2018-09-11: A New Country, the Twin Towers, and Ghost Towns Along the Rio Grande in South Texas

Hello again and welcome back to another edition of AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures. AwayWeGo.US is my geocaching name which I have been using since 2006.

Today's adventure is due to an overnight and early morning rain in the Rio Grande Valley. This made for some muddy conditions at work. And when working outdoors in construction building a wind farm, that means a day off. But makes for a great day to go Geocaching and exploring!

Having never been to Mexico before, this would be the perfect opportunity to grab a geocache across the border to achieve my fifth country. And on this September 11th day, I have the perfect "twin tower" cache in mind.

But let's not get ahead of myself. I started out in the small community where I was staying. Falcon, Texas was moved from an original Falcon at the junction of Medio Creek and the Rio Grande in southeast Zapata County during the flood in August 1953, which was caused by the completion of Falcon Dam in December 1952.

Settlers had been brought to the area by Col. José de Escandón in the 1750's. The Spanish crown set the land aside for the colonists of Revilla, known as Guerrero, after Mexican independence. In the mid-1700's the king of Spain granted 6,123 acres to José Clemente Gutiérrez, who later sold the land to José Clemente Ramírez. In 1780 Ramírez married Margarita de la Garza Falcón, thus uniting two of the area's most distinguished families, and moved to the old site of Falcón. The place was called Ramireño de Abajo. In the early 1900's Ildefonso Ramírez opened a general store there.

In 1915 a post office was established, and the village changed its name to Falcon, in honor of the wife of the founder. This was done because there was already a post office a few miles away called Ramireño, at Ramireño de Arriba, and the post office needed a different name. Old Falcon had 4.01 acres in common riverfront and 12.27 acres in its town tract. The government offered to move the settlement of families to Zapata, the county seat, where good schools, parks, water, sewage disposal, and paved and curbed streets would be available; but the families, whose ancestors had come to the area, settled it and opted to keep their site.

The government closed the dam before paying for the land and improvements, figuring they had several years before the water would rise—there had been six years of drought. The water suddenly rose after four days of rain starting on August 23, 1953, and on August 28 the 450 families of Lopeño and Falcon were hurriedly evacuated in a pouring rain. By the day's end, only the church steeple, a few windmills, and the tops of a few houses showed above the muddy reservoir. Residents of the inundated communities left behind furniture, clothing, toys, even pets. Some walked rather than accept rides from the hated commission that had built the dam and driven them from their 200-year-old settlements. Later, the government refused to pay them the full price for their homes and belongings because they were no longer usable.

The government had also picked out a common site for all of the local cemeteries, but all of the villages affected by Falcon Dam voted to buy their own separate sites. A total of 162 graves was moved from the old Falcon cemetery, only ten of them unidentified. The cemetery today has over 300 permanent residents. There wasn't a geocache here yet, so I hid one myself (GC7XMCW).

Six miles to the north is the new town of Lopeño. It replaced old Lopeño and four other small farming and ranching communities - San Pedro, San José, Santa Fé and El Tigre. Lopeño is named for Antonio López, husband of Doña Ysabel María Sánchez, to whom a 6,366-acre land grant, named Señor San José, was given by the king of Spain on July 16, 1767.

During the early 1800's a parcel of this grant passed to the Ramírez family, founders of Falcon. In 1821 Benito Ramírez constructed a combination home, fort, and chapel, known later as Fort Lopeño, which stood until covered by the waters of Falcon Lake. It was built at the Lopeño crossing of the Rio Grande. There was also a famous shrine in front of his El Tigre Ranch well, where local residents drew water, and worshiped before the Señor San José Church was built in Lopeño. The shrine, dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, was artistically cut from limestone, with beautifully carved hands and feet, delicate features, and a chaplet encircling the crown.

Company K, Fifth United States Infantry regiment, maintained Camp Lopeño there for twelve days ending May 10, 1856, before returning to Ringgold Barracks, Rio Grande City, during the Cortina War. Serafín Benavides established a store at Lopeño in the early 1900's, the only supply point in the area at the time. Andrés Serna carried the mail by horseback from Zapata to Lopeño from 1900 until his death in 1908; he had a keen mind, but could not read. Before starting his route, he would have the names and destinations read to him, and would sort them in order, never making a mistake in his delivery.

When the original Lopeño was about to be moved, the International Boundary and Water Commission wanted all the displaced communities to move their cemeteries to a single location at U.S. 83 and Farm Road 496, but the residents insisted on separate cemeteries. They mapped out their graveyards and identified 1,501 of the 1,753 burial sites; Lopeño had 207 burials, thirty-eight of which remained unidentified. The new community and cemetery are located on a 6,525-acre tract of land first granted in 1767 to María Josepha Guerra. I hid a geocache there also since it didn't have one either (GC7XMFN).

Continuing north on US-83, I arrived in the town of Zapata. Zapata dates to Spanish land grants that go back to 1767. When the first settlers crossed the Rio Grande the town was called Habitacion. Then Carrizo, then Bellville after Governor Peter Bell. Finally the permanent name of Zapata was authorized to honor Col. Antonio Zapata, one of the founders of the Republic of the Rio Grande. In the early 1850's, two military posts, Camp Drum and Camp Harney, were located at Zapata to combat border disturbances and prevent Indian attacks. The population of Zapata increased suddenly when people from Guerrero crossed the river to escape the Mexican Revolution. In 1953, Zapata was another border town that moved to higher ground when Falcon Dam was built.

I found my next geocache at the Mertens Frontier Ranch Store and Museum (GCZRE6). It was an interesting looking gift shop. Couldn't go inside though since it was closed. Maybe next time...

Next was a quick roadside cache in Ramirez (GC20ZBK). Originally it was two miles south of its current site on the banks of the Rio Grande. The property was granted to José Luis Ramírez in 1784 by the king of Spain. It was not assigned in 1767, when most of the Revilla grants were made, because incursions of Comanche Indians made the area uninhabitable. Ramírez and his wife, María Bacilia Martínez, lived with their family in Revilla (Old Guerrero) until 1810, when they built a house of native hand-cut sandstone on their property across the river. The building stood until it was submerged by the Falcon Lake Reservoir in 1953.

The town of San Ygnacio was settled in 1830 - making it the oldest town in Zapata County. The San Ygnacio area was in the 18th century part of a large Spanish colonial land grant, extending on both sides of the Rio Grande. Early ranchos were established on the south bank of the Rio Grande, one of which, called Revilla (and later supplanted by present-day Guerrero), was across the river from the site of San Ygnacio. Jesus Treviño, a wealthy landowner from Revilla, purchased acreage on the north bank of the Rio Grande, and built a single-chamber stone structure in 1830, which is the oldest surviving portion of the rancho. This structure was probably not a permanent habitation, but was likely intended as shelter from the elements and Native American attacks. Treviño's son-in-law, Blas Maria Uribe, added to this structure in building campaigns between 1851 and 1871, which transformed it into the compound seen today. One of its features is a native stone made into a polished sundial and set into the north wall of the fort. It was named for the patron saint of Guerrero, Saint Ignatius Loyola.

There wasn't a geocache yet hidden in this town. So I visited the Blas Maria Uribe Cementerio where he was the second person to be buried here on April 24, 1895. The cache I hid there is GC7XMGN.

Confederate troops fought followers of Juan Cortina here during the Civil War. In 1890 revolutionaries against the regime of Porfirio Díaz led raids into Mexico from San Ygnacio. In June of 1916, troops of President Carranza crossed the border and engaged a U. S. Cavalry unit stationed there. During the early 1900's San Ygnacio had a post office, several stores, a drugstore and remained a commercial center for the region. The population in 1908 was just under 200 persons. It doubled by 1931 but decreased back to 225 by the end of WWII. San Ygnacio was used (like Roma) for scenes in the 1951 movie Viva Zapata with Marlon Brandon in the title role.

Driving down US-83 back towards the dam at Falcon Lake, I stop for 3 more geocaches at the county and state parks (GC1836V, GC3XEHA, GC3XEH5). Now off to the dam and my first cache in Mexico.

I was still a bit nervous about going across the dam over into Mexico. From what I had looked up it seemed like it would be a fairly easy adventure out to the memorial and back. But the fact that I didn't have a passport, just my drivers license, and the fact that it was the most dangerous section of the border with illegal crossings and drug trafficking, kept me hesitant.

Since my anxieties were already high, I skipped the first cache there by the U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration checkpoint. Not being a very busy crossing, I felt as though they'd all be watching me as I'm wandering around looking for some hidden object.

I drove to the gate and was stopped by a green uniformed Border Patrol agent. Explaining that I didn't have a passport, just my Florida drivers license, and that all I wanted to do was go halfway across the dam to take pictures of the memorial and the views... the big question... WOULD THEY LET ME BACK IN! He just kinda grinned and said that "he had no problem with it. But the guys in blue from Immigration on the return side might have some questions."

Officially called the International Falcon Reservoir, it is located on the Rio Grande east of Zapata. The huge lake is bounded by Starr and Zapata counties, Texas, and the county and city of Nuevo Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The dam and reservoir provide for water conservation, flood control, hydroelectric energy, and recreation. The project is owned, authorized, and operated by the United States and Mexico through the International Boundary and Water Commission. The project is named for the relocated town of Falcon.

The idea of a dam six miles east of the present site began about 1935, and the lake was approved by treaty at its present location in the late 1940's. Work began in 1951, and deliberate impoundment started on August 25, 1953. The reservoir was dedicated by presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adolfo Ruiz Cortines on October 19, 1953. The five-mile-long rolled earthfill and concrete embankment was completed on April 8, 1954. The first power was generated commercially on October 11, 1954. The dam is 150 feet above the riverbed, with a crest elevation of 323 feet above sea level. Almost two miles of the dam is in the United States, and nearly three miles is in Mexico. The cost of the lake to the United States was $35 million. Flood-control benefits to the United States had totaled $130 million by January 1, 1986.

All lands on the United States side, except for Falcon State Park, are privately owned above 307 feet. The area of the lake varies from 87,000 acres at elevation 301.2 feet to 115,400 acres at the maximum elevation of 314.2 feet. The reservoir has a summer storage capacity of 2,371,220 acre-feet.

Each country has three 14,750-horsepower turbines running three 10,500-kilowatt generators at each plant. Four units are possible if needed. Under terms of the treaty the United States receives 58.6 percent of the conservation storage and Mexico 41.4 percent; financing of the project was based on the same percentages. The drainage area above the dam is 164,482 square miles; 87,760 is in the United States and 76,722 in Mexico. The United States side provides nine public access areas, including the dam itself, along which runs a two-lane highway connecting Farm Road 2098 and Mexican Highway 2.

I found this really cool website with more information about the history of the area, the building of the dam, and the archaeology of the settlements during construction as well as during a drought in the 1990's that had exposed many of the homes and churches that had been underwater for 40 years.

In the photo above, I am near the geocache (GC1N6HD) location in Mexico looking back towards the United States. After spending about 30 minutes out there enjoying the scenery, taking photos, and getting a new country for geocaching, I figured I'd better get back to Texas. But first... WOHOO!! Now I have found geocaches in 5 countries: the United States, Canada, Greece, Germany, and now Mexico!

So I pull back up to the checkpoint on the United States return side. Out steps the man in the blue Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform, better known as I.C.E. After handing him my drivers license and he begins to ask some questions. I explained that I just wanted to get some photos of the monument and from the dam. I told him that I didn't go nor did I have any interest in going through the Mexican checkpoint. He asked about what brought me here from Florida and I told him I was working on the new wind farm that was beginning construction just up the road. He found that interesting and we talked about that for another few minutes until another vehicle finally pulled up behind me. Said goodbye and returned back to the motherland safely!

That's it for today. Hopefully you didn't get bored with all the rich history I included in the text. If you like that sort of thing, please let me know. Leave your comments below or subscribe to this blog with the button on the right. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and now Parler. Looking forward to your comments and letting me know you're out there.

See you next time...

2018-07-02: The Quest For 10,000 Geocaching Finds Day #1

So here we are once again for AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures Blog. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have been enjoying my stories and the history I'm finding through Geocaching.

Some of you have asked me that I have in the title. Yes, I'm actually two years behind in my writing. But trying my best to catch up while working 55-60 hours a week at the same time. I even took 3 months off from caching at the beginning of this year to spend the time writing.

Now returning back to July 2, 2018, the 4th of July falls on a Wednesday and I have the whole week off from work. Unfortunately, my wife still has to work, so it'll be a "stay-cation." What to do, what to do? Hey I'll go Geocaching!

Actually I've been thinking about this for a while now. I've been approaching the big 10,000 geocaching finds milestone. So I have to make it a truly remarkable, fun and memorable geocache. And I think I've found the perfect one. But I have to get there first and that's my goal for this week.

Starting the day off in Killeen, Texas at #9910, I head over to Dunkin' for a caramel iced coffee and a bagel. Then I drive south towards Georgetown. There's several power runs down there where I can get the numbers quickly.

So I get started on the "Hero's of War" series (GC2RBR8) and the "CR-207" series (GC515FD) of geocaches. In the midst of those are some other miscellaneous geocaches that I've found and others I've hidden. The power runs are just roadside caches, so I'll focus the rest of my blog on the stories of the scattered caches.

First up is the Santa Rosa Church Cemetery (GC7T2VK). Also known as the San Jose Cemetery on the Williamson County Historical Society Map. With just over 100 interments, a maintained cemetery still in use today. Although the little gazebo has seen better days. I couldn't find much history other than it's located near the town of Andice which only maintains a population of around 25 or so since the 1970's. There wasn't a geocache here, but I couldn't let that continue. So I hid one myself outside the gazebo.

The next site of interest was the ghost town last known as Gabriel Mills, Texas. From the historical marker: "Samuel Mather settled here in 1849, building a gristmill on the North San Gabriel in 1852. John G. Stewart opened a store near the mill. A small log cabin was in use by 1854 for church, school and lodge meetings. A post office was established in 1858, Mather being postmaster. W. L. Brizendine owned the mill by 1865, adding a cotton gin. Known as Mather’s Mill, Brizendine Mill, or Gabriel Mills, the village thrived until Austin & Northwestern Railroad bypassed it (1881); then a decline began. The post office closed in 1905, and by the 1920's the town itself had disappeared."

About all that remain are a collection of cemeteries and a few old houses. The first cemetery I came to was also another Geocache find (GC1260A). Jonathan Bittick was born in North Carolina September 11, 1796, and his wife Jinsy (Butler) Bittick, born in Georgia on June 8, 1805. He moved their family from Antoine Township (Clark), AR to Teneha District, Coahuila and Texas in 1830 along with Jinsy's parents, George and Elizabeth Butler, and her sister and brother-in-law William and Polly Ashabranner.

In October 1835 he received a grant on the east bank of Teneha Bayou one half mile below Bittick and Alford mill. Another grant was in Shelby County on Ayish Bayou. Jonathan was a miller and fanner who owned land in several Texas counties. In 1853, the Bittick's moved here to the frontier in Williamson County. Jonathan died in Gabriel Mills September 22, 1869 and Jinsy died there February 6, 1872 and are buried here in the family cemetery.

Around the corner just a mile away is a collection of three smaller cemeteries all connected together, the Mather Family Cemetery, the Brizendine Cemetery, and the Mt Horeb Cemetery (GC7T37F, GC7T380). There wasn't a geocache here so I hid two here myself. Rather than go into the long detailed history of the families that first settled this area, I ask that you click on the GC# link to the cache page. There I've posted that history if you're interested.

Most of the cemeteries were well kept as you can see in the photo above. But there were parts of it that was a little overgrown with some weeds. And there were a few worn and weathered flags from a previous holiday that were laying in the grass. I picked those up to be properly disposed of.

The next few photos are some of the remaining buildings left in the area. The first looked to be still maintained, but the rest... well you can see.

Some of the locals checking me out while I was taking pics.

Next up down the road is at the Connell Cemetery (GC2H9Q6). Alabama native Sampson Connell Jr (b. 1822) came to Texas with his family in 1834. Sampson along side his father, Sampson Connell, Sr. and his brother David Cook Connell supposedly delivered the last load of supplies to the Alamo before it was attacked by the Mexican Army. Later the three fought side by side in the "Battle of San Jacinto". Following Texas winning its' independence from Mexico, Sampson Connell, Jr. received a land grant in Williamson County from the Texas Republic for his efforts and patriotism. On his headstone is the bronze plaque for "Citizen of the Republic of Texas, 1836-1846." There are 20 burials here beginning with Sampson Connell Jr in 1873, to the last burial in 1939.

The geocache container was rather interesting for a cemetery. It appears as though one of the bodies didn't have all the pieces parts buried with it!

The next geocache of interest is at the William-Buck Cemetery (GC3A1YR). From the historical marker: "Legend surrounds the first years of this burial ground. Local oral history relates that among the earliest graves are those of a slave called Willie Osborne and an unknown Indian. Members of the Stephens family, ambushed by Indians in 1854, are said to have been buried here in their wagon. The oldest marked grave is that of infant Polly Williams, interred in 1854, on land owned by W. W. Williams. A cemetery association was organized in the 1960's. Many honored veterans of Confederate and U.S. Armed Forces are interred here. Fifteen graves were moved from the Bullion Cemetery in the 1970's when Lake Georgetown was formed. There are over 250 burials here."

My last stop was at the Perry Cemetery. I didn't find the cache (GC2H9QW), but I did find a story. James Wesley and his brother John Montgomery Perry both were members of the Scout Co. D. 12th Division Texas Calvary during the Civil War. They first served in Texas, then they were sent to Arkansas where they took part in battles of Searcy's Lane, Cotton Plant, and Langee River. They then went to to Louisiana, where they fought in battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Yellow Bayou. It was at Yellow Bayou that James was wounded in the right knee on May 16, 1863. He was in the hospital for some time, and then sent home on furlough. After his leg healed, he rejoined his unit, but was in no more battles. At the close of the war, the company disbanded at Falls County, TX.

That's enough for the day. Between the cemeteries and the power run, I've found 60 geocaches for today. But at 3 PM on a Texas July day it's pretty hot!

Now I'm at 9970 finds. Only 30 more to go! Do I make it tomorrow? Come back again and you'll see...

2018-06-17: Finding and Hiding Geocaches in West Texas Cemeteries

In this addition of my AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures blog, once again I'm on my regular Sunday drive from Killeen in Central Texas to Fort Stockton in West Texas.

For my new readers who may not know, I live in Killeen but work in West Texas. So at the end of my work week, either on a Friday or Saturday night, I'm driving home 360 miles eastbound to see my wife. Then on Sunday's I have to drive the 360 miles back. So it's the Sunday's when I do my geocaching and exploring to break up the long drive.

And between the daily commute to work and going home on the weekends, my new GeoJeep is racking up 1200 miles a week!

So let's get caching...

About an hour into driving, I arrived at Buchanan Lake and Dam along Hwy 29 in Llano County. There I found the first geocache and historical marker. C.S.A Salt Works (GC15HQA) was located between Tow Valley and Old Bluffton, 15 miles N.E. and since 1937 under Lake Buchanan. During the Civil War they made salt for the table, curing meat and hides, and feeding cavalry horses.

I wish I was here back in 2007-2009 when there was a drought taking place. Buchanan Lake was down 50% and the ghost town of Old Bluffton, which normally sets at the bottom of the lake, was now exposed. I found a great story at the Texas Observer website if you want to look into that.

On the way to the Llano Cemetery, I stopped at a roadside picnic area for a quick park and grab geocache (GC1Y0AK).

Arriving at the Llano Cemetery, there are actually three geocaches here for me to find (GC6H514, GC7AG8C, GC4R6A4). Area residents founded the city of Llano as the county seat for the newly formed Llano County in 1856. By August 1862, with the interment of one-year-old Tina Miller, this site served as a burial ground. Seventeen year old Emily Young Wright was interred here a few weeks later. Their two gravestones are the earliest marked burials.

One of the geocaches highlights South Carolina native Dillard Cooper. He came to Texas in January 1836 with Captain John Shackelford's Red Rovers, landing at Copano Bay and joining Col. James Fannin's command. Following the Texians' defeat at the battle of Coleto Creek on March 20, the wounded Cooper was among many soldiers taken prisoner at Goliad. One week later, Mexican troops shot and killed more than 300 prisoners; Cooper was among a handful who escaped. He and companions spent two weeks traveling at night through enemy lines and abandoned settlements to reach Texian forces at the Brazos River. Cooper lived in Hays and Colorado counties before moving to farm with his stepson in Llano and San Saba counties in 1878. Dillard Cooper died in 1896.

Another monument that caught my eye was this one for Elmer Lee Crockett. Born in 1896, many years after the Alamo, but died in 1919 at age 22 in France. Hmm... there was a war going on over there. After a little research, I found out that Crockett left Llano to enter the service in September 1917. He arrived in France in February 1918 and was a part of the machine detachment of the air service division. Even though the Armistice was signed in November 1918, Crockett remained in France for active duty. However in January of 1919, Elmer Lee Crockett died from acute appendicitis. It wasn't until August 1921 before his body finally returned to Llano where it was laid here in his hometown.

Continuing westbound on Hwy 29, when I arrived in Grit, Texas, I took a short detour south on US-377 down to the Cavness Cemetery (GC7RCBR). Located in the Streeter Community, around 1855 Irish settlers, including William S. "Uncle Billy" Gamel and the Caveness brothers, began moving to the area. Shortly thereafter, Germans also began to settle in the community. While there are many unknown and undated markers here, two of the oldest are both from 1880. Four year old Steaven Cavness and 86 year old Elias Hiram Hays. I can only assume that one of the Cavness brothers mentioned above was a Robert "Bob" Cavness (1822 - 1902), who is buried here along with his wife Mary (1822 - 1892). There wasn't a geocache here, so I hid one myself.

Sometimes while driving along the backroads of America, you see areas that you just have to pull over and take a photo and that's what I did here while on my way to the next cemetery.

Just north of Streeter was the Coffee Cemetery. As the community of Streeter was growing, Tom Brite opened a store, and Charles Brite once operated a gin and flour mill. A well kept cemetery going back to the 1870's and still being used today. Another cemetery which didn't have a geocache, so I hid one there also (GC7RD83). Near the cache you'll find the headstones of Charles Brite (d.1926) and Tom Brite (d.1927) which are mentioned above. You'll have to find the headstone of W. A. Brite who I can only presume to be their father who died in 1891.

Continuing through very rural dirt backroads, working my way back up to Hwy 29 and arriving at Jacoby Cemetery (GC7RDA1) to hide another geocache. A small family cemetery dating back to 1915 for the not named infant Son of Max and May Jacoby. Still maintained and used, currently only about 30 interments here from the families of Eckert, Hahn, Jacoby, Kuhlman, and a Rolston. While I placed the cache over by the corner post, be sure to pay a visit to Sgt Melvin C Eckert born September 26, 1921 and was killed in action during WWII on June 25, 1943. Here in the Jacoby Cemetery is a memorial headstone with his family. His body is interned at the Ardennes American Military Cemetery Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, B-4121 Belgium.

Then I encountered another one of those "just gotta pull over and take a photo" spots.

Next stop was a quick roadside geocache at a historical marker (GC5ADDH). The Pegleg Crossing on the San Saba River, at the mouth of MacDougal Creek twelve miles east of Menard in Menard Count. For years a favored Indian campground, it entered written history, 1732, as site of Spanish-Apache battle. It was used almost continuously by the Spaniards from the time of the establishment of Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission in 1757 until the end of the colonial period. In 1849 William Henry Chase Whiting surveyed the ford as a part of a migration road to California. It served the army as a crossing, linking Fort McKavett with San Antonio both before and after the Civil War.

From 1867 until 1888 the San Antonio-San Diego (Southern) Stage Line used the military road; the stage line had a relay station, called Pegleg Station, constructed on a hill overlooking the ford. The Western Trail likewise used the ford for cattle drives from south central Texas to northern ranges and railheads. When State Highway 29 from Mason to Menard was built, Pegleg Crossing was abandoned. Probably named by landowner Wilhelm Harlen for one-legged land commissioner T.W. Ward. Gained notoriety for many hold-ups that occurred at "Robbers' Roost" (1 mile west).

Just two more geocaches before getting back to Fort Stockton. A quick roadside park and grab (GC43AHP) and another historical marker (GC3TXRG). The marker is for the Giddings' Pecos Station.

In the mid-19th century, stagecoach lines were a primary means of moving people, mail and supplies through the region. The U.S. government contracted with Henry Skillman for the San Antonio-El Paso Stage line in 1851. In this area, the route ran along the historic Chihuahua Trail, also know as the Lower Road, which was designed to carry U.S. mail. The service soon added passenger and freight delivery. Skillman and William “Bigfoot” Wallace were two of the better known drivers.

In 1854, George H. Giddings took over the San Antonio to El Paso line and created a series of stage stations in the area. In 1858, he established one near the “S” crossing of the Pecos River. It had two structures built of adobe, limestone and wood. Teamsters used the larger building as a kitchen and dining room and the smaller structure as sleeping quarters. An adobe or high pole corral with a wide gate stood behind the buildings, housing dozens of horses and mules. Water came from a nearby hand-dug well, formerly an existing spring.

In early 1862, a driver of the stage to Fort Lancaster reported Indians had destroyed Pecos Station, and the site was abandoned. Lt. Col. Thomas B. Hunt led a detachment past the ruins in 1869, giving the position as the west bank of the Pecos, 2.5 miles from Camp Melbourne. The exact location of the remote post, however, remained in doubt over the years until archaeological investigations in the early 21st century. Stone foundations and cultural artifacts from the 1850's, along with evidence of earlier Native American occupation, helped identify this isolated scene of frontier life.

That's it for another Sunday drive. There's a lot of history and interesting stories along the backroads of this great country. You just gotta be willing to look for it. And thanks to geocaching it's a little easier to find!

2018-06-10: Geocaching Through History From Central to West Texas

Welcome back to another of my 360+ mile Sunday drives from Killeen in Central Texas to Fort Stockton in West Texas. Along this weekly drive, I explore the backroads and small towns, cemeteries and ghost towns, and anything of interest along the way. Most of the places I discover are thanks to the game of Geocaching. We got a long way to go, so let's get started.

Now most of the time during this drive, I start finding geocaches early along a route. Then I get side tracked, start heading to this cache and that cache, and next thing I know it's the middle of the afternoon and I still have 300 miles to drive. Today I was determined to make it past Llano before making my first stop. And that I did.

To encourage settlement of the new frontier in the 1830's and 40's, the Republic of Texas granted large portions of land to prospective impresarios. Among the more notable was the one issued to Francis Fisher, Buchard Miller, and Joseph Baker. Comprising some three million acres of land between the Llano and Colorado Rivers, it became known as the Fisher and Miller Colony.

Going westbound on Highway 29, I turned south towards Castell. In 1847 on Fisher-Miller land grants, 3 settlements were begun by German emigration company under commissioner general John O. Meusebach. There was Bettina, the first communal settlement in Texas. It was abandoned in less than a year when supplies ran out. Leiningen three miles to the east, but non-existent today. Castell was the first and only permanent Llano County settlement. It was led by Count Emil von Kriewitz. The towns namesake was Count Carl Frederick Castell-Castell, business manager of the Adelsverein.

The German Lutherans in this area were served by circuit-riding lay minister Dietrich Rode as early as 1870. A congregation was organized in 1893 on the north side of the Llano River in the Leiningen settlement about three miles east. A second church, known as Leiningen Two or Zion, was built on the south side of the river in 1907. The two congregations merged as St Johannes Evangelische Gemeinde in 1926, and a new sanctuary was built. Worship services were conducted in German until the 1950's, and the name was changed to St. Johns Lutheran Church.

Next to the church is the Cemetery and geocache (GC1NVGG). The congregation of St John Lutheren Church had been meeting in its new sanctuary for some four years when the death of one of its members, Anna Charlotte Lillie (Kowierschke) Bauer (1905-1930), led to the purchase of this half acre for use as the church cemetery. Her in-laws J. W. Bauer (1874-1932) and Bertha (Flint) Bauer (1872-1956) are buried nearby in the same plot. The older grave of Christian Schneider (1838-1920) was moved here from an endangered location near the Llano River.

There was a second geocache in town closer to the river, but I didn't find it (GC1NVGB).

Arriving in the town of Mason, Texas, there were two geocaches there that I still hadn't looked for yet. The first was at a historical marker entering the town (GC6E7PP). Created January 22, 1858 and organized August 2, 1858, Mason County was named for its most important settlement, Fort Mason. Garrisoned intermittently from July 6, 1851, to March 23, 1869, Fort Mason was named for Lt. G.T. Mason of the United States 2nd Dragoons, killed in Mexican War action on April 25, 1846 near Brownsville. Fort Mason was one of a chain of posts situated a day's horseback ride apart, from Red River to the Rio Grande, for protecting frontier from Apaches, Comanches, and other Indians.

Exiting the west end of town I stopped for another historical marker and another geocache (GC6E82Z). A native of Kentucky, Thomas S. Milligan (1810-1860) moved to this area in 1855 and operated a change station for the stage line. He was also a rancher and supplied beef to the soldiers at Fort Mason. Shortly after Mason County was organized in 1858 he became the first elected sheriff. Two years later he was killed by hostile indians near his home 1.6 miles NW. His grandson Allen Thomas Murray (1880-1929) became county sheriff in 1924 and like his grandfather, also died in the line of fire. He was killed by a bootlegger in 1929.

When arriving in the ghost town of Grit, Texas, I turned south onto US-377 to head down towards Junction and I-10. I then made a quick roadside geocache stop (GC3PV6R).

A couple of more miles down the road and I arrived at the Long Mountain Cemetery and two more geocaches (GC6EVX0, GC3PV5Q). Long Mountain probably gets its name from a nearby summit, also called Long Mountain. The area, which had been settled for some time by scattered ranchers, began to develop into a community in 1915. There are 240 burials here dating back to a Samuel Silas Jackson in January 1867. The second photo below is that of Dan (d.1900) and Sarah (d.1928) Martin's headstone which has their portraits on it. I'm sure it was placed by a more recent family member.

The next few miles provided just some ordinary roadside geocaches for some quick stops (GC3PV4T, GC58AJJ, and a DNF at GCKNF4). There was another roadside cache that had some history in the location, but nothing left there to see. The ghost town of Erna (GC1JR4C) is said to have been settled shortly after the Civil War, in part by German immigrants. J. N. Andrews operated the only store in the community in 1890. A post office was established there in 1915 with Amos Brewer as postmaster. The office was discontinued in 1919, and mail for the community was sent to Streeter in Mason County. Only a few scattered houses marked Erna on county highway maps in the 1940's. From the mid-1940's through the mid-1960's the population was reported at fifty. By the 1980's only the place name appeared on county maps.

An old farmhouse along one of the rural dirt roads.

The next geocache and ghost town down the road at the Saline and Little Saline Cemetery (GC1M4JK). A few settlers arrived in the area in the 1860's, but the threat of Indian raids kept many people away until the 1870's or 1880's. Shortly after 1900 the Saline school had eighty-four students and two teachers. The school and a church marked the community on county highway maps in the late 1930's. The school closed in 1947, and students were sent to the London school in Kimble County.

The family of Henry Parks settled here in the early 1860's, having found abundant grazing for their cattle. A band of Comanche Indians descended upon the pioneer family. Henry and Nancy Parks and their young grandson, Billy, were slain, their home burned and the cattle driven away. The Parks family were laid to rest where they had been slain. The three bodies, all in one grave, became the first burial in Little Saline cemetery.

The photo below is on the headstone of Marvin Harrison Hight who died December 1917 at age 22. I couldn't find any specific information on him, but I suspect he may have died in battle during World War I.

Continuing south on to my next cache (GC11951), I arrived in London. No not in England, but in Texas. London, aka London Town materialized sometime in the late 1870's or early 1880's when former Union Army officer Len L. Lewis moved into the area to trade horses. Lewis married locally and with holdings of a half-section of land, he planned the future town. Ed, Tom, and Robert Stevenson opened a store there in 1881 and the town was platted to include a square and forty town lots. A post office opened in the Stevenson store in 1892 under the name London and it was used to denote the town as well. London is famous locally for its dance hall located on the main street. The London Cemetery (GC6EG0K) has just over 400 burials dating back to 1908.

Jumping on to I-10 westbound, I continue on down to Copperas Cemetery (GC1M4H9). A deed for this cemetery was executed by D.P. Cowsert to E.S. Alley, County Judge, on May 30, 1890, donating one acre of land out of E.S. Haines Survey #55. First grave was that of William A. Cowsert on February 1, 1888. Residents of the Copperas community tend to cemetery. David Cowsert, who died during World War I, was returned home and buried here in the land of his ancestors. At least eight Civil War veterans , including Colonel John Griffith, were interred in the Copperas Cemetery. Veterans from other wars are among the dead in this beautiful little cemetery in the Copperas and Bois d" Arc valleys. An official historical law officers's marker denotes the burial spot of Ranger Captain Gully Cowsert.

Next door to the cemetery is what remains of the Copperas Methodist Church (GC1M4HA). Organized in 1881 by circuit rider, Andrew Jackson Potter, who helped firmly establish the Methodist church in West Texas. Before construction of church on this site in 1917, services were held in schoolhouse or under brush arbor 3/4 mi. SW on west bank, Copperas Creek. Building site was donated by J. A. Cowsert. Lumber was hauled here by wagon from Menard. Labor was donated by members and other local residents.

Five miles further down I-10 westbound is Roosevelt, Texas. Exiting off the Interstate, I first arrive at a historical marker and my next geocache (GC1M4GR). "From nearby Fort Terrett, this road in 1852 led south to Fort Clark and north to Fort McKavett. Selected mainly because it had water available, it served as the route for freight and mail in 1868, when the forts were reactivated. Over this route went troops, supplies, immigrants and pioneers. It was noted also for the passage of forays of Col. Ranald MacKenzie against hostile Indians to the northwest. After the forts were abandoned in 1883, ranchers drove cattle to market over parts of the road.

Near the historical marker was this old church. It was the Roosevelt Presbyterian Church. A plaque on the wall says the church was organized in 1933 and the building erected in 1947. The building looked to be in decent shape although the sign out by the road was pretty faded. With a population of about 150, I imagine it is still in use today.

Roosevelt, Texas was established with a post office in 1898 and was named by its founder, W. B. Wagoner, for Theodore Roosevelt, who reportedly visited the area with the First United States Volunteer Cavalry (the Rough Riders). It served as a shipping point for feed and supplies for local sheep and goat ranchers. The Patterson and Riek Ranch, established in 1897, imported Angora goats from South Africa in 1925.

In the 1920's the community hosted polo matches, as local ranchers bred polo ponies for national markets as well as horses for the United States Cavalry. Hill Country tourism also added to the local economy in that decade with the establishment of several businesses, including the Luthringer Hotel.

The population of Roosevelt, estimated at twenty-five in 1925, averaged 100 from 1941 through the middle 1980's. In 1990 it was ninety-eight. The population dropped to fourteen in 2000.

The old general store (GC1M4GB) in Roosevelt known as Simon Bros Mercantile opened in the early 1900's and is still in operation. The Back Door Cafe is located behind the store and contains a beautiful mahogany bar that languished for many years in a local barn. The remains of the school and the memorial church are located east of town.The post office is located inside the store and is one of the two smallest still operating in Texas (the other is at Telegraph).

Well it has been a busy day with 18 geocaches and a lot to see. From Roosevelt I still had 180 miles to go and was planning to drive all the way through to Fort Stockton. But after about an hour, I-10 was getting pretty boring! About halfway I was approaching a rest area. I opened up the app and saw that there was a cache there (GC2K4XW). Well that's a no-brainer. I quickly pull in, stretch my legs and grab a cache.

Now on to Fort Stockton to relax for the night and get rested for work tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by. If you've enjoyed my stories, please send me a note in the comments, or through Facebook and Twitter.