Old Corn Trail

Surveyed in 1850 by Army engineers, this was the first wagon road to penetrate this area. Its point of origin was San Antonio, site of U.S. Army District Headquarters after the annexation of Texas in 1846. This segment extended from Fort Gates in Coryell County to Fort Griffin in Shackelford County and Fort Belknap in Young County. Although it was used for communications and troop movements, its most common traffic was supplies, especially feed for Army horses and mules, giving rise to the name Corn Trail. The road and its traffic from fort to fort encouraged settlement. In 1851 John A. and J. M. McGuire moved to a site near here on Indian Creek. James H. Neel settled on Resley's Creek in 1852; in 1854 James Mercer and Capt. Frank Collier pitched tents on Mercer Creek, soon joined by their families and the Holmsleys and Tuggles. Collier built the first log house, and Holmsley plowed the first furrow. By Christmas of 1855 there were enough citizens to petition for a county, and Comanche County was created by the Texas Legislature on Jan. 25, 1856. The Corn Trail became a main civilian thoroughfare while continuing to serve as a route for frontier troops and supplies.

Comanche, Texas · United States