Texas Indians of Brookhaven
One of the lost communities of Bell County is the small town of Brookhaven, Texas. At its zenith, the town boasted of a growing economy with a number of successful businesses. The population fluctuated and reached a high point of fifty-two people. However, the town also faced its share of violence from the Comanche Indians.
Brookhaven was on Oak Branch twelve miles northwest of Belton in northwestern Bell County. Before 1882 the community was loosely known as Post Oak Branch and was the site of numerous revivals and camp meetings. In the summer of 1882, when a local school was constructed, the community's name was changed to Brookhaven at the suggestion of Charlie and Ed Oswalt, who named it for the town in Mississippi where they had previously lived. In 1896 Brookhaven had a population of seventy-five and a Masonic hall, a district school, a cotton gin, two general stores, two drugstores, and three churches (Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian).(1)
The Comanche Indians relocated from their lands in the Rocky Mountains and settled in north and western areas of Texas, hunting the buffalo roaming the wide open plains. At one point there were about twelve different Comanche tribes living in Texas. In the 1600s the Comanches obtained horses from the Spaniards to hunt buffalo.(2). After the Civil War, farmers were attracted by the vast farmland in western Texas and began moving there. The Comanche and the Kiowa tried to drive the newcomers away by attacking wagon trains and by burning farms. To protect the settlers, the U.S. Army raided the camps of Indian tribes.(3).
Cynthia Ann Parker was a woman of the time who survived the war and the massacre of the Comanche Indians near present-day Waco, Texas. She was captured by the Indians and never returned to white society. She married and her son, Quanah Parker, became a Comanche leader. At the end of the war between the Texas Rangers and the Comanche Indians, the Indians relocated to Oklahoma. Quanah Parker had the Parkers' graves moved from east Texas to the Indian reservation in Oklahoma.(4).
There were many accounts of wars between the Texas Rangers and Texas Indians. A young man described one such fight as a fight for the “white world.” "The Comanche Indians would get behind trees and brush and try waylaying us as we were running the Indians. One day as we had a bunch of the Indians on the run a Comanche Indian was hiding behind a tree and almost got me with his bow and arrow. I jumped behind another tree. Him and I had an interesting fight for awhile as one of us would peep around the tree to shoot the other would peel the bark in the other's face."(5).
The Comanche Indians embraced war and fighting because it demonstrated their bravery. The Comanche chose to strike at night and burn houses and wagons in an attempt to force the settlers to leave. According to Mary E. Rayfield, white resident of Montague County, Texas, the Comanches kidnapped her brother and the Fitzpatrick family down the street from her. The Indians shot her brother to pieces, and shot and killed Mr. Fitzpatrick. Mrs. Fitzpatrick was scalped and died from loss of blood in her front yard.(6).
The town of Brookhaven declined in population from seventy-two people to twenty people. This was largely due to the Indian raids by the Comanche and other Indian tribes. The town was left in ruins and the businesses died out and never recovered. Some historians say that it is not a tragedy for Brookhaven to be under water. Other historians claim that the town could have been rebuilt and grown almost to the size of Fort Hood.
Brookhaven was on Oak Branch twelve miles northwest of Belton in northwestern Bell County. Before 1882 the community was loosely known as Post Oak Branch and was the site of numerous revivals and camp meetings. In the summer of 1882, when a local school was constructed, the community's name was changed to Brookhaven at the suggestion of Charlie and Ed Oswalt, who named it for the town in Mississippi where they had previously lived. In 1896 Brookhaven had a population of seventy-five and a Masonic hall, a district school, a cotton gin, two general stores, two drugstores, and three churches (Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian).(1)
The Comanche Indians relocated from their lands in the Rocky Mountains and settled in north and western areas of Texas, hunting the buffalo roaming the wide open plains. At one point there were about twelve different Comanche tribes living in Texas. In the 1600s the Comanches obtained horses from the Spaniards to hunt buffalo.(2). After the Civil War, farmers were attracted by the vast farmland in western Texas and began moving there. The Comanche and the Kiowa tried to drive the newcomers away by attacking wagon trains and by burning farms. To protect the settlers, the U.S. Army raided the camps of Indian tribes.(3).
Cynthia Ann Parker was a woman of the time who survived the war and the massacre of the Comanche Indians near present-day Waco, Texas. She was captured by the Indians and never returned to white society. She married and her son, Quanah Parker, became a Comanche leader. At the end of the war between the Texas Rangers and the Comanche Indians, the Indians relocated to Oklahoma. Quanah Parker had the Parkers' graves moved from east Texas to the Indian reservation in Oklahoma.(4).
There were many accounts of wars between the Texas Rangers and Texas Indians. A young man described one such fight as a fight for the “white world.” "The Comanche Indians would get behind trees and brush and try waylaying us as we were running the Indians. One day as we had a bunch of the Indians on the run a Comanche Indian was hiding behind a tree and almost got me with his bow and arrow. I jumped behind another tree. Him and I had an interesting fight for awhile as one of us would peep around the tree to shoot the other would peel the bark in the other's face."(5).
The Comanche Indians embraced war and fighting because it demonstrated their bravery. The Comanche chose to strike at night and burn houses and wagons in an attempt to force the settlers to leave. According to Mary E. Rayfield, white resident of Montague County, Texas, the Comanches kidnapped her brother and the Fitzpatrick family down the street from her. The Indians shot her brother to pieces, and shot and killed Mr. Fitzpatrick. Mrs. Fitzpatrick was scalped and died from loss of blood in her front yard.(6).
The town of Brookhaven declined in population from seventy-two people to twenty people. This was largely due to the Indian raids by the Comanche and other Indian tribes. The town was left in ruins and the businesses died out and never recovered. Some historians say that it is not a tragedy for Brookhaven to be under water. Other historians claim that the town could have been rebuilt and grown almost to the size of Fort Hood.
Texas Indians of Brookhaven Reference List
[1]Mark Odintz, "BROOKHAVEN, TX," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hrb57), accessed June 16, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
[2] 1995. "The Comanche’s." First Texans: Sixteen Tribes Of Native People & How They Lived 69. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 23, 2013)
[3] Pelta, Kathy. 2002. "THE HISTORY: The Lone Star State." Texas (0-8225-4064-9) 16. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 23, 2013).
[4]Parker, Cynthia Ann. 2002. "One Who Was Found." More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Texas Women 21. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 23, 2013)
[5]Harris, Henry Ward, and Steve Hall. 2003. "INDIAN-FIGHTING TEXAS RANGER Henry Ward Harris." Wild West 15, no. 5: 24. Bibliography of Native North Americans, EBSCOhost (accessed June 24, 2013)
[6]la Vere, David. 1998. "Chapter One: Raids and Warfare." In Life Among the Texas Indians: The WPA Narratives, 49. n.p.: Texas A&M University Press, 1998. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 24, 2013)
[2] 1995. "The Comanche’s." First Texans: Sixteen Tribes Of Native People & How They Lived 69. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 23, 2013)
[3] Pelta, Kathy. 2002. "THE HISTORY: The Lone Star State." Texas (0-8225-4064-9) 16. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 23, 2013).
[4]Parker, Cynthia Ann. 2002. "One Who Was Found." More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Texas Women 21. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 23, 2013)
[5]Harris, Henry Ward, and Steve Hall. 2003. "INDIAN-FIGHTING TEXAS RANGER Henry Ward Harris." Wild West 15, no. 5: 24. Bibliography of Native North Americans, EBSCOhost (accessed June 24, 2013)
[6]la Vere, David. 1998. "Chapter One: Raids and Warfare." In Life Among the Texas Indians: The WPA Narratives, 49. n.p.: Texas A&M University Press, 1998. Texas Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 24, 2013)