2009 Welcome to Wise.indd - Wise County Messenger

110
WISE COUNTY Historical Markers
R. C. Mount House
Mount Street, north of Chico
A surveyor, part-time Methodist
reacher, and Wise County’s first tax asessor-collector,
R. C. Mount (1826-97)
egan this structure in 1872 to house his
arge family. Built of rock that Mount and
is sons hauled by wagon from Palo Pinto
ounty, the original two-story section was
ompleted in 1874. Contractor H. A. Saye
f Amarillo enlarged the house in 1890,
nd further remodeling was done in 1920.
Oak Grove United Methodist Church
From Decatur, take Greenwood Road
orth about 3.5 miles to church
This congregation was organized in
878 with fourteen charter members by
he Rev. Jim Smith and the Rev. E. C. Fullngim.
Oak Grove’s original sanctuary was
onstructed 10 miles northeast of Decatur
ut was moved to this site in 1902. The
urrent church building has been in use
ince 1948. Oak Grove United Methodist,
hich traditionally held an August revival
amp meeting, stands as one of the oldst
rural churches in Wise County.
First Post Office in Wise County
Marshall Drive and Rogers Road,
ewark
Established Sept. 8, 1855, in what was
hen named Odessa. First white settler
n Wise County, Benjamin B. Haney, was
he first postmaster. Second was Martha
. Marshall, appointed Dec. 5, 1856; third,
athan Huff, served from March 16, 1860,
ntil office was discontinued on Dec. 5,
866. The second post office, Newark,
pened in 1893, after another Odessa was
ounded in Ector County.
Siddons-Barnes Log Cabin
Main Street, Chico
This log cabin, believed to have been
uilt in the early 1870s, was the first place
f worship for area Methodists and served
s a schoolhouse. Dr. J. A. Siddons and his
ife M. E. Siddons purchased the cabin
n 1883 and enclosed it with other rooms.
n 1918 J. D. Barnes and Rachel Perkins
arnes bought the property. The rooms
urrounding the original log cabin were
emoved in the 1970s. It was moved to
his site in 1987, and the fireplace stones
ere restored. The cabin features halfotched
rough hewn oak logs, an interior
oft, and measures 256 square feet.
Old Stone Prison
201 E. Pecan Street, Decatur
First stone house in Decatur. Erected
y prison labor in about 1859. Main
ouse was residence of sheriff or deputy.
asement was used as jail. Meals were
sent down a dumb-waiter located outside
the east end of the house. County sold
property in 1888 to A. H. Whitehead. Used
as city water works until 1938. Kept as
private residence until 1967 when purchased
by Wise County Historical Society
as museum.
Texas Tourist Camp and Texaco Petrified
Wood Station
904 S US 81/287, Decatur
Built between 1927-1935, the Texas
Tourist Camp consists of a collection of
four one-story and one two-story wood
and stone buildings that include a cafe,
office/residence, two sets of cabins and a
service station. The complex sits on the
southeast corner of 2.5 acres along what
was originally the Meridian Highway,
then Highway 2 (now Business Highway
81/287). Covered in assorted rock, primarily
sandstone and petrified wood, the
buildings feature such details as arched
porches and arched garage entrances,
characterizing the complex as a group
of early to mid 20th century roadside
architecture buildings designed to service
automobile travelers.
S. W. Tilghman House
309 E Shoemaker, Decatur
Born in Gibson County, Tenn., S. W.
Tilghman (1846-1913) came in 1870 by
wagon train to Wise County. In 1872 he
married a Decatur native, Eliza Bland
Miller (1856-1931), and became father
of a daughter and three sons. A master
builder, he built this house in 1882 for
his own family. Many of the city’s finer
houses of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries were built by Tilghman and his
son Robert.
Waggoner Mansion
1003 E. Main, Decatur
The Waggoner Mansion or El Castille,
as it is sometimes called, is an excellent
example of Texas’ finest Victorian masonry
architecture. Built in 1883, the house has
retained approximately 90 percent of its
original craftsmanship and material. This
percentage far exceeds most large Victorian
homes of this nature that remain in
such a good state of repair in Texas, and
consequently by all means this home can
be classified as being “authentic”. Both
the exterior and interior walls are of solid
poriferous limestone construction.
The house contains a large basement,
16 rooms and six and one-half bathrooms.
There are two bedrooms downstairs and
four upstairs.
In the middle of the nineteenth
century, Dan Waggoner drove a small
herd of Longhorns into Wise County and
launched a successful career that by 1870
earned him the recognition of being a
“cattle kings”. At the time he built this
baronial mansion it was the headquarters
for the distinguished Waggoner Ranch
which reached into a seven county area.
By 1900 the house was the headquarters
for this well-watered and compact ranch
that spread 30 miles east and west and
25 miles north and south, and included
over a million acres. The Waggoner Ranch
supported over 60,000 head of cattle, and
it was served by three separate railroad
lines. Dan Waggoner died in 1904, and
this house became owned by his son,
William Thomas Waggoner. After oil was
discovered on the ranch in 1903, development
resulted in the founding of the Waggoner
Refinery in 1911. The fortune which
resulted from this cattle and oil base
enabled the Waggoner Family to become
one of the richest and most influential
families in the Southwest.
The moviemakers of the film “Giant”
duplicated the exterior for the movie set.
Thus, the Waggoner mansion is one of
the foremost and striking architectural
remains of the indelible marks left by the
cattle empire of Victorian Texas.
Wise County Courthouse
Decatur
The design of J. Riely Gordon for the
Wise County Courthouse was similar
to but not identical with his design for
the Ellis County Courthouse. One of a
number of Texas courthouses designed by
J. Riely Gordon in a Romanesque Revival
idiom, the Wise County Courthouse
exhibits a number of characteristics of
form, such as, the use of turrets, a tower,
broken massing and fine ashlar masonry
of contrasting textures. In addition, it
reveals the Greek cross plan developed by
Gordon with access at the four reentrance
and a central stair.
Particularly distinctive is the fine
masonry work throughout. Exterior walls
were of Texas granite. The specifications
called for “quality granite in two colors
selected by the architect . . . laid up in
pitch-faced and peen hammered alternating
courses with pointed beds and joints.”
The main columns were of polished pink
granite. Terra cotta in the friezes, turrets
and dormers was used extensively. For the
roof, “the best quality Bangor slate of very
light blue color” was specified.
Inside, the courthouse was given the
finest appointments including marble
and granite floors and wainscots, indoor
plumbing and electric lights. Water
pressure was supplied by a large cypress
cistern in the attic. Interior trim and doors
were milled from oak, and the courtroom,
complete with balcony, was furnished with
fine oak furniture. Access to the upper
floors was provided by a winding cast iron
stair case in the building’s rotunda and
that became a long spiral stair to provide
access to the tower. The tower provided
the building with natural ventilation, light
by way of a glass skylight and housed the
E. Howard and Company clock and bell.
Wise County Reunion
Farm Road 51, south side of Decatur
at Reunion Grounds entrance
The Confederate veterans of Wise
County are said to have held occasional
reunions in the 1860s-1870s. Old settlers
invited both the Confederate veterans and
Wise County pioneers to an 1881 reunion
at Cold Springs. This was on July 12, the
anniversary of Capt. George Stevens’
victory over hostile Native Americans in
1874. About 5,000 people attended the
1881 reunion. The Wise County Messenger
reported a successful day -”only the
music being a failure.” Events included
speeches and picnicking. The reunion
began to occupy the present site in 1896.
By 1900 it extended to three days - honoring
old settlers on the first, the veterans
on the second and daughters and sons
of Confederates on the third. Sometimes
12,000 would attend, parading from
courthouse to camp ground. Programs included
candidates’ speeches, rodeos, and
sham battles. Evenings were devoted to
visiting. In 1909, the grounds were leased
for 25 years. Later, campsites were leased
and improved by participants. The Wise
County Old Settlers Association, formed
in 1904, sponsored a 1907 Pioneer History
by C. D. Cates. Extended to a week, with
visiting in daytime and stated events in
the evenings, this reunion is now the oldest
recurring public event in the county.
Sam Woody’s Cabin
CR 4227, South of Decatur
Tennessee pioneer Sam Woody (1826-
1920) migrated to Texas in the 1840s. He
brought his family to Wise County in 1854.
This cabin, located near Deep Creek, was
the first dwelling in the area. After Woody
cut the logs, friends and relatives helped
him erect the cabin in one day. Native
Americans came here to trade buffalo
robes and moccasins for corn. The house
was frequently crowded with guests, for
frontier travelers were never turned away.
Woody guarded pioneer settlements as
part of a Ranger unit and served in the
Confederate army during the Civil War
(1861-1865). Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark, 1970. The cabin is now located
at Wise County Heritage Museum.