Ambrose Ripley and his wife Rachel (Wood) brought their family to Texas in 1837 and settled near here in what was then Red River County, establishing their home near the Nacogdoches Road (Cherokee Trace) and a stream now known as Ripley Creek. On April 10, 1841, while Ripley was away, a band of Indians attacked his farmstead, first killing his eldest son as he plowed in the field. Mrs. Ripley and five children were killed while trying to reach a canebreak, and one infant died when the house was burned. Two of Ripley’s daughters escaped and reached a neighboring farm. Charles Black and Charles S. Stewart then led a group of settlers north in pursuit of the band. Near the Sulphur River, they encountered Indians who may or may not have been involved in the massacre and attacked them, killing several. Although the Ripley family massacre was an isolated incident in this area, it became a rallying point for stronger frontier defenses, support for the anti-Indian policies of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar, and the formation of a militia unit under Gen. Edward H. Tarrant and Cols. James Bourland and William C. Young to rid the area of Indians.