Texas Historical Marker #04292
Roberts County. Formed from Young and Bexar territories: created, August 21, 1876; organized, January 10, 1889. Named in honor of John S. Roberts, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and Oran Milo Roberts, Governor of Texas, 1878-1882. County seat, Miami, to October, 1889; Parnell, to August 1, 1898, Miami, since. (1936) #4292
US 60, N of Miami, Miami, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #00965
Colonel O. M. Roberts. President Secession Convention 1861, resulting in comment by Sam Houston, "I don't know what they will do, but Roberts is honest." Raised in 11th Texas Infantry. Gallantly led Brigade Battle Bayou Bourbeau, La. Chief Justice Texas Supreme Court under Confederacy and state. Federal reconstruction policy caused his removal from bench 1865, denial U.S. Senate seat 1866. Elected governor by people, 1878 and 1880. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963. #965
US 60, on Courthouse lawn, Miami, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02039
Fossil Beds. Cited as one of most prolific fossil fields of lower Pliocene age at time of discovery, these beds are about 13,000,000 years old. Geologists of Rio Bravo Oil Company found them in 1928 on C. C. Coffee Ranch, and their reports brought specialists from several major institutions to the area. The fossil bones buried here included (among others) those of a prehistoric camel, a kind of antelope, horse, and wild pig. Further studies led scientists in 1941 to adopt "Hemphillian" as the name for the geologic age represented by these fossils. (1970) #2039
US 60, NE of Miami, Miami, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11962
Cottage Hotel. The prominent Lard family helped Lizzie Lard build the Cottage Hotel to support her two daughters after she was widowed 1893; it was completed in 1895. As Miami became the county seat and a regional trade center, the hotel prospered. Its parlor was popular as a meeting site for local businessmen and a social gathering place for young people. Dr. Pryor Lee Shelton bought the property in 1906, renaming it the Commercial Hotel. In 1914, Tom Graham, manager of the competing Fitch Hotel, bought the Commercial Hotel and called it the Survant for his wife, Eva Survant. They operated the establishment for fifty years, holding banquets, reunions and other social events in the dining room until 1964. From 1973 to 1993 the building served as a residence, but in the early 1990s it was restored to its original function as an inn. (2000) #11962
111 W. Commercial Street, Miami, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12593
Roberts County Courthouse. Prominently sited atop a grassy slope overlooking the town of Miami, the Roberts County Courthouse was built in 1913, during a time of regional economic development spurred by the oil and ranching industries. One of six Texas courthouses designed by architect Elmer George Withers of Stamford, the Roberts County Courthouse features Beaux Arts styling with simple Classical features. As the center of social and governmental activity for this rural county, the building has played an important role in the county's history. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000 #12593
301 Commercial, Miami, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #16703
Miami Cemetery. MIAMI CEMETERY THE EARLIEST CEMETERY IN THE TOWN OF MIAMI WAS ESTABLISHED SHORTLY AFTER 1887 WHEN THE SOUTHERN KANSAS BRANCH OF THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND SANTA FE RAILROAD WAS EXTENDED THROUGH MIAMI. THE EARLIEST KNOWN BURIAL IS THAT OF EARLY PIONEER WILLIAM T. LARD WHO DIED ON DECEMBER 6, 1888 AND WAS REINTERRED HERE PRIOR TO 1900, ALONG WITH OTHER BURIALS THAT WERE RELOCATED TO THE OLD CEMETERY SECTION OF THE MIAMI CEMETERY. THE FIRST MARKED BURIAL IN THE MIAMI CEMETERY IS THAT OF SARAH A. BLACK, DAUGHTER OF G.M. & M.E. BLACK, WHO DIED ON AUGUST 6, 1896 AT THE AGE OF THREE MONTHS. IN 1900, THE CRESSWELL RANCHE & CATTLE COMPANY, LTD. OF EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, THE OPERATOR OF A LARGE RANCH IN THE EASTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE, SOLD ROBERTS COUNTY SEVERAL ACRES OF LAND TO BE USED AS A CEMETERY. FIVE ACRES WERE DEEDED TO JUDGE S.G. CARTER OF ROBERTS COUNTY AND HIS SUCCESSORS FOR A PAYMENT OF $1.00. SUBSEQUENT PARCELS WERE ADDED IN 1919 BY CLEVE AND MATTIE COFFEE AND IN 1948 BY WALTER AND IRENE COFFEE. THE LANDSCAPE OF THE MIAMI CEMETERY IS TRADITIONAL FOR THE TEXAS PANHANDLE WITH VAST, OPEN AREAS BORDERED BY A VARIETY OF VEGETATION, INCLUDING CEDAR, ITALIAN CYPRESS, CHINESE ELM, AND ROSE BUSHES, SURROUNDED BY CHAIN-LINK AND WIRE FENCING. THE CEMETERY IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR TWENTY-SIX VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR, AS WELL AS VETERANS OF WORLD WAR I, WORLD WAR II, AND THE KOREAN WAR. TWO TEXAS RANGERS, FRANCIS LAWTON HOFFER (1862-1933) AND NEWTON F. LOCKE (1882-1965), ARE ALSO BURIED HERE. THE CEMETERY CONTINUES TO BE ACTIVE AND IS CARED FOR BY ROBERTS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND THE CITIZENS OF MIAMI. #16703
?, Miami, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03948
Parnell. Roberts County was created on August 21, 1876, by the Texas Legislature, but remained unorganized, as in that year it had only one settler. Its 1880 population was 32. After the Santa Fe Railroad was built across this area in 1887, settlement increased. A January 1889 election to organize the county was invalidated by fraudulent voting. However, the disqualified officers opened a courthouse in a vacant store in Miami (20 miles southeast), the county seat according to the contested election, and placed the records in a heavy safe. The legally elected authorities later obtained the records by hiring a gunman to impersonate a landowner and to capture the safe when it was opened. Hauled to the legal county seat near this site, the safe was set on blocks and a 2-story frame courthouse was built around it. First known as Bennett and then as Oran, the town was renamed Parnell when the U.S. Post Office opened in March 1890. Parnell had a few businesses, about 12 residences, a school, and a saloon. Guests rode 25 to 30 miles to attend dances in the courthouse. Those attending court in Parnell had to camp out, as the hotel was small. Miami became county seat in 1898, and Parnell was abandoned. (1973; 1986) #3948
FM 283, NW of Miami about 20 mi., Miami, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03358
Miami Railroad Depot. When the Southern Kansas Railway Company of Texas built a line through Roberts County in 1887, Miami developed at the end of the track as a campsite for workers. The crew set up a kitchen and a tent hotel. Soon the railroad built a public water well and telegraph lines to nearby Fort Elliott. Passengers and supplies for the post and nearby town of Mobeetie began arriving by rail. This depot was erected in 1888 between North Main and Birge Street. The Santa Fe Railroad bought the line in 1899 and this structure remained in service until 1978. (1979) #3358
US 60 and S. Mobeetie Street, Miami, TX, United States