Captain William Walter Taylor
Junction, Kimble County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Grandson of Josiah Taylor and grandnephew of Creed Taylor, Indian fighters who took part in Battle of Bandera Pass, 1841. Born at Clinton, Texas; in 1889 he moved to Kimble County, to begin ranching with an uncle. In 1898 became county sheriff. His six terms included critical period of 1902 land rush. He was appointed Texas Ranger Captain in 1917 by Governor W. P. Hobby; he served ten years, chiefly at Ranger, Brownsville, and Borger. Recorded 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Descended from a line of famed Indian fighters who fought at Bandera Pass in 1841, William Walter Taylor came to Kimble County in 1889 to ranch and rose to county sheriff by 1898, steering the area through the turbulent 1902 land rush. In 1917 Governor W. P. Hobby appointed him a captain of the Texas Rangers, a post he held for a decade at hotspots like Ranger, Brownsville, and Borger. His career spanned the transformation of the Texas frontier into the modern oil-boom era.
Why it matters
Taylor's life bridges the old frontier of Indian fighters and the modern Texas Rangers, embodying the long arc of law and order across the state's settlement.
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Related people
- · William Walter Taylor
- · Josiah Taylor
- · Creed Taylor
- · W. P. Hobby
Related events
- · Battle of Bandera Pass
- · 1902 land rush
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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