<p>For nearly three decades, the settlers of Lampasas were challenged by frontier hardships and dangers. The isolated Hill Country community was founded in the 1850s amid bubbling mineral springs, During summer "watering seasons," hundreds of Texans made their way through the wilderness to "take the waters" at Lampasas Springs. Most of the summer visitors camped for weeks in shady groves beside the springs-enjoying such simple recreations as visiting, singing, communal meals, and preaching services-while children swam and played in large gangs. Lampasas merchants learned to rely upon an annual surge of business, as the population doubled and sometimes tripled each summer. During the town's formative years, Lampasans endured Comanche raids, numerous saloon shootouts, a vicious blood feud, stock theft, lynchings, stagecoach robberies and conflict between cattlemen and sheepherders. Trail drives paused at Lampasas Springs, and area drovers herded cattle up from the famous trails as the cowboy culture permeated Lampasas. Trail boss Pink Higgins became a gunfighter of the front rank, the Horrell brothers were notorious cattle rustlers, and the Horrells triggered a saloon fight unique in the annals of frontier violence. The long frontier era ended when railroad tracks reached Lampasas in 1882. The magnificent Park Hotel was built as the centerpiece of a 200-acre park, which for a few years became the leading resort in Texas. Statewide political and denominational conventions were held at the "Saratoga of the South." The Texas Bankers Association organized at the Park Hotel, and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas adopted their name during a Lampasas meeting. The Texas Sate Guard, forerunner of the National Guard, held its first two statewide encampments on the spacious grounds of the Park Hotel. The urban pioneers of the frontier Lampasas enjoyed a Victorian heyday through the glamour of the Saratoga of the South.</p>

Lampasas 1855-1895: Biography of a Frontier City

History

O'Neal, Bill

Americas

Wild Horse Media Group

Lampasas 1855-1895: Biography of a Frontier Texas Town

<p>Bluebonnet Award Nominee. - Searching for a better life, Mina, Papa, and Mama left their German fatherland aboard the brig Margaretha ,bound for Texas. They had been told it was the paradise of North America, but when Mina steps onto the desolate beach at Indian Point on a cold December day in 1845, she wants to go back to Germany and Opa's cozy house in the village of Wehrestedt. But go on they must. In spite of mama's tragic death, Mina and Papa push inland with the Kaufmann family to the Texas hill country. There Mina encounters an Indian chief and his young daughter, Amaya, whose help she needs when Papa falls ill. Based on her ancestors' immigration to Texas, Janice Shefelman tells of a journey into the wilderness that is filled with hardship, tragedy and adventure . . . young readers will glimpse a fascinating view of what life in early Texas was like for German settlers.Texas</p>

A Paradise Called Texas

Children's Books

Shefelman, Janice Jordan

Biographies

A fascinating and informative stroll through the life and times of a physician who was the epitome of the country doctor . . . compassionate, dedicated, always available and an excellent clinician.  Dr. H.B. Cowart's career spanned six decades and all of the transformation not only in medicine but also in the people and culture of Mississippi.  He was a legend in his own time and with his passing, the last of the country doctors. During his lifetime he was well known in Poplarville and throughout South Mississippi. active in Mississippi politics, practiced medicine through the Great Depression and two World Wars.

Doc: The Legacy of Dr. H.B. Cowart - South Mississippi Country Doctor 1881-1970

Biographies & Memoirs

Marshall Brister, Jane. E.

Historical

Written for the younger reader, "Lafitte: Terror of the Gulf" Traces the career of Jean Lafitte through his days as a Gulf of Mexico buccaneer to his role as defender of New Orleans and his final disappearance in 1826 under uncertain circumstances. This book is part of the "Stories for Young Americans" series from Eakin Press. An Eakin Press Imprint from Wild Horse Media Group

Lafitte: The Terror of the Gulf

Gonzalez, Catherine Troxell

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