DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's got the story, and here's how I tell it — Lieutenant Nelson Orcelus Reynolds, Kerr County's own chapter of Texas Ranger legend. Pull up a chair, because this one winds through feuds, famous outlaws, and a long road from Pennsylvania to a quiet grave in Center Point. Born in Pennsylvania in 1846, Reynolds first put on a uniform during the Civil War, serving in the Union army.
That alone was a life's worth of hard experience for plenty of men. But Reynolds wasn't finished. Not even close.
In 1874, he enlisted as a Texas Ranger in Blanco County, and it didn't take long for the territory to figure out what kind of man had just showed up. Now, if you know anything about the Horrell-Higgins feud, you know it was the kind of trouble that had a way of spreading and not stopping on its own. Reynolds stepped into the middle of it, captured the Horrell brothers, and — here's the part worth savoring — forced them to sign a peace treaty to end the feud with the Higgins faction.
Forced them. A peace treaty. As a result of that, he was given command of the newly formed Company E.
The Rangers had noticed. Then came the assignment that would echo through Texas history — Reynolds was responsible for jailing, transporting, and guarding John Wesley Hardin for his trial in Comanche County. John Wesley Hardin.
You don't get a more high-wire job than that. He retired from Ranger service in 1879, and later served as sheriff of Lampasas County. In 1882, he married Irene T.
Nevill. The two of them built a life, had two children, and settled in Center Point. He died in 1922 and was buried there — the same ground he'd called home.
A man who made the Horrells sign a peace treaty and walked John Wesley Hardin to trial, resting quietly in Center Point. Texas has a way of doing that to you.
What the marker says
Lieutenant Nelson Orcelus Reynolds was a noted Texas lawman. Born in 1846 in Pennsylvania, Reynolds served in the Union army during the Civil War. In 1874, he enlisted as a Texas Ranger in Blanco County. Reynolds captured the Horrell brothers and forced them to sign a peace treaty to end the feud with the Higgins faction. As a result, he was given command of the newly formed Company "E." Reynolds was later responsible for jailing, transporting, and guarding John Wesley Hardin for his trial in Comanche County. He retired from Ranger service in 1879 and later served as Lampasas County sheriff. He married Irene T. Nevill in 1882. The couple had two children and lived in Center Point, where Reynolds was buried after his 1922 death. (2010)