President William Howard Taft (1)
Many events occurred during this decade that have impacted our lives even to this day. The first powered flight made by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, N.C. in 1903 propelled us toward commercial airlines and a way to cross he country in hours instead of days. Also in 1903 the Ford Motor Company was formed. In 1908 Ford introduced the Model T Ford, which would drastically change the automotive industry.
Wright brothers first powered flight. (2)
Model T Ford. (3)Construction of the Panama Canal was started in 1904. In 1905 Albert Einstein proposed the Theory of Relativity, which would have a profound and long lasting effect on the scientific world.
Albert Einstein. (4)
In the world of college football the first Rose Bowl game was played in 1902, starting a long tradition and spawning dozens of bowl games today.
East-West Football Game, Jan. 1, 1902 at the Rose Bowl. (5)
Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907 and over the last three years of the decade the FBI was established, the NAACP founded, and the Boy Scouts of America and Camp Fire Girls were chartered.
During this time Concho County grew rapidly in population. This increase had its beginnings in the previous century with men like D.E. Sims, J.E. and Sam Henderson, R.T. Trail, and many others.
In 1876 Dunlap Edward Sims left his home in Missouri and traveled by train to what is now Fort Worth, Texas. He then headed south by wagon into the heart of Texas. At some point he bought some sheep and established a sheep camp near Brady in McCullough County. He decided to continue his exploration so he headed northwest from Brady into Concho County. Daughter-in-law Ellen Sims explained it this way in an interview for West Texas Business Journal in May 1983, ..."when he traveled farther and laid eyes on the Concho (River), that, to him, was paradise". (6) Sims' son, Orland L. Sims, said in his book: "I can picture him taking off his hat and reverently intoning 'Amazing Grace' as was his wont when well-pleased. He had found his home." (7)
Mr Sims soon started buying land in Concho county and by 1886 he had amassed about 14,000 acres. This acreage included the area just north of Paint Rock along the Concho River. This area included a rock bluff that was home to over 1500 Indian pictographs. These paintings were what inspired the name for the town of Paint Rock. Mr Sims started out raising sheep and then later moved into raising cattle as well.
J.E. Henderson was another early arrival in the county. In 1876 he established himself and built a large herd of cattle. His brother, Sam Henderson, followed him to the county in 1878 or 1879. Sam Henderson bought some cattle from his brother and settled along the Kickapoo River. He began to purchase land and would own close to 100,000 acres of land in four counties before he died. (8)
Another early rancher was Richard T. Trail, who settled a few miles south of Paint Rock and developed an extensive ranching operation there.
The Concho Herald newspaper in 1890. (9)
These ranchers figured prominently in the story of my granddad, Harmon Meixner.
Last week I had an opportunity to travel to Concho County with a few family members and take the "Paint Rock Excursions" tour on what is now the Sims/Campbell Ranch. We wanted to visit the ranch where our granddad had worked as a young man and also see the Indian paintings. We were treated to a guided tour by a wonderful lady by the name of "Kay" (Sims) Campbell. She and her husband Fred Campbell own the ranch and have preserved the pictographs. They have facilitated bringing in experts to study the paintings, determine their age, origins, etc.
Kay (Sims) Campbell. Photograph taken Feb. 19, 2013 by Moody Meixner.
Kay was born Cora Ellen Sims in 1927 but the family always called her "Kay". Her father was Benjamin Victor Sims. Her grandfather was the Dunlap Edward Sims I wrote about above and Orland L. Sims was her uncle. I plan to write a separate post with more details about this most enjoyable afternoon spent with Kay Campbell and my family members on the Sims/Campbell Ranch.
Next time I will relate some stories about Harmon Meixner and his "cowboy" days in Concho County.
References:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WmHTaft.jpg photo of taft from wiki
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers
(3) http://wyrk.com/first-model-t-rolls-off-the-assembly-line-dale-daily-data/
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_(Nobel).png
(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1st-Rose-Bowl-game-1902.jpg
(6) http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/mar/17/local-ranch-displays-history-citys-namesake/?print=1
(7) Sims, Judge Orland L., Cowpokes, Nesters, & So Forth, The Encino Press, Austin, TX 1970, pg 94
(8) //www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/mar/17/local-ranch-displays-history-citys-namesake/?print=1
(9) Huston, Gerard, editor. The Concho Herald. (Paint Rock, Tex.), Vol. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 2, 1890, Newspaper, October 2, 1890; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth235645/ : accessed December 17, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin, Texas.
