Henrietta, Texas

Texas

Henrietta was wiped off the map twice before settlers managed to stay.

historicalmilitaryculture

In 1860 Henrietta was ten houses, a general store, and a hundred and nine people, sitting at the far western edge of Anglo settlement in north central Texas. Attacks from local tribes came steadily through the early 1860s. By late 1862 the town was empty. Settlers went back east to Cooke and Montague counties, and the buildings that were left standing were burned. People kept trying. In 1865, just after the Civil War, a group attempting to resettle the site was massacred. A party of Quakers moved onto the old townsite next. Its members were either killed or fled. Then in 1870, fifty soldiers and Kiowa fought a battle in the ruins. After that fight, settlers came back a third time, and this time they stayed. The post office reopened in 1874. Within a decade Henrietta was the economic hub of north central Texas, and the courthouse built in 1884 is still in use.

This is the first of 2 parts. The rest runs about 2 minutes and is read to you as you drive past. Hear the whole piece.

What this was written from
By late 1862, Henrietta was abandoned, and white settlers returned east to Cooke and Montague counties. Remaining structures were burned.

Written from Wikipedia, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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