In 1882 Joe Thurman and his sons Bill, Sam, and Jess became the first permanent settlers on the west prong of the Nueces River. By 1895 their neighbors included the Barksdale, Chapman, Cox, Ellis, Haley, Justice, Parham, Silman, and Tabor families. A brush arbor sheltered the first church, where Virgil Silman and A.J. Cox preached, and the first school, where Perry Ellis taught. In this ranch community, Joe Thurman also served as doctor, dentist, and coffin maker, while his family raised fine horses for racing. In 1895 they matched their favorite against the horse of John Nance Garner, later U.S. Vice President.