Jim Anderson, left, of the Lampasas County Historical Commission, and Kempner Mayor Gene Isenhour unveil the marker commemorating Kempner’s beginnings more than 150 years ago. PHOTO BY MAT TAYLOR Dr. Matthew Taylor said pioneers came to the Kempner area more than 150 years ago when the area was still a frontier and was ruled by the Comanche and Kiowa Indians.

“They [Kempner settlers] came, put down roots, cleared the land, fought back the Indians and made it safe for later generations to live here,” he said.

Taylor is assistant curator of archeology at Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. He was the featured speaker at the recent historical marker dedication at the Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park in Kempner.

Taylor is the great-great-greatgrandson of Daniel Webster Taylor, one of the early Kempner pioneers.

The speaker said he wondered why people came to this area when it was a dangerous place.

Dr. Matthew Taylor, assistant curator of archeology at Panhandle Plain Historic Museum, was the featured speaker at the recent Kempner Historical marker dedication ceremony. Taylor said pioneers came to the Kempner area seeking a better life. PHOTO BY MAT TAYLOR He pointed out the old Taylor Creek Post Office building located west of the park, noting it had gun ports in the walls in case of an Indian attack.

“Daniel Webster Taylor was a successful attorney and newspaper publisher in Murfreesboro, Tenn., when he decided to move his family to the frontier,” Taylor said. “Why would he leave all that and come to a place like this?

“I think it is for the same reason that people come to Texas today,” he continued, “and the area provided more opportunities for a better life than they had before.”

In recent years, Lampasas County has been among the fastest-growing counties in the country, and still many people are moving to Texas, including Kempner, seeking a better life, he said.

“There is a commonality between now and 150 years ago, and [the belief] that Central Texas is a place of opportunity and a place where life can be better.”

Taylor noted one reason for having the Kempner historical marker is that people new to the area need to remember those settlers who came before them.

“However, they should not just recognize those pioneers who came here in the 1850s, but if you think about it, this area was pioneered about 14,000 years ago, when the very first people came here.”

Taylor said the Comanche were here when the first Anglos moved into the area, but the Comanche also were relatively new arrivals to the Kempner area.

With the adoption of the horse into their way of life, Comanches from the Wyoming area moved into the southern High Plains and into Central Texas. “Why?” Taylor asked. “For the same reason that people come today -- they were seeking a better life.”

The museum curator said he recently visited the site of the Battle of Adobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle where one of the last major Indian engagements in the state occurred. Several hundred Indians attacked -- unsuccessfully -- a trading post inhabited by a few dozen buffalo hunters.

A historical marker and several

See HISTORICAL, page 10 monuments are located at the site to commemorate the buffalo hunters who were killed, and another lists the names of Indians killed in the battle, Taylor said. On the Indian monument, a simple inscription reads: “They died for that which made life worth living.”

“I can’t think of a better phrase for why you would move to a new place and put down roots and conflict with another race, and that is you came to make life worth living.”

In conclusion, Taylor said Kempner is a place where people came looking for a better life, and they found the town is a place where life is worth living.

The Lampasas County Historical Commission and city of Kempner hosted the marker dedication. Kempner Mayor Gene Isenhour and historical commission president Janie Potts welcomed everyone to the ceremony. “The marker is a great addition to our city and our park,” Isenhour said.

Mrs. Potts said the purpose of Lampasas County Historical Commission is to preserve and protect the history of Lampasas County. “We are doing that today with the replacement of the original Kempner Historical Marker.”

The original marker was erected in 1964 near U.S. Highway 190 east of Kempner. When the highway was widened, the marker was removed for construction and has been missing ever since.

“All attempts to locate it have failed,” Mrs. Potts said.

Posting of the colors and pledges to the American and Texas flags were led by members of Boy Scout Troop 90.

Historical commission member and longtime Kempner resident Vanita Craft-Schnorrenberg introduced guests attending the dedication and recognized descendants of early Kempner pioneer families.

Lampasas County Historical Commission member Jim Anderson and Isenhour unveiled the marker. Commission vice president Jeff Jackson read the inscription, which states: “The town of Kempner was founded in 1882 along the route of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad and was named for Texas philanthropist, banker and railroad magnate Harris Kempner.

“Early Anglo settlements that predate Kempner include Pickett Valley, Brummersville, Taylor Creek and Slaughterville. A post office was established at Taylor Creek in 1873 but was discontinued and moved to Slaughterville in 1878.

“The post office was moved to its present site in Kempner when the railroad was completed.

“By 1884, Kempner had two steam grist mills and cotton gins, a church and a school. A bank was established in 1918, but it failed in 1927, and the Kempner School District was consolidated with Lampasas School District in 1964.

“Like many small Texas towns, the Depression took a drastic toll on Kempner. However, the 1942 establishment of nearby Camp Hood helped to sustain the town, providing muchneeded jobs for area residents. Today the town’s population is supported by descendants of early pioneers, as well as present and former military and civilian personnel on Fort Hood.”

The dedication ceremony closed with a benediction by Kempner-area resident F.A. Taylor.