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When Dale returns to Bandera, Texas for Christmas, all he expects is to spend time with his beloved dog Buck. However, running into Shanna, his high school sweetheart, reminds him of the time he has wasted and all he lost by running away on Christmas Eve nine years earlier . . . Read more

by Mike Lowrie

"Based on actual events and true Texas history, The Legacy of the Black Heart Stone is a fast-paced thrill ride through Texas and Northern Mexico, fraught with danger and featuring a magnificent cast of unpredictable characters led by Luis De Zavala, a rookie archeologist and direct descendent of one of the Founding Fathers of the Republic of Texas. In his quest to find and protect valuable historic artifacts, including the highly-prized stone-if it even exists-he must stay one step ahead of an angry Mexican drug cartel, law enforcement officers, and his arch-nemesis, an established archeologist ..." Read more

This is a military history of the settlement of Bandera County. An across-section history of the Texas Rangers from the mid-1850s to the early 1880s, the story is mostly of rangers and Indians, but also of soldiers, settlers, lawmen, and outlaws . . . Read more

by Barbara l. Skipper Edd

In 1847, at the age of 21, Amasa Clark answered the call to arms and joined the United States Army near Troy, New York. ... Amasa Clark became a freighter, a shingle-maker, and a successful farmer. He showed that fruit trees, particularly pear trees, would grow in the Central Texas climate and soil. He worked at the Alamo and hunted with the Indians before trading a yoke of oxen and a six-shooter for a farm near Bandera, Texas one of that state's most important pioneers.... Read more

Found inside: "On February 10, 1864, James Washington Walker was happily married to Miss Melvina Bandy of Bandera county. Between them have been born 13 children, 11 of whom are still living: Thomas Walker, Mrs. Ada Moseley, Mrs. Alice Smith, Jeff Walker, Mrs. Ada Moseley, Mrs. Alice Smith, Jeff Walker, all of San Antonio; Jim Walker, killed in Oklahoma by a falling tree; Jess Walker, died in infancy; Mrs. Ida Fines of Tuff; C. C. walker of Caddo, L., R. L. Walker of Medina, Mrs. Mary Davis of Vanderpool; Miss Myrtle Walker of Medina; Mrs. Ruby Neely and Charlie Walker of of Yoakum.  . . . " Read more Look inside  . . . for more like this please see Texas Cowboy History

Allen G. Hatley is a freelance writer and a twice-elected constable in Bandera County, Texas.

His book traces in some detail the history of Texas constables, from January 1823, when the first law enforcement officers, two constables, were appointed in Stephen F. Austin’s Colony, to the present day . . . Read more Look inside

Combining fascinating stories of Texas history with travel adventures around the state. "... Travelers can also spend time horseback riding, fishing, swimming hiking, golfing, and more. Add rodeos, live music, and dance halls, and you have a complete picture of Bandera today. . . " Read more Look inside

For nearly two hundred years, residents of the Lone Star State have reported dramatic encounters with elusive wildmen and hair-covered beasts that surely rival those from any part of the world. "One man said he grew up in the nearby county of Bandera in a tiny town. As a kid in the 1970s, he used to play with another boy who came to visit his grandmother (who lived nearby) every summer. One afternoon when he arrived at the neighbor's house to hang out, he found the kid in distress. The kid said he had stayed up late the night before and happened to look out the window around 3:00 a. m. To his horror, he saw a "huge man-thing" walk very briskly down another neighbor's long gravel driveway and disappear into the darkeness and woods behind their house..." Read more Look inside

A western story of promise, of adventure, and of a dead man's gold. This story takes place around the turn of the century, and spans the far west from Yuma, Arizona Territory, to Bandera, Texas, and on into the heart of old Mexico. One man's life, one man's adventure, but a story for the world ... Read more Look inside

"We're home, Sam," Texas Ranger Lieutenant Jim Blawcyzk said to his big paint gelding, as they reached Jim's small home on the outskirts of Bandera. It was about sundown. There was no sign of wife or three year old son in the yard, and a dim light shown through the kitchen window ... Read more Look inside

To attempt to give the full experience and adventures of Jose Policarpo Rodriguez (1829–1914), one of the early pioneer citizens of Bandera county, Texas, would require more space than this description affords. He was a noted surveyor, scout, hunter, Indian fighter, preacher and ranchman. He grew up enduring Comanche raids, surveyed territory for the Republic of Texas and the United States Army, fought against warring Indians, and mapped settlements for German settlers in Texas. When he came  . . . Read more Look inside

The riveting true account of the Battle of Tarawa, an epic World War II clash in which the U.S. Marines fought the Japanese nearly to the last man. "Charlie Montague encountered that every time he hopped on a horse and galloped about the sprawling family ranch in Bandera, Texas, ninety miles west of San Antonio. He and Gene Seng faced it every time they turned the ignition of their unfinished ... Read more Look inside

Death of a Texas Ranger is the thrilling, action-packed story of the murder of Texas Ranger John Green by Cesario Menchaca, one of three Rangers of Mexican descent under Green’s command.

Found inside: "It was a great opportunity for John Green ... By 1857, he was seventeen and had grown into a striking young man, just shy of six feet tall, slender, with guileless blue eyes and sandy hair. That year he struck out on his own, making his way to Bandera County, a sparsely populated frontier fifty miles southwest of Fredericksburg, by way of Camp Verde " . . . Read more Look inside

The next summer he worked for the legendary cattleman Colonel Jack Lapham on the Flying L Ranch in Bandera, Texas. Lapham was a fighter pilot in World War I and a flying instructor in World War II, and halfway through the summer, ... Read more Look inside

by J. Marvin Hunter

John Marvin Hunter was an author, historian, journalist, and printer who founded the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera, Texas. The museum, which contains about 40,000 artifacts of the American West, opened in 1933. It is named for Hunter's Frontier Times magazine, which was first published in 1923 . . . Read more Look inside

Located in the picturesque Texas Hill Country, Bandera County was named for nearby Bandera Pass, a naturally occurring passageway through the neighboring hills. Near the pass, the Medina River weaves its way through the county. In 1853, a group of settlers arrived and set up camp to make shingles from the huge cypress trees . . . Read more

Found inside: "The men received $2 a day for their service, but they could not work more than ten days a month. If they did, they did so as unpaid volunteers. "Very often we were out twice that length of time, when Indians were in the country," recalled J. P. Heinen Sr. of Bandera County. The twenty-man company he led disbanded after two years . . ." Read more Look inside

These are the chronicles of the trail drivers of Texas those rugged men and, sometimes, women who drove cattle and horses up the trails from Texas to northern markets in the late 1800s.

"My brother and I purchased a pair of Mexican ponies, a new wagon and camping outfit and started for San Antonio. Near Burnett we met a man who had a ranch and some sheep in Bandera County, and went with him and bought six hundred head of sheep, thus embarking in the sheep business doing our own herding, shearing, cooking and washing. We had hard sledding for a long time, but finally achieved success. We moved our herd from Bandera County to the southeast corner of Atascosa County" . . . Read more Look inside

Small-town dance halls once overflowed with people flocking to see their favorite country bands and to dance. Dance Halls and Last Calls explores over one hundred of these vintage dance halls and their communities through the eyes of artists who played there.

You'll find chapters and photos about the Cabaret Cafe and Dance Hall, Buckholts Dance Hall, the Bandera Cabaret, the Pipe Creek Dance Hall ... Read more Look inside

"Texas Ranger Jim Gillett, reminiscing about 1877 events surrounding the old log structure said, "I remember a scout over in Bandera County. I one week's time, we caught ten or twelve fugitives and literally filled the little jail in Bandera."  . . . " Read more Look inside

It was a crazy way to win World War II in the Pacific― All the United States had to do was to attach small incendiary bombs to millions of bats and release them over Japan's major cities. As the bats went to roost, a million fires would flare up in remote crannies of the wood and paper buildings common throughout Japan. When their cities were reduced to ashes, the Japanese would surely capitulate... The plan made sense to a handful of eccentric promoters and researchers, who convinced top military brass and even President Roosevelt to back the scheme . . . " Incendiary bombs were attached to millions of bats (many from the Morris Ranch across from Dixie Dude on 1077).", Ricky Walker . . . Read more Look inside

150 Years of Challenges and Courage, Champions and Characters . . . Read more

John Wesley Hardin is the most famous gunfighter of the American Wild West. The subject of conversations from the Mexican border to the rowdy saloons of Kansas, he was the greatest celebrity of the age. He wrote an autobiography, but he only told what he wanted known, and few have researched beyond that. Today, Hardin is an enigma. Part of the mystery is his disastrous relationship with Helen Beulah Mrose, yet she has not been researched at all. Until now. The author lists Bandera County courthouse records as a primary source for this book . . .   . . . Read more Look inside

a Story of Sturdy Pioneers, Their Struggles and Hardships and Their Heroic Achievements . . . Read more

In Bandera for a trial, circuit-riding Judge Earl Stark volunteers to referee a prizefight between the local champion and a pugilist from out of town. Stark—who was once the shotgun-wielding Big Earl Stark, toughest stagecoach guard in Texas  . . .  Read more

Surrounded by the beautiful Texas Hill Country, Medina Lake has a rich history of fortunes rising and falling as rapidly and unpredictably as the level of the lake. Completed in 1912, Medina Dam was, at the time, the largest concrete dam in Texas . . . Read more

Stephanie Logue, a reporter for The Bandera Review in Bandera, Texas, has had numerous short Christian articles and children's stories published, although this is her first published full-length novel. She notes that along with copious research, much of the setting for Heart Shadows came from personal experience and adventures as ... Read more Look inside

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Bonita Wagner's page-turning novel, WHAT LIES IN DARKNESS, brought you into the life of Chyna Wilson. CRIES FROM THE CRADLE places Chyna in unimaginable terror. Her secure family life is revisited by an evil everyone thought had been destroyed ... Bonita Wagner is the author of several suspense novels, and is currently at work on her next page-turner to thrill her readers. Bonita lives in Lakehills, Texas ... Read more Look inside

Resources:

West Texas History & Memories (Face Book Group)

Early Life in Texas County by County

Books about Texas People and Places

Famous People from Texas County by County

Bandera County Treasures

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