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Doss
and Sons General Store - early 1900s
"Dry Goods, Clothing, Hats, Shoes, Groceries and Hardware
Telephone Exchange " Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
Located
not far from a "V" shaped bend in the Colorado River almost
exactly halfway between The City of San
Saba and The City of Lampasas
on Hwy 580.
The biggest structure in the area is the bridge connecting
the two counties of San Saba and Lampasas.
The river is cool, shallow and access is available on the Lampasas
side for a mere three dollars a day. This enterprise could provide
better signage. Enter first driveway past the bridge on the Lampasas
side.
A little native stone cube, now overgrown with vines had been the
Bend Post Office. It's now across the river. Also on the San Saba
side are two monuments. One to veterans who have died overseas, and
the other to a local doctor.
The men listed on the memorial died in France, India, Saipan, Okinawa
and Camp Bowie. Places far flung from such a tranquil spot.
The doctor was Edward Doss. His marker shows a photo of the
Doctor with his Horse "Old Ross" and the carriage in which Ross pulled
Doss. After Ross died, the doctor wore out three automobiles in making
his rounds and emergencies. He came to the area in 1882 with his wife
Arebell and crossed the river uncountable times in every season, day
or night. He treated local residents until his death in 1928. |
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The
old post office
TE photo |
Nearby Destinations
For a summer
get-away, a trip to Bend including the under-visited towns of Lampasas
and San
Saba might just be what Doctor Doss would've ordered.
Colorado
Bend State Park:
Colorado
Bend State Park by Chandra Moira Beal
Bend is the entry point to the state park....
Colorado
Bend: It Is What It Is by Clay Coppedge
"..Colorado Bend is pure Hill Country: stands of live oak and
juniper, thick with wildflowers in the spring, whitetail deer all
year long and, every spring, the white bass moving up the Colorado
River to spawn..."
San Saba County Chronicles
Bend,
Texas by Harland Moore
"In this account of the history of Bend, Texas, it may sound
like that my ancestors invented the earth, inhabited it, created
Bend, Texas, and hung the moon. It is not my intention to leave
that impression, but I can only write what I have heard and learned
of them. There are many other pioneer families that contributed
to the history of Bend. I will list some of them but I know that
I will leave out some. Early family names in the Bend area other
than my relatives are: Baxter, Smith, Millican, Cate, Turner, Gibson,
Gorman, Marley, Morris, January, Buckhannan, Bearden, Matsler, Byrd,
Scott, Lewis, Barefoot, and many more ... next
page "
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Dr.
Edward Doss,
his buggy, and his horse, Old Ross.
Photo courtesy Harland Moore |
Bend Texas
Forum
Subject:
Bend Texas, Dr. Doss and Harland Moore
Dear Editor: I am a physician practicing at _____. I am a family
practitioner by training. Several years ago, when I was nearing
a burn-out point in my career, I took my family for a camping holiday
in Texas. One of the places we camped was at Colorado Bend State
Park, and we had a wonderful time.
We went
to the small country store outside the entrance to the park in Bend,
and I noticed a monument across the road. I went over to take a
look.
As I read the inscription, I started to get a lump in my throat.
And then I shed a few tears. The monument was erected in the memory
of Dr. Edward Doss, a pioneer physician. The monument has a photograph
of Dr. Doss and his horse, gives a brief description of his life,
and has a poetic quote at the end: "No night too dark or road too
long to serve his fellow man".
But what really got me, and still sends chills down my spine, is
that the final line reads:
"Erected by those who loved him - July 1965" (This was for a man
that died in 1928!!)
Discovering this, completely by surprise, was, and still is, an
emotional experience for me.
Finding this monument forced me to rethink my place in the world,
why I went into medicine, and who I truly am, way deep down. It
made me re-evaluate the true meaning of success. A year or so later,
I returned to that monument, just to think things over, again, to
try remind myself about that part of Dr. Doss that is in me, buried
beneath the myriad complications of modern medicine.....
Through the marvels of the internet, I found texasescapes.com, and
some writings by Mr. Harland Moore, who is a descendent of Dr. Doss.....
I thought that Mr. Moore might enjoy hearing about this. - Sincerely,
__________, M.D., October 20, 2006
Subject:
Bend, Texas
Some of my best times as a kid were spent down on the Colorado River.
A place called Barefoots. I can remember going by the house
and there was a blue tackle box on the gate. You put your 2 $, yes
I said 2 dollars, your name and address and could stay all week.
We always went to the tig hole. Right by Leaning Bluff. I hear it's
all got facilities now. Back then they didn't even have tables.
But I would'nt trade it for the world. By the way my Dad was born
at Nix. My Dads name was Robert Carlile. He was born in 1919. -
Randall Keith Carlile, April 10,
2005
© John Troesser
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