July 15, 1865: The Pony Creek Baptist Church was formed today with the assistance of Choctaw Bill Robinson. The name “Choctaw” was added around 1850 when a Choctaw listener stormed out of church saying that “white man talks too long” and in fact Robinson’s sermons lasted for hours. When Baptist preacher “Choctaw Bill traveled to deliver sermons he always traveled with a pack of hounds. When asked what the dogs were for, he responded that their purpose was to tree the “Campbellites” so he could preach to them. [Campbellite was a pejorative reference to an early name for the Church of Christ] Choctaw Bill owned a saw mill and gristmill at Hazel Dell [between Comanche and Hamilton] which was considered one of the most dangerous settlements on the Texas frontier in the 1850s. He preached at the still standing Robertson Oak, where he stowed his guns during the service, right across the street from a saloon. The Hazel Dell cemetery started when saloon drunks decided to shoot a trapper camped nearby – because nobody would miss him -[the most popular saloon in Texas was said to be the Lewis Ledbetter saloon in Hazel Dell] Among the interesting stories about Choctaw Bill was that of a wedding he was about to perform at Buffalo Gap when a band of Comanches swept threw and kidnapped the bride. Those assembled chased down the group and returned the bride – the ceremony was resumed. Known and trusted by most frontiersmen, he was able to defuse a conflict between vigilante groups positioned for battle along Alarm Creek, south of Stephenville. Historians marvel at how Robertson was able to preach on such dangerous subjects – he opposed succession during the 1850s.

Robinson-Bradley, Willo M. and Edith Lucile Robinson. Family Trails: Ancestral and Contemporary. Stephenville Printing Co. 1978; “Choctaw Robinson Oak,” Texas State Historical Association, Robinson, William [Choctaw Bill] 1809-1898; Restoration Movement/Campbellism. Wikipedia.