Several months ago I was
invited by Dr. Jody Ginn, Board Member and Historical Consultant of the Former
Texas Rangers Association, to present a program at a day-long conference on
Texas Rangers on Saturday, August 5. The conference was to be held at the new
Texas Rangers Heritage Center, a work in progress on the eastern outskirts of
Fredericksburg. I was delighted to add the presence of the State Historian to a
conference on the iconic Texas Rangers.
On my way to
Fredericksburg, I spent Thursday night in Lampasas, visiting with my sister,
Judy O'Neal Smith, and other relatives in the area. Judy is an
active member of the local DRT chapter and of the Lampasas County Museum
Board. I've visited the museum on numerous occasions - Lampasas was the home town
of our mother and grandparents - and there are many historical treasures on
display there. But the museum has been closed for the past several months,
undergoing renovations by museum professionals. When Judy and I entered the
recently re-opened museum, which is housed in a venerable
commercial building in downtown Lampasas, I was astonished at the
transformation. Always worth seeing, the Lampasas County Museum now
is markedly improved and is a treat for history buffs and other visitors.
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| Lampasas County Museum |
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| Museum Gift Shop |
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| With my sister, Judy O'Neal Smith |
Departing Lampasas for
Fredericksburg, I reached Llano at mid-day. I stopped to tour the superb
courthouse, built in 1892. Indeed, on the Traveling Texas History Courses
I conducted for 20 years out of Panola College, I always toured my students
through Llano, so that they could see the courthouse, the impressive old jail,
and other excellent examples of historic architecture. As I looked around the
courthouse, I examined the historic photographs displayed along the walls of
the main floor. A security guard, who turned out to be a native of Llano,
cordially inquired about my visit. When I told him I was the Texas State
Historian, he immediately marched me into the office of the County Judge, Mary
S. Cunningham, introducing me as a visiting state official.
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| JoAnn McDougall, Director of the Llano County Museum |
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| Pioneer cabin on the museum grounds |
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| Historic Llano jail |
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The Llano County Courthouse boasts a fine collection of historic photos
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Encouraged by my reception,
I next drove to the Llano County Museum, which I had never before visited. I
introduced myself to Museum Director JoAnn McDougall, who proudly showed me
various highlights of the displays. I asked questions about local history, and
JoAnn responded with enthusiasm and a great deal of information. Llano is
fortunate to have such a charming and knowledgeable native daughter in charge
of the community's historic repository.
After arriving in
Fredericksburg later on Friday afternoon, I paid a quick visit to a fine local
museum, Fort Martin Scott, which is the only one of the original line of Texas
frontier forts which still stands. Established in 1848, the fort is
well-maintained and stands just west of the Texas Rangers Heritage
Center.
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| Entrance to Fort Martin Scott |
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| Company Barracks |
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| Officers' Quarters |
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| Guard House |
On Saturday morning,
when I drove into the spacious parking lot of the new Texas Rangers
Heritage Center, a splendid Ranger group statue immediately caught my eye.
Nearby, Ranger re-enactors from every historic period had erected an
encampment, complete with displays from a 19th-century cannon to a Thompson
machine gun (the famous "tommy gun" of the Bonnie and Clyde era).
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| Texas Rangers Heritage Center Pavilion |
Other impressive
weapon collections were displayed beneath the handsome pavilion where the
conference took place. More than 120 attendees included retired Rangers, Ranger
descendants, and current Texas Rangers, and it was a privilege for me to meet
these men and women.
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| Fellow presenters Donaly Brice and Chuck Parsons |
Jody Ginn introduced the
first of six speakers, Donaly Brice, retired state archivist and author of The
Great Comanche Raid. Each speaker was allowed 40 minutes, and Donaly spoke
with great authority on the dramatic 1840 event. I was up next,
presenting a program on "Texas Rangers and the Evolution of the
Revolving Pistol." I focused on the period from 1844 through 1875, when Rangers
were defenders of the Texas frontier. During this era Texas Rangers served as
horseback warriors against Comanche and Kiowa raiders, as well as against
Mexican bandidos along the Rio Grande border. Not until the frontier was
secured did the Texas Rangers become a law enforcement body. I used a number of
replica pistols and gun rigs to illustrate this program. The audience was ideal
for my topic, and I greatly appreciated the response during and after my
presentation.
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Celebrated Texas Ranger Ray Martinez and Joe Davis,
President of the Former Texas Rangers Foundation |
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| Ranger Re-enactors |
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| With Dr. Jody Ginn |
I was followed by Dr.
Richard McCaslin with a program on famed Ranger leader John S. "Rip" Ford.
After a delicious catered lunch of Bar B Q, programs were presented by Chuck
Parsons on Ranger Captain John Hughes, by Dr. Harold Weiss on Captain Bill
McDonald, and by Dr. James Kearney on the Stanford-Townsend Feud. A panel
concluded the conference.
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| Speaking with Ranger historian Harold Weiss |
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