Dr. and Mrs. Wm. A. Warner
Claude, Armstrong County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Two of the most admired and beloved pioneer citizens of Armstrong County, Dr. Warner (1864-1934) was a country physician and his wife Phebe (Kerrick) (1866-1935) was an ardent humanitarian. Natives of Illinois, they were married in Claude in 1898. During his 35-year practice here, Dr. Warner made numerous calls by buggy and delivered over 2,000 babies, many in dug-outs. Affectionately called "The Little Brown Wren" for her busy, cheerful manner, Mrs. Warner originated women's clubs in the Panhandle and continually worked to improve rural life. (1969)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Dr. William Warner and his wife Phebe married in Claude in 1898 and spent thirty-five years as beloved fixtures of the Texas Panhandle frontier. The doctor rode by buggy to far-flung calls and delivered more than 2,000 babies, many in earthen dug-out homes, while Phebe—the tireless "Little Brown Wren"—founded women's clubs across the Panhandle and worked to better rural life. Together they embodied the civic and medical care that knit isolated frontier communities together.
Why it matters
Their story shows how a country doctor and an organizing clubwoman brought health and civic institutions to one of the last-settled corners of Texas.
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Related people
- · William A. Warner
- · Phebe Kerrick Warner
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Site of Warner Building
Claude, TX
In 1909 civic leaders Dr. William A. Warner and Phebe K. Warner built a two-story hub at the heart of the young Panhandle town of Claude. Designed by an Amarillo architectural firm, the Warner Building packed in a doctor's office, the Gate City Drugstore, a barber shop, the Claude News, a public reading room, a lodge hall, and even public rest rooms. A fire destroyed it in 1915, but the Warners simply reopened their drugstore elsewhere.
Claude News
Claude, TX
Founded as the "Argus" on New Year's Day 1890 in the new railroad town of Claude, this Panhandle newspaper later merged with the "Goodnight News" to become the "Claude News." Among its early editors was Laura V. Hamner, who went on to become a leading historian of the great Texas Panhandle ranches. The paper passed through a chain of publishers, ending up with the Waggoner family by mid-century.
Warner Memorial Community Center
Claude, TX
Built around 1912 as the Llano School and vacated in 1930, this frame building was moved in 1939 to land donated by the Christian family to serve as a rural community center. Volunteers stuccoed and remodeled it with funds raised by the Armstrong County Federation of Women's Clubs, and it was named to honor Dr. and Mrs. William A. Warner, local leaders in social and cultural life. It became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962.
Melissa Dora Oliver-Eakle
Amarillo, TX
Born into old Virginia and Georgia families and educated at Georgia Female College, Melissa Dora Callaway moved to the frontier town of Amarillo in 1895 after buying land in Potter and Randall Counties. Her personal fortune fueled the town's growth: she platted the subdivision that holds Amarillo College and Memorial Park, helped launch its first library and opera house, and in 1927 completed Amarillo's first skyscraper. Known as Mrs. M. D. Oliver-Eakle, she was among the city's largest taxpayers at a time when women were largely shut out of high finance.