[Historic Marker Application: Fort Stockton Guard House] Page: 18 of 35
This text is part of the collection entitled: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Files and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas Historical Commission.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
- t.. p. ,
.uitjji'j _
^r ..s..t i
-~~ --e,-
/.
:-" _
A-
a-.-. .,r -
-EEALE :.AD~ .
"~
-~~. . -,. i
S * : - Y, ;
,./ "=- -3- ' :ar"F.. :r . F.. . - - - Y " '-= . b .
GENERAL t- MERCHANDIS of,- many, - '' kinds was old to Pecos Count ses frm te H a K
s t o r nLue t h e m a j o s p i n s ! o n s C o m a c h e c r e e i t a t e r a m e t h e R e u
so Toa a . modern two story Cmi Hall sad n the -si.
Can.v -! ,: _ -+ .. i{ .. -W'' dSA ' f S ' R_ _ ]..' r .).
r~~i~~9'~BS~r I -"-- ~X.- ~ ~ ~ ,
A ", : "' t r .i '-,. t "r .' - r -, ' w .: ' ,,f,5 - ,
"".,. , ,, Y >;; ra' ,r ."ax.;h. ._ . .:.. n ,. r ... , m , '
'TVi ~ - t b
i1z . _T .- - y'- . +w+; . ,s ,"i" : i.. ..!: 4 . - :.:-.2 -r,^
_ ,. _ . ."+C, u _- . - .a _ __ _ .+%"., , .3 _. ":amw-. .. " '>.: . .'.a -e'' *i;^a r
'y-- ..; -. " ; Ss ' e'R- " , ' s 9 's'' ' R '.'^'',, . ji
? " -i : i . ' - , . .S ^: ,w' .% e ,'. rr." M;_ "~
h F, ^ ' ' T #M1r..,,a~,a"- dsr', ?i-.t i' _ . . ^ . , y Y __ '_
rc'S ,.' c "t'],, 4-,"t, i'. ." -R.__''<: r z i s 'd" AC1 r
t. - ,"c .'yy L gr,"'- ,. f 'P " y .Y"',t .." ; + , - ' G
GEEA MRHNIS fmaykns a od oPco ony etes rmth emn ohe
strein184.Loatd us aov oeofth mjo srigsonCoace rek i aerbcaeth ooe &Bt
stoe.Toay mden to-toy ommniy allstnd onth steionable judgements against the dead
aan for carrying a six-shooter, the
'hinaman's murder, and others were too
ar away for the officials at Fort Stock-
on to conveniently do anything a b o u t
iem. The rangers account of bringing
ne prisoner from Eagle's Nest to Fort
,tockton stated they were out 12 days
nd traveled 600 miles.
A dug out represented the j a i l
uarters in Fort Stockton from which
ome prisoners had dug out. The court
ouse and jail were completed in 1883.
n 1885, that portion west of the Pecos
Liver now in the present Val Verde
:ounty was taken into that county.
By 1883, Fort Stockton's population
dwindled" down to about 15 white fam-
lies and about 40 Mexican families,
s a large part of its population moved
ff to occupy the adjacent railroad
wns.
Fort Stockton, like other towns in those
ays, had its feuds, tough characters
nd murderers. Guns, black powder.
ullets and whiskey were often mixed
r'th fatal effects.
The fort was abandoned in 1886, on
une 26-27, when Company G of the 3rd
avalrv and Comoanv P of the 16th In-
antrv marched out of t'hi forlorn little
ett'ement on Comanche Sorings.The cowmen had mo ved into the
county. Doak had several thousand head
of cattle in the southern end of t he
county between Lozier Canyon and the
Rio Grande. The T-5 outfit ran the coun-
try around Independence Springs on toe
Pecos River. Eighteen thousand ca++h
of the Mule Shoe brand grazed reci'ns
adjacent to the Tunas Sorings. The T X
outfit claimed 10,000 cattle west of the
Pecos and 20.000 cattle east of the Pecos
in the Horsehead Crossing area. T h e
Frazer cattle watered around Leon Wa-
ter Holes. The F. W. Young herd wo-
grazing the salt grass along Diamond
Y draw. Other outfits in the reeion were
the N. A., SSS, Harris, and Childers.
Even at this late date some herds
were being driven from this place to
Honey Wall, Kansas instead of sending
them by freight trains.
The one room Heid Hntel accomm)dot-
ed only notables or sick persons, so th-
merchants allowed the cowboys and
travelers to bed down in their store-
where gaming often was carried on un-
til 2:00 in the morning.
The sheepmen, Anderson, D o w n i e,
Purington and Paxton were locating
their herds in the southeastern part of
the county. The sheep were bedded
down at night, within brush corrals,while in the surrounding area, the trap-
pers caught predatory animals.
The long droll days with only an oc-
casional customer at the stores, gave
much time for the clerks to play tricks
on each other and on unpopular cos-
tomers. Mustard oil was rubbed on par-
ticular chairs. Rat traps were hidden
to catch "mooching" hands. Saddles
were reversed in position so that amus-
ed on-lookers could watch a drunk at-
tempt to mount and ride off. Hilife was
poured on tame horses to see surprised
men take wild rides. Even the stray dogs
and cats caught Hilife and tin cans on
their rear ends for the general amuse-
ment of on-lookers.
The Riggs Hotel was completed by
1900 and leased for a while, and ul-
timately bought by Mrs. Annie Riggs.
Drummers, a few bachelors and married
couples occupied the rooms. A session
of District Court could crowd the es-
tablishment for a few days with law-
yers, jurymen and contesting parties.
Single men were forced to share their
rooms with strangers. A bath was pro-
vided only upon a request for the bath
house key at the Rooney and Butz store,
and a walk down to the wooden bath
house located over the big Comanche
Spring.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Texas Historical Commission. [Historic Marker Application: Fort Stockton Guard House], text, 1979; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410973/m1/18/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Historical Commission.