Bethel Strawn

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Bethel Strawn, out in Palo Pinto County. Now, most men who made their mark in the Civil War got a county named after them, or a town, or maybe a courthouse square with a bronze likeness staring down at pigeons. Thirty-six Texas counties were named for men prominent in the Confederacy.

Forty-one Texas towns were named for men who figured in that same war. That is a lot of naming. But Bethel Strawn, well, he ended up with something none of those other men got.

Patience, now. We'll get there. First, let's back up to 1858, when Strawn settled in Palo Pinto County and started building a reputation as a leading citizen.

That's the foundation the whole story sits on. When 1864 came around, he enlisted in Company B of the First Frontier District, Texas State Troops, serving under Major William Quayle's command. His service wasn't the kind that sent men charging across open fields in Virginia.

It was harder and lonelier work than that. Strawn and his fellow troops saw service mainly in keeping down Indian depredations and protecting the settlements scattered across that raw country. Those settlements mattered, because they were furnishing food, salt, hides, leather, and other goods to aid the Confederate cause.

Somebody had to keep that supply line from being torn apart, and that somebody included Bethel Strawn. Then the war ended, and time kept moving. In 1880, the Texas and Pacific Railroad built through western Palo Pinto County, and when the line needed a name for a stop, they used the name of the man who owned land right at that point: Bethel Strawn.

By 1885, what had been a modest settlement had grown into a full town, drawing people away from old Palo Pinto. A railroad stop became a community. A community became a place on the map.

But here is the part that sets Strawn apart from every county seat and every courthouse square named for a Confederate veteran. When the twentieth century brought oil development to this part of Texas, geologists started using the name Strawn for the petroleum-bearing formations of rock lying beneath Palo Pinto County and other areas. The Strawn formation.

Rock that holds oil. And coal, too. Strawn minerals include coal, once mined locally right there in the county.

Now, you can count up all thirty-six Confederate-named counties in Texas. You can run down all forty-one towns named for Civil War men. Not one of them lent their name to the geology itself.

Bethel Strawn, 1858 settler, frontier trooper, landowner, is the one geological name commemorating a Texan in the Civil War. The counties are on maps. The towns are on signs.

But Strawn is written in the rock itself, down in the dark where the oil sits. That is a legacy that goes a little deeper than most.

What the marker says

An 1858 settler and leading citizen of Palo Pinto County. Enlisted 1864 in Co. B. 1st Frontier District, Texas State Troops, in Maj. Wm. Quayle's command. Saw service mainly in keeping down Indian depredations and protecting settlements that were furnishing food, salt, hides, leather and other goods to aid the Confederate cause during the Civil War. In 1880, when Texas and Pacific Railroad built through western Palo Pinto County, a stop was named for Bethel Strawn, who owned land at that point. By 1885, Strawn settlement had grown into a town drawing off people from old Palo Pinto. During 20th century oil developments, the name Strawn is used for petroleum bearing formations of rock that underlie this county and other areas. Strawn minerals include coal, once mined locally. 36 Texas counties were named for men prominent in the Confederacy during the Civil War. One county, Val Verde, was named for a Civil War battlefield on which Texas troops were victorious during the New Mexico-Arizona campaign of 1861-1862. 41 Texas towns were named for men who figured in the Civil War. Strawn, however, is the one geological name commemorating a Texan in the Civil War. (1965)