James Abijah Brooks
Falfurrias, Brooks County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Nov. 20, 1855 - Jan. 15, 1944) Illustrious Texas Ranger for whom this county is named. Born in Kentucky; came to Texas 1876; became rancher-trail driver. Served in Texas Rangers 1882-1906. By order of the governor, aided in preventing Fitzsimmons-Maher world title prizefFight, El Paso, 1896. Helped solve and halt South Texas cattle thefts. Served in Texas Legislature, 1909-1911; was County Judge of Brooks County, 1911-1939. Married Virginia Wilborn. Recorded - 1969
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Kentucky-born James Abijah Brooks came to Texas in 1876 as a rancher and trail driver before joining the Texas Rangers, whom he served from 1882 to 1906. He chased down South Texas cattle thieves, helped block the notorious 1896 Fitzsimmons-Maher prizefight near El Paso, and later served in the legislature and for decades as county judge of the county that bears his name.
Why it matters
Brooks belongs to the storied last generation of frontier Texas Rangers who policed the lawless border country, then helped build the settled institutions that followed.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Falfurrias
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Falfurrias was founded in 1904 as a cattle-shipping point by rancher Edward C. Lasater, who took the name from a village on land he had bought in 1893. When the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad reached the area, Lasater platted the townsite and built its hotel, store, water and power plants, and cotton gin, then opened the region to truck farming, citrus, and dairying — founding South Texas' first creamery. Later oil and gas discoveries added yet another chapter to the boomtown's growth.
First United Methodist Church of Falfurrias
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The Rev. C. W. Perkins organized this Methodist congregation in 1904 with just seven charter members, worshipping first in the railroad depot and the 1905 frame schoolhouse shared by every denomination. In 1906 the Methodists built their own church on land donated by town founder Edward C. Lasater. Battered by hurricanes in 1916 and 1919 and remodeled in 1935, the frame building gave way to the present church in 1950.
Brooks County Courthouse
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Brooks County was carved from the ranchlands of South Texas in 1911 and named for a state legislator who became its first county judge. On a site deeded by Falfurrias founder Edward C. Lasater, the county raised this brick courthouse in 1914 to the design of noted San Antonio architect Alfred Giles, who planned public buildings across Texas and northern Mexico.
Brooks County's Catholic Heritage
Falfurrias, TX
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