Traces of Tx (today)

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1865, about 100 Indians from Indian Territory raided a new settlement in Cooke County. They killed nine people and stole many horses. The raid is often referred to as the last Indian raid in Cooke County. Five years later, four brothers named Ross established a general store at the site. The first post office there was opened in 1872. According to local legend, the near-ubiquitous outlaw Sam Bass used the area as a rendezvous. The town of Rosston still celebrates Sam Bass Day on the third Saturday of July. The store is still there a bit of an attraction. The sign reads "Rosston Store Since1879", so this must have been a replacement of the first store although I cannot confirm that fact. I bet you could get almost anything at the store!

[Shakey Jake]

Here's another interesting photo. This comes from the T.B. Willis Collection and is a picture of the Cottonland castle in Waco, Tx. The Castle is on Austin Ave in Waco, Texas. The structure was built by Alfred Abeel. Within the image there is a stone fence with iron gates surrounding the small castle. In the background the castle is visible with trees blocking the view of the front steps and entrance. To the side a stone covered driveway is also visible. A greenhouse is partially visible on the right. This picture is undated, but I think it to be around 1918. More information can be found here:

https://wacohistory.org/items/show/94

Here's how it looks today:
https://www.google.com/maps/@31.5337116 ... 384!8i8192

[Hatchdog]

^^^^^^^^^

Wow, wouldn’t it be cool to live there. I guess I had better buy the lotto ticket for tonight’s drawing.

[Shakey Jake]

^^^^^^^^^

Wow, wouldn’t it be cool to live there. I guess I had better buy the lotto ticket for tonight’s drawing.

If you followed the link you would see that Chip and Joanna Gaines now own the property.
Jake

[Shakey Jake]

Today's entry comes from the Traces of TX Facebook Group:

Traces of Texas reader Kaye Solomon Partin graciously sent in this great photo, which was found among her grandmother's things when she passed away in 1986. Nobody knows who the boy is, but his outfit is so great and what REALLY takes this to another level is the poem written on the back:
My boy is not a sissy boy
He is every inch a man.
Tho he loves his mother dearly
And helps her all he can.
And when at school he holds his own,
Tho once he got a black eye.
He fought the boy a pretty good fight
And never even cried.
With sisters two he’s kind and true
As ever a boy can be.
In cowboy suit and gun and flint
He’s just a sight to see.
And now he wants a pony
To ride upon the plains.
With handkerchief upon his neck
A cowboys song he sings.
He’s going to have a picture made
To send to his grandpa,
And to some aunts and uncles
And perhaps a friend or two.
And if you don’t think he’s grand
Just come around and see.
Thank you, Kaye. Outstanding!

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1865, about 160 Confederates and 325 state militiamen lost a battle against the Kickapoo Indians about twenty miles southwest of present San Angelo. A month earlier a scouting party had discovered an abandoned Indian camp and, assuming the group was hostile, dispatched forces to pursue them. A militia force under Capt. S. S. Totten and state Confederate troops under Capt. Henry Fossett set out, but the two forces lacked a unified command and full communication. When the troops and militiamen finally rendezvoused near the timbered encampment of the Kickapoos along Dove Creek, the forces concocted a hasty battle plan. The militia waded the creek to launch a frontal attack from the north, while Confederate troops circled southwestward to capture the Indians’ horses and prevent a retreat. A well-armed Indian fighting force, possibly several hundred strong, easily defended their higher, heavily-wooded position as the militiamen slogged through the creek. The Confederate force was splintered into three groups caught in a heavy crossfire. Three days later the battered Texans retreated eastward, while the embittered Kickapoos, once peaceful, escaped to the Mexican border. Thus began a violent period of border raids on settlers along the Rio Grande.

[Shakey Jake]

Todays entry comes from the Traces of TX Facebook group. I've lived in the Houston area since 1977 and before that in Fort Worth from 1972-77. Everytime I'd drive through Dallas to visit my folks back in Missouri I'd always look for the Mobile Pegasus while going up Highway 75 (Central Expressway). The building began to be concealed by taller structures built around it, but at just the certain angle it could still be seen for a few seconds. It was motorized and turned as it lit up the sky at night. Too bad the original couldn't be restored.
Jake

The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day:
The Mobil Pegasus is a winged horse sculpture that serves as a symbol of Mobil (now Exxon/Mobil), an American multinational oil and gas corporation. In 1934 the original porcelain enamel and neon Pegasus sign was installed on the roof of the Magnolia Building in downtown Dallas. Installed in high winds, the Flying Red Horse atop its oil derrick foundation, was an engineering feat. The 29-story building, located at the northeast corner of Akard and Commerce Streets, was built in 1922. It was Dallas’ first skyscraper, as well as the tallest building in Texas, the tallest building west of the Mississippi, and was taller than anything in Europe. It also was the first air-conditioned high rise. Standing heroically 450 feet above street, the Dallas icon was visible 75 miles away on a clear night. Pilots reported catching sight of it 60 miles south in Hillsboro, and some said it could be seen as far south as Waco.
The sculpture has undergone several renovations over the years and has become a well-known landmark in Dallas, Texas. Over the years the Pegasus’ porcelain-coated steel panels became rusted and pitted, the rotating base corroded, the worn support braces caused the sign to sway in the wind and the neon tubing that formerly glowed red in the night sky was broken. It would not survive being remounted. Because it seemed impossible to restore the old Pegasus, it was removed in 1999 and a new Pegasus was built at a cost of $600,000 donated by private and corporate sponsors. The old Pegasus has been restored and now is located on the grounds in front of the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas, which is where I took this photo of it in 2020.

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1901, the Spindletop oilfield was discovered on a salt dome south of Beaumont, marking the birth of the modern petroleum industry. Pattillo Higgins, the "prophet of Spindletop," and others had tried for years to find oil on Spindletop Hill, but with no success. In 1899, however, Higgins hooked up with Anthony F. Lucas. Despite negative reports from contemporary geologists, Lucas remained convinced that oil was in the salt domes of the Gulf Coast. On January 10 mud began bubbling from a well that Lucas had spudded in the previous October. The startled roughnecks fled as six tons of four-inch drilling pipe came shooting up out of the ground. After several minutes of quiet, mud, then gas, then oil spurted out. The Lucas geyser, found at a depth of 1,139 feet, blew a stream of oil over 100 feet high until it was capped nine days later. The discovery of the Spindletop oilfield had an almost incalculable effect on world and Texas history. Investors spent billions of dollars throughout the Lone Star State in search of oil and natural gas. The cheap fuel they found helped to revolutionize American transportation and industry. Many of the major oil companies were born at Spindletop or grew to major corporate size as a result of their involvement at Spindletop, including Texaco, Gulf Oil Corporation, Magnolia Petroleum Company, and Exxon Company, U.S.A.

[Shakey Jake]

Here's another fine picture from the T.B.Willis collection. The collection can be found with many others on the Portal to Texas History website. I think this was taken in Early, TX as by the "Early Meat Market" sign on the store in the background. Early sits adjacent to Brownwood, TX. My goodness what a wonderful picture! There aren't any cars in the picture but you can see electrical line posts. I'd guess somewhere around 1900.
Jake

[runnin n gunnin]

Jake, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your Traces of Texas Posts. My grandfather was a horse and buggy doctor and faired from Elmondorf Texas at the turn of the Century. When Pancho Villa invaded Glen Springs Texas and up to Columbus New Mexico in 1916 and 1917, he was worried for his wife and sons safety and moved the family to Tucson, Arizona where we all remained to this day.
I love Arizona history, and have thoroughly enjoyed your history lessons on Texas.
Don't stop posting my friend !