Onward Toward Fort Worth Texas!

Our next planned stop after Waco was Fort Worth Texas.  Even though the two cities are close to each other, we were in no hurry and, as I’ve mentioned before, we like exploring back roads and avoiding the Interstate Highways whenever timing allows.  So we headed in a northwesterly direction from Waco via Texas Hwy 6. 

The first town we came to along our route was Valley Mills Texas.  Valley Mills has a split ‘personality’ with part of the town in McClennan County and the other portion in Bosque County…  This old building serves as John Armstrong Masonic Lodge #291 and is also home to a financial services company.  

I’m guessing that this Masonic Lodge was named after the John Armstrong who compiled a book published in 1901 that was entitled “A History of Freemasonry in Cheshire (England), Being a Record of All Extinct and Existing Lodges, Craft and Mark, and Royal Arch Chapters, Provincial Grand Lodges, Craft and Mark, and Provincial Grand Chapter. London”.  From my research I learned that we passed through 3 other towns along our route that all had Masonic Lodges… There are at least 85,000 Masons in the State of Texas but the organization has members and lodges around the world.

Note: Valley Mills was hit by an F-5 tornado on May 6, 1973, nearly 20 years after the nearby and infamous 1953 Waco Tornado that killed so many people.  Despite the severity of the Valley Mill tornado, no deaths were recorded although the storm carried a pick-up truck for a half mile in the air! 

I know nothing about this beautiful old home but it was so striking that we took this picture.  It is very well maintained, that’s for sure!  We spotted it as we entered the town of Clifton Texas.

We just had to stop and check out the Clifton Antique Mall.  As you can see it occupies another old building in town.  We did a little shopping and actually made a purchase.  The ladies running the store were very hospitable and they told us that former First Lady, Laura Bush, had been in the store on a couple of occasions. 

The Clifton Antique Mall has much better offerings than the typical antique mall.  They are located at 206 West 5^th Street in Clifton.  Phone: 254-675-2300.  This establishment can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cliftonantique/.

Although Bosque County and the area around Clifton have many sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, few designated sites are located in the town itself.  Still, we noted several buildings that exude that classic old time look.

Clifton was founded in the winter of 1852-1853.  The current population is about 3,400.  The town was named Cliff Town after the surrounding limestone cliffs.  Over the years the name was altered to Clifton.  The site was originally on the banks of the Clear Branch River. The Masonic lodge hall and a log schoolhouse were the first public buildings in town. 

The A.P. Anderson Building in Clifton dates back to 1895.  It apparently now serves as the offices for a local hospice organization.

I hadn’t researched this alternate route to Fort Worth from Waco and consequently, we missed some interesting historic attractions.  Clifton has been designated as the “Norwegian Capital of Texas”.  Clifton and the surrounding area were settled by Norwegian immigrants in the mid-19th century.  The nearby community of Norse is the final resting place of Cleng Peerson, who is commonly recognized as the "Father of Norwegian Immigration to America."  

Downtown Clifton contains a number of gift, antique and home décor shops and it has been well preserved.  Somehow…turning onto the wrong road out of town…I missed a number of attractions in town. 

  

These misses included the Bosque Museum, which was visited in 1982 by King Olav V of Norway when ceremonies were held to observe the 200th anniversary of Cleng Peerson’s birth.  Museum website:  http://www.bosquemuseum.org/.

There was also the Bosque Arts Center with an extensive collection of art on display in the historic 1923 former Administrative Building of Clifton Lutheran College.  The Arts Center website is at https://www.bosqueartscenter.org/.

Somehow I also missed the CLIFTEX Movie Theater.  This is the oldest, continuously operating movie theatre in Texas.   It’s been showing movies in downtown Clifton since 1916.  Website: https://www.thecliftex.com/.

Clifton will be on my list of stops along the way the next time we visit Texas!

Wow!  Does that huge structure visually jump out at you or what!?  This was our first impression of Meridian Texas, the County Seat for Bosque County.  The town has about 1,500 residents.

Meridian is in the center of Bosque County and it was deliberately built to serve as the County Seat.  The first town lots were auctioned off in 1854 and the town was incorporated in 1874.  Unfortunately, 1n 1881 the Santa Fe Railroad bypassed Meridian, laying their tracks 1½ miles east of town.

Note: The Tandy family, who formed the Tandy Corporation, is from Bosque County.  The Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth Texas.  Tandy acquired a number of craft retail companies, including RadioShack in 1963.  In 2000, the Tandy Corporation name was dropped and the entity became the RadioShack Corporation.

You must admit that this is a spectacular County Courthouse!  Designed in the Gothic style, the Bosque County Courthouse was completed in 1886.  The courthouse originally had a Gothic tower and small turrets.  As part of a WPA project in the 1930's, they were removed in order to strengthen the roof.  When the courthouse underwent a major renovation in 2007, the tower and the turrets were restored to the building.

Note: George B. Erath, who had laid out the city of Waco and who is a significant figure in Texas history, was also responsible for surveying and laying out the town of Meridian.  To learn more about George Erath, go to https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fer01.

Even the Bosque County Tax Office in Meridian Texas is situated in a classy old building!  This structure was built in 1889. 

On the day back on July 4^th in 1854 when Meridian’s town lots were initially auctioned off, a big barbecue was held and people came in ox wagons and on horseback from the surrounding country.  Since Bosque County was a new county located almost in the center of the state, many of the settlers thought that Meridian might become the capital of Texas and some of the town’s lots sold for very high prices.

The Bosque County Collection is located in the historic Lumpkin Building across from that spectacular courthouse.  This old rock building was built in 1884 and it was the first stone commercial building to be erected in Meridian.

The Bosque County Collection is operated by the Bosque County Historical Commission.  It was established in 1983 as a library, archive, and research center for the local history of Bosque County.  The Historical Commission operates a gift shop as well.  To learn more you can go to http://www.bosquechc.org/index.shtml.

This structure was the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Depot in Blum Texas.  This former combination passenger and freight depot has been moved and seriously altered with the freight section being eliminated.  It’s now home to the “Redneck Bar and Grill”.  This establishment is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Redneck-Grill-Bar-247948862036022/.  I couldn’t determine how old the building was but from the roof line, it should date back to at least the beginning of the 1900s. 

The town of Blum was established in 1881, when the tracks of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway were extended through the county.  The town was named for Leon Blum, a railroad official and prominent Galveston merchant.  The new town grew rapidly and by 1890 Blum had 315 residents.  By 1908 there were 1,000 residents, 4 dry-goods stores, 4 grocery stores, 2 banks and 2 hotels.  The estimated population in 2016 was down to 443…

This is the Johnson County Courthouse in Cleburne Texas.  This Prairie style structure was completed in 1913.  Johnson County is named for Middleton Johnson, a Texas Ranger, soldier and politician.  

Cleburne is Johnson County's third county seat.  It was formerly known as Camp Henderson, a temporary Civil War outpost from which Johnson County soldiers would depart for war… The name of the city was changed to Cleburne in honor of Patrick Cleburne, the Confederate General under which most of the county’s soldiers served. 

Born in County Cork Ireland, Cleburne served in a Welsh regiment of the British Army.  He immigrated to the United States in 1849.  At the beginning of the American Civil War, Cleburne sided with the Confederate States.  He advanced from being a soldier in the local militia to a division commander. Cleburne participated in many successful military campaigns, especially the Battle of Stones River, the Battle of Missionary Ridge and the Battle of Ringgold Gap.  His strategic abilities gained him the nickname "Stonewall of the West".

Cleburne was killed in 1864 at the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee.  That battle was a disaster for the Confederacy with over 6,200 casualties and the loss of 14 Confederate Generals with 6 killed, 7 wounded and 1 captured.  Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Franklin_(1864).

This attractive building is currently the home of Turner-Monahan Family Lawyers and it’s actually called the Turner Building.  At one point, this corner location was occupied by the Ace Café, which was considered by many as the best place to eat in downtown Cleburne.

Today Cleburne is on the fringe of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and recent growth is due to suburbanization.  Since 1980 the population of Cleburne has increased by over 50% and it’s now home to over 30,000 residents. 

Note: On May 15, 2013, Cleburne was hit by a tornado that cut a mile-wide path through part of the city damaging about 600 homes and 2 schools. The weather service said it was an EF-3 with winds between 136 and 165 mph.  Amazingly no deaths or severe injuries were reported.

Our next stop on this journey will be in Fort Worth Texas.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for the little travel tour!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave