Site of Dulaney's Mill
Belton vicinity, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Farm complex noted for grist mill, cotton gin, general store, blacksmith shop. Owned by John Thornton Dulaney (1825-1916), who in 1849 left his native Virginia, going to California gold rush. He married Mary Jane Gates (1836-1925), whose parents settled in Texas in 1821. Dulaney's home at this site was built in 1868, after his return from Civil War. Nearby were church and school built by Dulaney for neighborhood. He had five children. With millhands, he often fed 35 people daily. Dulaney, an inventor, made mill parts as needed. His business continued until about 1912. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John Thornton Dulaney left Virginia in 1849 to chase the California gold rush, then settled in Bell County, Texas, where after the Civil War he built a bustling farm complex around a grist mill, cotton gin, store, and blacksmith shop. A tinkerer by nature, he machined his own mill parts and often fed 35 people a day, including his millhands. His enterprise anchored the neighborhood—complete with a church and school he built—until it wound down around 1912.
Why it matters
The country mill was the economic and social hub of rural America, and Dulaney's self-reliant, inventive operation captures the spirit of the postwar Texas frontier.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John Thornton Dulaney
- · Mary Jane Gates
Related events
- · California Gold Rush
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Bell County
Belton vicinity, TX
Settlement along the Lampasas River began in 1847, and Bell County was created in 1850, taking its name from Peter Hansbrough Bell—a San Jacinto veteran, Mexican War officer, and governor of Texas. The county seat soon moved from Nolanville to Belton, and by 1860 nearly 4,800 people lived there. When the Civil War came, the county sent a dozen troop companies and supplied its cause with flour mills, a hat factory, tanneries, and workshops.
Site of Childers-Shanklin Mill
Belton, TX
Robert Childers, a pioneer settler and veteran of the 1836 Army of Texas, built the first water-powered mill in Bell County here in 1847. Sold in 1856 to G. W. Shanklin, who was said to have built the best water race in Texas, the site also served as a stage stand on the Old Military Road and a crossing point for cattle bound up the trail. It was a hub where settlement, commerce, and travel converged on the early Texas frontier.
Salado Creek
Salado, TX
Fed by gushing limestone springs at the Balcones Fault, Salado Creek drew people to its fish-rich, tree-shaded banks for centuries—Native peoples camped along it, and Spanish explorers gave it its name. Archibald Willingham became the first Anglo-American settler in 1851, and by 1860 the town and college of Salado rose on the creek. With as many as eight mills, it became the county's industrial center, and both the Chisholm Cattle Trail and the Dallas-San Antonio stage line crossed its waters.
Ele B. Baggett Home
Belton, TX
Ele Bright Baggett and his wife Mary Carolyn began this ornate Queen Anne house in 1892, its gable sunbursts and fish-scale shingles announcing the prosperity of a Bell County cattle family. Ele, his brother, and their father had come home from the Civil War to drive great herds north to the railheads of Kansas and Montana, and Ele parlayed the profits into land, cotton gins, and banking. His father Silas had been among Belton's founders, and the family home stood just across the street.