Texas Historical Marker #00715
Captain Henry C. Lyon. Served in army of the Republic of Texas; commanded a company in the army of the Confederate States of America; born in Tennessee April 15, 1815; died March 31, 1889. #715
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04313
Roby Cemetery. Settlers began arriving in this area in the late 19th century. The oldest grave marker in the Roby Cemetery, that of Mable W. Deming, bears the date 1884, one year prior to the organization of Fisher County and the establishment of the town of Roby. Brothers D. C. and M. L. Roby purchased over 4,000 acres of land in 1885. They had a townsite platted; donated sites for schools, churches, and a park; and designated the land containing Mable Deming's grave as a public cemetery. The original cemetery plot consisted of seven acres, and the brothers stipulated that no fee was to be levied for grave sites in that section. The Roby Cemetery served as the principal burial ground for citizens of Fisher County. In the late 1950s the county deeded the cemetery lands to the city of Roby. In 1975 the Roby Cemetery Association was chartered and accepted the deed to the cemetery property from the city. Later land acquisitions increased the graveyard's size to twenty-one acres. Those interred in the Roby Cemetery include pioneer settlers of Fisher County, veterans of the Civil War, and one former slave, "Aunt" Abbie Alborn, who came to this area from Tennessee in 1886. The graveyard serves as a reminder of the area's early history. (1988) #4313
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #05901
Woods Chapel Cemetery. Settlement of this area of Fisher County began in the early 1880s. A small frame building, erected near this site in 1883-1884, was used as a school and church. A cemetery was established and was in use by 1884. The church was named in honor of its first pastor, J. B. Woods. Among the first settlers here were Henry Clay Lyon (1815-1889) and his family. Lyon, a native of Tennessee, was a veteran of the Republic of Texas Army as well as the Confederate forces of the Civil War. Although Lyon is buried in the Woods Chapel Cemetery, a granite marker in his honor was placed in the Roby Cemetery at this site of the graves of his wife and children. Plans to reinter him next to his widow during the Texas Centennial of 1936 were never completed. The earliest marked grave in the Woods Chapel Cemetery is that of Sarah H. Lawrence (1881-1884), a granddaughter of Henry C. Lyon. Of the twenty-six marked graves here, thirteen are those of infants or small children. The graveyard also contains at least twenty-eight unmarked graves. An important part of Fisher County history, the cemetery is the site of an annual San Jacinto Day observance on April 21. (1988) #5901
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04312
Roby. Located on land originally included in a land grant to Texas War for Independence veteran Thomas H. Cosby, the town of Roby was first platted in 1885. The land was purchased by D. C. and M. L. Roby of Mississippi, relatives of Cosby's second wife, Martha. The Robys hired Walton, Hill, and Walton, a Travis County law firm, to represent their interests, and instructed the attorneys to organize a town to be named county seat of Fisher County. On behalf of their clients, the attorneys donated land for churches, schools, a park, and a cemetery. Town lots were also given to settlers who would build homes within ninety days. In an election held in April 1886, Roby was declared the county seat. The first county court was held in a shed behind the V. H. Anderson House, which served as the town's first post office. A frame courthouse was built on the southwest corner of the town square and was replaced over the years by a succession of other structures. Schools, churches, and businesses were established as settlement in the town increased. Retaining its small town atmosphere, Roby remains a center of commerce for Fisher County. (1989) #4312
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #01902
Fisher County. Sites of old Indian trail from Mexico to settlements on Texas frontier. In this region in 1856, Colonel Robert E. Lee, then commanding the famed U.S. Second Cavalry (and later General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army), campaigned against the Indians. County formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created 1876. Settled in 1877. Organized 1886. Named for Samuel Rhoads Fisher (1794-1839), a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Secretary of the Navy in the Republic of Texas, 1836. Roby, county seat, named for landowners. (1965) #1902
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03915
Palava Cemetery. Originally named Center Point, the town of Palava traces its history to early settlement in this area in the late 1870s. It was renamed when the U.S. Government granted a request to establish a post office here in 1900. Stella A. Daniel, member of a pioneer Fisher County family, served as the town's first postmaster. As more settlers arrived in the early 1900s, the town grew into a cotton marketing center. At its peak Palava boasted homes, four churches, a school, and such businesses as a cotton gin, retail stores, blacksmith shop, barber shop, and cafe. Although the oldest documented burials in the Palava Cemetery date to 1893, it is believed there are unmarked graves from as early as 1855. Interments include those of veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. Also buried here is Charles Byrd (d. 1912), who served as a Texas Ranger in the Frontier Battalion in the 1870s. After the Palava School was consolidated with the Sweetwater School District in 1954, the community began to decline. The Palava Cemetery is now the only physical reminder of a once thriving town. It serves as a memorial to the area's pioneers. (1990) #3915
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #17092
Willingham Land and Cattle Company. #17092
14427 East Hwy 180, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04378
Royston Townsite. The town of Royston came into existence in 1906, when the Texas Central Railroad built a line through this area. In addition to the railroad depot, homes and businesses were soon established in the new town. The Royston Post Office was established in 1907. Businesses included a 30-room hotel, the "Royston Record" weekly newspaper, the Royston Mercantile Company, the Royston State Bank, a cotton gin, tin shop, grocery and hardware store, drug store, restaurant, and two lumberyards. A public school was in operation until 1947, when it was consolidated with McCaulley School. Churches in the town included Methodist, Baptist, and Pentecostal. The center of a rich agricultural area, Royston's economic base was broadened after the discovery of oil in the area in 1928. The railroad continued both freight and passenger service until 1972, and Royston was an important supply center for the surrounding agricultural area for a number of years. The town of Royston gradually declined, and the rails were removed by the railroad company. This site marks the approximate southern boundary of the town square. Now a ghost town, it is nevertheless an important part of Fisher County history. (1988) #4378
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12586
First United Methodist Church of Roby. The oldest active church in Fisher County, this congregation dates to the earliest years of the county's settlement and organization. The town of Roby was laid out as county seat in 1885, and citizens began establishing churches, schools and businesses. Methodists met in the home of Captain and Mrs. V. H. Anderson under the leadership of circuit-riding preacher J. W. Dickinson. The congregation formally organized as the Roby Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1886 and held a revival that summer. The eight charter members included Vachel Anderson, Melvina Anderson, James Patterson, Barbary Patterson, Gabie Simpson, Lou Simpson, Jane Roy and Fannie Barron. Until the first sanctuary was constructed in 1889, worship services were held in the Fisher County courthouse. Later church buildings, completed in 1901, 1926 and 1981, have all stood at this site, on property sold to the church trustees in 1887 by M. L. and D. C. Roby and in 1889 by E. H. Dowel. Throughout its history, this congregation, known as the First United Methodist Church since 1968, has demonstrated its commitment to mission and ministry. Membership over the years has included a number of civic and political leaders, and several members have entered the ordained ministry. Roby's First United Methodist Church serves as an important part of the community's cultural heritage. (2001) #12586
N Church, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11882
D. W. Stephens No. 1 Discovery Oil Well. (The Texas Company [Texaco]) The search for oil in Fisher County began in 1918. Though four wells were drilled in the southwestern part of the county in 1919, all four were dry, and more wells were drilled in the Rotan area. None of these yielded oil. Dan W. Stephens (1860-1946) and his wife Laura Bell Johnson owned 3,100 acres of land near the railroad town of Royston. The Stephens property was selected for a well in 1927. On May 21, 1927, the Texas Company (later Texaco) began drilling approximately four miles north of this site. The well was drilled to 2,302 feet. It encountered a casing problem and was plugged and abandoned. On October 24, 1927, another hole was begun fifty feet to the east. By January 19, 1928, it had become the first producing oil well in the county, reaching 3,275 feet into the earth. Eventually, seven wells were located on the Stephens land, and more wells dotted the landscape of Fisher County. Revenues from the petroleum business helped landowners through the Depression era, brought sorely needed employment, and helped to build and maintain schools, roads, buildings, and hospitals. The Stephens No. 1 produced 481,447 barrels of oil in 66 years. Plugged and abandoned in November 1994, its service to Royston and Fisher County is remembered. (1998) #11882
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02501
Hobbs Cemetery. Settlers began moving into this area of Fisher County in the early 1880s. The community that developed became known as Hobbs when Roby postmaster Vachel Hobbs Anderson suggested his middle name for the new post office here. In the early 1900s, area residents Robert and Ann Hayter donated land at this site for the cemetery to serve the growing settlement. The first burial was for Indiana native Thomas J. Bone (1833-1906). Hobbs later developed north near a new school site, but Hobbs Cemetery remains as a reminder of the community's early history. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986. Incise on back of marker: Marker Provided By: Fannie W. Albert, Connie H. Tutt, Lota W. Kennedy #2501
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #00082
Adair-Steadman Site. In this vicinity is a prehistoric archeological site discovered in 1969 near the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. Archeologists have conducted extensive scientific excavations and attribute most of the cultural materials to the Paleo-Indian Period. The Adair-Steadman Site was a large base campsite for makers of fluted points, who were part of the distinctive Folsom culture between nine and eleven thousand years ago. Prehistoric peoples chose to live here because of the availability of water at the time of occupation and the presence of a large stone resource area nearby. Stone tools and other material recovered include fluted point fragments, point preforms, channel flakes, scrapers, gravers, and large bifaces. Future archeological, geological, and paleontological studies of the site may yield sufficient data to reconstruct the physical appearance of the site during its period of occupation. One of the most significant locations of Folsom artifacts in North America, the Adair-Steadman Site is important as a valuable source of information on the prehistory of the state, the nation, and the entire continent. It is protected from disturbance by federal and state antiquities laws. (1984) #82
?, Roby, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03866
Organization of Fisher County. When the Texas Legislature created Fisher County in 1876, there were no permanent settlements in the area. As a result, the county was linked with Shackelford and Nolan Counties for judicial purposes. By 1885, enough settlers had moved into the area to warrant official organization of the county. Part of this organization was the selection of a county seat, a matter that caused much debate. In 1885 two townsites were laid out and proposed as county seats. Businessman E. D. Strang, a native of Wisconsin, organized and promoted the town of Fisher, while two former Mississippi plantation owners, D. C. and M. L. Roby, inherited land on which they laid out the townsite of Roby. Fierce competition began between the adherents of each site. When the proponents of Roby felt they had enough votes, they presented a petition for election to the Nolan County Commissioners Court. Although adherents of Fisher contested the petition as faulty, they could not prove their accusations as correct. An election held in April 1886 determined Roby to be the county seat. As newly elected officials attended to business and construction began on a courthouse, tempers settled, and the organization of Fisher County was complete. (1983) #3866
?, Roby, TX, United States