FREE, TEXAS. Free was on Independence Canyon in northwestern Terrell County. It began in 1900, before Terrell County was created from Pecos County, as a post office and trading point for local ranchers. The first post office was on the Mansfield ranch in the Tarver home; Paul Tarver drove the mail hack twice a week. The post office was later moved to the Wakefield home and eventually to the Edwards Ranch, where Frank Edwards was postmaster. Edwards also ran a small store for those who came for their mail. After automobiles came into use between 1910 and 1920, local ranchers drove into larger towns for supplies and mail, and the post office at Free was no longer needed. It closed in 1921, and the small community, which was named for the surrounding open landscape, was soon abandoned.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Terrell County Heritage Commission, Terrell County, Texas (San Angelo: Anchor, 1978).
