History of Eastland County, Texas, by Mrs. George Langston . A. D. Aldridge &Co., Dallas, 1904. As a sign of a growing interest and a proper pride in local history, this little book forms a welcome addition to the somewhat scanty store of North Texas memorabilia. Eastland County forms an integral part of a section of Texas that is as nearly without a history as almost any portion of the globe, and in treating the subject there was but small chance to create a history in the modern sense. Our authoress, however, has diligently collected quite a mass of material, and while anecdotes and somewhat apocraphal conversations abound, the sources and credibility of such are always pretty clearly indicated. The history is divided into three pretty well-marked periods. The part devoted to the first, 1858-1873, deals with the settlement of the county, first settlers, Indian fights, and nature of the country. There is an abundance of local color here, and throughout the book, perhaps more than the authoress realizes. A rather unexpected fact is brought out when she states that the population was 99 in 1860, and 88 in 1870. The second period, 1873-1880, is marked by the organization of the county and the coming of the Texas and Pacific and the Texas Central railroads. In 1880 the population of the county was 4855. The last Indian raid took place in 1874 or 1875. The third period, 1880-1904, is uninteresting historically, and is dealt with by our authoress by giving biographies of prominent citizens and lists of business houses in the various towns. This part of the book is in the nature of a directory.

H. Y. B.

How to cite:
"History of Eastland County, Texas, by Mrs. George Langston", Volume 009, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 225. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v009/n3/review_23.html
[Accessed Tue Dec 2 18:24:36 CST 2008]