traditions of its founders with programs of worship and service. (2000) FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF EDEN Marker # 12349 Location: 101 Burleson Street City: Eden Marker Erected: 2000 Marker Text: The Rev. Zachariah Martin Wells of Menard, who had organized Baptist churches in San Saba, Kimble and Menard counties, led an organizational meeting for the Eden Baptist Church in August 1886 in a community building erected as a school and ecumenical church. Charter members included his wife Nancy Wells, D. L. and Mary (Wells) Murray, William A. and Martha Ballard and Mr. and Mrs. Linam. The Rev. and Mrs. Wells lived in Eden for a short time, but moved to Lampasas County in 1888. The Eden church had a membership of 16 in 1891 and grew quickly thereafter. In May 1905 church trustees bought the land on this site from W. A. and M. J. Ballard. Many local citizens who were unaffiliated with the Baptist church contributed to the erection of a frame building. By 1906 the church had 75 members and it continued to grow. Additional wings and a belfry were added in 1912. Ministers performed baptisms at Brady Creek south of Eden and at a water tank on the Ballard land as late as 1916. Church organizations included the Ladies Aid Society, later called Women's Missionary Union; Sunbeams, a children's program; a young women's association; Red Cross service organizations which were active during World War I; and a Vacation Bible School established in 1944. The congregation gave generously to finance a new building in 1947. The church organized the Eden First Baptist Mexican Mission in 1950. The First Baptist Church thrived through the following decades, and additions were made to the building in 1981 and 1989. At the dawn of the 21st century, First Baptist Church of Eden continues in the traditions of its founders. (2000) SITE OF MISSION SAN CLEMENTE Marker # 4834 Location: 12 miles north of Millersview on FM 2134 City: Millersview vicinity Marker Erected: 1936 Marker Text: At the juncture of the Concho and Colorado rivers. Established March 16, 1684, by the Mendoza Expedition for the purpose of civilizing and Christianizing the Indians of the region. PAINT ROCK METHODIST CHURCH Marker # 1764 Location: 2 blocks west of US 83, southwest of Courthouse Square City: Paint Rock Marker Erected: 1962 Marker Only LARGEST PICTOGRAPH SITE IN TEXAS Marker # 3038 Location: From Paint Rock, take US 83 north 1 mile, turn west just north of Concho River Bridge and follow gravel road 1.5 miles (Private) City: Paint Rock vicinity Marker Erected: 1936 Marker Text: 1500 paintings by various tribes at widely differing dates are scattered along the bluff for a half mile. Most outstanding pictorial contribution of the nomadic tribes of Texas. PIONEERS REST CEMETERY Marker # 11716 Location: 5 Jackson Blvd. City: Eden Marker Erected: 2000 Marker Text: Fred Eden platted Eden in 1882, setting this land aside for a cemetery. Though older burials may be present, the earliest tombstone is that of the five-week- old infant son of Frederick and Susan (Reynolds) Shutt, buried in 1882. Several graves for children and infants bear witness to the harsh conditions of pioneer life. Adults, too, faced difficult times. John Emmett Molloy and Charles Edward Waring both were killed in accidents with horses. According to oral history, a woman named Carson was killed by a runaway horse in 1887 and is buried in an unmarked grave. Of an estimated 33 or 34 burials believed to have taken place here, only fifteen tombstones remained standing at the dawn of the 21st century, but Pioneers Rest Cemetery continues to be a chronicle of Eden's history. (2000) SILVER CLIFF RANCH Marker # 4696 Location: From Paint Rock, take FM 380 west 10 miles (just past intersection w/ FM 381) [Private - limited access] City: Paint Rock vicinity Marker Erected: 1966 Marker Text: Founded 1882 on 46,000 acres by John A. Loomis, of Syracuse, New York, and his brother-in-law, Welton B. Ostrander. Rock quarried on the ranch was used in 1883 by German stonemasons to build Pennsylvania Dutch-style barn and house. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966 TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH Marker # 12540 Location: 701 W. Broadway City: Eden Marker Erected: 2000 Marker Text: Several German Lutheran families from Mills County migrated to Concho County shortly after the turn of the 20th century. These pioneers maintained close ties with their former congregations. The Rev. Franz Walther of Mills County conducted irregular services in the Lapp schoolhouse near the community of Live Oak beginning in 1913. In 1916 the Rev. Ludwig W. Karcher began preaching at Menard and was asked by Willie Pax of Live Oak to come and preach in the area. On October 29, 1916, settlers came to the Lapp schoolhouse from all over Concho County to hear the Rev. Mr. Karcher's sermon. They asked the minister to return on a regular basis. The congregation began with about 44 members. In 1917, they moved services to Eden, meeting in private homes and in the facilities of other Christian denominations. Eventually the parsonage became a house of worship. The Rev. Mr. Karcher and his wife made Eden their home in 1919. He began conducting religious education classes. A parsonage was the site of the first central Texas pastoral conference. A frame chapel was erected beside the parsonage in 1925. The Eden and Menard churches became a self-sustaining dual parish in 1928. The church has been led by many dedicated pastors; one became president of the Texas District and another served as president of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. The congregation chose this site in 1946 for a new church and parsonage. The church was dedicated in 1950. Prolonged drought in the 1950s caused many to leave west Texas, causing a decline in church membership. By 1957, however, hope was renewed for both the parish and the area at large. Trinity Lutheran Church continues the traditions of its founders. (2000)