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In 1869, on Independence Day there was an Indian
raid, said to be one of the last ones in Parker County. The
raid was described in The West Texas Frontier, by Joseph
Carroll McConnell.
“After stealing horses during the third and fourth of
July, 1869, the Indians appeared at the homes of Wm.
and C.B. Rider, who lived on the head of Mary’s Creek.
The Indians were discovered by little Annie Rider, who
counted eleven in number. Annie and her mother, Malissa
McClain Rider, concealed themselves up in the attic.
The Indians stopped on an edge until they corralled a
fine horse. Rider and her daughter could hear the horse-
bell while the Indians were chasing horses. The savages
also fired into the roof of the smoke-house. Wm. and
C.B. Rider were both away. The Indians passed on to the
home of Clinton B. Rider, about one-half mile away, and
proceeded on east about one mile where they mortally
wounded Wm. Tinnell, just before dark. Wm. Tinnell was
traveling alone in a wagon and going west with freight.
He was scalped, and the Indians took his horses. When
Tinnell was found, however, he was not yet dead, and
was carried to the home of John Kaufman, where he lived
n the banks of Mary’s Creek is a historic Texas
spread called the Lyon Ranch, encompassing 332
acres and a two-story farmhouse built in the 1880s.
The house was small when Pam Fuqua’s grandparents
purchased the property in 1941, but was added on to
create the picturesque farmhouse found at the end of a
mile-long dirt road in Aledo. Mary’s Creek runs through-
out the farm with some areas easy to cross and a few
places deep enough to fish.
“It’s either ankle deep or 15-foot deep,” said Fuqua.
“It depends on the rainfall.”
Fuqua’s grandfather, V.H. Lyon, was a dairy farmer
and operated the dairy until 1982 when he began a cattle
business. Fuqua along with her brothers, Tommy and
Darrell Lyon, grew up visiting often at the farm and help-
ing around the dairy. Lyon ran a successful dairy and grew
his own hay and grain on the property.
“The red dairy barn is still here. My grandfather kept
the ice cold milk in the vats. We would get our milk fresh.
It was fun going to the farm. I enjoyed playing with all of
the animals,” Fuqua said.
The property has a colorful and rich history.
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