John Wesley Hardin -- Comanche TX
N 31° 53.898 W 098° 36.248
14R E 537433 N 3529231
This sign of history stands on the northeast corner of the Comanche County Courthouse grounds, along the John Wesley Hardin driving trail
Waymark Code: WMV211
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/10/2017
Views: 7
Everyone who was alive and watching TV with cognition in the 1970s remembers the Time-Life Wild West book series ads, that said John Wesley Hardin, "was a man so mean he once shot a man just for snoring!"
Well, they have a different vision of him in Comanche TX, where he had family, was almost murdered, later tried and sent to prison for murdering the man who tried to kill HIM.
This sign is one of several along the John Wesley Hardin driving tour in Comanche.
It stands on the NE corner of the county courthouse square downtown, and reads as follows:
"JOHN WESLEY HARDIN
John Wesley Hardin was not an outlaw; he was, however, a killer. It began with the accidental killing of an ex-slave during the time of 1 of the most corrupt administrations to ever occupy the governor’s office. Hardin was 15 years old when the Rangers came after him, and he killed them too. By April 1874 when Hardin, Jim Taylor, and cousins pushed a herd of longhorns into the town of Hamilton, he had been the State Police’s most wanted man for years.
With a cattle drive that would push the herd north over a month away, Hardin and the others decided to spend the time in Comanche, or they could visit family. Comanche was known for good horseracing, and with race day planned for Hardin’s 21st birthday, Comanche was the perfect place to celebrate. By nightfall on May 26, 1874, the boys had won over $3,000, as well as most of the horses and wagons in the county.
Taking their winnings to town, the celebrating began in the Carnes-Wilson Saloon, on the West End of the north side of the square. Soon, the entourage moved up the street, heading east, where the Jack Wright Saloon was located, no one realizing that Brown County Deputy Charles Webb had come to town for the purpose of killing Hardin.
As Hardin entered the east door of the saloon, Webb pulled the gun, intending to shoot Hardin in the back. Cousin Bud Dixson screamed out a warning, and Hardin whirled in time to shoot Webb, taking a bullet himself. Fleeing first tp Round Mountain in Comanche County and later to Florida, it was 3 years before Hardin was arrested and brought back to Comanche for trial. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and pardoned for the crime 15 years later. In prison, Hardin studied law, setting up a practice after he was pardoned. In 1895, Hardin looked into a mirror inside the Acme Saloon in El Paso Texas, in time to see John Selman shoot him in the head. Ironically, Selman had once himself been a prisoner in the Comanche County jail."
Group that erected the marker: Comanche County Historical Society
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
NE Cor of county courthouse grounds
Austin at Grand Streets
Comanche, TX USA
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