Oliver Loving
Weatherford, Parker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founder of three major cattle trails, Oliver Loving came from Kentucky to Texas in 1845 and to Parker County about 1855. During the Civil War (1861-65), he supplied beef to Confederate forces. With Charles Goodnight as partner on a drive to New Mexico, Loving scouted ahead of the cattle, was badly wounded by Indians, lay five days without food before his rescue, and died of gangrene on September 25, 1867. His dying wish was fulfilled when his son Joseph joined Goodnight to bring the body 600 miles by wagon for burial in this county. Recorded, 1977.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Oliver Loving helped open the great post-Civil War cattle-driving era, blazing routes that carried Texas longhorns to distant markets. Partnered with Charles Goodnight, he was badly wounded on a drive toward New Mexico in 1867 and, after days without aid, died of his injuries. His dying wish was honored when his son and Goodnight brought his body 600 miles home by wagon for burial in Parker County.
Why it matters
The Texas cattle drives reshaped the economy and mythology of the American West, and Loving stands among their founding figures.
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Related people
- · Oliver Loving
- · Charles Goodnight
- · Joseph Loving
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Parker County, C.S.A.
Weatherford, TX
Created in 1855 on land once granted to Stephen F. Austin and S.M. Williams, Parker County had barely settled before the Civil War split it, voting 535 to 61 for secession in 1861. Its men supplied Confederate beef, rode against frequent Comanche and Kiowa raids, and sent nine companies to the war, while local rancher John R. Baylor even became Confederate governor of Arizona.
Weatherford
Weatherford, TX
Founded in 1856 and named for state senator and Confederate soldier Jefferson Weatherford, this Parker County seat sat squarely on the edge of the frontier. During the Civil War, settlers gathered here for protection against raids, and for years it stood as the last town between Fort Worth and far-off El Paso.
J. J. Hamilton Log Cabin
Weatherford, TX
J.J. Hamilton settled in this part of North Texas by affidavit in 1855 and helped petition for the creation of Parker County. By 1858 he had built a two-room log cabin with a dogtrot between fireplaces, and he served as a founding member and later minister of the local Christian Church. The family's story turned tragic in 1863 when his two sons were killed by Native Americans at Patrick's Creek, and in their grief the Hamiltons left the county.
The Double Log Cabin
Weatherford, TX
Standing at Holland's Lake as a monument to Parker County's pioneers, this double log cabin joins two frontier structures under one roof. Its west room was Dan Waggoner's 1855 ranch headquarters; its east room, with bullet-scarred walls, marks where George McCleskey was killed by Indians in 1873. Erected by the State of Texas in 1936, it became the gathering place for Old Settlers Reunions.