Carved from central Comancheria, Erath (EE-rath) County was created by stock raisers and settlers with little to lose but hopes and dreams.

Bisected by Grand Prairie and Western Cross Timbers, this is where East Texas ends and West Texas begins. The Bosque and Paluxy Rivers welcomed ranchers, farmers, millers, and ginners. Rustlers, deserters, train robbers, vigilantes, lawmen, and Texas Rangers soon followed. Faith, education, life, and death cultivated villages with churches, schools, stores, and cemeteries in walking distance. Bridges, roads, and railways meant the life or death of a township. This volume commemorates the people, places, and events of lost communities that made the Cowboy Capital of the World what it is today.

An eighth-generation Texan and sixth-generation Erathian, Sheryl Reed Rascher has over 30 years of experience with Lockheed Martin business and program management. Currently serving as president of the Erath County Genealogical Society, she is also a member of San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society, Texas State Genealogical Society, and The Daughters of the Republic of Texas and a past member of Fort Worth Genealogical Society Board of Directors. This book contains photographs generously shared by the Ralph and Dossie Rogers Historic Images Collection, the Stephenville Historical House Museum, Dublin Historical Museum, and numerous friends.