On July 4, 1855, on the fringe of the Texas Cross Timbers frontier, John M. Stephen and George B. Erath completed the survey of the Stephenville city square. Stephenville quickly became a prosperous settlement and a center for cattle raising, cotton production, and most recently dairy production. Styled today as the "City of Champions," "Cowboy Capital of the World," and the "Dairy Capital of Texas," Stephenville has a colorful 155-year history. The...

From 1924 to 1962, Texon was a model company oil town in Reagan County, Texas. Pittsburgh-based Big Lake Oil Company developed the town site next to the Big Lake Oil Field and Santa Rita No. 1, the discovery well on University of Texas lands in the Permian Basin. Pres. Levi Smith ensured that company employees and their families enjoyed comfortable housing and community amenities, including a grade school, hospital, nondenominational church, theater,...

Winner, Journalistic Achievement Award, Texas Historical Foundation, 2004

From the simplest slab of weathered stone to the most imposing mausoleum, every marker in a Texas cemetery bears witness to a life that—in ways small or large—helped shape the history and culture of the state. Telling the stories of some of these significant lives is the purpose of this book. Within its pages, you'll meet not only the heroes of the

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