DUANE
Duane's take
The marker tells it this way, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Out here in Comanche County, there's a patch of ground that holds a story layered three generations deep — and if you know where to look, you can still feel the weight of it. This is the site of the old Gill Farm.
W. A. Gill settled this land in 1874.
Born in 1843, died in 1889 — he packed a remarkable life into those years. His father, W. S.
Gill, was a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto, one of the foundational moments in Texas history. So W. A. came from that stock.
And he didn't exactly take it easy himself. He fought in the Civil War. After that, he earned the rank of Captain in the Texas Rangers.
Then he came to this piece of Comanche County ground and put down roots. After W. A. was gone, the farm didn't empty out.
His sons — E. V. and Fleet — lived here for many years, keeping the Gill name on the land their father had chosen. But here's the detail that'll stay with you on a quiet stretch of highway.
There was a family plot here. The kind of ground families set aside to keep their people close, even after. In 1964, those remains were moved — carefully, deliberately — to Buffalo Cemetery, one mile north of this very spot.
The Gills didn't disappear from this county. They just moved to higher ground. And the marker stands here to make sure nobody drives past without knowin' what once grew on this land, and who tended it.
What the marker says
Settled 1874 by W. A. Gill (1843-1889), son of W. S. Gill, hero of Battle of San Jacinto. W. A. fought in Civil War and was a Captain in the Texas Rangers. His sons E. V. and Fleet lived here for many years. Remains in this family plot were moved in 1964 to Buffalo Cemetery (1mile N). (1968)