Edwards County, Texas
Rocksprings is home to 20 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Atop the Edwards Plateau, extending into the scenic Nueces Valley. Angora goat capital of the world. The economy is based on ranching. Wild game is abundant. Created in 1858 and organized 1883 from old Bexar district.…
View on map ↗Formed from Bexar County; created February 1, 1858. Organized September 10, 1883. Named in honor of Haden Edwards 1771-1849. Empresario leader of the Fredonian War in 1827. County seat, Leakey 1883 Rocksprings, since…
View on map ↗Formed in Missouri, 1898. Moved to Texas, 1924; to Rocksprings, 1926. Houses complete records on Angora Goats registered in U.S. Pictures of breeders and champion goats on display. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965
View on map ↗Built 1897 by Samuel A. and Annie Bradford Hough. (Hough was one of first graduates, Texas A & M) Home of attorneys, two county judges, district clerks. Scene of numerous social events. The Houghs still own the "Haven."…
View on map ↗First stone store in town; built 1920-21 by G. M. Carson, merchant. His 1904 general store (on this site) was for years only establishment in county selling caskets. Present store withstood 1927 tornado that killed 72…
View on map ↗One of many roads built to connect frontier cavalry posts in Texas, this route led south to Fort Clark and north to Fort McKavett (both established in 1852). Paint Rock Springs, located here at the head of the South…
View on map ↗Built about 1895 by J.P. Taylor, from England. Then on the Fort McKavett - Fort Clark Road. In 1907 E.E. and Mary Sproul Morriss, early settlers, bought Taylor's acreage and patented more land. Ranch became social…
View on map ↗In 1882 Joe Thurman and sons Bill, Sam and Jess became first permanent settlers on the west prong of the Nueces River. By 1895 neighbors included the Barksdale, Chapman, Cox, Ellis, Haley, Justice, Parham, Silman, and…
View on map ↗First school session in new town of Rocksprings was held in a frame house surrounded by a strong rock wall, in winter of 1891-92. Teachers were a Mr. Cole and a Mr. Vaughn (whose strong voice served instead of a bell to…
View on map ↗Known to early Texans as one inch flow of water out of rocks. Site of a camp for travelers and freighters. Occupants of land around the spring included W. J. Greer, with a sheep camp, 1882; Francis Winans, with a cattle…
View on map ↗Late Victorian structure of rusticated limestone, quarried in Southwest Texas. Contractors were Davey and Schott, of Kerrville, 1891. Roof was damaged by 1927 storm that killed 70 people. It was afterward restored.…
View on map ↗(Merged at this point into SH 55) When the U.S. Army built forts Clark (70 mi. SW) and McKavett (90 mi. NE) in 1852, this frontier trail connected the posts. After Fort Concho was established in 1867, the trail was…
View on map ↗Joseph and Mary Jane (Dusenbury) Thurman came to this part of Edwards county in 1882. In 1885, Mary Jane was the first to be buried in what became the Thurman Family Cemetery. Grave markers record infant deaths and…
View on map ↗Built in 1916 by Jesse Walter Gilmer (1883-1961), the two-story Gilmer Hotel was originally wooden, with an upper gallery on the east and south sides. It was frequented by traveling salesmen as well as local ranchers…
View on map ↗The town of Rocksprings traces its beginnings to 1889, when J. R. Sweeten dug the first water well in the area to serve new settlers. Three years later, in 1892, Sweeten donated two acres of land to be used as a…
View on map ↗This congregation traces its beginning to organized religious gatherings led by the Rev. D. O. McAllister in a schoolhouse located on property owned by Mary Buswell in 1893. Early worship services were also held in a…
View on map ↗In 1893, an early year in the community's history, a small group of seven organized the Missionary Baptist Church of Christ at Rocksprings. The church disbanded after a few years, but was reborn as Rocksprings Baptist…
View on map ↗(Southwest Texas Telephone Company) Local businessman Street Gilmer and D. H. Comparette of Kerrville built a long distance telephone line from Rocksprings to Kerrville in 1898. They installed the town's first telephone…
View on map ↗Located nineteen miles west of Rocksprings, the Turner-Davis Ranch Headquarters is a testimonial to the ranching way of life. Established in 1921, the ranch is located in the Edwards Plateau region. The rugged terrain…
View on map ↗In 1914, Edwards Plateau ranchers were in a severe drought and losing sheep and goats to poisonous plants. Ranchers B.M. Halbert, V.A. Brown, R.E. Taylor and J.B. Murrah and the newly-formed Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers…
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