Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-05-01
FRONTIER SKETCHES.

Early History OF C0manche County-In-
dian Raids Daring the War
for Secession.
For the Gazette.
The act creating Comanche county
was passed in January, 1855, and the
county was organized by an election
being held for county officers on the
nth day of May, 1856 This election
was held at the then new school.
house on DR.. Tuggles' pl zee, at which
forty-seven votes were polled, nearly
all the settlers voting, and resulted in
the election of Jesse Bond, county
Judge; Jesse Mercer, James Cunning
ham, ST., John A. Mcclure, Chas. c.
Campbell and Geo. r. Hasty, county
| commissioners; Thos. j. Holmsley,
sheriff; Frank M. Collier, county clerk;
Kinith Mckenzie, justice of the peace,
and j. c. Glass, constable. all of whom
were duly commissioned as such Off
Gals by Gov. Elisha M. Pease on the
18th day of August, 1856. The county
commissioners, after receiving dona-
ton of land for the purpose from
Frank Thompson Of Washington
county, proceeded at once 10 locate the
county seat on South Leon, and
named it Cora.
After the creation and organization
of the county and the location of the
county seat at Cora, then central
point in the county, during the spring
and summer of 1856 immigrants poured
in rapidly among whom were Joseph
Hicks and DR.. Geo. w. Montgomery,
from Tippah county, Miss, Uncle
Dick Carnes and a cavayard of boys,
Hoad and several others, from Cedar
Town, Ca, who arrived and settled at
II the new county seat. Also 1T. Il.
Hoover, Jas. Nj. Cross, Uncle Jack
Nabers, Jack Wright and Tom and
Elias Deaton, from Bell county; Jas.
@. Martin, Bill and Blount Clements,
from Travis county. James M. Cross
opened the first store and built the
first house in the new county.
Jas, G. Martin erected the second and
opened a hotel. Thomas e..
Frost, then a young lawyer, and just
from Alabama. opened the hrst law
office. DR.. Ebenezer Jones from
McMinville, Tehn., located as prae-
ticing physician. The first session oil
, the county commissioners court con-
vened in September, 1856, and the
| first term of district court held in No
vember, 1856, and was presided over
by Judge n. w. Battle; j. l.. Metal!
, prosecuting attorney; II. q. Capell
district clerk; I. j. Holmsley sheriff,
! land H, +. Hoover foreman OF the
! grand Jury. The first marriage license
issued 10y the clerk was to Thomas j
4 Holms' ey and Bette Cunningham; the
: second was to Elias Deaton and Polly
r Wright,
ell The first mill was u steam grlst and
4 saw mill erected by Mercer and Gross
| at the new county seat. This made
e raw-hide lumber, aud our bread, II W.
had the corn and wheat to grind, was
A of more easy access, for Deior'
: then trip TO town ans
/ to mill was a job dreaded by all
d Hence the saying among us, II any
# thing required labor and time TO- per
Y form it /" I'd as lief go to mill as to a.
$ that.n a series of good crop years al
d over Texas had followed in succession
l. from 1850 up to 1855, when there was
e series of dry years and failures In crops
r especially In Western Texas, whicl
N continued for four or five years, am
+. during this period the settlers in Co
re HlaHCile, Ltdth uhu Dio"
n had TO buy and haul their Dreadstui
d on OK wagons from the Trinity ant
Ne Red River counties. Think of it,
n trip of from four To six weeks to mili
4. and groceries and other merchandls
ID TO freight on OK wagons ffom Houston
', 500 miles distant, another SIX Week.
a trlp-good heavens. What JOB
lie was 10 90 TO town and TO mill Bu
i. the OK wagons used in those days
zone out of use now, would carry iroi
Isl six to eight thousand pounds AT
IL load. and Texas transfers in tno'
at DAYS handled and spent among us III
re money that railroads carry away no
IS. for freighting. ~ ;.
d. The territory embraced In the az
DIS creating Comanche county was Z.
X tirely too large for convenience, al
id the legislature of $4,000 created Han
lr- ilton county, taking from the SOU
ire extreme norton Of Comanche count
he most of the territory embraced
,al Hamilton county. This division
he Comauche created the necessity
tx removing the county seat from 20
to the present town OF Comanche, III
nd the county records were moved Iro
he Cora to Comanchc in the early part
raj January, 1850, and In the course
;li- two years Cora WAS enNrely uepvp
hg lated, most Of the inhabitants going
be the new town. I. G. Frost ~
lie erected the first residence !.
ec. the new town, which starr
with considerable boom; butanoll
In boom--the boom Of secession-S
md started in 1860, and knocked the
!, In out of the frontier towns OF lex
ey, The native grass for four years gf
gon in their streets aud upon their put
AXE squares; Immigration stopped AZ ON
and our young and middle-aged men,
anxious to defend the southern CIV
I'M were rushing to the front aud se s.a
Ing places 10 the Southern army ma
tier Of them never returned, npu ~
: Of that did return found the coun
. In almost depopulated and their ~
STAY and other effects almost eh'i'
has wasted and gone,
ano in the meantime the Comanche
nty, dams had kept up continuous
0 af- ing along the frontier from hea y
salt In Al la hin Grauda driving OIL uui