McCulloch County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. McCulloch County. Born on paper August 27, 1856; one of 128 counties carved out of Bexar County, a stretch of Texas so enormous it ran all the way from the Rio Grande clear up to the Panhandle, and as far west as El Paso.

Think about that for a moment. One county. Most of a continent.

And out of that vast, ambitious geography, McCulloch County was drawn into being. Named for Ben McCulloch, a Texas hero who didn't arrive at that title easily. The man fought in the Texas Revolution, in Indian wars, in the Mexican War, and in the Civil War.

Ben McCulloch earned every syllable of that county name. But here's the thing about naming a county and actually taming it: those are two very different propositions. Indian and frontier hazards made growth slow.

That's what the marker says, and you can feel the weight of that understatement. Twenty years passed. Twenty years before the buffalo were hunted off, before ranches got established, before the land stopped pushing back quite so hard.

The county wasn't organized until August 4, 1876, a full twenty years after its creation, with Brady as the county seat. And once it finally took hold, McCulloch County became a ranch center, a farm center, a recreation center. It also sits at the geographical center of Texas, which feels right for a place that took so long and cost so much to become itself.

And one more thing the marker wants you to know: this ground has history older than the county, older than Texas statehood. In 1831, at Calf Creek, James Bowie, the Alamo hero, defeated a force of 100 Indians in what's remembered as the Calf Creek Battle. The land was already storied before anyone drew a single line on a map.

McCulloch County. It took twenty years to get organized. Some things worth havin' take exactly that long.

What the marker says

Created Aug. 27, 1856. One of 128 counties formed from Bexar County that extended from the Rio Grande to the Panhandle, and as far west as El Paso. Named for Texas hero, Ben McCulloch, who fought in Texas Revolution, Indian, Mexican and Civil Wars. Indian and frontier hazards made growth slow and 20 years passed before buffalo were hunted off and ranches established. Organized Aug. 4, 1876 with Brady, county seat. Became ranch, farm, recreation center. Site of geographical center of Texas and 1831 Calf Creek Battle, where James Bowie, Alamo hero, defeated 100 Indians.