Taylor County Texas web site an element of the TXGenWeb Project.
The title of this page is INDEX.HTML and is the "calling link" for the Taylor site. This material has been collected by
Hugh Swift who can be reached at hudon@bitstreet.com who, unless otherwise indicated, holds the copyright to the material on this site.
HINTS & TIPS
Got a good tip or something new?..Put it here
Anyone may link to the main page (INDEX.HTML ) without permission. Please do not link to individual subpages of the site.
##THIS SITE LAST UPDATED 26 March 2012##
FIRST COURTHOUSE WAS IN BUFFALO GAP
(restored)
History has seen four courthouses in Taylor County. The first was in Buffalo Gap, Texas , the original
location of the County Seat. When the railroad was constructed through Abilene, bypassing
Buffalo
Gap, it was only a few months until the growth of Abilene indicated its future as the
metropolitian
center of the county. Not without a lot of hard feelings and threats from both sides,
the county seat
was moved to Abilene. The original courthouse has been restored and is part of
the "Historical Village"
in Buffalo Gap.
Picture reprinted with permission of the Abilene Preservation League.
SECOND COURTHOUSE
The 1883 heated election moved the county seat from Buffalo Gap to Abilene. The following year saw construction begin on Abilene's first courthouse. It was a grand addition to the rapidly
growing town.
THIRD COURTHOUSE
In 1912 the1884 courthouse was razed to make room for the third courthouse. It is currently as
pictured
above and still houses some of the county offices.
THE PRESENT COURTHOUSE
In the late 1960s a location just west and across the street was selected for a new courthouse.
It turned out
to be a good location and a very impressive facility was completed in 1972.
The photograph labeled
"Present Courthouse" is how it appears today.
A GENEALOGICAL WEBSITE!
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. There
are 254 counties in Texas and it is quite a chore to keep enough volunteers to cooordinate those
counties. If you are interested in adopting a Texas County, (becoming a coordinator)
Go Here for a list of orphan counties or
to get placed on a waiting list for a particular county. To see a list of all the counties and the county
coordinators, then Click Here.
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! I value any suggestions you may have to make this a better site.
SITE INDEX
QUERIES
A listing of message boards
TIMELINE FOR TAYLOR COUNTY
Covers the period 1763 to present.
Link for world timeline included.
CEMETERIES
Directions, pictures, burial lists
LOOKUP VOLUNTEERS
The "life blood" of a genealogy site...
Can you help?
VALUABLE GENEALOGICAL WEBSITES
There are a 'blue million'...
these I've found most useful
MILITARY PEOPLE, RECORDS & EVENTS
CSA pension records,
war dead since 1863
RECOMMENDED READING
Includes 1922 Taylor County rural
schools with student lists
HINTS & TIPS
Got a good tip or something new?..Put it here
THE RAILWAY IN TAYLOR COUNTY
History, pictures, maps
ABILENE POSTCARDS
Various buildings and locations in Abilene
MAILING LISTS
A mailing list for almost any subject...a list of 55
LOST WORDS
An "off subject" list of words no longer in common use
YOUR UNKNOWN PICTURES
Let readers help identify unknown people,
places or things.
TAYLOR COUNTY VITAL RECORDS
birth, death, marriage, and
divorce
OTHER COUNTY RESOURCES
To help you 'navigate' when
searching in Taylor County
TAYLOR COUNTY TOWNS - PAST AND PRESENT
Present names,
previous names, pictures
PEOPLE AND EVENTS IN TAYLOR COUNTY HISTORY
Individuals, families, pictures
TAYLOR COUNTY SURNAMES
Past or present residents of Taylor County
MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL
Items of possible interest to others submitted by the readers.
Neighboring Counties:
copyright 2003-2010 by Hugh Swift