In October of 1878 W.T. Willis, also known as Charlie Ford, a noted horse thief and murderer , was killed in a shootout with the Sheriff of Palo Pinto at his hideout just north of the Erath County line.

Waco Examiner

In 1891, Taylor Long was driving his ox team home from Stephenville when a nearby stampede frightened his oxen. He knew he was in trouble when his “meek and mild-eyed oxen began to turn the hair on their backs the wrong way.” The ox team ran away, smashed up the wagon bed, and dumped everything in the road. Stepenville Empire