Joseph Alfred Woolfolk
(1836-1918)

Died aged c. 82

Commemorated on 3 plaques

Texas Historical Marker #04899

Site of Third County Courthouse. Young County was organized in 1856 with Belknap designated as county seat. After retreat of frontier troops during Civil War, county records were moved to Jacksboro 1865 during renewed Indian trouble. County was reorganized 1874 with Graham, county seat. Courthouse (of which only archway remains) was built 1884. Native sandstone for the two-story structure was quarried east of Graham by Irish workers. N. J. Rosenquist, a native of Sweden and builder of Texas courthouses, was chief stonemason. Building had two halls in form of Greek cross--a plan that followed points of the compass. (Archway belonged to east hall.) Officials at the time of construction were: County Judge, R. F.Arnold; Treasurer, J. W. Wadley; County Clerk, C. O. Joline; Tax Assessor, J. G. Hill; County Attorney, J. A. Woolfolk; Sheriff, W. T. Bunger; County Commissioners, W. C. Blakey, J. J. Hughes, J. . Mercer and H. D. Williams. Courthouse was razed in 1932 after completion of present structure. A. A. Morrison, fire marshal, led efforts to preserve historic archway during street improvements in 1936. During its existence, this Courthouse witnessed and preserved the records of many historic events of Young County. #4899

SH 16, Graham, TX, United States where they was

Texas Historical Marker #05904

Woolfolk-McCall House. One of the first brick homes in Weatherford, this structure was begun in late 1860s and occupied by Joseph A. Woolfolk (1836-1918), one of two attorneys who defended Indian Chiefs Satanta and Big Tree, charged in 1871 wagon train massacre. In 1879 it was purchased by lawyer George A. McCall (1849-1915) and greatly enlarged with stone and frame additions. After almost 100 years of ownership, the McCall family sold the house in 1972 to Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Wiley. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1975 #5904

202 S. Waco, Weatherford, TX, United States where they lived

Texas Historical Marker #12698

Joseph Alfred Woolfolk. A native of Kentucky, Joseph Alfred Woolfolk (1836-1918) earned a law degree from the University of Louisville in 1856. He moved to Belknap, texas, in 1858, and was hired by the Texas Emigration and Land Company to survey land grants in the Peters Colony. Licensed to practice law by the First District Court in Young County, he served as County Attorney and County Clerk. at the outbreak of the Civil War, Woolfolk joined a home guard Texas Rangers unit, and in late 1862 transferred into the regular Confederate army. Captured by Union troops in West Virginia in July 1863, he spent the remainder of the war in a prison camp in Ohio. Upon his release in 1865 he returned to his native Kentucky where he married Elizabeth J. Lewis (1846-1922). They became the parents of nine children. The Woolfolks returned to Texas in 1867 and settled in Weatherford. In 1871 Woolfolk gained notoriety when he was appointed by the court to defend Satanta and Big Tree, Kiowa Indians on trial for murder in the infamous Salt Creek massacre near Jacksboro. Woolfolk moved his family to a ranch in Young County in the late 1870s. He again served as County Attorney in 1881. He and Elizabeth are buried in a private family cemetery near this site. #12698

SH 380, 2.5 mi. SW, Newcastle, TX, United States where they was