John Prickett was credited as founding this town, when he was post master for the Hondo Canon post office. Hondo Canon was situated along William's creek and stayed there until 1899. In 1899 the post office was moved down stream to its present location and the town was renamed Tarpley. By the next year a blacksmith shop and a general store were added to the post office. Some confusion exists over the origin of the naming of Tarpley. According to J. Marvin Hunter in his book, "One Hundred Years in Bandera, 1853-1953" Tarpley was named after the post master's son, but according to Mr. Elsie Dean, Tarpley's oldest resident, and Mr. and Mrs. Eufurt, other long time residents, Tarpley was named after a good friend of John Prickett's. This friend is still unknown to me. Like Mr. Dean said, "I don't really know, I wasn't around then."

Tarpley is at the junction of highways 462 and 470. Williams Creek runs under the main street, which runs to either west to Bandera or east to Utopia. The main landmarks of Tarpley exist through the buildings that are either on the main street or can be seen from it. The oldest building in the town is a home that was built in 1900. The building is unoccupied now and sits next door to what was one of the three grocery stores of the town. The next oldest building is the Baptist church. The land for the building was acquired in 1900, the church was built, and in 1902 regular Sunday services were held there. The building can be seen from the highway and is one story with a basement, a chapel at the front and a wide stair case; nothing has ever been added on. To this day services are still held in the original building. One of the grocery stores is located on the main street and still stands today. It is now a private residence. The building, for many years, was red, but was painted bright blue; much to the surprise of the residents. One building that once served as the drugstore/grocery store is now being used as a barn on Mr. and Mrs. Eufurt's property. This building stood where the highway is now located. When the highway came through town the store was already closed and the Eufurts moved the building to their property and converted it into a barn. The old school house was built in 1924 and was composed of two rooms. The school held classes every year with as many as three teachers. The school had as many as 100 children attending it at one time, but the average was about 50 students. This school closed down when the town consolidated with the Medina school district. Now the Utopia, Medina, and Bandera school buses run through the Tarpley area. The school house is now used as a community center, where the community events are held.

There are two cemeteries in Tarpley. One cemetery is a private family plot that is now on private property. This cemetery is in the middle of a field and has no real access trails or roads. The other cemetery is the Tarpley Cemetery. This cemetery is four acres, but only a quarter of it currently contains graves. According to Mr. Dean it is filling up fast these days. The oldest grave dates back to March 23 1903, and belonged to J.L. Cortley. The tombstone was very black, worn with age and difficult to read. The second oldest reads James Pogmore; resident of England; died 1905. It is interesting though that Mr. Dean said that John Prickett was buried here. The only tombstone that I found was of George Prickett who was born in 1866 and died in 1926. I never found the tombstone of John Prickett.

This town was an agricultural town where sheep, goats, and mules were raised. The wool and hair from the sheep and goats was sheared and sold for as much as a dollar a pound, in the 1920's. Mules were raised and herded to Hondo to be shipped by freight train to other parts of Texas or the country. Mr. Dean's father was one such mule herder. Mr. Dean recalled many occasions where he assisted his father herding the mules to Hondo; often being pulled out of school to do so. Soon, though, coyotes began to overrun the area and the market for the wool and hair dropped, resulting in the decline of sheep and goat herders. The ranchers now have cattle. Crops like corn and wheat were grown. Mr. Henry Eufurt (Arthur Eufurt's father) owned a mill where he ground up the wheat and corn for flour or meal for the surrounding farmers. These crops soon stopped thriving when the deer and hog population grew tremendously in this area. Now the farmers lease out their land to seasonal hunters. This is a big time of year for Tarpley and this income is depended upon by the land owners to pay the property taxes. Peak Years: According to Mr. Dean the 1920's were a busy time. The prices were the highest and many people lived in or around the town. Soon though the Great Depression hit and everything changed. The prices fell and jobs declined. The prices for the goat hair and sheep wool fell to six cents a pound. The next boom in Tarpley's humble economy came when the Umble Oil Company laid a pipeline through Tarpley. During the 1930's and 40's the Umble Oil Company constructed an oil line that ran from Umble, TX ,through Tarpley, to New Mexico. This project brought many people to the area. The school had as many as 100 children attending, and the population grew. This oil line can be seen from Highway 462 crossing over a creek bed and back under the ground. At one point in Tarpley's history there were three stores. Two were grocery stores and one was a drugstore/grocery store owned by Mr. Eufurt's family. The second was later owned by Mr. and Mrs. Eufurt. The Eufurts sold this store to a couple who converted it to a restaurant which was very popular, until the owners moved. Over time each store closed down and today a single convenience store/gas station exists with a restaurant in the back. This restaurant was featured in the San Antonio Express News where the author praised the chefs for their excellent food and people come from all over to dine in Tarpley. There are a few RV resorts or sites for traveling hunters or people just trying to get away. Cornerstone Church owns a retreat here, where bus loads of eager Christians meet to hear God's word at a 205 acre scenic ranch away from the crowded city. There are no doctor’s offices or hospitals in this town. The closest facility is in Bandera. At one time there was a Dr. Butler who started his practice in Tarpley, but later moved to Bandera and took his services with him.

This town remained basically quiet, except for a few events that caught the attention of the residents of not only Tarpley, but the surrounding area as well. In the early 1980's several scenes of a Western movie starring Peter Fonda, called Wanda Nevada, were filmed at the general store once owned by the Eufurts. At the time the store was owned by people by the name of Hope. This store is located right on Highway 470.

Another major event would be the floods of 1998 and 2002. This area floods frequently when the rain falls for several days, but during the floods of 1998 and 2002 the residents were unable to leave home. Some residents who live on the far side of the William’s Creek bridge could not leave their homes for many days after the rain stopped. The area is full of little streams that join the Thomas and Williams creeks. The Hondo creek swelled up and ran over the high bridge.

This community is small and not too many events take place. There are however two events that are held every year. One is the Christmas potluck dinner held at the old school house. The other is the Volunteer Fire Department benefit barbecue and parade. This is a popular parade where people come from Medina, Bandera, and Utopia to attend and help out the VFD. The parade starts on Highway 470 and ends at the community center, where the meal is prepared. Pictures from past parades are on display in the Brown's Hilltop store located on 470.

There are no real future prospects for Tarpley. Most of the citizens who live here are the young and old. Those who are raised there move to larger cities seeking jobs or education. Those that move to Tarpley are the retired or rich that buy exotic hunting ranches for vacation spots.

Only one historical marker is located about six miles north of Tarpley and reads:
Cow Camp Massacre on Hondo Creek
During the mid 1800's the Texas Hill Country was the site of many hostile encounters some deadly between pioneer immigrants whose permanent settlements ran counter to the area Indians who were accustomed to unrestrained hunting and gathering. One such encounter occurred near this site on January 27, 1866. Three young men from the area, August Rothe age 19, George Miller age 16, and Hubert Weynand, age 12 left their homes near D'Hanis to recover stray livestock, an important task for area farmers and ranchers. They set up camp on Hondo Creek and began the "Cow Hunt." On the morning of the third day Rothe and Weynand were returning to camp, when suddenly Miller appeared running toward them with eight Indians in pursuit. Unable to untie their horses, in time to escape on horseback, both Rothe and Miller ran for their lives up a hill. Weynan attempted his escape on horseback. The encounter resulted in Miller's death, Weynan's capture, and Rothe's heroic escape. Weynand was never seen or heard from again. A scouting party later found Milller's mutilated body, but were unable to apprehend their attackers. Contemporary author, A.J. Sowell wrote of these events in his book "Early settlers and Indian fighters of Southwest Texas"

WEBSITES:

MapQuest.com

Texas Handbook Online

Wanda Nevada

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Interviewees:

Mr. Elsie Dean: Mr Dean is Tarpley's oldest resident. He was born in the town and stayed in this area for most of his life. His father new the founders of Tarpley. Mr. Dean was the only source that new the most of the history of Tarpley.

Arthur and Georgia May Eufurt: Arthur and his wife Georgia May Eufurt have lived in this area for the past 60 years. Their families owned businesses that they themselves soon took over. Mr. Eufurt was a long time member of the Tarpley VFD. Mrs. Eufurt is involved with other community events. They are both members of the Tarpley Baptist Church.

Steve and Joyce Koontz: Steve Koontz was raised in Tarpley, and he and his wife now reside there. They have been residents here since the 1970's.

The Handbook of Texas Online: This website provided the only bit of information about Tarpley. Apparently there is not much out there. This site summarized the origins and location of Tarpley.

The San Antonio Express News: This newspaper featured an article over the only restaurant in Tarpley.