Wichita County Historical Commission

10/21/2026

How does an itinerant driller in the Boomtown oil patch receive recognition from a national organization dedicated to acts of heroism by common people? By giving his life in the efforts to save others. This is the story of Charley Lee Coe of Burkburnett.

Born in Clay County, Tennessee, in 1892, Charley Lee Coe’s family moved to Cordell, Oklahoma in 1897 and settled on a farm. Charley married a local girl, Helen Rosecrants, and their family grew to three girls.

Charley and Helen, with their young family, moved to North Texas in 1920. Charley worked as a driller in the teaming oil fields of “Boomtown”. They first lived in Newtown (Thrift), one of the oil boom towns on the Red River. After another of the many fires in the town, the family relocated to the larger town of Burkburnett.

On February 6, 1923, Charley rushed into the burning house of a local neighbor, the Hahns. He saved one of the two young children in the house. While attempting to save the second child, both Charley and the child were killed by the flames.

News of Charley Coe heroism in the north Texas town of Burkburnett was reported in the Wichita Daily Times and spread worldwide.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, at its twentieth annual meeting in January, 1924, recognized 25 acts of heroism, awarding one gold, three silver, and 21 bronze medals. Charley Coe was posthumously awarded the only gold Carnegie Medal given in 1924, the last Carnegie gold medal.

Charley Coe is buried in Lawnview Cemetery in Cordell, Oklahoma. Adorning his grave is a brass plaque, noting his receipt of the last Carnegie Hero Fund Commission gold medal. The engraving on his headstone also bears evidence of his Carnegie medal.

A Texas Historical Marker, dedicated in 2012, was unveiled by one of Charley Coe’s great-granddaughters and her son, Charley’s great-great-grandson.

10/21/2026

A great opportunity for a local citizen-historian.

Texas Folklife's Community Folklife Fellowship The Texas Folklife Community Folklife Fellowship program is a statewide program that provides training in oral history, interviewing, audio storytelling, archives, and podcast production for adults. Participants learn to document community traditions in...

10/14/2026

Historians, professional and amateur, who have studied and written about Wichita County frequently cite Louise Kelly and her work.
Louise Kelly devoted her life to teaching the students of Wichita Falls and wrote the definitive history of Wichita County.
Born in Waxahachie, Louise Kelly graduated from Trinity College in 1918 and received her master’s degree from the University of Texas in 1951. She began her teaching career at Abilene and taught in Electra before coming to Wichita Falls in the early 1920s. Kelly taught for forty years in the Wichita Falls system, teaching English and History. She was yearbook sponsor for many years and sponsored Junior Historians.
Kelly was a charter member of the American Association of University Women and served on the Wichita County Historical Commission (previously the Wichita County Historical Survey Commission) for 22 years. She also belonged to the West Texas Historical Association and the Wichita Falls Museum and Arts Center.
In 1979, the Texas Historical Commission presented Kelly with a Certificate of Commendation for her “distinguished service in the field of historic preservation.”

In recognition of the Wichita Falls Centennial, the Wichita County Historical Commission worked with Kelly to publish “Wichita County Beginnings.” Published in January 1982, the book would become the definitive reference for many authors, historians, and genealogists researching the Wichita County area. This massive effort covers Wichita County’s early history, Native Americans, first settlers, ranches, industries, agriculture, organizations, and surrounding communities.
Kelly was a prolific documenter and newspaper clipper. From those clippings and documentation, she compiled the book in honor of the Wichita County Centennial. Those clippings and note cards were the beginning of the Wichita County Archives.
***From "Women of Wichita County."***

10/08/2026

The "Sweet Science" has a long history in Wichita Falls. We are currently working on gathering information to submit for a Texas Historical Commission marker. If you would like to contribute information for this marker, please contact the Wichita County Archives, 940-763-0020 or email [email protected].

10/07/2026

WICHITA FALLS EATS - 1991 EDITION
Before social media, when you found “the place to eat,” you had no way to take a picture of your meal and share it with your friends. Word of mouth (no pun intended) was the only way to find the best place to eat. A scant thirty-five years ago, in 1991, a group of intrepid writers from the Wichita Falls Times-Record News took on the challenge to find the tastiest treats in Wichita Falls. No chain restaurants; every restaurant “tasted” was home-grown. Sadly, most of them are gone. However, a few survive to this day. Hungry yet? You will after you read this.
Two of the restaurants specialized in the humble hamburger. However, these restaurants brought the burger center stage. Scott’s Drive Inn touted their “Big Scotty,” a behemoth burger with two patties, two slices of cheese, and all the trimmings. The burger, requiring a two-handed grip, sizzled to life on a cast-iron grill and guaranteed a great, greasy burger. Pat’s Drive Inn turned the volume up on the burger with a heaping helping of chili, calling it the “Frisco Burger.” With a size to fulfill any appetite, ice cold milk was the favored drink along sides of crispy fries and plenty of napkins. Both Scott’s and Pat’s are still serving today.
Located at 2703 Avenue “U,” Stanley’s Drive Inn’s “Hill Special” was a special all its own. Imagine a one-pound stack of meat including beef brisket, ham, and sausage with the usual suspects of cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickle, and mayonnaise crowded onto a large bun. Both hands were an absolute requirement; the sausage usually escaped, and leftovers, for most of us, were assured.
Could anything be better than Mom’s fried chicken? In Wichita Falls, Brownie’s at 528 Beverly Drive might have been in the running. Described as plump and juicy with crisp skin, the chicken’s favored side was delicious hush puppies. Also on the side was a super-sweet cherry-lime drink.
Described as ribs smoked in heaven, the Branding Iron at 104 Scott had been in business for 15 years in 1991. For the taster, the ribs had a 4-to-1 ratio of meat to fat, with meat that all but jumped off the bone into the mouth.
You can’t really call yourself a Texan unless you have an opinion of the best chicken-fried steak. In 1991, Zeno’s, located at the corner of Fairway and Southwest Parkway, known for pizza and catering, added chicken-fried steak to the menu. Their chicken-fried steak, with small and large sizes, came with spicy fries, toast, and beans or salad. The steaks were cooked to order and served piping hot. After recovering from the first visit, the taster planned on a second very soon.
And last, but never least, Casa Manana’s Mexican dinner stood as the ultimate reason to quit your diet. The dinner included: an enchilada and tamale, smothered in chili and cheese; soft taco with guacamole; hard taco with meat; soft taco and queso; tostada; and of course, beans and rice with warm corn chips and hot sauce. After this meal, you would need to take a nap, then strap on your jogging shoes.

09/30/2026

The railroad tracks running parallel to State Highway 240 separate Wichita Falls. Trains running during the boom times frequently blocked east-west access. Many times, citizens on the east side of the tracks watched houses burn to the ground while the fire trucks from the west side of the tracks sat, waiting for the trains to pass.
In 1922, a concerned group of East Side residents gathered to discuss ways to improve the lives of the black community in Wichita Falls. This group included Lawler Smith, Harrison Welch, Andy Byrd, Jim Norford, Steve Sargent, Reverend J. E. McLendon, Monroe Douglas, Grant Dixon, Ed Pointer, J. W. Bell, and Emanuel Davis. This group has been called the Original Negro Chamber of Commerce.
Many issues came to this group; the predominant issue was an overpass linking the east and west sides of the tracks.
A task force from the group contacted the City of Wichita Falls. Directed by the city to contact the railroad, the task force found the railroad felt the East Side populations were too small to warrant an overpass.
Thirty years and four million dollars later, the overpass linking East Side and West Side became a reality. Dedicated in 1970, only one member of the Original Negro Chamber of Commerce survived to see the overpass: Emanuel Davis.
Born in 1899, Davis arrived in Wichita Falls around 1919. After working at Wichita Foundry, he eventually owned a successful landscaping business along with other East Side businesses. Named for Davis, the overpass dedication reads: Dedicated in recognition of the unselfish efforts of an outstanding Black religious and civic leader in Wichita Falls. Encouragement and assistance in the planning and construction of this facility was acknowledged, especially to Rosewood Neighborhood Group No. 1 and to other East Side residents. Constructed through the cooperation of the City of Wichita Falls and State Department of Highways and Public Transportation. **
**Photo courtesy of the Wichita County Archives

09/29/2026

Time is running out to apply for a William G. Pomeroy Foundation marker. These are FREE markers and looking very striking!

What’s your marker idea? 💡

If you’re at the 2026 Association of Public Historians (APHNYS) Conference in Utica, stop by our exhibit booths and connect with our team!

Whether you have one marker idea or an entire trail in mind, we can help bring your local history to life with a fully funded historical marker that sparks curiosity, connects communities, and shares stories with future generations.

Did you catch Pomeroy Marker Team Research Historian Ana Sopchak’s presentation on the Pomeroy Education Program? Visit our booth with any follow up questions about how students and teachers can research and commemorate history in their own communities through a grant funded Pomeroy marker project.

Get inspired by our Marker Idea Book or the Pomeroy Education Program, then let us know what you have in mind. We are here to help bring your ideas to life and create markers that connect your community with its history.

Learn more at wgpfoundation.org

09/23/2026

Dick Sparks (1829?-2006) was born enslaved in Missouri. His exact birth year is unknown; however, he claimed to have been born about 1829. Other accounts of the year are about 1852. He came to Denton County, Texas from Missouri with the Burnett family and worked for them as a ranch hand. Later, the Burnett family established a ranch in Wichita County. Sparks is listed in the 1880 Wichita County census as aged 23 and working on the Burnett Ranch. Dick claimed that he was the first man to vote in a Wichita County election in about 1882.
Sparks worked as a cowboy until his later years when he was a cook and general handyman for W.T. Waggoner Ranch. In 1916, he was working for Tom Barwise in the western part of Wichita County. In his later years, he was given a house outside of Electra by the Waggoner family.
Sparks was the first and only Black resident allowed to live in the area at that time.
In December 1941, he volunteered for Civilian Defense Work in Electra. Know by locals as “Uncle Dick,” he was a great storyteller and respected member of the Electra community.
Dick Sparks passed away on December 12, 1946, and claimed to be 117 years old at that time. He was buried in the “Colored Section” of the Old Electra Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
In 2006, the “Colored Section” of the cemetery was officially named the “Dick Sparks Cemetery.”

09/16/2026

In the age of three-plus dollar regular gasoline, let’s remember making the drag on Friday and Saturday night. Whether you were in Burkburnett, Iowa Park, or Wichita Falls, there was a place where you drove your car back and forth along a certain route, parking somewhere, and watching the other cars cruising.
In Burkburnett, the drag extended from the Piggly Wiggly parking lot to the Dairy Mart along Sheppard Road to Avenue “D.” With a cherry coke or vanilla coke for fortification, drivers burned rubber in front of the Dairy Queen and drove to Piggly Wiggly’s large parking lot. There, driving through the lot, looking for anyone you might know, you fish-tailed your car. Hoping the local police weren’t looking, you might have pulled into the Youth Center. If there was no dance, you headed back to Dairy Mart and started the drag again.
In Iowa Park, the cruise stretched from the police station to the school on “old” Iowa Park Road. In the summers, with windows rolled down, the AM radio music of KTRN and KNIN flowed along the drag like the cars.
Wichita Falls cruisers kept Kemp Street hopping on Saturday night. The drag extended from Southwest Parkway to Avenue “K.” The “dips” on Kemp made the drivers take care. Rider Raiders gathered at the Taco Burrito on Kemp, now the location of the Fort Sill National Bank. You could get two tacos for 69 cents!! The cruising cars would slow between Call Field and Kell. That’s where the action was!
Who did you cruise with and which song do you still remember all the words?

09/15/2026

The Wichita County Historical Commission recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month and honors the contributions of the Hispanic Culture in our community.