Chris's Genealogy Journey: May 19-22 Breckenridge & Possum Kingdom State Park

Fountain and mural in Breckenridge, Stephens County, TX

Yesterday when I turned down that dirt road to check the Clear Fork Cemetery it was about 1:00. I hadn’t had lunch so was hungry and I needed to pee. Then Scott came along and for the next few hours I couldn’t do anything about either but somehow I didn’t care. By the time I pulled into the RV Park in Breckenridge where I’d planned to spend the night, I was exhausted. It was still hot and windy. I parked, got hooked up and had to rest a bit before I could muster enough energy to fix something to eat. That night I got to experience my second southwest thunder and lightning storm – it just rocked me to sleep.

Stephens County Courthouse in Breckenridge

Friday morning I slept in then headed for the town of Breckenridge. I still wanted to find Joanna’s death certificate because I hoped it might include the names of her parents. The courthouse is another monumental building, originally built in 1883 and replaced with the current building in 1926. I went to the City Clerk’s office where I met Jackie and Christy. Jackie explained where I needed to look. Sadly, they do not have a record of Joanna’s death but I did find a couple other Stover death records that I did not recognize but figure they must be related somehow, so I made copies. Then I spent a couple hours scanning land records for various transactions recorded by D. G and Nannie Stover.

Ornate doorway from the original courthouse built in 1883

While doing this work one of the clerks was listening to a weather report. A tornado was near Abilene, Texas – about 60 miles from where we were. They seemed quite concerned so naturally I felt uneasy. Fortunately for me that tornado didn’t come our way.

I also stopped in at the Swenson Museum to find out what they might have on my family. Scott had encouraged me to check there, but even though the librarian checked several books and binders she was unable to find anything on Stovers or the Pattillos. The town of Breckenridge did not excite me as Albany had so I decided to head towards Fort Worth.

War memorial at the Breckenridge courthouse

The camping app I’ve been using brought up a few private RV Parks and one state campground – Possum Kingdom State Park. I can’t say the name was real appealing but I called anyway. The park ranger said they were full but I said I was feeling lucky and hoped a cancellation would come through. It was about 30 miles from where I was – a nice drive on county roads. When I assured them I only planned to stay one night they let me in. I found the best campsite in the whole darn place, No. 14. It’s about 25 feet from the lakeshore and the next nearest campsite is about 50 yards away. The entire campground is covered in grass and trees – mesquite, oak and juniper. It was hot when I arrived but cooled down nicely at night.

Site No. 14 was so nice I stayed for 3 days

The literature they gave me when I registered explains that the area got it name because Ike Sablosky, who was in the hide business, said, “The best source of possum hides came from hunters up in Northwest Palo Pinto County”. Ike called the area Possum Kingdom and the name stuck. So far, this is the nicest place I’ve camped and since it is the weekend and the places I’ll want to visit in Fort Worth are likely to be closed until Monday, I called the Ranger this morning to ask if I could be added to the wait list and stay another night.

Well, my Texas luck continues – I’m paid up for two more nights and happy as a possum.