##THIS SITE LAST UPDATED 2 Jul 2008 ##
Callahan County Courthouse constructed in 1929
Callahan County was formed in 1858 from Bexar, Bosque and Travis Counties. It was named after James Hughes Callahan, a survivor of the Goalid massacre and leader of the Callahan Expedition. By 1875 land promoter Nelson Smith established the first town, Belle Plain, near the center of the county. Between 1858 and 1877 Callahan County was attached at different times to Bexar County, Eastland County and to Travis County for administrative and judicial purposes. In 1877 over 150 Callahan County residents petitioned to organize Callahan County. In July 1877 Callahan City was named the county seat but in October the same year Belle Plain became the county seat. In 1881 the railroad bypassed Belle Plain by some 6 miles and in early 1883 the county seat was moved to Baird where it remains today. Callahan County has a population approaching 12,000. Oil production, ranching and farming accounts for over 90% of the economy.
A SURNAME PAGE HAS BEEN ADDED TO THIS SITE!!Surnames grouped by county are one of the most useful tools available to the genealogist or family researcher. It not only can add to the information gathered by the individual making the search but many times the local contact for a particular surname comes away with information he/she has needed after years of searching. Gathering these surnames and email addresses will be slow in the beginning but when the value of the Surname Page becomes evident, the list will quickly grow to several pages of names. So go the Surname Page right now and send your surname or surnames for this county and your email address and I will get it posted as quickly as possible.
USGenWeb and TXGenWeb Projects
Several years ago the USGenWeb Project was created to further the craft of genealogy in the United States and to the extent possible, keep genealogy free. One of the goals was to also develop a network of volunteers who would establish a genealogy program in each state. For this state it is the TXGenWeb Project. Use these links to visit the two websites which fully explain the goals, methods, and successes of both projects.
One part of the ultimate goal is to have a county website for each county in every state of the union.
If you are interested in adopting a Texas County, Go Here for a list of orphan counties.
Click Here. to see a list of Texas Counties and the assigned Coordinators.
I am Hugh Swift and as your county coordinator I will do my best to keep your site in good repair with links that work, information that is correct, and subjects that are valuable in your genealogical searches. To that end, please click on my name and notify me by email immediately when you find a broken link, a misspelled word or I've written a sentence that makes no sense! Remember, I am starting from scratch so bear with me as I try to collect and place on the site, information you can use. I value any suggestions you may have to make this a better site.
SEARCH THIS SITE!!
Thanks to FreeFind for providing the search technology for this website.
Note: Please be aware that this search function only works on material actually at this website. Information held at another site (link) will not be included in the search.
SITE INDEX
QUERIES
(Has access to various Message Boards - Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com)
HINTS & TIPS
(Things to make your research a bit easier or at least keep you out of trouble)
CEMETERIES
(A list of County Cemeteries with burial listings as I find them)
LOST WORDS
(Has nothing to do with Genealogy but you might enjoy a trip into the past)
MAILING LISTS
(There is a lot more out there besides county and state. Have a look!)
CONNECTIONS
(A place to add strange facts and odd data you come across.)
UNKNOWN PICTURES
(a place for pictures of people and places you don't recognize -- maybe some one will!)
LOOKUP VOLUNTEERS
(People who have access to historical information and are willing to lookup information. How about you?)
CALLAHAN VITAL RECORDS
(Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Records for Callahan County.)
OTHER COUNTY RESOURCES
(Locations where you might find the information you need.)
COUNTY HISTORICAL MARKERS
(Where they are located and what they represent)
CALLAHAN COUNTY WILDFLOWERS
(Not much genealogy but local wild flowers in Living Color. Need help with some of the names)
VALUABLE GENEALOGICAL WEBSITES
(A list of Internet URLs you can't live without.)
MILITARY PEOPLE, RECORDS AND EVENTS
(Mexican War, War of 1812, Civil War, WWI and WWII, Korea, Vietnam)
PEOPLE AND EVENTS IN CALLAHAN HISTORY
(Items of interest about our Pioneer Families or historical events.)
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS OF PIONEER FAMILIES
(Birth, Death , Marriage Records, Obituaries, and Bible entries. Do you have any to add?
CALLAHAN COUNTY PHOTO ALBUM
Pictures of early Callahan County and it's people.
CALLAHAN COUNTY SURNAMES
Surnames of previous or current residents of Callahan County
Neighboring Counties:
Copyright 2003-2008 by Hugh Swift