Maggie and Herod "Pap" Simpson
Holliday, Archer County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The town of Holliday was officially organized near Holliday Creek in 1890, when the city was platted. The Wichita Valley Railway was built through the area, and a post office was established. In that same year, Maggie Elizabeth Holt and H.W. Simpson were married in Archer County. Herod Michael Simpson was born to the couple on August 1, 1892. In 1894, H.W. Simpson left with a crew to drive cattle to Dodge City, Kansas, and was never heard from again. Maggie Simpson remained in Holliday, where in 1907 she purchased a hotel, which she owned and managed until her death on June 18, 1946. Herod M. Simpson died on January 23, 1963. Both were interred at Holliday Cemetery. (2009)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Holliday took shape in 1890 as the Wichita Valley Railway pushed through and a townsite was platted along Holliday Creek. That same year Maggie Holt married H.W. Simpson; four years later he rode off on a cattle drive to Dodge City and vanished forever. Left to raise her son alone, Maggie bought a hotel in 1907 and ran it herself for nearly four decades until her death in 1946.
Why it matters
Maggie Simpson's decades at the helm of a frontier hotel speak to the quiet resilience of women who sustained families and businesses across the open-range West.
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Related people
- · Maggie Elizabeth Holt Simpson
- · Herod Michael Simpson
- · H.W. Simpson
Themes & tags
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