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N.O. Reynolds (1846-1922) has remained somewhat a mysterious figure, his Texas Ranger career being overshadowed by such names as Frank Hamer, Sam Walker, and Bill McDonald. Found inside: "Desperadoism has somewhat ceased” he wrote to Major Jones in mid-November from Menard. Then he told of an “old man” identified as Miller, who somehow had feudist Coke in custody, and had been shot at in his house in Mason ... Read more Look inside

Strange, Unusual, & Bizarre Newspaper Stories from 1860-1910. On the farm of W.W. Lewis, two and one-half miles east of Menardville, there is reported to be a haunted house. The alleged spook takes the form of a very old woman, with long streaming hair and arms of extreme length, which she waves in a peculiar manner, to seemingly to frighten those bold enough to invade her premises and at the same time beating the walls and floor of her dwelling and at the same time beating the walls of her dwelling with some invisible instrument, supposed to be a tomahawk. The spook is believed to be the squaw of some departed brave. She has a particular love for men and boys ... Read more Look inside

. . . for more like this see also Mysterious Texas

On March 16, 1758, the turmoil sweeping North America came crashing down on the little log mission on the banks of the San Saba River. Allied northern tribes, pressed from all sides, attacked the Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá and burned it to the ground.

Found inside: "Soon, both Comanches and Taovayas would become well known to the Spaniards huddled in the meager enclave on the San Saba River near present-day Menard, Texas ... " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "On December 14, 1877, the stage was again held up. Among the passengers were Judge Allen Blacker and Army Lieutenant Harry Kirby, fresh out of West Point. The young lieutenant had purchased a large revolver upon commencing the journey to Fort McKavett from the Academy after hearing about violence in Texas. When the stage was suddenly stopped, the judge had to talk Kirby out of opening fire on the bandits lest all of them would be killed. The lieutenant instead . . . Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "The Indians were defeated, and thirty-four prisoners taken by the Spaniards. Rodriguez was back in time to join Don Juan Antonio de Bustillo y Ceballos, governor of Texas, on an expedition against the Apaches. These Indians were defeated in a bloody battle on the San Saba River in present Menard County, Texas, December 9, 1732 . . . " Read more Look inside

In 1868, four treasure hunters from San Marcos, Texas, searched for a lost mine on the San Saba River, near today’s Menard. It was popularized as folklore in J. Frank Dobie’s treasure legend classic Coronado’s Children. One hundred and fifty years later, a descendant of one of those four men set out to discover the history behind the legend ... It describes Jim Bowie, a fake treasure map industry, murder trials, a rattlesnake dancer, fortunes lost, a very long Texas cave, and surprising twists to the story popularized by Dobie. . . . Read more Look Inside

See Also Mysterious Texas for more stories of mysterious people, places, ghosts, monsters, ancient artifacts, UFO's, buried treasure, ancient giants and more.

Found inside: "John Means was born at old Fort McKavett, in Menard County, Texas in 1854 when that town was occupied by soldiers to check the raids of Indians. He grew to manhood in that part of the state, and did his full share in the work of ridding the West of the outlaw and the cattle rustler. For many years he lived in Lampasas County, but with the encroachment of the fence builder and the farmer he moved further west, where he he acquired extensive holdings in Jeff Davis and other counties , and today is rated as one of the wealthy men in that section . . . " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "June 1869, Private Boston Henry, F Troop, Ninth Cavalry, was killed near Menard, Texas, by a bullet fired from ambush by John Jackson, a sixtyish farmer possessed of a mind as warped as his back. He had shot the soldier because a black soldier had written a letter to his teenage daughter. Ordinarily such killings evoked little reaction from law enforcement, but in 1869 circumstances were abnormal ... Read more Look inside . . . for more like this please see Black Texans in History

by Jerry Doyle

This is a story about the West Texas drought of the 1950s, written by a man who as a teenage boy grew up on a drought stricken Schleicher County ranch during those years. Seven years of relentless dry weather saw crops writher, top soil blown away, farms lost, and ranches forced into bankruptcy. Lakes went dry, towns were short of drinking water, and dust storms... For some, the drought tore families apart, but the main characters of this story relied on each other to get through the tough times. This book, therefore, is also a love story about two people who met and married in a faraway place and who returned to his family's Menard County ranch to put down their roots, only to see their dreams dashed by the drought . . . Read more Look inside

The murder of Baylor County farmer and rancher, Jones Bowie, by an unknown assailant using a bow and arrow as the murder weapon, is an intriguing story which leads Sheriff Bob Elliott’s investigation into the distant past to uncover the motive for this crime of retribution.

Found inside: "The indictment by the Baylor County Grand Jury alleged that the estate was the rightful owner of the silver which was unlawfully taken by the four young Indians named in the indictment and removed to Menard County, Texas where it was currently held in safekeeping by a local bank. An appraisal of the silver put its current value at 4.5 million dollars ... " Read more Look inside

A Texas story of two little brothers in The Great Depression. The book contains illustrated maps of Texas and Menard County 1936. The author states in his foreword: "Those old days of The Great Depression, the 1930s, were very severe, but in essence, it was a 'good', but scary, time to be alive. Our world was different then; a slower, safer, more civilized world . . . it molded and developed the character of rugged, hardy, reliable, no-nonsense individuals . . . " Read more

Found Inside: "In the summer of 1875, after the Comanches had given up the fight, scattered bands of Apaches were still raiding in western and central Texas. Among their warriors was Herman Lehmann. By then he was sixteen and had lived with the Apaches for five years ... That August, Herman was raiding not far from his old home in Mason County with a party of twelve Apaches and their Mexican captive, Herman and the Apaches had stolen over forty horses in Kimble, Mason, and Menard Counties. Once they were satisfied with their loot they started driving the herd northwest . . . " Read more Look inside

The Texas Hill Country is rich with history. In recent years revisionist historians have only written about a select few aspects of the region, apparently preferring to overlook the fact that outlaws, lawmen, Indians, horse soldiers and Spanish explorers crisscrossed the San Saba River and Menard County area for hundreds of years . . . Read more

The Texas Rangers were institutionally birthed in 1874 with the formation of the Frontier Battalion. They were tasked with interdicting Indian incursions into the frontier settlements and dealing with the lawlessness running rampant throughout Texas ... Found Inside: "Although written documentation is elusive there really is little doubt Captain Roberts had undervalued the antipathy of Menard County's electorate . . . "  Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "In 1759, the Spanish, under Col. Diego Ortiz Parilla, conducted a punitive expedition against the Indians for their devastating raid against the San Saba mission in present day Menard County the previous year. They found the villages well fortified with stockade and moat and under French influence. After four hours of battle, during which ... " Read more Look inside

Most Quarter Horse breeders and breed experts believe that in the production of great Quarter Horses one should never underestimate the importance of the dam.

Found Inside: "She was apparently in Texas in 1872 when she foaled Kitty Menard , though it is possible that her owner , Tom Gay , who lived in Menard , Texas , sent her to Illinois to be bred . Kitty Clyde , according to one record . . . " Read more

Tales of Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of the Southwest

by J. Frank Dobie

Found Inside: " Perhaps there is some connection between the silver up Los Moros Creek and Mullin's chart. Mullins is a bachelor. He lives at Menard in a fee store and makes money trading real estate. He uses some of the his money to keep two or three men digging for San Saba treasure. He is not particular where they dig, provided they dig the holes deep enough. Sometimes they dig above the old presidio, sometimes below it . . .  " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "When I was in junior high school, my classmates and I spent many a lunch hour at the “old mission” outside Menard searching for Bowie's lost silver mine. The fact that we never found it bears no relation to whether or nto the mine exists. After a few years . . . " Read more Look inside

Alien Hunter is a searing new novel from New York Times bestselling author Whitley Strieber.

Found inside: "I'm Flynn Carroll, Menard City Police, Menard, Texas.” He put out his gloved hand. She looked down at it, then back up at him. Usually, people's faces told him something. Not this time. “Follow her,” Diana snapped. Shuffling along in his baggy ... ' Read more Look inside

A twenty-first century reckoning with the legendary Texas Rangers that does justice to their heroic moments while also documenting atrocities, brutality, oppression, and corruption.

Found Inside: "About three months after the incident, Mrs. Miller wrote her woeful letter to Tegener, the justice of the peace. "since they killed my people . . . they have robbed me of my property in Menard County and left me helpless with one arm broken into pieces," she said. They threatened my life if I should  go back to McKavett to look after my effects or make complaints, as the Lieutenant of the Rangers fears the consequences of his bloody work should I appear at District Court . . .  " Read more Look inside

A Travel Guide to the Plains Indians Wars provides a general overview of the Plains Indian wars; but it is particularly helpful for anyone planning a visit to the military posts and sites of battle.

Found inside: "Franciscan mission on the San Saba River is recalled by its ruins and those of its attendant presidio at Menard, Texas . . . " Read more

Found Inside: ... training and preparation were invested into this new recruit, and goliath was about to see if it had been worth it. Wesley Price was born and raised in Menard, Texas. He had come to the colonel's attention when he was twelve, four years ago. At sixteen, Wesley was the youngest member of the Genie Squadron. The Genie Squadron was the military application of the Aladdin Project . . . Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "On the maternal side, her grandfather Tipton (born in 1875) was first widowed in midlife and then partially paralyzed by a stroke. It was doubly difficult for him to manage three daughters and a sizable mohair goat and cattle ranch in Menard County, Texas, alone. In time, he remarried a much younger cousin of his first wife . . . Read more Look inside

Found Inside: Charles Wilkinson was a typical, quiet, self reliant Westerner, not given to a lot of easy conversation in a group ... This was also an aid to him in maintaining his dignity as a company commander, which is no small matter in commanding a large group of young men in all manner of situations. He had grown up on his fathers' cattle ranch near Menard, Texas, and much of his time had been spent out working alone . .. " Read more Look inside

by Iris Hayden Stober

Relive her journey as she follows her dreams and travels the world, trusting in God for all her needs . . . Found inside: "As a single parent without assistance from any family member, I had to consider well the needs of Carmen. After working 60 to 70 hours a week in Menard, Texas, and often having to change plans for the needs of the hospital, I asked the GC if they would be willing to give me sustentation until Carmen completed the eighth grade ... Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "Less than a year after receiving the Medal of Honor for bravery in 1870 , he was reduced to private, so he was a member of a detachment of eight that left Fort McKavett, Texas, on a scout under Wilks' s command . . . Read more Look inside . . . for more like this please see Black History in Texas

Found Inside: "A Boy Scout troop huddled around a campfire in front of Barracks Number Four at Fort McKavett, eating hot dogs and telling ghost stories. Each told their favorite story, trying to outdo the one previously told. Unbeknownst to them, a ghostly Buffalo Soldier eavesdropped on the their party. The leaders smiled at one another and listened to the imaginings of the youngsters. As the hour grew late, one of the park rangers got up to add another log to the fire. He passed the barracks and peered up toward a window and stopped dead in his tracks .  . ." Read more Look inside

For more like this see Mysterious Texas

The Life and Times of Major General Henry C. Merriam, 1862-1901

Found Inside: "His original objective of contacting Colonel Mackenzie and the 24th Infantry's headquarters at Fort McKavett had come for naught. At that time, in the spring of 1870, as Merriam's column approached McKavett, Mackenzie had been on . . . " 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