Stockton Bend

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Stockton Bend, out there in Hood County, Texas. Now settle in, because this little community had a bigger hand in shaping the county around it than most folks would ever guess. In 1854, Thomas Lambert, known to everyone as Uncle Tommy, and a man named Amon Bond led a group of settlers, mostly out of Tennessee, across the Brazos River into a stretch of land that would come to be called Stockton Bend.

They picked their spot with care. The area sat near the riverbank, and that proximity offered protection from Indian attacks. Travelers in those days crossed the Brazos at either Abe's Crossing or Landers Ferry, both of them right there in the community.

That tells you something about how active a place it was. The Nutt and Landers families came along in time, and the settlement filled out with a saloon, a blacksmith, a mercantile store, a grocery store, and a school. Not a bad little town.

Now, here's where the story gets interesting. Back when Stockton Bend was first settled, it sat in what was originally Johnson County. Then in 1866, Hood County was carved out of a portion of Johnson County, and Stockton Bend didn't just watch that happen from the sidelines.

Community residents Abel Landers and A.J. Wright were elected county judge and county sheriff, respectively. So Stockton Bend was running things.

Under Judge Landers, an election was ordered to determine where the county seat would be. And this is where it gets a little wry. Landers wasn't satisfied with the results.

So he held further elections. Still not satisfied, he appointed commissioners from nearby counties to come in and make the call. They settled on Granbury.

Now, if you think that was the end of the controversy, think again. The whole disagreement eventually led to the establishment of Somervell County, separate from Hood County entirely. One disputed county seat election spinning off a whole new county.

Meanwhile, through all of it, commissioners court meetings and other sessions were being held right there in Stockton Bend. The town was, in every sense, the stage on which Hood County's early drama played out. By the early twentieth century, though, Stockton Bend had declined.

The school closed in 1911. Today, the town is no longer extant, as the marker puts it. But Uncle Tommy Lambert and Amon Bond led those Tennessee families across the Brazos to a bend in the river, and from that bend came a county judge, a county sheriff, a county seat election that wouldn't quit, and eventually a brand-new county.

Some places leave a mark long after they're gone.

What the marker says

THE RURAL COMMUNITY OF STOCKTON BEND WAS FIRST SETTLED IN WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY JOHNSON COUNTY. IN 1854, THOMAS "UNCLE TOMMY" LAMBERT AND AMON BOND LED A GROUP OF SETTLERS, MOSTLY FROM TENNESSEE, ACROSS THE BRAZOS RIVER INTO THE AREA WHICH WOULD BECOME STOCKTON BEND. LOCATED NEAR THE BANK, THE AREA OFFERED PROTECTION FROM INDIAN ATTACKS, WHILE TRAVELERS OFTEN CROSSED THE BRAZOS RIVER AT EITHER ABE'S CROSSING OR LANDERS FERRY, BOTH IN THE COMMUNITY. THE SETTLEMENT GREW AS OTHERS, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF THE NUTT AND LANDERS FAMILIES, CAME HERE AS WELL. BUSINESSES IN STOCKTON BEND INCLUDED A SALOON, BLACKSMITH, MERCANTILE STORE, AND GROCERY STORE. THE COMMUNITY ALSO HAD A SCHOOL. IN 1866, HOOD COUNTY WAS FORMED FROM A PORTION OF JOHNSON COUNTY. STOCKTON BEND PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE NEW COUNTY'S DEVELOPMENT, AS COMMUNITY RESIDENTS ABEL LANDERS AND A.J. WRIGHT WERE ELECTED COUNTY JUDGE AND SHERIFF, RESPECTIVELY. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF JUDGE LANDERS, AN ELECTION WAS ORDERED TO DETERMINE THE COUNTY SEAT. DISSATISFIED WITH THE RESULTS, LANDERS CONDUCTED FURTHER ELECTIONS BEFORE APPOINTING COMMISSIONERS FROM NEARBY COUNTIES TO MAKE A DECISION; THEY SETTLED ON GRANBURY. THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE DECISION EVENTUALLY LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOMERVELL COUNTY SEPARATE FROM HOOD COUNTY. DURING THE PROCESS, COMMISSIONERS COURT MEETINGS AND OTHER SESSIONS WERE HELD IN STOCKTON BEND. BY THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, THE TOWN HAD DECLINED, WITH THE SCHOOL CLOSING IN 1911. TODAY, THOUGH NO LONGER EXTANT, STOCKTON BEND'S SIGNIFICANCE REMAINS AS A COMMUNITY OF INDIVIDUALS WHO PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN HOOD COUNTY'S DEVELOPMENT.