Historical Marker
Site of Pickettville
Historical marker location:
US 67 & US 83, Ballinger, Texas
( From Ballinger, take US 67 1.7 miles northeast (1 mile northeast of JCT US 67 and US 83))
Marker installed: 1973
First civilian settlement in Runnels County. Founded 1862 by frontiersmen whose picket houses and corrals gave place its name.
Original settlers included Mr. and Mrs. John W. Guest and three sons; Henry and R. K. Wylie, their cowboys and Negro servant; Mrs. Felicia Gordon and five sons. In 1862, "Rich" Coffey's family also moved here. Indian hostilities of Civil War years (1861-65) caused these ranchers to band together for protection. In 1866, they left with cattle for open range. Their picket corrals later penned the trail herds of John Hittson, John and Joseph Henderson, and others.