Gunsight Community
Breckenridge, Stephens County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Records indicate that Gunsight existed on a wagon road from Fort Griffin to Stephenville in 1858. Settlement of the town, however, did not occur until the 1870s. The first recorded burial here was that of Lewis McCleskey is 1877. Gunsight developed as a stage stop and by 1880 contained a post office, school, two churches, gristmill, general store, and a cotton gin. The local economy, sustained by cotton farming and ranching, was boosted by an area oil boom in the 1920s. The town began a steady decline after World War II and today consists of a few houses, a few buildings, and this cemetery.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Gunsight began as a landmark on the wagon road from Fort Griffin to Stephenville, noted as early as 1858, though real settlement waited until the 1870s. By 1880 it was a bustling stage stop with a post office, school, two churches, a gristmill, general store, and cotton gin, sustained by cotton and cattle and later lifted by the 1920s oil boom. The town faded after World War II until only a few buildings and this cemetery remained.
Why it matters
Gunsight traces the full arc of a Texas frontier community — road stop to boomtown to ghost town — a life cycle repeated across the American West wherever the economy that raised a town later moved on.
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Related people
- · Lewis McCleskey
Themes & tags
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