Editing Somervell County, Texas (section)

==History==
[[Image:Dino footprint Glen Rose 20100401.jpg|right|thumb|240px|Fossil footprint of a dinosaur displayed on the lawn of the Somervell County Courthouse, Glen Rose, Texas, April 1, 2010]]
[[Image:Settlers memorial Glen Rose 20100401.jpg|right|thumb|240px|Settlers Memorial bronze work on lawn of the Somervell County Courthouse, April 1, 2010]]

===Native Americans===

[[Caddo]] tribe [[Nadaco|Anadarko]] villages were scattered along [[Trinity River (Texas)|Trinity]] and [[Brazos River|Brazos]] Rivers.<ref>{{cite web | title=Andarko Indian History |publisher=Access Genealogy | url=http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/caddo/anadarkohist.htm | access-date=April 28, 2010}} Access Genealogy</ref> The Caddo tribe of [[Wichita (tribe)|Wichita]] also inhabited the area. By 1860, these tribes had moved to [[Oklahoma]].

The [[Tonkawa]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Indian Intruders From The North |publisher=Texas Beyond History |url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/peoples/intruders.html | access-date=April 28, 2010}} Texas Beyond History</ref> were [[hunter-gatherers]] of the area, and often traded with their allies the Caddo and [[Karankawa]]. Like the Wichita, Karankawa and [[Suma-Jumano|Jumano]], the Tonkawa tattooed their bodies and faces. Some Tonkawa men were employed as scouts for the [[Texas Rangers Division|Texas Rangers]] and [[United States Army]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Texas Indians, The Tonkawa | publisher=R. Edward Moore and Texarch Associates |url=http://www.texasindians.com/ | access-date=April 28, 2010}} R. Edward Moore and Texarch Associates</ref> As they were pushed out by the [[Comanche]], they moved to the Brazos Indian Reservation,<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Brazos Indian Reservation | id= bpb03| author=Crouch, Carrie J| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> and later to [[Oklahoma]]

[[Comanche]] bands continued depredations on settlers until their removal to Oklahoma after 1875.<ref>{{cite web | title=Texas Indians Map | publisher=R E. Moore and Texarch Associates | url=http://www.texasindians.com/map2.htm |access-date=April 28, 2010}} R E. Moore and Texarch Associates</ref>

===County established===

The county was formed and organized in 1875 from [[Hood County, Texas|Hood County]]. The town of Glen Rose became the county seat.

Torrey Trading Houses opened as a part of the [[Sam Houston]] peace policy to develop friendly relationships with native tribes.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Torrey Trading Houses | id= dft02| author=Armbruster, Henry C.| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> They bought from, and sold to, the Indians on a banking and credit system, enabling them to also recover stolen horses and human captives. The Torreys sold their business to George Barnard in 1848,<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=George Barnard | id= fba68| author=Willingham, John| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> who with his brother Charles <ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Charles E. Bernard | id= fbabf| author=Andrus, Pearl| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> moved the [[Tehuacana, Texas|Tehuacana]] store in [[Limestone County, Texas|Limestone County]] to near Comanche Peak.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Comanche Peak | id= rjc47| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> [[Juana Josefina Cavasos Barnard]]<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Juana Josefina Cavasos Barnard | id= fbane| author=Orozco, Cynthia E.| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> had been captured by Comanches as a teenager. She was daughter of Maria Josefa Cavazos,<ref>{{cite web | title=Descendants of Don José Narciso Cavazos Gonzalez-Hildago | publisher=Villa de San Agustin-Laredo Genealogy Society  | url=http://www.vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/NarcisoCavazos.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040127133857/http://vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/NarcisoCavazos.pdf |archive-date=January 27, 2004 |url-status=usurped| access-date=April 28, 2010}}</ref> and granddaughter of Don José Narciso Cavazos Gonzalez-Hildago who in 1792 received the largest land grant in Texas.<ref>{{cite web| title=San Juan de Carrictios Land Grant| publisher=Texas Historical Markers| url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5489004542| access-date=April 28, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907104059/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5489004542| archive-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref> George ransomed Juana from the tribe, but his brother Charles married her in 1848.<ref>{{cite web | title=Juana Cavasos Barnard | publisher=Hood County Genealogical Society | url=http://www.granburydepot.org/z/biog/juana.htm| access-date=April 28, 2010}}</ref>

Somervell County got its first courthouse in Glen Rose in 1882, but the courthouse and all county records burned in 1893.<ref>{{cite web | title=First Somerville County Courthouse | publisher=Texas Historical Markers | url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5425004978 | access-date=April 28, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314204826/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5425004978 | archive-date=March 14, 2012 }}</ref>
The second and current courthouse was built in 1894 by architect John McCormick.<ref>{{cite web | title=Second Somerville County Courthouse | publisher=Texas Escapes | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/GlenRoseTexas/SomervellCountyCourthouse.htm| access-date=April 28, 2010}}</ref> The roof and clock tower were damaged in the 1902 Glen Rose tornado. County funds at the time limited the repair, which eliminated the clock tower. In 1986, work was done to restore the structure to its original design.

Glen Rose Collegiate Institute, or Glen Rose College, operated as a private, faith-based educational facility from 1889 to 1910. Educational competition from the public-school system caused enrollment to taper off until the institution was shut down.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Glen Rose Collegiate Institute | id= kbg11| author=Hart, Brian | retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref>

Under the New Deal [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA), Glen Rose built a new water and sewage system in the 1930s, as well as school buildings, a canning plant, and low-water dams.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Somervell County | id= hcs12| author=Elam, Richard| retrieved=April 28, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref>

The [[Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant]] went online in the mid-1970s and employs over 1,000 people.<ref>{{cite web | title=Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station | publisher=Glenrosearea.com | url=http://www.glenrosearea.com/pages/comanche.html | access-date=April 28, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124063615/http://www.glenrosearea.com/pages/comanche.html | archive-date=January 24, 2013 }}</ref>  [[Squaw Creek Reservoir]], which provides cooling water for the power plant, also has become a popular recreation site.<ref>{{cite web | title=Squaw Creek Reservoir | publisher=Going Outside.com | url=http://www.goingoutside.com/lake/110/1107567_Squaw_Creek_Reservoir_Texas.html| access-date=April 28, 2010}}</ref>

===Dinosaurs===

The tragic Paluxy River flood in 1908 uncovered three-toed prints from the [[Cretaceous]] period, possibly ''[[Acrocanthosaurus]]'', and were discovered by high school student George Adams in the limestone river bed. The teenager relayed the discovery to his principal, Robert McDonald.<ref>{{cite web | title=Speaking of Texas, Glen Rose's Dinosaur Highway  |publisher=Texas Highways | url=http://texashighways.com/history/item/4529-speaking-of-texas-glen-rose-s-dinosaur-highway | author=Jasinski, Laurie E | access-date=January 15, 2015}}Texas Highways</ref> Adams later ended up selling self-manufactured fake "giant man tracks"<ref>{{cite web |title=Strange Science, Forgeries and Frauds | publisher=Michon Scott | url=http://www.strangescience.net/stfor2.htm | author=Michon Scott | access-date=April 28, 2010}}</ref> to tourists sometime during the 1930s, sparking a debate about whether humans existed alongside dinosaurs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Human and Dinosaur Footprints | publisher=Creation vs. Evolution Resources | url=http://www.creation-vs-evolution.us/visual-evolution/human-footprints/ | access-date=April 28, 2010}} Visual Evolution. Keep it real</ref> In 1934, resident Charlie Moss discovered footprints of four-toed [[Sauropoda|sauropods]]. Resident Jim Ryals dug out the actual dinosaur prints and sold them to tourists. Paleontologist Roland T. Bird of the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in New York City spotted the Adams "giant man tracks" in a tourist shop in [[Gallup, New Mexico]], and, while recognizing them as fakes, was still intrigued enough to travel to Somervell County to see the Glen Rose area for himself. Bird's visit resulted in a 2-year WPA project to uncover the dinosaur prints. The American Museum of Natural History, the [[University of Texas at Austin]], the [[Smithsonian Institution]], and several local museums retain samples of what are said to be the best-preserved tracks in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title=A Brief History of Dinosaur Tracks in Glen Rose, Texas |publisher=Kuban, Glen J. | url=http://paleo.cc/paluxy/glenrose.htm | author=Glen J. Kuban | access-date=April 28, 2010}}</ref>

The land along the Paluxy River for [[Dinosaur Valley State Park]] was purchased by the State of Texas in 1968, and the park opened to the public in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dinosaur Valley State Park | publisher=Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/rgn_pl_019.phtml | access-date=April 28, 2010}} TPWD</ref>