ACMAC hosts county history bus tour
The Archer County Museum and Arts Center hosted 4th and 7th graders from across the county at multiple historic Archer County sites as part of the first of its kind bus tour on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Students from Archer City, Holliday and Windthorst attended a field trip which taught them the history of historic sites like the Stonewall Jackson Camp, the Comanche Tree Marker, Lindemann Drilling, the Larry McMurtry Literary Center, Wolf’s Legendairy, the old Archer County Jail, the Archer County Courthouse, Royal Theater and St. Mary’s Church as part of the event.
“One of my goals it to get the idea across that these roads that we drive didn’t just magically appear here, the economy in which we work in didn’t just magically appear here, the police and department didn’t just all appear here,” ACMAC Board President Dan Haile said. “The day I was born it didn’t just show up here, it showed up way, way, way before then and it evolved.”
Students rotated across the sites throughout the day on a schedule created by ACMAC board member and WISD teacher Karley Buerger. The students were treated to a lunch at the Royal Theater that was prepared by ACMAC board member Mike Humpert.
“Approximately 330 students from Archer City, Holliday, and Windthorst were able to participate in this year's bus tour, including 4th and 7th grade Texas History students who are at a key point in learning about their local history,” Buerger said. “They had the opportunity to visit historic sites throughout the county, including new additions like the Wolf’s Legendairy and the Larry McMurtry Literacy Center. The Archer County Museum and Arts board has continued to make it a priority to provide this bus tour to allow the students to connect what they’re learning in the classroom to the places and stories that shaped their own communities. It’s an experience that brings local history to life and helps students understand the importance of preserving and sharing the stories that define who we are.”
Archer County was named after Branch Tanner Archer. Archer was born in Virginia in 1790 and received a medical degree. In 1831, Archer arrived in Texas. He fought in the Battle of Gonzales and later served in the First Congress of Texas and as Speaker of the House in the Republic of Texas House of Representatives second session. Texas gave out many land grants in Archer County to those who fought at the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto. In many cases, the heirs received the land grant for those who died in pursuit of liberating Texas.
The first courthouse was donated by Dr. C.B. Hutto. The current courthouse was constructed in 1891. However, it used to only have two floors and a dome on top. In 1925, the dome was removed, and a third floor was established in its place. This stop’s docents were county treasurer PA Vieth, County Judge Randy Jackson and 97th District Judge Trish Byers.
The three-story jail was used from 1910-1974, when a new jail building was built, and the building was decommissioned as a jail. Quickly, the community turned the space around into a museum and officially opened its doors in the summer of 1975. The museum was run by volunteers and attracted thousands of people to the county over the decades. This stop’s docent was ACMAC Board member Dotty Hudson, Johnny Bart Hudson and Clifton Russell.
The United Confederate Veterans monument in the Stonewall Jackson camp lists all the charter members and the history of the camp on the other side. Area Confederate veterans formed the camp in 1897 as a place for meetings in reunions.
The Comanche Nation Marker Tree is in the park along Holliday Creek, two miles south of Holliday on FM 368.
“Those who view this sacred marker tree will have an understanding and significance of native culture for generations to come,” is written on the monument near the tree.
The tree was certified by the Texas Tree Historical Coalition in November of 2011 and claimed by the Comanche Nation on June 2, 2017. This stop’s docent was ACMAC Vice President Brad Mitchell.
Saint Mary’s Catholic Church has served as the backbone of the Windthorst community for 133 years. Its establishment can be traced back to 1891 when Dorr Clark and Duncan C. Plumb began negotiations with Circle Ranch for 75,000 acres of land for the establishment of a new colony between Archer and Clay counties. The contract specified that the land was from Catholics of German descent. This stop’s docent was Florence Anderle.
Early agreements stated that Clark and Plumb agreed to supply $3,000 for a church, rectory, and a school; 20 acres located in the center of the proposed colony were allotted as property of the church.
At Wolf’s Legendairy, students learned how their cattle are raised, the importance of cow comfort and nutrition and how their robotic milking system works. The stop’s docents were Hilary and Adam Wolf and the Legendairy staff. At the stop, the students were also provided with ice cream from Wade Howard and Dairy Max.
At Lindemann Drilling students discussed the history of oil, oil production and how oil is used today. Archer County used to be the third largest oil producer in the state of Texas and played a large role in the economics of a new county. This stop’s docents were Shane and Doug Lindemann and Tanya Choate.
At the Larry McMurtry Literary Center, students learned about Larry Mc-Murtry, his work and the history of the Booked Up bookstores. The students were then able to tour through the last remaining Booked Up store and the hundred of thousands of books which remain on property. The stop’s docents were George Getschow, Kathy Floyd and the LMLC staff.
“I realized that the impact that had to have on every one of the kids to some small degree, but there were some kids in there that you opened up a whole new aspect of their life by introducing something to them,” Haile said. “When you grow up in Windthorst, you grow up in that church but maybe you don’t know the history of it as well because you grew up with it,” He continued. “But you sure don’t know about the Comanche Tree over in Stonewall Jackson Camp that’s on the other side of the county. It’s about getting all these kids in these buses and trying to get them to different places.”
Other volunteers and sponsors who helped make the bus tour a success include the Archer County Sheriff's Office for helping students safely cross streets, Karren Winter, Kimbra York, Christie Mooney, Olivia Taggart, Kim Whitsitt, Ronnie Meyer and City of Archer City, City of Holliday, Jodi Shawver, Mindy Anderle, Donna Haile, Chick Fil A of Wichita Falls and Heather Schroeder, David and Karen McAnn, Tammy Humpert, Bonnie Schulumph and Rebecca Seely.
“This is a passion project for everyone at the ACMAC,” Haile said. “We take a lot of pride in showing the 4th and 7th graders historic spots all over the county. But we could never make this happen without the support of the school administrators and the incredibly hard work of the educators who bring out all the students. It was impressive for me to see the passion these teachers have to provide their students with the best education possible. The teachers saw this as an opportunity for their kids to get something extra out of a day at school, and they made the most of that opportunity. We could not do it without those dedicated teachers.”
The Archer County Museum and Arts Center is a non-profit organization geared towards restoring and preserving the history of Archer County. In the last couple of years, the ACMAC has been established to create a plan to preserve and restore the old Archer County jail and museum. Currently most of the contents of the old jail have been cataloged, and the plan is to work towards complete restoration of the old jail and museum, to provide the history to be preserved for the present and future citizens of all of Archer County.
The Archer County Museum and Arts Center hope to continue this trip as an annual tradition for years to come, but can only do so with the support of the community, “We can only do this because it’s people’s passion,” Haile said. “Karley Buerger didn’t do all this work because she was going to get extra money. She did it because she’s passionate about. Everybody does this because they are passionate about Archer County and our legacy, history, and preservation. We need people that believe in that to come help through either time, treasure, or talent.”
