Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 86
801 p. : ill., ports. ; 32 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
fashioned stump-speaking, in which all of the
candidates for local and state office would
mount the flag-and-bunting bedecked plat-
form and speak in behalf of their candidacy
for public office.
It was probably on this historic political
battleground that Dr. Richard Harrison and
General James E. Harrison of Waco appeared
in 1873 to address a political rally on behalf
of the candidacy of Richard J. Coke, Demo-
cratic candidate for governor in opposition to
the Republican rule of E.J. Daivs. It was
under this same elm grove that James E.
Ferguson continued his bitter attack on the
faculty and administration of the University
of Texas in 1917 before his impeachment.
The impeachment had little effect on Fergu-
son's popularity in Bosque County, as the
voters gave both him and Mrs. Ferguson a
majority in every political race that they
engaged in between 1914 and 1930.
In 1939 Albert M. Jones, a well known
cotton buyer in Valley Mills, was elected to
the Texas House of Representatives repre-
senting Bosque, Somerville, and Johnson
counties. He served in this capacity until
1953.
In June, 1919, the Humble Pipe Line
Company bought 32.7 acres of land out of the
John C. Pool Survey. This acreage, five miles
north of Valley Mills, was to be the site of a
pump station to be known as the Pendell
Pump Station. Easements for installing
many miles of pipe lines were obtained from
land owners. A brick building was construct-
ed, huge drums for the storage of crude oil
were erected, and four houses for employees
were built. The plant was in operation by
1924, and men from both Valley Mills and
Clifton were employed. The pump station
was a boost to the economy of the area during
the depression years. The station was closed
down prior to 1959, and J.B. Gilbreath
purchased the land and buildings. Byford
Tool Manufacturing Company leased the
building in 1968.
Valley Mills, featured in the March issue,
1928, of West Texas Today, was described as
follows: "Valley Mills, in many ways, is the
most unique town in Bosque County. The
town claims to have more cement sidewalks,
more beautiful shade trees, and better paved
and graveled streets than any other place its
size in Central Texas, and has a city tax rate
of only fifty cents on the $100 valuation.
Valley Mills has the only cotton oil mill in
Bosque County, and its high school operates
more transportation buses than any other
school in the county . . . Stock raising and
dairy farming are principal industries. The
population of Valley Mills is about 1,000.
Shipments from Valley Mills include: over
200 cars of livestock, 150 cars of grain, and
cotton shipments average about 7,000 bales.
Many cars of mill products and thousands of
dollars of poultry and dairy products are sent
out besides these other items."In October, 1929, Lone Star Gas Company
first began supplying natural gas to the
residents of Valley Mills.
During the dark days of the early 1930's
when depression stalked the land, the Valley
Mills Annual Picnic and Homecoming attrac-
ted large crowds each July. In the year 1930
the affair was held from July 9 through July
12 and the grounds were described as,
"McNeill Park, one of the coolest and
shadiest parks in the entire state. The
political orators for the picnic included Pat
86M. Neff, Edgar E. Witt, Robert Lee Bobbitt,
and James V. Allred. The Donald McGregor
shows furnished the entertainment along the
white way."
Two years later in 1932, C.V. Terrell, J.H.
(Cyclone) Davis, George W. Armstrong, Roy
Sanderford, and James V. Allred were among
politicians who spoke at the picnic. On this
occasion the candidates were faced with
severe competition from "Bozo the African
Freak, the Alligator Girl," and other attrac-
tions that were a part of Burdricks All-Texas
Shows.
Merchants of Valley Mills during the
depression years included R.L. Morris's
Motor Inn; Romine and Romine, where the
"sensational new Chevrolet Six" was listed at
prices varying from $495 for the Roadster to
$695 for the Sedan; the McNeill Drug Store,
with its Cherry Bark Cough Syrup, "purest
aspirin and purest Castor Oil"; the McNeill
Hardware and Implement Company, which
featured the "Aladdin instant light Mantle
lamp that gives a modern white light from
kerosene"; McNeill's Cash Bargain Store,
where "dry goods, clothes, shoes, ready to
wear" were featured at sale prices (with
Curlee, Hart-Shaffner and Marx suits listed
from $14.95 to $23.95); the McNeill Mercan-
tile Company; Mrs. J.C. Howard's Style
Shoppe, W.A. Simpson's Dry Goods; Jones'
Grocery; the Valley Mills Cheese Factory,
where $63,844.64 worth of cheese and cream
was sold during a thirteen month period; R.G.
Nowlin's Insurance Agency; Tate Brothers'
Hardware; J.G. Simm's The City Market; and
C.A. Lawrence, who had a grocery and variety
store "at the first door west of the bank."
During these years the First National Bank
listed W.T. McNeill as president; Charles E.
Dansby vice president; Roy S. Pool, cashier;
and L.E. Walker and Carl Heath as assistant
cashiers. H.G. Fall was the owner and editor
of the Valley Mills Tribune.
Valley Mills used the trades day theme to
bring possible customers to town during the
lean years of the 1920's and 1930's. A boxing
show on Saturday nights during the summer
months attracted huge crowds of spectators.
In an attempt to foster trade, it was an-
nounced that "anything you have to sell or
trade will be announced free for you without
charge during the boxing. We will auction
anything free."
During the years of the depression and the
Second World War, Valley Mills lost popula-
tion along with all other towns and communi-
ties of the county. However, the stable prices
of the farm commodity market and the good
years for ranchers that followed the war have
returned considerable prosperity to this
southern Bosque trade center.
Founded in 1968-1969, the Bosque Valley
Heritage Society has, as its most important
project, established a museum in the old
depot. The depot, donated by the Santa Fe
Railway, was moved to Santa Fe Park,through the efforts of the Heritage Society.
Each Fourth of July, a celebration is held in
the park.
Present day Valley Mills has a population
of more than 1200. The school, with an
enrollment of 426 students in 1984-85, is
located on the northwest corner of town. The
auditorium has a date of 1934; however, the
building has been recently remodeled. The
school is proud not only of its scholastic
record, but also of its record of winning teams
in sporting events. In 1983, the Valley MillsBaseball Team won the state championship
in Class A competition.
Health care facilities in Valley Mills in-
clude a clinic, a rest home, and offices of a
dentist and a chiropractor. The Valley Mills
Clinic was built around 1969. Operated first
as a city clinic, it was bought in 1976 by the
Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton, and is
now operated as a satellite clinic. Dr. James
Brock worked in the clinic for a number of
years, and Dr. Steve Alley is the present
doctor in charge. Valley Mills Care Center
opened in July of 1970. An intermediate care
facility, it has a capacity for sixty-one
patients. Mrs. Cleo Jones has been the
administrator since 1971. Dr. Joe H. Yarbro
is the owner of Valley Mills Dental Clinic, and
the office of Dr. John E. Williams, chiroprac-
tor, is located in Valley Millls.
Although Valley Mills has no large indus-
tries, the town is proud of its heritage and
continues to grow. Looking to the future, the
City of Valley Mills has been sanctioned as
a Sesquicentennial City, and plans are being
made for celebrating Texas' 150th birthday
in 1986 during the July Fourth activities at
Santa Fe Park.
Today, Highway 6 passes through the main
street of Valley Mills. The lovely old rock
buildings which line the business section of
Main Street have not been altered or moder-
nized as they have in other county towns.
Business establishments located along this
street include: several grocery stores, a farm
and ranch supply, an antique and flower
shop, a style shop, bank, an insurance agency,
drug store, gift shop, motel, machine shop,
lumber company, several gas stations, a
funeral home, two fast food places, real estate
agency, and others. The city is very proud of
its efficient volunteer fire department and
modern post office building. It seems fitting
that 118 years after the first mill was built in
1867 the skyline of present Valley Mills is
dominated by the grain elevator at the
Markum Feed Mill. The Valley Mills Tri-
bune, established in 1901 and printed weekly,
has as a part of its mast head, "Valley Mills-
Gateway to Beautiful Bosque County."
by F. Johnson, E. Torrence, William
C. Pool,
r ,
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View 28 pages within this book that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Bosque County History Book Committee. Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas), book, 1985; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91038/m1/102/?q=campbell: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library.