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McMullen County Historical Markers

Michael has a BA in History & American Studies and an MSc in American History from the University of Edinburgh. He comes from a proud military family and has spent most of his career as an educator in the Middle East and Asia. His passion is travel, and he seizes any opportunity to share his experiences in the most immersive way possible, whether at sea or on the land.

Southern Texas Map
Number 28
28-Boot Hill Cemetery | 28-Camp Rio Frio | 28-Dog Town Jail | 28-Hindes, Moses William | 28-McMullen County | 28-McMullen County Historical Museum | 28-San Caja Hill | 28-Stringfield Massacre | 28-Yarbrough Bend | 28-Yarbrough, John Swanson
28-Boot Hill Cemetery

Marker Title: Boot Hill Cemetery
County: McMullen
Marker Location: Across from Town Square, Route 72, one block East of intersection of 72 and Highway 16, Tilden.
Marker Text: Began with grave of a suicide. Some occupants are: Dick Gosset, killed in Ft. Ewell gunfight, Feb. 1869. E.M. Crain, Confederate veteran; one of 4 cholera victims, 1869. John Smithwick, murdered, 1870. Jim--, assassinated from door of old Rock Store, 1872. Unknown, killed in gun battle while standing in front of old Rock Store, 1873. Unknown, killed unintentionally by Clabe Young, while playing a prank. S. Glenn Greer (12/7/1848-11/9/1874) thrown from a horse. Unknown, an African drowned in the Nueces, 1875. Unknown, murderer of James Minter, presumed to have been a Dalton gang member. Lige Harrison, Jr., killed at age 17 in a hunting accident, 1876. Samuel Wm. McCreery, murdered at his sheep ranch, 1877. Pemanio Palacios and Phelix Wheeler (infant), both died of natural causes. (1964)

28-Camp Rio Frio, C.S.A.

Marker Title: Camp Rio Frio, C.S.A.
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: On Highway 16 1/2 miles north of intersection of Highway 16 and Highway 72 (across from Caja Hill), Tilden.
Marker Text: A Civil War home guard post, acting as buffer to protect older settlements from Apaches and bandits. Scattered local men were members of the 29th Brigade, Texas Militia. Picket homes with dirt floors. Diet of prickly pear salad and fruit, Spanish dagger blooms, hominy, turkey, quail and deer meat. Homespun and linsey clothing dyed blue with Brazil root or gold with agarita. Such was local scene the home guard protected. Camp Rio Frio was later Dogtown, then became Tilden. It proved itself in a rugged era. (1964)

28-Dog Town Jail

Marker Title: Dog Town Jail
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Location: Behind courthouse, located at intersection of Highway 72 and Highway 16, Tilden.
Marker Text: First County Jail, built 1880 at cost of $2800. First expenses included 2 blankets, pair of leg irons, 2 pairs handcuffs. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966.

28-Moses William Hindes

Marker Title: Moses William Hindes
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: Located in Boot Hill Cemetery across from town square on Route 72, one block east of intersection of Highway 72 and Highway 16, Tilden.
Marker Text: A pioneer in settling of southwest Texas. Born in South Carolina; married Mary Jane Mason. Moved in 1840's to Alabama, then to Mississippi. With wife and 6 children came in 1855 by ox-wagon and horse-drawn hack to Texas. After a year in Lockhart, moved (1856) to this area of sparse settlements. To have adequate water for cattle raising, tried living on Ash and San Miguel Creeks. Then settled on the Frio, where in drouths "wells" were sunk in the river bed. During the Civil War (1861-1865) Hindes and his son George were Confederate scouts. In that time Indians plundered this area, stealing children and horses. On Aug. 1, 1865, warning came of a new Indian raid. Neighbors went to Hindes' home (9 mi. SW) for safety. 6 men took turns guarding 40 horses held in the corral. At daybreak when the Indians attacked, Moses Hindes was shot to death defending his homestead. Buried at first in this Boothill, he was later reburied in Pleasanton Cemetery, Atascosa County. His heirs remain loyal to this area for which Mr. Hindes died. George, the eldest son, founded the town of Hindes, Atascosa County. The Hindes & Beever Store, Pearsall, sold first pearburner ever marketed. Every generation has had men who rode with Texas Rangers. 1968 Incise in base: Erected by great-grandchildren, Carrie Hindes Eppright and Leroy Hindes.

28-McMullen County

Marker Title: McMullen County
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: In front of courthouse on corner of Hwy. 16 and Hwy. 72, Tilden.
Marker Text: Created 1858. Organized 1862. Abandoned because of bandit activities in thicket area during the Civil War. Reorganized 1877, with Tilden as county seat. Named for John McMullen (1785-1853), founded with James McGloin of the Irish Colony at San Patricio; President Pro Tempore of the General Council which governed Texas in 1836, on the eve of the Republic. Of the 254 Texas counties, 42 bear Indian, French or Spanish names. 10 commemorate such colonizers as McMullen and Stephen F. Austin, "Father of Texas". 12 honor Washington and other American patriots. 96 were named for men who fought in the Texas war for independence (15 dying at the Alamo), signed the Declaration of Independence from Mexico, or served as statesmen in the Republic of Texas. 23 have the names of frontiersmen and pioneers. 11 honor American statesmen who worked for the annexation of Texas; 10, leaders in Texas since statehood, including jurists, ministers, educators, historians, statesmen; and 36, men prominent in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Rockwall and 8 others have geographical names. San Jacinto and Val Verde were named for battles; Live Oak and Orange, for trees; and Mason for a fort. (1964)

28-McMullen County Historical Museum

Museum Name: McMullen County Historical Museum
Mailing Address: HCR 4 Box 17
Street Address: 502 River Street
City: Tilden
Zip Code: 78072-9302
County: McMullen

28-San Caja Hill

Marker Title: San Caja Hill
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: Highway 16 just .5 miles north of Wheeler Store on west side of road before bridge, Tilden.
Marker Text: The name, originally "Sin Caja", means "without coffin" in Spanish and may refer to the grim aftermath of the Turkey Creek Indian Battle, which was fought a short distance west of the hill in December 1872. The fight developed after raiding Indians had stolen livestock, chased young rancher Andrew Tullis, and dragged a herder to death at the J. Campbell place. The day following the killing, 13 ranchers from Oakville overtook the band at Turkey (now "Hill") Creek. Five Indians were slain, while one white man, Sebastian Beall, had a tooth shot out. Others in the fight were Caleb Coker, Tim Cude, John Edwards, Bob and Sam Nations, Tobe Odom, Cullen Sanders, Andrew and Woodie Tullis, Rans Tullos, Pleas Waller, John Wilson. The bones of the warriors, put in a cave in San Caja Hill, later mysteriously disappeared. They were supposedly removed by members of the same tribe. Legends of treasure also hinge upon the name of the hill, for "Caja" can mean "box" or "chest." This is thought to refer to money hidden in boxes here by Mexican bandits who raided wagon trains and stages traveling on the nearby Laredo-Goliad Road. Other tales tell of silver from the rich San Saba mines once buried nearby, but now lost to history. 1968

28-Stringfield Massacre

Marker Title: Stringfield Massacre
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: From Tilden, take Highway 16 about 23 miles to Route 624, go west about 2.5 miles to rest stop.
Marker Text: On Sept. 28, 1870, the Thomas W. Stringfield family was ambushed by Indians and bandits raiding from Mexico. Overtaken in their horse-drawn wagon, the victims ran for a nearby house, but did not reach it. Thomas and wife Sarah Jane were stabbed and shot to death. Six-year-old son Adolphus was also murdered, but the fate of Thomas, 4 years, was never known. The survivor, 8-year-old Ida Alice, fought to avoid capture. She was then speared 7 times, trampled by the raiders' horses, and left for dead. She was later rescued and lived until 1937. 1968

28-Yarbrough Bend

Marker Title: Yarbrough Bend
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: (With townsite of Wentz Marker), from Tilden, take Highway 72 six miles east to roadside marker.
Marker Text: Founded 1858. Named for John Swanson Yarbrough, an original settler. Town contained about 30 log "picket houses". Settlers were often harassed by Indians, cattle thieves and wild animals. Other original settlers were: Dr. George Dilworth, John Moore, James Tope, N.H. Walker, Joe Walker and Benjamin Franklin Winters. 1968

28-John Swanson Yarbrough

Marker Title: John Swanson Yarbrough
City: Tilden
County: McMullen
Year Marker Erected: 2001
Marker Location: In Hill Top Cemetery, 0.8 mile east of SH 16 on Hackberry St./Cemetery Rd., Tilden
Marker Text: (Dec. 25, 1774 - Oct. 20, 1862) A native of North Carolina, John Swanson Yarbrough came to Texas in 1832 and settled in what is now Houston County in east Texas. A veteran of the Texas War for Independence, Yarbrough participated in the 1835 Siege of Bexar and in the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. He moved from Houston County about 1850 and led a group of settlers to the Frio River in 1858 to establish the Yarbrough Bend settlement in what became McMullen County. Yarbrough's grave was relocated to this site from the Yarbrough Bend Cemetery in 1982 as part of the construction of Choke Canyon Reservoir. Recorded - 2001

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