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BROWNWOOD,
TEXASBrown County
Seat, Texas Panhandle
At the juncture of Hwys 84 and 377
Just W of Hwy 183
82 miles SE of Abilene
via Hwy 84
131 miles SW of Fort
Worth via Hwy 377
Population: 18,813
(2000)
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| | Brownwood
Jail Museum
Photo courtesy Shannan Yarbrough, 2005 |
| History
in a Pecan Shell
Present day Early was the original site of Brownwood. The county was
organized and Brownwood made the county seat in 1857. Growth was slow until the
1880s and the dawn of the 20th century saw 4,000 residents in Brownwood. The courthouse
burned in 1880, the first railroad came through in 1885. The second came
through in 1891. Howard Payne College opened in 1889, the same year as
Daniel Baker College that later became part of Howard Payne College in
1953.
1900 saw Brownwood as the biggest cotton
center west of Fort
Worth. An oil boom in the 20s didn't hurt the town, but it was nothing
compared to the boom brought about by the building of Camp Bowie. Camp
Bowie, not to be confused with the WWI
Camp Bowie near Fort Worth,
was to become the largest training camp in Texas.
The Brownwood population of 1940 (13,000) was more than matched just by the workers
at the Camp. The severe housing shortage for military dependants and workers turned
various buildings and even movie theaters into dormitories. The
Camp also served as a prisoner-of-war camp beginning in 1942, that held
3,000 German prisoners. Camp Bowie was deactivated in September of 1946.
(See World War II)
Brownwood
Hotels
The Brown County Courthouse |
Brownwood
Attractions Brown
County Museum of History
Located in the old jail in the 200 block of
Broadway
Open Thursday & Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 4.
Camp
Bowie Memorial Park - Burnett Drive and Travis Road
Douglas
MacArthur Academy of Freedom - Affiliated with Howard Payne University, The
museum contains MacArthur memorabilia and a larger-than-life statue of
MacArthur by sculptor Waldine Tauch. Austin Avenue and Coggin - 325-646-2502
Indian Creek
Cemetery near Brownwood -
"Sometimes called Texas’ greatest woman
writer, [Katherine Anne] Porter died September 18, 1980, in a nursing home at
College Park, Maryland, after a series of strokes. She was buried beside her mother’s
grave in the Indian Creek Cemetery near Brownwood."
See Katherine
Anne Porter by Bob Bowman
Lake
Brownwood
Lake
Brownwood State Park
Brownwood
Hotels
Brownwood
Tourist Information Brownwood
Chamber of Commerce:
In the recently restored railroad depot.
600A Depot
Street - 325-646-9535
Website: www.brownwoodchamber.org |
Brownwood Chronicles
The Fence Cutter War
(From
"Owen Wister"
by Mike Cox)
"Less than a decade before, Brownwood had been the epicenter
of what came to be known as the Fence Cutter War, a bloody feud between those
opposed to the end of the old free range days and those who enclosed their acreage
with barbed wire.
The worst of the violence occurred in the mid to late
1880s, but as recently as three years prior to his arrival, Wister wrote, “this
part of the country was in a high state of disorder…In 18 months there were 34
murders.”
Those suspected of fence cutting and or cattle rustling often
received a letter giving them 10 days to vacate the area, he noted.
“The
results that followed upon neglecting the hint were so uniform that a man upon
being given 10 days…was heard to exclaim, ‘I’ll let ‘em have nine days back.’”
Some of those involving in issuing the warnings, Wister hinted darkly,
later purchased land vacated by those who heeded the dreaded notification."
Eyewitness
by Maggie Van Ostrand
J.W. Epperson, a carpenter by trade, lived
at 1601 First Street in Brownwood Texas, though he wasn't always a carpenter and
he didn't always live in Brownwood. He was once a newsboy and lived in Washington
DC. This does not sound all that memorable except for one fact: He was selling
newspapers at Ford's Theatre on the night of April 14, 1865... more
If
It was a Fable, Let It Continue by Britt Towery
There was a
certain pride of station when I wore the maroon uniform of a Lyric Theater usher.
That was a time when theater ushers actually helped people find a seat during
the film...
Chicken
Fried Steak: An Unbiased Recommendation by Britt Towery
10-4-09
One thing I have tired to do through the years is to visit Underwood's
Bar-B-Q when near Brownwood. Pity the poor traveler who is in Brownwood on a Wednesday...
Book Your Hotel Here & Save:
Brownwood
Hotels |
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| Photo
courtesy Donna Chevalier, June 2007 |
Ghost
signs in Brownwood. More Ghost Signs
Photo courtesy Donna Chevalier, June 2007 | |
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