Comanche Gap
Nolanville vicinity, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Break in mountain chain from Lampasas River to Nolan Creek. Route to one of oldest Indian trails in Southwest, and escape point for Comanches after last raid in Bell County. On March 14-16, 1859, the Indians killed four settlers, including John and Jane Riggs. They captured Rhoda and Margaret, daughters of the Riggses, but abandoned them here at the gap as they fled from a posse. Public feeling after this raid led to a campaign against the Comanches, led by Maj. Earl Van Dorn, commanding U.S. Cavalry. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This break in the hills between the Lampasas River and Nolan Creek sat astride one of the Southwest's oldest Indian trails and became an escape route for Comanches after their last raid in Bell County. In March 1859, raiders killed four settlers, including John and Jane Riggs, and carried off their daughters Rhoda and Margaret before abandoning them at the gap while fleeing a pursuing posse. Public outrage helped spur a U.S. Cavalry campaign against the Comanches led by Major Earl Van Dorn.
Why it matters
Comanche Gap marks the violent frontier collision between settlers and the Comanche people that shaped central Texas in the years before the Civil War.
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Related people
- · John Riggs
- · Jane Riggs
- · Earl Van Dorn
Related events
- · 1859 Comanche raid in Bell County
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Bird Creek Battlefield
Temple, TX
On May 26, 1839, Captain John Bird and a company of just 34 Texas Rangers clashed here with a far larger force of some 240 Native fighters during the Republic of Texas era. Bird was killed in the fight, but his outnumbered command reportedly drove off their opponents. The engagement was one of many bloody frontier skirmishes as Anglo settlement pushed into Central Texas.
Bird Creek Indian Battle
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On May 26, 1839, a small Ranger force of 34 men under Captain John Bird clashed with a far larger body of Native warriors near this site during the Republic of Texas's violent frontier era. Bird and several of his men were killed in the fighting, an episode the State of Texas marked in 1936 to honor the fallen. The engagement was one of countless bloody encounters as the young republic pushed its settlement line into Comanche and allied territory.
Herrington Cemetery
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John Granberry Herrington and his wife Elvira Jane left Mississippi for Texas in 1873, pressing on past Nacogdoches—where fellow travelers stopped—to settle the wilderness of Bell County. There they bought land, built a cabin and barns, and raised twelve children. When John died in 1903, his family buried him just yards from his home, founding the cemetery that a family association still tends today.
Pleasant Hill Cemetery
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