Hutchinson County Historical Markers
Adobe Walls
Battle of Adobe Walls
First Battle of Adobe
Walls
Antelope Creek
Archeological District
Antelope Creek Ruins
Bents Creek
Ace Borger Home
Drift Fence
First Methodist Church
of Borger
Fort Smith - Santa Fe
Trail
Grand Hotel & Grand
Hardware Building
Holt Cemetery
Holt School
Adobe Walls
Stinnett, Hutchinson County, Texas
Reference Number: 78002958
Resource Name: Adobe Walls
Restricted: X
Owner: PRIVATE
Resource Type: SITE
Nominated Name: STATE GOVERNMENT
Certification: LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER
Certification Date: 19780522
Significance Level: NATIONAL
Significant Year: 1843
Cultural Affiliation: 19th Century Texas
Architect: Unknown
Other Description:
County: Hutchinson
City: Stinnet
Applicable Criteria: EVENT; INFORMATION POTENTIAL
Area Significance: HISTORIC - ABORIGINAL; COMMERCE;
HISTORIC - NON-ABORIGINAL; MILITARY
Current Function: VACANT/NOT IN USE
Historic Function: COMMERCE/TRADE
Other Materials: STONE
Period: 1850-1874; 1825-1849
Acreage: 20
Battle of
Adobe Walls
Bolger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 319
Marker Title: Battle of Adobe Walls
Index Entry: Adobe Walls, Battle of
City: Bolger
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 281351
UTM Northing: 3958280
Subject Codes: IN; ML
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: at picnic area 6 miles north of Borger
Marker Size: centennial highway
Marker Text: Fifteen miles to the site of the BATTLE OF
ADOBE WALLS Fought on November 25, 1864 between Kiowa and
Comanche Indians and United States troops commanded by
Colonel Christopher Carson, 1809-1868. This was
"Kit" Carson's last fight. (1936)
Battle of Adobe Walls
Stinnett, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 320
Marker Title: Battle of Adobe Walls
Index Entry: Adobe Walls, Battle of
City: Stinnett
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 304855
UTM Northing: 3974320
Subject Codes: IN; ML
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: from Stinnet take SH 207, north about
11.2 miles, turn east onto county road and continue about
17 miles (road will make several sharp turns) to battle
site, several monuments on site
Marker Size: centennial marker, grey granite
Repairs Completed: marker not located - moved
Marker Text: Was fought here November 25, 1864, when
Colonel Christopher (Kit) Carson (1809-1868) with a few
companies of United States troops under the protection of
the Adobe Walls attacked a band of hostile Kiowa and
Commanche Indians and killed over 60 braves. This was
"Kit" Carson's last fight. (1936)
First
Battle of Adobe Walls
Stinnett, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 1690
Marker Title: First Battle of Adobe Walls
Index Entry: Adobe Walls, First Battle of
City: Stinnett
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 279113
UTM Northing: 3974785
Subject Codes: IN; ML
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: from Stinnett take SH 207, north to
junction with SH 136
Marker Size: 28 x 18
Repairs Completed: weathered, shot up; refinish (highway)
Marker Text: Largest Indian battle in Civil War. 15 miles
east, at ruins of Bent's Old Fort, on the Canadian. 3,000
Comanches and Kiowas, allies of the South, met 372
Federals under Colonel Kit Carson, famous scout and
mountain man. Though Carson made a brilliant defense -
called greatest fight of his career - the Indian won.
Some of the same Indians lost in 1874 Battle of Adobe
Walls, though they outnumbered 700 to 29 the buffalo
hunters whose victory helped open the Panhandle to
settlement. (1964)
Antelope
Creek Archeological District
Fritch, Hutchinson County, Texas
Reference Number: 72001366
Resource Name: Antelope Creek Archeological District
Address: Address Restricted
Restricted: X
Owner: PRIVATE
Resource Type: DISTRICT
Number of Contributing Sites: 7
Nominated Name: STATE GOVERNMENT
Certification: LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER
Certification Date: 19720922
Significance Level: NATIONAL
Cultural Affiliation: Antelope Creek Focus; Panhandle
Aspect
County: Hutchinson
City: Fritch
Applicable Criteria: INFORMATION POTENTIAL
Area Significance: PREHISTORIC
Architectural Style:
Current Function: VACANT/NOT IN USE
Historic Function: DOMESTIC; AGRICULTURE/SUBSISTENCE
Historic Subfunction: VILLAGE SITE; PROCESSING;
AGRICULTURAL FIELDS
Wall: STONE
Period: 1499-1000 AD
Acreage: 650
Antelope
Creek Ruins
Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 12095
Marker Title: Antelope Creek Ruins
Index Entry: Antelope Creek Ruins
City: Borger
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
Year Marker Erected: 1997
Marker Location: 4.5 mi. W of Borger on SH 136
Marker Size: 27" x 42"
Marker Text: Plains Village Native Americans occupied a
series of interconnected rock dwellings near here from
about 1200-1500. Called "Texas" first apartment
house," the ruins have been the focus of numerous
excavations through the years. Made of native dolomite,
the rock and slab dwellings averaged about 12 feet by 15
feet in size with a single opening, a long crawlway, on
the east side. Other rooms contained a central hearth
under four roof-support posts, while smaller rooms were
thought to be for storage. Adobe platforms may have been
an altar for ceremonial purposes. The ruins are located
near a branch of the Canadian River, providing a
perennial source of water. The creek bottom soil of sandy
loam allowed residents to harvest crops including corn,
beans, squash and pumpkin. The semi-sedentary natives
also hunted bison, antelope, deer, and small animals as
evidenced by the bones and tools found at the site.
Artifacts recovered include small arrow points, beveled
and oval knives, bone implements, grinding stones, and
cord marked ceramics. Considerable information on the
artifact assemblage and village structure was gained from
the Works Progress Administration excavations from
1938-41 and subsequent interpretive works in 1946. (1997)
Bents Creek
Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 375
Marker Title: Bents Creek
Index Entry: Bents Creek
City: Borger
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 281351
UTM Northing: 3958280
Subject Codes: NA; WA
Year Marker Erected: 1971
Marker Location: from Borger take SH 136 north about 6
miles
Marker Size: 28 x 18"
Marker Text: Named for Charles (1799-1847) and William
Bent (1809-1869), famed for frontier trading with
mountain men and "wild" Indians. As early as
1835 they came from their headquarters near present La
Junta, Colorado, to trade with the Kiowas and Comanches
along the Canadian River, in this vicinity. They built at
least three posts along the river and tributary creeks;
most permanent post was Fort Adobe, built 1843-1844. In
the ruins of this fort (northeast of here) Kit Carson
fought his last big Indian battle (1854), and buffalo
hunters and Indians fought the Battle of Adobe Walls in
1874. (1971)
Ace Borger
Home
Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 77
Marker Title: Ace Borger Home
Index Entry: Borger, Ace, Home
City: Borger
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 283537
UTM Northing: 3950596
Subject Codes: BH; CD
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Marker Location: 829 N. Hedgecoke, Borger
Marker Size: Medallion and Plate
Repairs Completed: faded; refinish -on post
Marker Text: The founder of Borger, Missouri-born Asa P.
("Ace") Borger (1888-1934), established other
cities in Texas and Oklahoma before he platted this
townsite in 1926 and helped transform a rowdy oil town
into a stable community. In 1928-29 he and his wife
Elizabeth (1888-1933) built this 2-story home, the first
brick residence in Borger. It was later occupied by the
families of their daughter and son-in-law, Helen and
Fritz Thompson, and of their grandson, David W. Thompson.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1976
Drift Fence
Stinnett, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 1286
Marker Title: Drift Fence
Index Entry: Drift Fence
City: Stinnett
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 299157
UTM Northing: 3988704
Subject Codes: CA; RN
Year Marker Erected: 1995
Marker Location: from Stinnet, take SH 207 north, 10
miles to marker
Marker Size: 27 x 42"
Marker Text: Famed cattleman Charles Goodnight
established one of the first ranches in the Texas
Panhandle, the J A Ranch, in 1876. Later that year,
Thomas S. Bugbee established the first cattle ranch in
Hutchinson County. As a result of soaring beef prices
cattle ranching proliferated in this region of the U.S.
in the 1880s. The Texas Panhandle, with its open range
and expansive grasslands, became the preferred winter
grazing site for cattle migrating south from Colorado,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. This seasonal influx of
cattle disrupted the practice of area ranchers who went
to great lengths to respect adjacent ranch boundaries.
Members of the Panhandle Stock Association pooled their
resources and in 1882-85 erected barbed wire barriers
along a 200-mile stretch of the Panhandle including
Hutchinson County to prevent cattle from drifting south
into the fertile Canadian River Valley. The "drift
fence" worked too well in the winters of 1886 and
1887 when thousands of cattle moving south ahead of
strong storms stalled at the fence line and froze or were
trampled to death. The staggering losses prompted federal
and state legislation which limited fencing on public
lands and the "drift fence" was removed or
incorporated into private ranch fencing. Sesquicentennial
of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.
First
Methodist Church of Borger
Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 1748
Marker Title: First Methodist Church of Borger
Index Entry: First Methodist Church of Borger
City: Borger
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 283233
UTM Northing: 3949545
Subject Codes: CH; ME
Year Marker Erected: 1997
Marker Location: 200 North McBee Street, Borger
Marker Size: 27" x 42" Subject
Repairs Completed: marker not up yet
Marker Text: A. P. "ACE" Borger purchased 240
acres of land here in January 1926 and began to establish
a new town. Within ninety days, the oil field town named
for Borger had a population of more than 50,000 people.
The Rev. W. M. Lane, the presiding elder of the Amarillo
district of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
visited Borger and decided to establish a church. The
Rev. Orion W. Carter conducted the first worship service
in the local grocery store. By July 1926 the church was
formally organized by Carter with 15 charter members, and
a 36' x 60' church building was erected by Guy Rich. By
the end of the year the Sunday School had an enrollment
of 250, and women's and youth programs were established.
An addition was built in 1928 to accommodate the growing
membership. A second church structure, located on the
corner of West Second and North Hedgecoke, was erected in
1930. The edifice served the congregation until 1952,
when a third sanctuary was constructed at West Second and
North McGee streets. An educational building was added in
1960. The congregation has grown with the city of Borger,
and maintains a strong community presence. (1997)
Fort Smith
- Santa Fe Trail
Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 2017
Marker Title: Fort Smith-Santa Fe Trail
Index Entry: Fort Smith - Santa Fe Trail
City: Borger
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 282391
UTM Northing: 3948376
Subject Codes: RD
Year Marker Erected: 1974
Marker Location: in front of gazebo near library and
admistration building, Frank Phillips Junior College,
1300 W. Roosevelt, Borger
Marker Size: 42x27
Marker Text: Josiah Gregg (1806-50) blazed the Fort
Smith-Santa Fe Trail in 1840 as a shorter route between
the U.S. and New Mexico. He crossed this site on March
17, 1840, while returning to Arkansas from a trading
expedition to Santa Fe and Chihuahua. In a book,
"Commerce of the Prairies", published in 1844,
Gregg recommended the new route, which paralleled the
Canadian River. Over 2,000 California-bound gold seekers
traveled it in 1849. The largest wagon train of that year
was accompanied by U.S. Army troops commanded by Captain
Randolph B. Marcy (1812-87), who made a survey of the
trail for a proposed national wagon road. Marcy's party
crossed this site on June 9, 1849. The extensive use of
the Fort Smith-Santa Fe Trail in the early 1850s caused
it to be considered as a favorable route for a
transcontinental railroad. Lt. A. W. Whipple of the Army
Corps of Engineer surveyed a possible route in the summer
of 1853. By the late 1850s, emigrants were traveling a
more southern road through El Paso, which was eventually
to become the southern railroad route, and the Fort
Smith-Santa Fe Trail fell into disuse and was finally
abandoned. In many places on the Plains, the wagon ruts
are still visible in the undisturbed prairie sod. (1974)
Grand Hotel
& Grand Hardware Building
Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 2247
Marker Title: Grand Hotel and Grand Hardware Building
Index Entry: Grand Hotel & Grand Hardware Building
City: Borger
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 283684
UTM Northing: 3950158
Subject Codes: IN; MK
Year Marker Erected: 1979
Marker Location: 618 N. Main, Borger
Marker Size: 28 x 18, museum
Marker Text: After the discovery of oil in this area,
Borger developed as a townsite in 1926. Gus (1895-1971)
and John Yiantsou (1881-1948), Greek immigrants, came
here from St. Louis and opened a restaurant. Gus bought
this property and in 1927 erected this building, one of
the first large structures in the booming town. The
brothers opened Grand Hardware and Variety Store on the
first floor in 1929. The second floor served as a hotel.
After John's death, Gus leased the facility. The
Yiantsous generously supported many local and Greek
charities. (1979)
Holt
Cemetery
Stinnett, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 2514
Marker Title: Holt Cemetery
Index Entry: Holt Cemetery
City: Stinnett
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 299157
UTM Northing: 3988704
Subject Codes: GY
Year Marker Erected: 1993
Marker Location: from Stinnett take SH 207, 16 miles
northeast, then take FM 281, 6 miles east to marker and
cemetery
Marker Size: 27 x 42
Marker Text: In the late 1890s Texas enacted colonization
and homestead laws that significantly quickened the
settlement of the then sparsely populated Panhandle
region of North Texas. Hutchinson County soon recorded
the required 150 applications for land purchases in the
county to formally organize in 1901. In 1903 early county
settlers Benjamin and Birda May (Kirk) Holt donated seven
acres here to be used as the site of a community
schoolhouse and cemetery. The first person buried here
was Nola Storrs in 1909. A new schoolhouse was built here
in 1916 and in 1917 the Holts legally recorded their
7-acre donation. Five acres were set aside for school
purposes and two acres for the cemetery, which at that
time contained about 11 gravesites. When Holt School
trustees deeded the school's five acres and vacated
schoolhouse to the Holt Cemetery Association in 1948,
about an acre of this property was converted for cemetery
use. In 1907 the cemetery association established
policies governing the use of this site. The cemetery,
which continues to serve the local community, contains
the gravesites of many of this area's first settlers and
those of veterans of World War I, World War II, and the
Korean conflict. (1993)
Holt
School
Stinnett, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Number: 2515
Marker Title: Holt School
Index Entry: Holt School
City: Stinnett
County: Hutchinson
UTM Zone: 14
UTM Easting: 299157
UTM Northing: 3988704
Subject Codes: EB; ED
Year Marker Erected: 1989
Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Marker Location: 16 mi. NE of stinnett on SH 207,then 5.9
mi. E on FM 281
Marker Size: 27x42
Repairs Completed: faded; refinish
Marker Text: A county-wide public school district was
established soon after Hutchinson County was created in
1901. As more people began to settle in the area,
regional school districts were formed. Common School
District No. 8 was established in the northeastern corner
of the county in 1902. The first schoolhouse, located on
land owned by Benjamin Calvin Holt, was a one-room
structure built in 1903. This two-room schoolhouse was
constructed in 1916 with lumber and other building
materials hauled in from Texoma, Oklahoma. The simple
wooden structure exhibits classical revival style
detailings, especially in the gable entrance. Other
features include oversized windows and decorative wood
shingles. Regular school classes were held here until
1935, when students began attending school in Spearman.
The building, however, remained a community gathering
place. The site of worship services, weddings and
funerals, it has also hosted community activities such as
quilting bees and local theater productions and continues
to serve as an election polling place. The school
buildings and grounds were deeded to the Holt Cemetery
Association in 1949. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark,
1989.
This page was last updated June 9, 2004.