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MARGARET,
TEXASFirst
county seat of Hardeman County, 1884-1890Foard
County, Texas
Panhandle
FM 98 and FM 3103
7 Miles NW of Crowell
27
Miles SE of Quanah
Population: 00051 (2000)Margaret,
Texas Area Hotels
Quanah
Hotels |
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History in a
Pecan Shell
Originally
known as Pease, Texas, it was the (first) county seat of Hardeman County
in 1884. The name comes from the first white child born in the county - Margaret
Wesley. The town had a link with Texas history when Cynthia
Ann Parker was rescued by Texas Ranger Captain (Sul) Ross near here in 1860.
In
1891 with the establishment of Foard County, Margaret found itself in the new
county – but not the county seat. To add to the towns worries, it was bypassed
by the railroad in 1908. But since it was bypassed by a mere three miles, an attempt
was made to move the town to the tracks. The hard work paid off – for a time.
The
Great Depression, WWII and
bypassing by the improved highway system in the 1950s, left Margaret a shadow
of her former self. From a 1940 population of 100, it has been reduced to the
2000 census figure of 51. Although Margaret’s 1909 school closed in 1943, it has
been in use as a community center for many years.
Photographer's Note:
Subject:
Two Margarets, and two Pease Battlefield Markers
There are two Margarets,
Old and Current, and two Pease Battlefield Markers. One is a pink
granite tablet in Crowell, the second one
is a gray centennial marker at the other
end of the road from the Margaret Centennial
Marker. - Barclay
Gibson |
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I Drove My GMC
to Foardby Rick
Vanderpool
I
saw the sign that read "MARGARET 13," and turned north off US70W. Good thing I
didn't yawn or I would have missed the sign that read "RAYLAND",
right after the one for Foard County... [See Rayland]
Once again, had I yawned or blinked, I would have missed the sign the read "PEASE
RIVER BATTLEFIELD". A quick turn north onto a deeply rutted red dirt (that's redundant
out here – all the dirt is red) – this would be trouble after a rain – and a mile
or so later, I read the marker about the recapture of Cynthia Ann Parker. See
photo. Onward to MARGARET again… |
"Marker
for the recovery of Cynthia Ann Parker is out in the middle of nowhere,
between
Margaret and Rayland" - Rick
Vanderpool photo |
| What? There was an
OLD MARGARET? That is what the sign read, that I would have missed, if I had,
well, you know… One more side trip, down another dirt road, another marker (this
one explained how the town of MARGARET was once named PEASE, but was changed to
honor the first-born Anglo child, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John Wesley – hey, it
may have been THE Methodist, John Wesley, but didn't know he got this far west
– see below) then onward to NEW MARGARET? |
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Nope, the sign
simply read "MARGARET". This stretch of Foard County is not in wheat, but the
land was prepared for something to be planted.
I counted about a dozen
inhabited residences in MARGARET, and only 3 vacant ones. I saw some agricultural
equipment and an abandoned building or two. Bob White Quail were calling from
the brush, and that's a rare treat in most parts of Texas these days. Dang Fire
Ants and feral cats! Two
residents of MARGARET were espied – one gentleman waved to me from the door of
his shed at the end of Florence Road.
I had seen what I noted as an abandoned
church – no sign and very unkempt landscape. As I reached the western town limits
(another sign for MARGARET), I beheld a sign for MARGARET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
and surmised that perhaps the groundskeeper was not in the habit of attending
regularly.
Adios, Miss Wesley…
©
Rick
Vanderpool
Texas Plains Trail Journal entry for April 27, 2010 |
Pease River BattlefieldNine
miles East of Crowell
on FM 98 is a marker commemorating the recapture of Cynthia
Ann Parker, Texas' most famous Indian captive. Captured in 1836 near Groesbeck,
she was "rescued" 24 years later in 1860 and died shortly thereafter - after attempting
to escape back to the Comanches. She was the mother of Quanah
Parker who grew up to be go on wolf hunts with President Theodore Roosevelt
and have Quanah, Texas (30 miles North)
named after him. |
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Centennial
Marker TextPease
River BattlefieldIn
1860, at the Battle of Pease River, Indian captive Cynthia
Ann Parker and her daughter, Prairie Flower, were rescued by Texas Rangers
under Captain L. S. Ross (later Governor of Texas). Cynthia Ann, most celebrated
of all Comanche captives, had been taken at age 9 in a raid on Fort
Parker, May 19, 1836. Traders who saw her later said she had taken the name
"Naduah" and wished to remain among her adopted people. She married Chief Peta
Nocona, by whom she had 2 sons, Pecos and Quanah
Parker. Although she was returned to her uncle's family, she was never completely
happy and tried to escape several times. She died 1864. | |
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