The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 15, 1979 Page: 4 of 12
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Page 4 The J-TAC February 14 ,1979
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McDowel's Hole:
Ghosts may exist in Erath County
by Mary Rucker
J-TAC reporter
Most counties in Texas have
their tall tales to tell. There is
usually a ghost story-- or
two-kept alive for hundreds of
years through the tellings of
incidents either heard of, or
experienced by, the "old timers"
the day.
Erath County is no
exception. This ghost story is
one that is repeated endlessly to
the children and the new
residents of Stephenville. Why?
Because a little mystery or an
incident without a clear cut
explanation are the spice in life
that keeps intellectual minds
from becoming stagnated. So...
why not a ghost?
Most of the students of TSU
have at one time or another gone
looking for the ghost of
McDowel's Hole. What they
found, or saw, or heard is
another story to tell. This is the
real story ' of how the ghost
began her lonely vigil in the area
surrounding Alexander.
Many years ago a man named
Charlie Papworth and his wife
Jenny came to Texas and settled
in the area around Alexander,
where there was an abundance
of good land and running water.
They built a small cabin and
began their lives 'as settlers of
Texas. Two years passed quickly
and Charlie and Jenny were
• blessed with good crops and fair
weather. On moving to Texas
they were the proud parents of a
young son, and during their
second year in Texas, were again
made parents of a baby girl.
Life looked good for Charlie
and his small family, but as
things go tragedy struck.
Charlie's parents both died from
an illness in Georgia and he was
needed to help settle their
estate.
Charlie knew that he was
going to be gone for several
weeks, so he made arrangements
with two of his neighbors to
look in on Jenny and let her and
the children stay at their homes
at night. Charlie packed his
horse, kissed Jenny and the
children goodbye and departed
on his journey, feeling that
Jenny was a capable woman and
that he had provided for her
safety in his abscence. He never
thought of the evils that were to
befall them and left-never to see
Jenny again.
With winter coming on,
Jenny had much to do to
prepare for the cold days ahead.
Her days were filled with busy
preparations and as dusk would
fall, she would take th§ phjidren
and walk to one of the neighbors
homes to spend the night.
One evening, Jenny did not
show at either ''ome, but it was
w.y-..
NIX HARDWARE
and
Manufacturing
| 193 S. Graham
"" trF
There's no such thing as ghosts?
The remains of what was once a bridge loom ominously in the background surrounding
McDowel's Hole. It may look harmless enough in the daytime, but beware the falling
dusk.
•r'/7fu 11 r-Piii^
MAJESTIC theai*e
Fri & Sat only
"Hot Lead
and
Cold Feet" g
Show Times:
Week Days: 5-7-9
Sat & Sun 1-3-5-7-9
STARTS SUNDAY
Who
dunnit?
Neil Simon's
"The Cheap
Detective"
late into the next daybefore this
was realized. The neighbors
hurried to Jenny's cabin and
found it vacant. Signs of struggle
were apparant and there were
blood spots all over the rough
floor. As the neighbors turned to
leave and begin their hopeless
search, a noise from under one
of the beds drew their attention.
The oldest son, Trinity, crawled
out and could only utter
incoherent broken sentences
about the fate of his mother.
Nothing substantial, but enough
to put a seal on the fears of the
searchers as to Jenny's fate.
Jenny and her baby were never
found and so began the tales of
McDowel's* Hole.
Today as people go searching
for the ghost of Jenny, most of1
them only consider the fact that
they might stir up some
excitement for an evening. It
can't be proven whether or not
anyone actually sees the ghost,
but there have been accounts
made by folks in this area to
make a person think twice about
the possibilities of a ghost
The last of this story, the
trestle , is told and believed to
this day by the train engineers
that went through Alexander,
The first night that Jenny was
seen on the trestle, was several
years after her disappearance.
The engineer was four miles
outside of the town of
Alexander, when he threw on
the brakes and was yelling about
a woman on the tracks. He shut
the train down and the men all
got out to look. They found
nothing, but the engineer swore
that he had seen her. The next
evening as they neared the same'
area,y the engineer slowed down
and they all looked, there art the
tracks was a woman holding a
baby. The men got out once
again and searched, but no
woman was (found. For close to
twenty-five years "the woman"
appeared nightly on the tracks
and the mefl who ran the trains
could never explain her
appearances or deny the fact
that she existed.
The story holds that on some
dark nights around midnight
Jenny runs through the area of
McDowel's Hole and the trestles
(the remains of the old railroad
tracks) searching for her
murderer. With her she carries
her baby. The screams of
"Jenny" are said to be like that
of the scream of a panther and
that those who near it are
doomed.
McDowel's Hole is an elusive
place to find, because of how
the years have changed the creek
bed and the remains of the cabin
have long ago disappered. Yet,
on the creek bed there is a
feeling of unrest and when the
wind whistles around those old
trestles and the shadows deepen,
late at night, who's to say for
sure that....there's no such thing
as ghosts.
Sunday Thru
Thursday
— n it nana i in m
STARLITE °m8;
llfrlUM
Fri-Sat-Sun
only
MAGIC
ATerrifying
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 15, 1979, newspaper, February 15, 1979; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141418/m1/4/: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.