Historical Markers, Interpretive Signs

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Lometa was an important point for shipments of wool and mohair on the Santa Fe. For this reason, and because of heavy traffic anticipated to be arriving from the San Saba branch line, the new depot built at Lometa in 1911 was one of the largest country depots on the Santa Fe system in Texas. At the beginning of the 21st Century several large wool and mohair warehouses remain along the tracks, and until the 1960s area buyers such as L. M. (“Mick”) Stephens shipped all of their clients’ wool and mohair to Boston on the Santa Fe.


Lometa feed store and wool and mohair company. After a little research, turns out it belongs to a friend of mine. Very cool!

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]History in a Pecan Shell[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lometa was born along the rails of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad in 1885 on the route connecting Lampasas with Abilene. The old Santa Fe Depot (c. 1910) sits today at the North end of town - awaiting restoration. This depot dated from 1910 - the year the Santa Fe connected Lometa with Eden, Texas.

The town had originally been called Montvale, but a change was made in 1886 when a post office was applied for. Lometa was made up of buildings moved from the town of Senterfitt - a town that had a reputation for wild times and unruly citizens. 200 acres of land were deeded to the town, which was platted May 17, 1886.

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lometa has served as a shipping point for cotton, wool, and mohair. Delaine sheep were imported from Germany in 1879 and are still raised in the area.

Lometa received telephone service in 1914 and the town incorporated in 1920. In 1919 the first oil well was drilled, but water was struck instead of oil or gas. Other attempts failed as well, and by 1938 the drillers had given up on this part of Texas.

The population in the mid to late 1920s was 1,000 to 1,500 people and in the 30s it dropped below 900. By the early 80s it had reached about 650 and has remained at that level ever since. [/FONT]

Leaving the Idaho/Montana state lines (Travelers' Rest, MT) L & C separated into 3 distinct directions. One Sgt and a small crew left over land on horseback with a herd of horses to go into Canada to trade for supplies.

Lewis and 5 men headed to Cut bank, MT to do one last search for a Northwest Passage. He would then head down stream on the Missouri River to meet up with Clark's main party. And Clark and the main party of around 22 people headed east on the Yellowstone River which eventually ran into the Missouri.

Going in 3 directions they were to all meet up in one month at a weird horseshoe bend in the Missouri river in today's North Dakota. They all remembered the horseshoe bend as they had camped at this site on their westward journey 2 yrs earlier. One catch was that Reunion bay was roughly 1,000 miles away.

Amazingly all three parties met up at Reunion bay within hours of each other one month later.

Located in the far end of nowhere, North Dakota. Meriwether Lewis gave it the name of "Reunion bay", and 210 yrs later it still sticks. This is the historical marker:



Free range cattle thought I was one of them:



A marker:





Reunion Bay in the distance:

I was in the Marines with Tom Hill. Small world.

Seven Great Historical Markers.....I've added Cont Divide Trail and Arco to my buck list.

The "Driving the Lolo Motorway" riding/driving instructions are so memorable. Met a Forest Ranger and his black lab looking for bear poachers on the Lolo. He and I had to drag my F8 up an embankment to let his pickup truck get by.

Screven County, Ga


Newington, GA


Oliver Ga on GA 17
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Sherman, at this point, is approx half way to Savannah after deciding to take the war to the population starting in Atlanta. No longer a gentlemans war. A strategy that I undertand he took to the Western Indians later. A heroic attempt to make a stand was made at this place by school boys and some old men against war hardened midwesterners.

My deceased Grandmother was born in 1899. I heard many tales she remembered hearing from her Mother when Sherman went thru nw Georgia. Stealing all their livestock (for troops to eat), jewelry, money, and especially silverware that they typically melted. Sherman stole everything in his path. Their only defenders were elderly men, and teenage boys.

60,000 troops and all of their animals plus many thousands of freed slaves can eat (and steal) a lot. Plus they destroyed what they couldn't carry away. Sherman issued a Special Order forbidding this, but admitted later on that he intentionally turned a blind eye to it in order to cause as much hardship as possible on the southern populace. I was at a monument in North Carolina today (I'll post up when I get a chance) where Gen Joe Johnson, who fought Sherman in Atlanta area, tried to head him off going north through NC. I think I read that Joe Johnson and Sherman were room mates at West Point. In later years, Johnson was a pall bearer at Sherman's funeral. :huh

It may look like a sign in a cornfield in north central Wisconsin but this point is exactly one quarter of the way around the world from the Greenwich Meridian heading west and half way between the equator and the north pole.



(It's also a virtual geocache so that's my GPSr on the seat.)

I've always loved 750cc Nighthawks. I want to build a long-travel suspension ADV bike out of one.

Follow up:

Resting Place of my 9th Great Grandfather, William Burgess.


At least I'm wearing a motorcycle themed t-shirt

Awesome Pic Migrator. Will be at the other end of the trail this week, but without a bike.