McDade in Bastrop County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

McDade

Photographed By James Hulse, August 31, 2022

1. McDade Marker

Inscription. Laid out 1871; named for Jas. McDade, Brenham lawyer. Became a thriving town, important freight center and early-day stage stop. School-Church was built 1872; vigilantes (organized 1883) lynched three men on Christmas Eve causing a shoot-out next day at the Rock Saloon (now a museum).

Erected 1968 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 9209.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Law Enforcement • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1871.

Location. 30° 17.138′ N, 97° 14.834′ W. Marker is in McDade, Texas, in Bastrop County. Marker is on U.S. 290, 0.2 miles north of Duck Pond Road, on the right when traveling south. The marker is located along the west side of the US 290 highway without good parking. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mc Dade TX 78650, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Rock Front Saloon, 1870 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Capt. Jesse Billingsley (approx. half a mile away); McDade Baptist Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); Three Oaks (Goerlitz) Cemetery (approx. 1½ miles away); Siloah Cemetery (approx. 2.6

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miles away); John Herron (approx. 2.8 miles away); Rural Farms and Communities Before Camp Swift (approx. 5.4 miles away); Knobbs Springs Baptist Church (approx. 6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in McDade.

Also see . . . McDade, TX. Texas State Historical Association

By 1875 local citizens took the law into their own hands and hung two suspected outlaws, provoking retaliation with the murder of two vigilantes, which led to the hanging of a third outlaw. Early in 1876 two men were caught with a skinned cow, and the skin showed the Olive brand. Both men were shot on the spot. Five months later fifteen men, believed to have been led by the son of one of the men shot, attacked the Olive ranch headquarters, killing two men of the ranch and burning the ranch house. On June 26, 1877, vigilantes stopped a dance, took four men out and lynched them. For five years after there was little crime or trouble. However, in November 1883 two men were murdered in Fedor, and in a separate incident another man was beaten, robbed, and left for dead. Shortly afterwards the deputy sheriff investigating these crimes was shot to death in McDade. A vigilante
Photographed By James Hulse, August 31, 2022

2. McDade Marker
committee hung four of the suspected perpetrators. But the violence continued with the McDade Christmas hangings on Christmas Eve 1883, when three more suspected outlaws were executed. This event led to a gunfight in front of a McDade saloon on Christmas Day that left three more men dead. This ended the vigilante "justice," but violence and gunfights continued until 1912.

(Submitted on September 6, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The view of the McDade Marker from Hwy 290 image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, August 31, 2022

3. The view of the McDade Marker from Hwy 290

Credits. This page was last revised on September 6, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 5, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 506 times since then and 217 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 6, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.