DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say — and this one's got some ink on its hands. Now, before there was much of anything out here, Army engineers came through and laid out a military road in this area in 1850. That road drew people.
By 1855, thirty to forty families had settled in the vicinity. Comanche County was created in 1856, and by 1859, Comanche had become the second county seat. And the citizens of that young town — they had dreams.
Big dreams. The kind of dreams that require a printing press. Enter Geraldo Alonzo Beeman.
An experienced newspaperman, Beeman got his hands on an idle printing press and became the first editor of a paper he called The Comanche Chief. On August 21, 1873, that first issue rolled off the press. The Chief had goals from day one — draw more settlers to the area, and lobby for the protection and improvement of the lives of Comanche residents.
That's not a small mission for a brand-new paper in a brand-new town. And it delivered. The Chief was instrumental in securing a Texas Ranger force for the area.
It pushed for legislation placing public school lands on the market. By 1873, after the last of the Comanche tribe in the area was relegated to a reservation in Oklahoma, the town began to grow — and the paper grew with it, chronicling daily events, lobbying for proper representation in the state legislature, and finding its way to other regions of the country, advertising the advantages of the Comanche area and pulling in new settlers from far and wide. Now here's where the story takes a turn worth savoring.
In 1874, a sixteen-year-old named Robert Thomas Hill walked into the Chief's office alongside his brother Joe. Robert Thomas Hill — born 1858, died 1941 — the man who would one day be called the Father of Texas Geology. He started right there, at The Comanche Chief.
The Hill brothers became co-editors of the paper and operated it together until Robert left for Cornell University in 1882. You just never know who's going to walk through a newsroom door. Other newspapers rose up over the decades and quietly disappeared.
The Comanche Chief did not disappear. It thrived. In 1925, it was sold to the Wilkerson family.
And at the dawn of the twenty-first century, it stood as one hundred and forty-two years old — recognized as the oldest business in Comanche County. An idle printing press, a man with ink in his blood, a town full of dreamers — and what they built is still standing.
What the marker says
Army engineers laid out a military road in this area in 1850. By 1855 thirty to forty families had settled in the vicinity. Comanche County was created in 1856, and Comanche became the second county seat in 1859. Its citizens, who entertained dreams of greatness for their town, envisioned a newspaper. Geraldo Alonzo Beeman, an experienced newspaperman, obtained an idle printing press and became the first editor of "The Comanche Chief." Its first issue published on August 21, 1873, the "Chief's" main goals were to draw more settlers to the area and to lobby for the protection and improvement of the lives of Comanche residents. The paper was instrumental in securing a Texas Ranger force for the area and in promoting legislation for placing public school lands on the market. By 1873, after the last of the Comanche tribe in the area was relegated to a reservation in Oklahoma, the town began to grow. "The Comanche Chief" was influential in social and political life, from chronicling the daily events of the neighborhood to lobbying for proper representation in the state legislature. It found its way to other regions of the country, advertising the advantages of the Comanche area and attracting new settlers. Sixteen-year-old Robert Thomas Hill (1858-1941), later called the Father of Texas Geology, began working at the "Chief" with his brother Joe in 1874. The Hills became co-editors of the paper and operated it together until Robert went to Cornell University in 1882. Other newspapers were organized and discontinued over the decades, but "The Comanche Chief" thrived; it was sold to the Wilkerson family in 1925. One hundred and forty-two years old at the dawn of the 21st century, "The Comanche Chief" is recognized as the oldest business in Comanche County. (2000)