Texas, Mills County, near Goldthwaite
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Settled in 1854 by the families of William Jenkins and David Morris (1811-89), this community was called “Hughes Store” after W.C. Hughes and his wife opened a store here in the 1870s. They platted a townsite in 1876, hoping to attract the railroad and to become county seat. An ancient live oak (100 yds. s), by tradition once considered the center of Texas, was site of temporary court and school sessions and religious services. Renamed “Center City”, this thriving town boasted several stores and businesses until the railroad bypassed it in 1885. The post office remained until 1920.
(Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Settled in 1854 by the families of William Jenkins and David Morris (1811-89), this community was called “Hughes Store” after W.C. Hughes and his wife opened a store here in the 1870s. They platted a townsite in 1876, hoping to attract the railroad and to become county seat. An ancient live oak (100 yds. s), by tradition once considered the center of Texas, was site of temporary court and school sessions and religious services. Renamed “Center City”, this thriving town boasted several stores and businesses until the railroad bypassed it in 1885. The post office remained until 1920.(Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Alarmed about draft resistance, the federal government deployed 800 troops to the Fishing Creek Valley in August 1864 to suppress the opposition. Peace Democrats suspected of Confederate sympathies were questioned at the Christian church near this site; 44 were arrested and imprisoned at Ft. Mifflin without access to civil courts. While most supported the Union, they disagreed with Pres. Lincoln’s wartime policies. In 1866, the US Supreme Court declared military arrest & trial of civilians unconstitutional.
The collapsed sand stone building west of the sign is all that remains of the once imposing eight room, one and one-half story Commanding Officers quarters. Residences for staff officers were four, wood-framed double quarters with a captain in one-half and two lieutenants in the other half. Compared to enlisted men's barracks, the officer's quarters were luxurious. Amenities included lath and plaster walls, kitchens with cellars, and large enclosed yards. 
U.S. Army Officers Who Commanded Fort Fred Steele from it's Inception (1868) until its Abandonment (1886) 
After the fort was decommissioned and the military buildings were sold at auction, the residents of the Fort Steele community converted some of the old structures into homes and businesses or built anew on top of bare foundations. The schoolhouse was built in 1919 over the foundation remains of the fort hospital. The one-story, gable-roofed structure with clapboard siding served as a library, church, and community meeting house as well as an education center for the town. 
Two stone foundations and chimneys remain of the five enlisted men's barracks once at Fort Fred Steele. The walls were constructed of logs and boards and battens while a shingled roof protected pine floor boards. Tar paper covered interior walls. Kitchens doubled as mess and washrooms, and iron bedsteads took up most of the floor space. 
Sheep were introduced to Wyoming in the 1850's near Fort Bridger, about 180 miles west of Fort Steele. By 1880 the number had grown to over 350,000 head ranging primarily along the route of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Cosgriff Brothers owned one of the largest sheep ranching operations in Wyoming at that time, and they established herds in the Fort Steele area in 1881. After the fort was decommissioned they acquired many of the buildings and in 1903 constructed one of the largest sheep shearing plants in Wyoming. In 1905 over 800,000 pounds of wool was shipped to Boston, the single largest shipment of wool ever sent out of Wyoming. 
The 748th Tank Battalion, Medium was activated on 20 August 1942 at Camp Rucker, Alabama. The Rhinos headed for Fort Knox on the 15th of April 1943 for training and on 20 April 1943 were reorganized as a special battalion equipped with CDL spotlights. They departed Fort Knox on 15 July 1943 for Camp Bouse, AZ. On 30 August 1943 they were attached to the 9th Armored Tank Group and arrived at Camp Bouse 1 September 1943 as a Canal Defense Light (CDL) unit. The Rhinos landed at Glasgow, Scotland on the 6th of April, and then proceeded to South Wales. They landed in Normandy on Utah Beach on June 6th, 1944, D-Day under the command of General Bradley who was in charge of the Third Army. Shortly after D-Day, General George S. Patton took over the Third Army and the 748th was reorganized as standard tank battalion after 23 October. The Rhinos moved to the front on 20 January 1945 near Butzdorf, Germany, attached to the 94th Infantry Division near the Siegfried Line to protect an area known as the Saat-Moselle Triangle. On the 16th of March, the Rhinos moved to Saarlautern area to support 65th Infantry Division operations to break through the Siegfried Line defenses. Attached to 5th Infantry Division near Bad Kreuznach, Germany, they crossed the Rhine on 23 March 1945 near Oppenheim just south of the Rhine bend at Mainz and became the first Third Army tanks to fight on the East bank of the river. A note of extreme interest that during a period from 23rd to the 30th of March elements of the Battalion were attached to three Corps, the VIII, XII, and XX and 5 Divisions, the 5th, 26th, 80th, 87th, and 89th. Advancing with 65th Infantry Division to Danube at Gundelhausen the 748th entered Regensburg on the 27th of April. On the 1st of May along with the 261st Regiment took Passau and crossed the Inn River into Austria on the 4th of May. The Battalion gathered at the small community of Haag outside Linz, Austria and on the 5th of May the 748th ended the war.
The Two-Story building that stood here was called the "Clubhouse". It might have been erected to house the mine and mill office, but during the years from 1906 to 1908, it was used as quarters for visiting company officials and local supervisors that did not have families. The bedrooms were upstairs and the lower floor was a lounge.
Thousands of sacks of charcoal were stacked in this area. The charcoal was used to fire the furnace used to assay the ore samples at the nearby assay office, and as fuel for blacksmith forges in the machine shop at the mine.
The Company-owned boardinghouse that stood here was leased and run by (China) Tom Joe at the turn of the century.
The Company Store stood on this lot. It sold nearly everything needed in everyday living, including clothing, groceries, prospecting supplies, grain, and drugs. The local doctor acted as his own druggist by compounding the drugs he prescribed from the ingredients carried on the store shelves.
For sharing his memories of history as he lived them here in Berlin, West Union Canyon, and other parts of Central Nevada during the early years of the twentieth century.
Because the area was sparsely settled and his patients were few, Dr. Bruton was a poor man. He walked when he visited the sick in Berlin and Union Canyon, carrying his satchel which contained all the instruments and medicines he might need. If anyone beyond walking distance needed a doctor, they usually came after him with a buggy.
Clara Bryant Ford had a passion for roses and grew over 350 varieties and 10,000 plants at the family’s estate, Fair Lane, in Dearborn, Michigan. Mrs. Ford’s favorites were tea roses in shades of yellow and white.
A stockade-type fort was built here in 1778 along Fishing Creek by Moses Van Campen. It served during the Revolution as a refuge against the Indians, by whom it was once attacked. Van Campen was the noted Indian scout of this region
A stockaded house used as a settler's refuge was situated here on the bank overlooking the river, 1778-80, when it was destroyed by the Indians. The land was later owned by James Wilson, an author of the Constitution.
