Texas Historical Marker #13183
Operation Long Horn. Operation Long Horn The close of World War II brought new tensions to America that led to the Cold War. Under fear of communism and nuclear assault, the U.S. Army and Air Force simulated a war in one of the largest maneuvers ever to be staged on American soil. Called Operation Long Horn, the simulation included thwarting an invasion and recovering from an atomic attack. To carry out the mock war, which began in late March 1952, ranchers between Waco and San Angelo signed easements to their land. Several Lometa-area ranches became sites of battles and campgrounds as more than 115,000 troops came to Texas for maneuvers. The town's population grew from 900 to 22,000, and the troops and supporting civilian staff members faced life in a small town. Local residents cooperated and participated by rationing and trading with troops, offering facilities for a mock U.S.O. (United Service Organizations) facility and attending programs and presentations given by soldiers. Such programs included an airdrop of 2,500 troops, as well as weapons, equipment and rations, in a training maneuver that pitted the 31st Infantry, 47th Infantry, and 1st armored division against the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In a nationally publicized event, aggressor forces captured and occupied Lampasas (17 mi. SE), establishing mock control of media and setting curfews. The city was liberated near the end of the simulation on April 9, 1952. The $3,300,000 exercise left local residents with damaged ranch land, outbuildings, fences and gates, as well as spooked livestock, but also gave them an opportunity to experience war in their own community. (2004) #13183
S US 190, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04261
Richard S. Stokes. Joined Confederate Army, as a private, Aug. 7, 1861; was promoted to 1st Lt., Co. I, 8th Infantry, Miss. Regiment, on Aug. 29, 1864. Came to Texas in 1868, settled in Lampasas County as a rancher and farmer; married Elizabeth Rawson, and had seven children. On July 19, 1911, at Chadwick's Mill, on the Colorado River, at age 73, Stokes rescued Lillie B. Evetts, Eva Foster, and R. Ashley Greaves from drowning. For the feat, he received a Carnegie Hero Medal. #4261
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04603
Scholten Railroad. (Owned by the "Scholten Brothers Cedar Company") A 25-mile narrow-gauge railroad that operated about 1912-1920 from Lometa to San Saba County. Constructed by Edward and Alfred Scholten (from Holland), line hauled cedar posts and piling to Santa Fe Line at Lometa to be distributed to fast-growing West Texas. Employees totaled 500. Headquarters were located 100 yards west. #4603
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #00599
C.S.A. Salt Works. West of here, on the Colorado. Brine springs used by Indians as infirmary or health resort. Increased operations in Civil War to make Army supply, for the men, cavalry horses and mule teams; and for general use for table and ranch purposes. To pump brine from the spring, a horse driven in a circle operated a lift that filled troughs upon a 40-foot-high scaffold. Cedar boughs placed in the troughs concentrated the brine, which filtered down into iron kettles that boiled one bushel of salt out of 50 bushels of brine. #599
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #13200
Site of Lometa Reservoir. Remains of facilities at the site of Lometa Reservoir (Santa Fe Lake) are evidence of the role the Santa Fe Railway Co. played in area development. Lometa was established as a railroad town in the mid-1880s. When a second rail line came through in 1909, the railroads needed a water supply for steam locomotives. Completed in 1911-12, a dam backed waters of Emory and Salt Creeks, and the resulting lake provided water for the trains and became a recreation area. The need for water declined as diesel engines replaced steam locomotives in the 20th century. The reservoir was taken out of service in the 1970s, but a new dam and lake were later built. (2005) #13200
US 183, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04640
Senterfitt Cemetery. Pioneer Reuben S. Senterfitt came to this area in the 1860s. A town named for him gradually built up and at its peak boasted hotels, mills, stores, saloons, a school, churches, a stage stop, and this cemetery. The town declined after it was bypassed by the railroad in the 1890s. The cemetery contains the graves of many early settlers. The oldest documented burial here is that of Joseph C. Howell, who died in 1877 at the age of three. Also interred in the graveyard are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. #4640
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04864
Site of Old Town of Senterfitt. Named for Reuben S. Senterfitt, cattle king in this area in 1850's. Post office was established at early stage stand, 1877. Mr. Senterfitt laid out townsite and gave land for cemetery and school. Town served a large area producing wool, hides, cotton, pecans; had 400 people before removal to railroad about 1890. #4864
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #00797
Chadwick's Mill. Famous pioneer sawmill, flour mill, and cotton gin. Built 1874 by Henry A. Chadwick and son Milam. A sturdy oak dam across river supplied power. A millrace chiseled in sandstone channeled water to millstones. Mill and gin house were also sandstone. A fish trap in millrace offered food and sport to customers, who often had to wait several days for a turn at the mill. This scenic spot grew to be a popular resort around 1900, with hotel and dance platform. Attracted hundreds of campers. Change in course of river, 1915, forced mill to be abandoned. #797
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03432
Moline School Site. The Moline community was settled on the north central boundary line of Lampasas County in the 1880s. Early families in the area were the Carswells, Cooks, Andersons, Woods, Bakers, O'Neals, Hairstons, Pattersons, Poes, Murphys, Adamses, and Woolseys. Children of the settlers attended school in Payne Gap (Mills County) or in the Gray community. Facilities at these schools grew too small to accommodate the number of children in the area. In 1916, Kenneth A. and Olive Patterson donated five acres of land for the Moline School. Prominently sited on a hill (100 yds. SE) overlooking the community, the original three-room building was constructed by G. C. O'Neal with the help of other citizens. From 1916 until 1949, Moline School grew to include five classrooms, a science lab, library, homemaking room, shop, lunchroom, and a four-room teacherage. During its peak enrollment in the early 1930s, Moline was the largest rural school in Lampasas County. Although the school closed in 1949 and Moline is now a ghost town, their history is an important part of the heritage of Lampasas County. #3432
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04004
Phantom Hill Road. In 1851-52, in a major reorganization of the frontier defense system, the U.S. Army built a line of 7 forts between the Red River and the Rio Grande to protect the scattered remote settlements and travel routes to California. On Nov. 14, 1851, Fort Phantom Hill was established near present Abilene (120 miles NW) by Col. J. J. Abercrombie and the 5th Infantry. The Phantom Hill Road, the vital transportation and communication link between the fort and military headquarters at Austin (80 miles SE), was the first road in Lampasas County, and crossed at this site. Supply trains of up to 24 wagons drawn by mules, horses, and oxen passed along this route to the frontier fort. The road was used primarily by the military until the abandonment of Fort Phantom Hill on April 6, 1854, but also served as a thoroughfare for early settlers entering the region and continued in that capacity until after the Civil War. About 1870, traffic passing through the area was diverted to the Senterfitt Stage Station (1.5 miles SW), and this section of the road abandoned. Several isolated segments of the Phantom Hill Road remain in use in the county, and physical evidence of the Emy's Creek Crossing (200 yards S) still exists. (1974) #4004
US 190, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #00230
Atherton School. The first educational facility in this area, a boarding school for boys, opened in the 1880s. It was housed in a two-story structure built on land owned by F. M. Farley. A local schoolteacher, Abbie Atherton, applied to the U.S. Government for a post office for the community in 1892. The post office was named Atherton, and Abbie Atherton served as first postmistress. Eventually, the community and the school also became known as Atherton. In addition to educational facilities, the school provided a meeting place for local church congregations and community activities. W. T. Nelson donated an acre of land at this site for the school in 1904. The school building was enlarged over the years as student attendance increased, and another acre of land was deeded to the school in 1918 by W. T. Nelson. Atherton school served families in a large rural area, with some students traveling as many as five miles to school each day. Atherton School continued to serve residents of this area until 1942, when it was consolidated with the Lometa School System. The school building was later moved to Lometa in 1956. #230
?, Lometa, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03121
Long Cove Baptist Church. The organizational meeting for the Long Cove Baptist Church was held on February 22, 1876, by The Rev. Noah T. Byars, a prominent early Texas Baptist minister. There were eight charter members in the congregation, which originally was known as Sims Creek Baptist Church. By 1885, the name Long Cove had been adopted. Membership grew under the leadership of itinerant pastors. The fellowship met for worship services for many years in the Long Cove schoolhouse, which was located near this site. The schoolhouse also served as a community social center. When the structure burned in 1925, the congregation, under the leadership of The Rev. D. K. Smith, constructed a wooden sanctuary. By 1981, membership had dwindled such that those remaining voted to disband. For more than a century, the church provided significant service and leadership to the Long Cove community and, through former members, to other areas as well. The cemetery at this site was long associated with the Baptist congregation. It is located on the grounds of the early school building and contains the graves of Civil War and World War II veterans, and pioneers of the rural community. #3121
?, Lometa, TX, United States