United States / Sterling City, TX

Dr. P. D. Coulson. Born near Morganton, Tenn. He enlisted, May 22, 1861, as private in 3rd Tenn. Inf., Confederate Army. Promoted to surgeon with rank of major, 1862, he saw much action -- First Manassas, Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta, other battles. Was twice wounded. Came to Texas after Civil War. Served as first county judge of Sterling County in 1890s. County judge of Coke county, 1907 - 1910. Married Etheldra Ann Johnson. Had four sons, four daughters. #1274

SH 87 about 4 mi. SE of Sterling City, Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #00533

Brown House. N/A - Medallion only #533

Labapie & 7th Street, Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #01019

Concho, San Saba & Llano Valley Railroad Station. Attracted by the area's livestock production, nearby shipping points, and the financial support of the town, the Concho, San Saba and Llano Valley Railroad began building a line to Sterling City in 1909. A boxcar served as the depot until this mission revival building was completed. Highway and pipeline construction caused a decline in rail traffic and the line closed in 1958. Only the depot remains as a reminder of the early rail service that helped develop the area. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980 #1019

Stadium Drive & Washington St., Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #02040

Foster Cemetery. The Foster Cemetery originally was part of the ranch land owned by Robert West and Fannie B. Foster, early settlers and prominent civic leaders in the area. Their infant daughter, Fay, was the first to be buried at the site in 1883. Over the years, numerous prominent Sterling County citizens have been buried in the public graveyard. Included among those are R. W. Foster and his brother, William Lenard, who served on the first Sterling County Commissioners Court; Ethel Foster, a former president of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs; Rufus West Foster and John Walraven, former mayors of Sterling City; early ranchers Newel C. Hodges, W. E. Brownfield, James W. Reynolds, and A. Carper; and saloon keeper and cattle inspector Frank C. Sparkman. For more than one hundred years the cemetery has served the Foster family and citizens from all parts of Sterling County. Now consisting of approximately 3.5 acres, the graveyard is maintained by the Foster Cemetery Association. With historic ties to the formative years of Sterling County, Foster Cemetery is a good example of a pioneer graveyard. #2040

SH 163 S of Sterling City about 5.2 mi., Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #04154

R. P. Brown Home. N/A - Medallion only #4154

705 5th Ave., Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #04303

Robert West Foster. A pioneer settler of the Sterling County area, Kentucky-born Robert West Foster came here in 1881 with his brother W. L. Foster. A rancher, R. W. Foster drove his cattle to market in Fort Worth before rail lines reached this area. He was an active civic leader, a charter member of the First Methodist Church and a director of the First National Bank of Sterling City. His contributions to the community included this site, originally part of his ranch. Recorded - 1982 #4303

SH 163, about 5.2 mi. S of Sterling City, Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #05114

Sterling County Jail. This two-story jail building was constructed in 1912, twenty-one years after the organization of Sterling County. Built by the Southern Structural Steel Co., it is located on property deeded to the county by Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Stewart. Stone for the exterior was quarried locally. The interior includes a downstairs living area for the sheriff and seven cells on the upper floor. An addition to the rear was completed in the 1960s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980 #5114

4th and Elm St., on Courthouse lawn, Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #05100

State Hotel - First State Bank. Directors of the First State Bank of Sterling City, the town's earliest financial institution, had this two-story brick commercial building constructed in 1910. It originally housed the State Hotel and the banking operation, which was acquired in 1926 by the First National Bank. Other offices that have been located here include those of doctors, the telephone company, post office and city hall. E. B. Butler also operated a drugstore here from 1926 to the 1960s. Businessmen associated with the site have included many of the prominent early leaders of the community. #5100

4th and Elm St., Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #05525

Town of Cummins. The pioneer settlement of Cummins developed at this site about 1890 around the saddle and harness shop of the earliest permanent settler, Mississippi native Robert Benjamin Cummins (b. 1848). A post office the following year the nearby town of Sterling City (1.9 miles east) was founded. The two towns became rivals for the designation of county seat when the Texas Legislature created Sterling County from Tom Green County on March 4, 1891. An intense publicity campaign developed, aided by the writings of the respective town newspaper editors: W. L. Thurman of the Cummins paper, the "North Concho News", and S. R. Ezzell of the "Sterling Courier". An election, conducted May 20, 1891, appeared to be a victory for Cummins until several voting boxes were dismissed for technical reasons, resulting in a tie. A second election on July 7 gave Sterling City a 13-vote margin and it was named the county seat. Most Cummins businesses and residents had moved to Sterling City by the end of 1891. Nothing remains of the early townsite, which once included a school, saloon, meat market, mercantile, blacksmith shop, and grocery stores. #5525

SH 87 about 1.9 mi. W of Sterling City, Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #05835

William Lenard Foster. Navarro County native William Lenard Foster migrated to this area in 1881 with his brother Robert West Foster. One of the region's pioneer settlers, W. L. Foster was a prominent rancher and landowner and was elected one of the first commissioners of Sterling County. A founder of the First Methodist Church, he served as president and director of the First National Bank of Sterling City from its founding in 1910 until his death in 1950. Recorded - 1982 #5835

SH 163, about 5.2 mi. S of Sterling City, Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #05113

Sterling County. This prairie region split by the north Concho River is old Comanche, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Lipan, and Wichita hunting ground. Possibly it was crossed by six or so Spanish explorations between 1540 and 1654. In the 1860s and 70s, Anglo-Americans hunted buffalo commercially in this area. An 1860s hunter, Capt. W. S. Sterling, had a dugout home on the creek that bears his name. In the 1870s, bandits Frank and Jesse James kept horse herds on a tributary of Sterling Creek. In 1874 the United States Army occupied Camp Elizabeth, a Fort Concho outpost hospital, about ten miles west of here. Ranchers from other counties began to bring in large cattle herds in the 1870s, to capitalize on free grass. After keeping out small herds for a time, they permitted actual settlers to share the range. Family men staked land claims, grew crops in the valleys, and opened stores, schools, and post offices. On March 4, 1891, on the petition of 150 citizens, the county was created out of part of Tom Green County, and named for its first regular resident. Sterling City became the county seat. Petroleum production has been important to the economy since the 1950s; yet the land essentially remains range country, grazed by cattle and sheep. #5113

4th & Elm St., Sterling City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03447

Montvale. The community of Montvale was established in 1884 when the pioneer settlement of St. Elmo was relocated here. Then a part of Tom Green County, Montvale was located on the Shafter Military Trail, an early road from Fort Concho. A community school, the earliest in the area, was in operation by 1886. Three years later the town was platted by H. B. Tarver, the surveyor for Tom Green County. It is believed the settlement was named for a nearby hill referred to in Tarver's field notes as Mt. Vale. Early businesses in Montvale included the saddle and harness shop of R. B. Cummins and the general store and blacksmith shop of B. Z. Cooper. The town was also the site of a Methodist church, a hotel, a post office and a variety of stores. About 1889 R. B. Cummins started the town of Cummins (5.4 miles northwest) upriver from Montvale. Both settlements began to decline in 1891 with the establishment of Sterling City (3.5 miles northwest) as the seat of government for the newly created Sterling County. A community cemetery is all that remains of the townsite of Montvale, a pioneer settlement that played an important role in the area's development. #3447

US 87 about 4 mi. SE of Sterling City, Sterling City, TX, United States