The Tonk Valley Community
Graham, Young County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Earliest known attempt at permanent settlement in this valley was made in 1851 by Elijah Skidmore, who was killed after a few months on the frontier. Locality takes its historic name from the Tonkawa nation, known in its own language as "The most human of people". In 1855 the Tonkawa were placed in this valley on reservation provided by an act of the Texas Legislature; but in 1859 the tribe was removed to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). After the Civil War ended in 1865 and especially after the Indian reserve was opened to settlers in 1873, pioneers established livestock farms here. Their children went to school in log cabin with dirt floor and homemade split log benches. Schoolmistress Addie McNabb accepted as salary a gray plow pony and a small amount of cash. In 1877 Baptists organized a church with the Rev. G. W. Black as pastor; also in 1877 Methodists founded Monk's Chapel, with Rev. B. H. Johnson as pastor. The first building strictly for church use was erected 1909. School consolidation (1922) enlarged community and (1948) saw local children transported into Graham. Community life is centered in the churches.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This West Texas valley carries the name of the Tonkawa nation, who called themselves "the most human of people" and were settled here on a state-authorized reservation in 1855 before being removed to Indian Territory in 1859. After the Civil War and the opening of the old reserve to settlers in 1873, pioneer families built livestock farms, a dirt-floored log schoolhouse, and rival Baptist and Methodist congregations. A schoolmistress once took a gray plow pony as part of her pay, and by the mid-20th century consolidation folded the little community's schools into nearby Graham.
Why it matters
The valley compresses the full arc of the Texas frontier—Native removal, cautious resettlement, and the churches and schools that turned raw land into a rooted community—into a single place name.
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Related people
- · Elijah Skidmore
- · Addie McNabb
Related events
- · Tonkawa removal to Indian Territory (1859)
Themes & tags
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