Bethel Strawn

An 1858 settler and leading citizen of Palo Pinto County. Enlisted 1864 in Co. B. 1st Frontier District, Texas State Troops, in Maj. Wm. Quayle's command. Saw service mainly in keeping down Indian depredations and protecting settlements that were furnishing food, salt, hides, leather and other goods to aid the Confederate cause during the Civil War.

In 1880, when Texas and Pacific Railroad built through western Palo Pinto County, a stop was named for Bethel Strawn, who owned land at that point. By 1885, Strawn settlement had grown into a town drawing off people from old Palo Pinto. During 20th century oil developments, the name Strawn is used for petroleum bearing formations of rock that underlie this county and other areas.

Strawn minerals include coal, once mined locally. 36 Texas counties were named for men prominent in the Confederacy during the Civil War. One county, Val Verde, was named for a Civil War battlefield on which Texas troops were victorious during the New Mexico-Arizona campaign of 1861-1862. 41 Texas towns were named for men who figured in the Civil War.

Strawn, however, is the one geological name commemorating a Texan in the Civil War. (1965)