On the road between Granbury and Stephenville in
southwestern Hood
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| Site of Antioch |
County is Tolar. This is another of those tiny Texas towns
that was settled because of stage couch routes and the railroad. The stage route from Tolar to Fort Worth
provided transportation for the residents of Antioch to these two cities. Now
within the city limits of Tolar, Antioch was the site of the last Indian fight
in the county, the battle of the Point of the Timbers or the Battle of Lookout
Point, in September 1869. Organized settlement of Antioch began in the 1870s,
when ranches were established at the head of Stroud's Creek, making this town
about twenty years older than Tolar.
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| Historic house in Ponder |
One of our small communities has had a rather
infamous history. According to local legend, Bonnie and Clyde tried to rob the
Ponder State Bank the week after it went broke. This may not be true since it’s
not listed in the Barrow Gang's activities; the robbery may have been attempted
by another outlaw, Eddie Bentz. This didn’t prevent movie makers from filming
the Bonnie and
Clyde in the north Texas area with some of the actors and other workers
visiting Ponder during their time in near this town.
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| Girl Statue |
I had no expectations coming to this city beyond
that it would have cobblestone streets. And although it did have those ankle
breakers, the city has lots to recommend it. There are all sorts of hotels,
many more good restaurants than I had anticipated in a city this size, and a
myriad of things to do in town. It is also located relatively close to other
places of interest, such as the Baltic Sea, Krakow, and the
concentration/extermination camp museums. If it were not so difficult to get to
Wroclaw, I would certainly come back. Lots of tourist areas are closed at odd
times. The market is closed on Wednesdays; some museums are closed Mondays; and
somethings are supposed to be open and aren’t and vice versa. If you want to do
something and it’s available to do right then, do it! Also, don’t be afraid to
open what looks like a closed door to a site. It may just be shut rather than
closed.
They are hiding in plain sight and are usually
found first by children since
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| Welcome to Wroclaw |
the kids are much closer to the ground. You’d
think that it would be easy to find many of these 400 statues, but that’s not
the case! They eluded us at every turn. We finally bought a map only to learn
that the little beasties had changed locations, or simply vanished; and there
were many more that weren’t on the map at all! The Gnomes of Wroclaw (or Dwarfs
as they are called locally) are two-foot tall statues that lend great whimsy to
the city and captivate visitors into seeing the sights by going on a Gnome
hunt. Their history, however, is much more political.
