DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker records about Valley Creek Station, out in Taylor County, Texas. Now, two miles northwest of where you're rolling right now, there once stood a place that held together the whole wild seam of the American frontier — and most folks driving past today wouldn't guess it for a second. The Butterfield Overland Mail set up a stage stop right at the falls and crossing of Valley Creek, starting in 1858.
Twice a week, mail and passengers came through — rolling all the way from San Francisco to St. Louis, which, if you're keeping score, is a journey of two thousand eight hundred miles. And here's the thing about that route through Texas — they called it the Oxbow Route, and it added about six hundred miles on top of those two thousand eight hundred.
Six hundred extra miles. That's not a detour, friend, that's a commitment. The line cut right through the southwest corner of Taylor County, passing six miles west of where present-day Abilene now sits.
For a few years, this lonesome creek crossing was a genuine landmark on the frontier transportation map. Then March of 1861 came around, and the line moved out of Texas entirely, leaving this whole stretch of country sparsely settled — quiet as a held breath. The ranchers eventually found their way back, settling near Spring Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Valley Creek, and somewhere in the 1880s they put down roots in the nearby community of Shep.
Six hundred extra miles, a creek crossing, a twice-weekly stage, and then — gone. But the land remembered, and the people came back.
What the marker says
(site located 2 mi. northwest) Near this site, an important link in the frontier transportation system was an area landmark. The Butterfield Overland Mail maintained a stage stop at the falls and crossing of Valley Creek beginning in 1858. The twice-weekly mail and passenger line stretched from San Francisco to St. Louis, crossing the southwest corner of Taylor County and passing six miles west of present Abilene. The path through Texas, known as the Oxbow Route, added about 600 miles to the 2,800 mile trip. The line moved out of Texas in March 1861, leaving this area sparsely settled. Ranchers later settled near Spring, Cottonwood and Valley creeks, and established the nearby community of Shep in the 1880s. (1968, 2007)