history – Page 2 – Texas History Notebook

Brad Johnson, Actor

Brad William Johnson (1959 – 2022) was an American actor. His parents were Grove Johnson and Virginia Scala Johnson. Brad was born to the couple on October 24, 1959 while the family was living in Tucson, Arizona. It has been suggested that he graduated from high school in Dallas but most likely, he graduated in Grants Pass, Oregon. Online genealogy sources note that he was in the school yearbooks when he was in the 11th and 12th grade. Also, he appears to have attended but did not graduate from college.

Rains County

Emory B. Raines (1800 – 1878) was the son of James (or John) Rains and Mary Ann Duncan Rains and was one of at least a dozen children born to the couple. Emory was born May 4, 1800 in Caney Branch, Warren County, Tennessee. In 1817, when he was a teenager, the family moved to Texas, first settling in the Nacogdoches area. When he was in his 20s, he married the former Marana Anderson. Rains was 29 years old before he learned to read. As was the norm at that time, Rains did not attend a law school, but independently studied the law and was admitted to the Texas Bar. He later became a Texas legislator, serving in Shelby and Wood counties.

Dawson Murchison, Texas Game Warden

The December 21, 1938 issue of the McAllen Daily Press carried the sensational headline “Game Warden Slain By Hunters,” describing the incident in which Dawson R. Murchison was murdered in a confrontation with a group of poachers that he was investigating.

Short Line Railroads – II

The lines in this group are in a category of mostly historical and tourist related entities, most of which most are still in operation.

The Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA) operates several locomotives on tracks that were formerly used by Southern Pacific. This line is called the Austin and Texas Central Railroad. Its headquarters are in Cedar Park. Perhaps its better known historic locomotive was its first unit, Southern Pacific 786. According to the Association’s website, Southern Pacific 786, a steam locomotive, was built by American Locomotive Company in its Brooks Works factory in Dunkirk, New York in 1916. By then the Houston & Texas Central Railway had become a subsidiary of Southern Pacific. The unit was modified several times and operated continuously until 1956, when it was donated to the City of Austin. For thirty-four years it was displayed at Austin Fire Station No. 1 located at the corner of East 5th Street and Trinity, about eight blocks from the State Capitol grounds. The Austin Steam Train Association was incorporated in 1989 and leased the locomotive from the City of Austin shortly afterward. The locomotive was restored and after testing made its first run to Burnet in July, 1992. After running for seven years, it was again taken off line to begin another repair and restoration process. According to the Association website, it is off line and undergoing more work at this time.

A second locomotive is called EMD GP40-3 #3118 and is a diesel-electric locomotive. This unit was originally built for the Penn Central Railroad and quite likely had a lot of freight hauling use before it was acquired. The locomotive changed hands a number of times until it was leased to ASTA in 2017 and later acquired in 2024. It currently runs a majority of the routes offered by ASTA which include the Hill Country Flyer, the Texas Wine Flyer and and Christmas season excursions. One of the rides, called the Hill Country Flyer, is a 6.5 hour journey which makes the 66 mile round trip between Cedar Park and Burnet.

Padgitt Saddle Companies of Texas

It may be difficult to imagine today, there was a time when personal transportation (besides walking, of course) relied on horses and mules, buggies and coaches. For decades, local saddle makers enjoyed a thriving business.

Two such companies were Padgitt Bros. of Dallas and Tom Padgitt, Inc. (also known as Tom Padgitt Company Wholesale Saddlery) of Waco. James Robert Padgitt and Mary Jane Bond Padgitt had three sons who lived to be adults. They were Tom (1846 – 1926), William Clinton (1849 – 1909) and Jesse David (1851 – 1948).