Written by Clay Riley – Origins of many of the names assigned to communities and creeks in Brown and neighboring counties is not definitely known. The early settlers seem to have given to localities certain names which had a temporary significance, and while the names have been retained through the years the original significance in many cases cannot now be traced. Tradition answers the question as to many of the names and their origin, as in the case of Wolf Valley, for instance. In the 1940s Robert H. Porter, a pioneer of Brown County and a long-time resident in the valley, was of the opinion that when early day scouting or hunting parties first visited this section they found and possibly killed a great many wolves in that immediate vicinity. Consequently, the name Wolf Valley was given to it, and is still used.
Many of the communities bear the names of pioneer families, such as Williams, Owens, Byrd, and many others. The county itself was named in honor of Captain Henry S. Brown, who was the first white man known to have visited the county, in December, 1828, whose successful chase of a party of Indians from central Texas into this area. Brownwood likewise was named in honor of Captain Brown. It was a coincidence that one of the earliest settlers here and the first postmaster of the Brownwood office, appointed in 1858, was Henry C. Brown, and that W. F. (Uncle Billy) Brown was another of the settlers of the first two years who lived here, dying at the age of more than ninety years.
Professor T. R. Havins conducted extensive researches into the musty records and discovered either the facts or the traditional explanation as to the origin of many names in Brown and neighboring counties. Among others, he recorded that Caddo Peak, a little mountain west of Cross Plains in Callahan County near the Brown County line, derived its name from the camping of the Caddo Indians at the springs just west of the peak for a number of years. Santa Anna mountains and the town of Santa Anna, twenty miles west of Brownwood in Coleman county, likewise got their name from an Indian chief and there is no association between the name and that of the Mexican President whom Sam Houston defeated at San Jacinto. Professor Havins says there were two Indian chiefs named Santa Anna who were active in this section during the past century, and that the mountains were named for the older of the two who had his camp just north of the mountains. This chief died in an epidemic at Anson, Texas, in 1849.
There is so much tradition about the frontier Indian activities in the vicinity of the Santa Anna mountains that some of the details merit mention here. Chief Santa Anna, for whom the mountains were named, was sketched by the Rev. F. M. Cross in his little book of Central Texas history as an unusual man in many respects. Chief Santa Anna, he says, was a party to a treaty of peace executed in the 1840s, and the chief himself was taken to Washington where he met the President and was given a photograph of the chief executive. The chief died and was buried near Fort Chadbourne.
Continuing his story of the Santa Anna mountains, Mr. Cross writes of many fights with the Indians there: “In 1863 a company of Confederate soldiers were stationed at Colorado post. This was the company to which I belonged. When the Indians would slip down in the settlements and steal horses the people would send a runner to our camp and we would send a party to these mountains to spy out for them.
“We would station men at secreted places as near the mountain as possible and then place a spy on top of the mountain to watch for the Indians. A man on one of these mountains could see a bunch of horsemen a long way off. When the man on the mountain would discover the Indians coming, he would watch then until he could see which side of the mountain they were going on, and then he would go down to the other men and tell them which side of the mountain the Indians were starting for, and the white men knew just how and where to make the fight. The Indians hardly ever passed those mountains without losing all the stock they had stolen.”
Mr. Cross added that while many Indians were shot and wounded in that neighborhood few were killed, chiefly because they usually rode the best horses they possessed and could run away when attacked. Several hard battles were fought there between the Indians and the whites.
Professor Havins records “that three streams in Brown County owe their names to Indian activities or associations. Indian Creek in South Brown County received its name in 1846. That year William S. Wallace, a deputy surveyor from San Antonio, with seven companions, made a number of surveys in the county. The party was engaged in surveying lands west of Pecan Bayou when two members of the group, Martin James and William Bratten, followed a wounded deer to the creek that is now known as Indian creek. They were making their way cautiously along the stream, keeping a sharp lookout for the deer when they met a Kiowa brave on foot and running along at a fast trot. They stopped the Indian and inquired the cause of his hurry. He pointed toward the Colorado River and said, ‘Heap Indians,’ and trotted a way. The Kiowa band of which the brave was a member had been attacked by Yellow Wolf and his Comanches that morning and were all but exterminated. James and Bratten hid in the brush and waited for the Comanches to pass, which they did in about an hour. Late in the evening they made their way back to camp and related their story. Since that time the creek has been called Indian Creek.”
Blanket Creek, Mr. Havins continues, was a favorite haunt of the Tonkawa was when they came west to hunt buffalo. “They always stopped for a few days along this stream about half way between Zephyr and Blanket. On one occasion, they had the sumacs covered with their gaudy blankets. A band of Coryell County men stopped at the camp and visited with the friendly Tonkawa. The whites noted the great number of blankets being sunned on the bushes and conceived their idea of naming the creek Blanket Creek.” The town of Blanket got its name from this incident.
Jim Ned Creek, which empties into Lake Brownwood, was named in honor of Jim Ned, a noted Delaware chief who lived in the region of Wise and Montague counties.
Delaware Creek was named in honor of Jim Ned’s tribe. Jim Ned was a friend and ally of the Comanche chiefs Old Owl and Santa Anna, as well as a friend and ally of the whites. There is much tradition about his life and activities, much of it unsupported legend.
Historian T.R. Havins says the origin of Pecan Bayou’s name is a problem. “Just when the stream received its name is not known, he wrote. It was known as early as 1838 when the first land survey was made in the county. The word “pecan” certainly must have come from the abundance of timber of that variety which grows along the stream, but the word ‘bayou’ is a misnomer, for the stream is not unlike other rivers of this section of Texas and is wholly unlike a typical bayou. Merriam-Webster defines a bayou as: a creek, secondary watercourse, or minor river that is tributary to another body of water. In this case, the Pecan Bayou may have fanned out in a delta or bayou, prior to emptying into the Colorado River.
Steppes creek was named for James Steppes who settled on the stream in 1851, but not in Brown County’s portion of it.
Adams Branch, known to most people as the Slough,” drew its name from Ichabod Adams who came here in 1857 and was one of the most prominent citizens of the county in the early days. He was sent to Austin in 1858 to ask for a company of rangers to protect the frontier from Indian ravages, and also held office in the new county for many years.
Salt Mountain and Salt Creek got their names from the fact that deer and antelope congregated there and licked salt from the banks of the little stream.
Logan’s gap was in the line of hills along the Comanche County line and was named for Thomas Logan, Comanche county pioneer.
Turkey creek, emptying into Pecan Bayou, received its name from the fact that many wild turkeys were found along its course. Turkey Peak, near Zephyr, was similarly named.
The origin of many other familiar names is not definitely known, while some are self-explanatory, such as Clear Creek, Dulin, Weedon, and others. But there must have been some frugal people in the neighborhood when Thrifty was named.
Source; THE PROMISED LAND: James White, HISTORY OF EARLY DAYS IN BROWN COUNTY: By F. M. Cross, Early issues of the BROWNWOOD BULLETIN.
This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family or local history research.
Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years.
Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; pvgsbwd@gmail.com.
