The Settlement of Williams Ranch
Mullin, Mills County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Once a prominent frontier town, Williams Ranch grew up around the homestead of cattleman John Williams (1804-1871), who came to this area in 1855. The community flourished during the Civil War (1861-1865) because of trade with Mexico and by 1874 had stores, saloons, a hotel, mill, and blacksmith shop. In 1875 Henry Ford and J. M. Parks bought most of the land in the village and platted a townsite. They proposed the name "Parksford" but "Williams Ranch" prevailed when the post office opened in 1877. The community was a stage stop and a roundup point on the western cattle trail. It claimed the first hotel, newspaper, telegraph, and public school in Brown and Mills counties. In 1881 it was one of the towns considered as a site for The University of Texas. Williams Ranch reached its peak of activity in the early 1880s, with a population of over 250. The settlement began to decline when the railroad bypassed it in 1885. An outbreak of mob violence was quelled by the Texas Rangers in 1887. By 1892 the post office and all businesses had closed. Today the site is marked by the natural springs that attracted the original settlers and by Williams Ranch Cemetery, burial place of many pioneers and their descendants.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Williams Ranch grew up around the 1855 homestead of cattleman John Williams and boomed during the Civil War on trade with Mexico, becoming a stage stop and roundup point on the western cattle trail. By the early 1880s it topped 250 people and boasted the first hotel, newspaper, telegraph, and school in the area — and was even floated as a site for the University of Texas. When the railroad bypassed it in 1885 the town declined, and by 1892 its post office and businesses had closed, leaving only springs and a pioneer cemetery.
Why it matters
Williams Ranch is a classic Texas ghost town, its rise and fall driven by cattle trails and, fatally, by the railroad that chose to run somewhere else.
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Related people
- · John Williams
Themes & tags
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