Eastland
Eastland, Eastland County, Texas
Marker Inscription
County seat, Eastland County. Named for William M. Eastland--Texas War for Independence hero who was in Mier Expedition against Mexico, and was executed in "Black Bean" lottery at Rancho Salado in 1842. Most noted early local people were Comanches, who resisted occupation of area by white settlers. The last recorded Indian raid in county was in 1874. Eastland was named county seat in an election on Aug. 2, 1875. With 250 people it was incorporated on June 6, 1891, and W.Q. Connellee was elected as mayor. After a discovery in 1917, one of the fabled oil booms of Texas occurred nearby, with Eastland center for legal matters. With oil priced $2.60 a barrel, many wells flowed at 10,000 barrels a day. The city quickly grew to 25,000 people; 5 banks prospered. Coming here to seek "black gold" were celebrities, including evangelist Billy Sunday, circus owner John Ringling, sports figures Jess Willard, Tex Rickard. An international wonder-story happened here: the old courthouse cornerstone was opened (on this site) in 1928 to reveal survival of "Old Rip", a horned toad placed there with other mementoes on July 19, 1897. Continuing oil production, agricultural processing and clay products bolster the present economy. (1968)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Eastland took its name from William M. Eastland, a hero of the Texas War for Independence executed in the infamous 1842 "Black Bean" lottery after the Mier Expedition. Comanches long resisted settlement here, with the county's last recorded raid in 1874, and the town became county seat in 1875. A 1917 oil strike touched off one of Texas's fabled booms that swelled the population toward 25,000 and drew celebrities — and in 1928 the town made worldwide news when "Old Rip," a horned toad sealed in the old courthouse cornerstone in 1897, was found alive.
Why it matters
Eastland compresses the whole arc of Texas history — revolution, frontier conflict, and the oil boom — into one small county-seat town with a tall tale to boot.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Eastland sits in the rolling Cross Timbers country of north-central Texas, where for generations the land belonged to the Comanches. As Anglo-American settlers pushed west after Texas independence and statehood, this region became contested ground. The Comanches resisted the occupation of their homeland, and the marker notes that the county's last recorded Indian raid came in 1874. That was the same era in which the U.S. Army's campaigns on the Southern Plains ended Comanche independence.
With the frontier conflict over, the county organized quickly. Eastland won the county-seat election in 1875 and was incorporated in 1891 with about 250 people. For decades it was a quiet farming and ranching town, one of many small county seats across the region.
Everything changed in the twentieth century. The marker records a 1917 oil discovery nearby that set off one of Texas's legendary booms. It came as the First World War sent the demand for oil soaring, and fortunes, crowds and chaos poured into little towns across this part of the state.
People & events
The town's name recalls a grim chapter of the Republic of Texas. William M. Eastland was a veteran of the Texas War for Independence who joined the Mier Expedition, a raid into Mexico that ended with the Texans captured. After some of the prisoners tried to escape, Mexican authorities ordered that one in ten would die. The men drew beans from a jar, and those who drew black beans were shot. Eastland drew a black bean at Rancho Salado. The "Black Bean" lottery became one of the most painful memories in Texas history, and naming a new county and town after him kept that sacrifice in public memory.
The town grew slowly until the oil boom, and then it exploded. With oil at $2.60 a barrel and some wells flowing 10,000 barrels a day, Eastland became the legal center for a flood of leases, lawsuits and deals, and its population rose toward 25,000. Five banks prospered. Famous visitors came looking for "black gold," among them evangelist Billy Sunday, circus owner John Ringling, heavyweight boxer Jess Willard and fight promoter Tex Rickard.
The story Eastland is best known for involves a horned toad. On July 19, 1897, a horned lizard was sealed into the old courthouse cornerstone along with other mementoes. When the cornerstone was opened on this site in 1928, a crowd watched as the toad was reportedly found alive. He was nicknamed "Old Rip," after Rip Van Winkle, and the story spread worldwide. Whether a lizard could really survive three decades sealed in stone has been debated ever since, and skeptics have always doubted it. Still, the event made Eastland briefly famous around the globe.
Its place in the American story
Eastland's history covers much of the larger American West in a single county. It begins with the Texas Revolution and the Republic's troubled relations with Mexico, moves through the long and violent struggle over Native homelands on the Southern Plains, and then reaches the transformation of the rural West by industry.
The oil boom here was part of the national energy revolution of the early twentieth century. Automobiles, industry and a world war created enormous demand for petroleum, and North Texas fields helped meet it. Booms like this one produced sudden wealth and sudden crowds, and they drew entrepreneurs, entertainers and celebrities from across the country. They also brought overcrowding, speculation and eventual decline, in a pattern repeated in oil towns across America.
Old Rip has his own place in American popular culture. His story circulated in an age of newspapers, newsreels and traveling showmen, when an unlikely tale from a small town could become a national sensation. He belongs to the country's long tradition of tall tales and roadside wonders, and his story has outlasted most of the boom's fortunes.
If you visit
This marker stands at the site where the old courthouse cornerstone was opened in 1928, so you are at the spot where the Old Rip story began. Eastland is proud of its famous horned toad, and his story is part of the town's identity. Look around and ask locals where to learn more about him.
Eastland is an easy stop for travelers crossing north-central Texas, and it is a good place to picture the boom years. Try to imagine these streets crowded with oilmen, lawyers and fortune seekers, and a town that went from a few hundred residents to tens of thousands almost overnight. Nearby towns in the county have their own oil-boom stories, which makes the area a good one to explore by car.
For families, Old Rip is an easy hook. Kids love a mystery, and whether a horned toad could really survive 31 years in a cornerstone is a great one to argue about on the drive. Texas horned lizards are now a protected species, so if you're lucky enough to spot one in the wild, just watch it and leave it where it is.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · William M. Eastland
Related events
- · Mier Expedition
- · Black Bean lottery, 1842
- · Eastland oil boom, 1917
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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