Texas Spirit Quest #1 - Coahoma Cemetary Traditional Geocache
Texas Spirit Quest #1 - Coahoma Cemetary
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
First of the
Texas Spirit Quest
Cache Series
The Texas Spirit Quest
is a series of Caches placed by
many individuals, near cemeteries and historic sites in hopes of
paying respect to the many pioneer ancestors that have
‘walked’ before us.
There are hundreds of cemeteries in the rural communities across
Texas. This series will introduce you to many of them. The cache
pages will provide a virtual history tour of the cemeteries,
tombstones and local lore.
COAHOMA, TEXAS.
Coahoma, on Interstate Highway 20 ten miles northeast of Big Spring
in east central Howard County, probably took its name from Coahoma
County, Mississippi, which in turn derived its name from an Indian
word meaning "red panther." Early names for the community included
Signal Mountain and Signal Mountain Station, after a nearby
hill.
After the 1881 arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railway in the
area, Coahoma grew into a retail trade center and shipping point.
Its residents built their first school in 1891, and Gertrude
McIntyre was the first teacher. By the time its second school was
built in 1904, the town had a post office. Machinery and oilfield
supplies became the most important goods distributed from Coahoma
after the major oil strike of 1926. In 1928 the town had 600
residents, and its school district served 205 pupils.
Between 1936 and 1956 the community's population rose from 620 to
802 and the number of commercially rated businesses went from
eighteen to twenty-three. In 1960 the population was reported as
1,239, and in 1970 it was 2,000. In 1980 Coahoma had 1,069
residents. At that time the community also had twenty-four
businesses, a bank, and a post office. In the early 1990s it was an
incorporated community with a population of 1,157 and forty-eight
rated businesses. In 2000 Coahoma had forty-eight businesses and a
population of 932.
* *
*
If you spend time looking through this small
cemetary you might run accross one of its notorious residents.
Texas outlaw Rube Boyce.
He was well known in the region as a rustler and robber and was
known to have killed at least three men. The El Paso stage followed
the Northern San Antonio to El Paso National Road through
Fredericksburg, Mason, Menard, and on to El Paso. The route crossed
the San Saba River at Peg Leg Crossing, a few miles north of'
London. Rube Boyce was adept, as well as habitual, at stopping and
robbing the stage in a gap just west of Peg Leg Crossing. A stage
driver on that run suggested that a scheduled stop be established
in the gap to allow for Boyce's robberies so that the driver could
keep the stage on schedule. As mentioned, stage robbing was not his
only vice.
I am told you might find his marker near
N32 17.085 W101 17.756. Oh,
don't be scared. Go check it out now that you know who he
was.
B.Y.O.P.
Congrats
to
paleopoppy for First to
Find.
Special Note:
There is another cache in this Cemetary, go visit it
as well.
It is a Tribute cache to a "Lost Loved One" of a local
Cacher.
LINK....Mama-go's
Place GC1J0D5
********************
Become a member of
The GeoCache Rescue Mission Cooperative
GCRM Replace log/container as needed!
(See GCRM.gocacher.com for more info)
GCRL Replace log as needed
(See GCRM.gocacher.com for more info)
********************
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx va gur snegurerfg jrfgrea pbeare. Nobhg urnq uvtu. (Hayrff vg zvtengrf nf gurl qb fbzrgvzrf)