Barnard's Trading Post No. 2

The Torrey brothers of Connecticut and their childhood friend George Barnard, with President Sam Houston as a partner, contracted to build a series of trading posts along the Brazos River in 1843. Barnard's friendly manner made the Indians his friends, paving the way for more peaceful frontier settlement. In 1846, George ransomed a young girl, Juana Cavasos, from a group of Comanches at the post on Tehuacana Creek near Waco for $300. By 1847 she had married his brother Charles. In 1849, Charles and George established a post within this valley where Charles and Juana would live. In view of Comanche Peak in modern-day Hood County, the second post was four miles north of this site and near a Shawnee-Delaware village. Trading goods from a bulletproof "dog-run" log house, the brothers did an excellent business, and Juana's influence on the region equaled theirs. Two Anglo communities sprang up in the area: George's Creek and Fort Spunky. The government relocated the area's Indian population to Oklahoma in 1859; the need for a trading post dwindled. 1860 found Charles and Juana beginning a community on the Paluxy River, where he built a large stone gristmill. The town that grew around the mill was called Barnard's Mill, later renamed Glen Rose. (1998)

Barnard's Trading Post No. 2 is a historical marker in Glen Rose, Somervell County, dedicated in 1997. It is one of 17 historical markers documented in Somervell County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 42 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.2806, -97.6213 near Glen Rose. The nearest cataloged historic site is Georges Creek Cemetery (cemetery), about 1.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include George's Creek Baptist Church, Herndon Valley, and Cox Bend.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5425012197. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.