abilenet August 13th, 2008
Judge K. K. Legett, one of the most prominent of the Taylor county pioneers, was born in Arkansas, November 6, 1857. He received his early education in the public schools, mostly in the country, but since completing that early struggle with the “Three R’s”, he has been constantly acquiring increased knowledge through numerous post-graduate courses in the great “school of experience.”
He began reading law in his youth at Cleburne, and without attending any law schools, he was admitted to practice in July, 1879. Four months later, on Nov. 12, 1879, he came to Taylor county, a year after the county was organized, and located in Buffalo Gap. It was then the only town in the county.
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abilenet March 6th, 2008
While researching the episode “Trouble in Buffalo Gap” on this website, I found a reference to Floyd Earl on another web page. I was interested in how Floyd ended up in a story on a website that allows authors to share their stories over the internet so I went in search of this author. Her name is Mary Milstead and she wrote a short-story titled “Ruined” in which the main character takes to spending time at the grave site of Floyd Earl, meditating on her own life. After nearly six months of searching, I was finally able to track down the author, Mary Milstead, and have a conversation with her through email about how she ended up having Floyd Earl in her story and whether or not there was a family connection between her and Mr. Earl. Unfortunately, I have to report that the inclusion of Floyd Earl in her story is purely coincidental. While Mary has family in the Buffalo Gap, Texas area, she merely picked the name Floyd Earl from the cemetery list of Buffalo Gap because she liked the way it sounded. I don’t mind saying that was a real bummer for me. Be that as it may, I found Mary’s story, “Ruined,” to be a well written story and a pleasure to read. As the story does include a real-life historical character from Taylor County’s rich historical heritage, I would encourage you to read this story and some of the Ms. Milstead’s other works. You can link to the story “Ruined” at the
this web site and can see all her stories at her
personal blog.
abilenet December 14th, 2007
This episode is a recreation of a Time magazine article published September 12, 1960, titled, “Trouble in Buffalo Gap.” Join us for this lighthearted look at the life of the Marshall of Buffalo Gap during this time.
Trouble in Buffalo Gap [4:45m]:
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abilenet April 24th, 2007
Join us for a day at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village for a reenactment of Base Ball as it was played in the 19th century. Sit down with Bob “Bonecrusher” Wetteman, “Fossil Joe” Christensen, “Spider” Simpson, all of the Buffalo Gap Vintage Base Ball Club and Michael “Molasses” Hickey of the Montgomery College Saw Dogs to find out more about this peculiar style of baseball, why they play it and what they hope to accomplish with their Vintage Base Ball teams.
Vintage Base Ball Audio [18:40m]:
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abilenet December 23rd, 2006
In this episode, we will talk about Buffalo Gap, the earliest town established in Taylor County. Take a walk through Buffalo Gap and you will see one of the most beautiful towns in West Texas. The town is shaded by groves of towering live oak trees and sits in a gap between two mesas in the Callahan Divide, which is a line of hills and mesas that separates the Brazos River basin to the north from the Concho River basin to the south. For many years in the Spring and Fall, this gap was a favorite route for buffalo herds seeking water from Elm Creek as they traveled back and forth to the high plains. This gap, a few miles south of present-day Abilene, soon became a favored camping place for native peoples as they tracked and hunted the great herds of buffalo on their north-south journey through the gap.
Credits:Frazier, Donald S, Robert F. Pace and Robert P. Wettemann, Jr. The Texas You Expect: The Story of Buffalo Gap Historic Village. State House Press, 2006.Zachry, Juanita Daniel. Abilene The Key City. Windsor Publications, Inc. Northridge, CA, 1986.
Buffalo Gap Audio [12:13m]:
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abilenet October 26th, 2006
In 1858, the Seventh Texas Legislature declares that a part of Bexar and Travis Counties would be formed into several new counties, one of which was Taylor County, named for the three Taylor brothers, James, George and Edward, who fought and died in the Alamo. Little changed in the area until 1875 when John Simpson established his Hashknife Ranch on the north side of present-day Abilene, located just to the West of present-day Abilene Christian University. At the same time, several people began living in the middle-part of the county and eventually established the town of Buffalo Gap.Listen to this podcast to learn how Abilene and Taylor County were created.Credits:
Quote taken from The Future Great City of West Texas Abilene: 1881 – 1981, Fane Downs, Editor, 1981, Rupert N. Richardson Press, Abilene, Texas, p.3.
Abilene Audio [6:09m]:
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