Before statehood…even before the Republic of Texas…existed the Texas Rangers. This organization, our nation’s oldest serving state law enforcement agency, traces its beginning to the Mexican Colonial period. In 1823, following clashes with the Karankawa Indians, Stephen F. Austin formed two companies of “men…to act as rangers for the common defense” of his colonists and paid for their services himself.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of this storied group. Join us as we highlight the history of the organization, a few significant Rangers, and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco. For complete information on bicentennial events and activities, visit texasranger2023.org.
The Rangers were officially founded in 1835 as a paramilitary mounted defense force. Through the turn of the century, their role was protecting the frontier, the border, and defending settlements against Indian raids and attacks.
As the 19th century rolled into the 20th, big, institutional changes came to the Texas Rangers. The “Frontier Battalion,” formed in 1874 as the first permanent force of Texas Rangers, found foes in the Comanche and Kiowa. But with the Indian presence largely crushed and tribal lands ceded to the United States, the Rangers of the late 1800s fixated on another target—criminals. The companies were no longer military cavalry who occasionally chased outlaws, they were roaming, mounted police officers.
In 1901, this reality was codified by the state. A new Texas law dropped the Frontier Battalion name and reorganized the men. It forms four companies of 20 Rangers each, commanded by Captains John Hughes, Bill McDonald, J.H. Rogers, and James Brooks. These “Four Great Captains” steered the Rangers into a modern age of law enforcement while branding the organization with their hard-riding, frontier ethos.
In the 20th century, the Rangers evolved into an elite crimefighting force, renowned for both character, effectiveness, and investigative methods and skill.
“Today’s Texas Rangers reflect the diversity, professionalism, and integrity you would hope to find in one of the world’s oldest—and finest—law enforcement organizations.”
Jason Taylor – Chief, Texas Rangers
The modern Texas Rangers are a major division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The 172 Rangers authorized by the Texas Legislature are posted across Texas in six companies with headquarters in Houston, Garland, Lubbock, Weslaco, El Paso, and Waco/San Antonio with an administrative headquarters office in Austin. The Rangers have been called one of the most effective investigative law enforcement agencies in the world.
Rangers have lead investigative responsibility for major violent crimes, unsolved violent crimes, serial criminals, public corruption, public integrity offenses, and officer involved shootings. The Texas Rangers are also responsible for the state’s border security operations program and DPS tactical operations.
“I am asking you to have the wellbeing of the Rangers in your hearts and minds as we look to honor them with a year’s worth of events in 2023 that will pay tribute to their legacy.”
Steve C. McCraw – Director, Texas Department of Public Safety
In 1964, the State of Texas, the City of Waco, and a group of private benefactors partnered to collect and preserve the history and heritage of the legendary Texas Rangers for future generations. A small museum as a repository dedicated to the Texas Rangers opened a few years later in Fort Fisher Park on the banks of the Brazos River through the efforts of the State of Texas/Texas Department of Public Safety, the City of Waco, and the Waco Chamber of Commerce.
The current site of Fort Fisher Park was chosen because of its proximity to I-35. In 1968, the Texas Ranger Museum and Texas Rangers Company “F” headquarters opened in the park as an educational attraction to tell the story of Texas through the history of the Rangers. The museum building was not based on any actual known fort but is intended to represent a vision of a fort on the Texas frontier.
Today, The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum has grown into an historical center operated as a department of the City of Waco and has welcomed more than 4.5 million visitors from around the world. In 2022, it received the Reader’s Choice Award for “Best of the West” Museum by True West Magazine.
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum is a 170(c) governmental nonprofit. A statewide board of citizens and active & retired Texas Rangers advises the staff, City of Waco, and the Texas Department of Public Safety on operations and programs.
The Texas Ranger Museum is home to numerous artifacts, documents and works of art detailing more than two centuries worth of material culture relating to the history of the Rangers and Texas. From Lipan Apache arrows and 19th Century surveying tools; to a wide array of firearms; to badges uniforms and gear; to Lone Ranger lunchboxes and contemporary law enforcement equipment, the Museum is committed to maintaining these priceless collections for future generations. A few favorites:
This circle-star badge was made in the late 1880s from a Mexican 8-Peso coin. Considered the earliest authentic style of Ranger badge, it was known to be worn by members of Ira Aten’s Texas Ranger Company D. Interestingly, Ranger authority did not derive from a badge, but by documents, a Warrant of Authority and Descriptive List, used for identification. In the 19th century, many Texas Rangers did not wear badges. The State of Texas did not supply badges, so Rangers who wore them bought their own, often simple designs made from Mexican silver coins.
After the Rangers used the Colt Paterson revolver with great success on the Texas frontier, Samuel Colt met with former Texas Ranger Samuel H. Walker to discuss improvements to his invention. The Colt Walker revolver, produced in 1847, improved upon the Colt Paterson by adding a fixed trigger with trigger guard, a sixth chamber and by having interchangeable parts for easier repair. With the success of this pistol, Samuel Colt opened a factory in Hartford, Connecticut, and became one of the world’s leading firearms manufacturers.
In the early 1920s, two young boys were visiting their grandmother’s ranch in Edwards County near the Nueces River. Ira Kelley, about age 10, and his younger brother Lewis, about age 8, discovered this rock in a cave while they were out exploring up in the mountains. The two determined boys decided that the rock was too interesting to leave in the cave and too heavy to carry, so they rolled it down the hill and kept it at their grandmother’s house.
Inscribed in the limestone are the names of several Rangers, including N.L. Telotte, P.S. Coy and Gonzales, as well as “RockSprings, Tex, May 9, 1878” and “Co F Front Batt.” Adjutant General Service Records reveal documentation for a Private N.L Telotte, as well as a Private Paulin S. Coy and someone by the last name Gonzales. Records also list Company F Frontier Battalion as being in Nueces country in 1878.
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame commemorates 31 Texas Rangers who made significant contributions to the development of the service or gave their lives in the line of duty under extraordinary circumstances. It is a state memorial dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Texas Ranger service. Inductees are selected by a committee of serving and retired Rangers. As part of the May 2023 anniversary, four additional Rangers are being inducted, bringing the total honorees to 35.
Martin, John – became Ranger in 1996; first Ranger to attend National Forensic Academy in 2003; petitioned leadership and won approval to create crime scene investigative working group, develop advanced training curriculum for all Rangers, and use state-of-the-art crime scene processing tools such as AFIS, combined DNA ID system, and the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.
Ayecock, Johnnie Earl – 1982-2001; one of only four Texas Rangers to be awarded the Commissioners Medal of Valor, and the only officer to receive it twice, both from incidents involving children kidnapped/held hostage.
Garrison, Homer – When DPS was established in 1935, was first assistant director; became director and Chief of Rangers in 1938. More than any other, responsible for transforming a small band of highway patrolmen and Rangers in the 1930s into a modern law enforcement agency considered one of the best in the nation by the late 1960s.
Rogers, James Frank “Pete” – 1953-1978; having been a WWII pilot, pioneered the use of aircraft in law enforcement; best known for handling Huntsville Siege in 1974, an 11-day hostage situation at the Walls Unit.
Open 7 Days a Week
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
ADMISSION: Adults: $10.00 | Children (6-12): $4.00 | Children under 6 free | Seniors (60+): $8.00 | Military (with ID): $8.00
100 Texas Ranger Trail
Waco, TX 76706
(254) 750-8631
texasranger.org
Samuel Hamilton Walker was born in Maryland in 1815 and came to Texas in 1842.
As a scout for Captain Jesse Billingsley, he fought against Woll and his Mexican troops in San Antonio. Walker was among those captured during the attack on Mier and was marched in chains across the desert.
Caught after an attempted escape, he drew a white bean in Santa Anna’s infamous “Black Bean” incident, in which seventeen men were executed. Successfully escaping a second time, he rejoined Hays in San Antonio. During the Mexican War, Walker served with Taylor’s Army on the Rio Grande in 1846, and later with General Winfield Scott’s Army. His discussions with inventor Samuel Colt led to the introduction of the “Walker” Colt in 1847, a revolver superior to those already in use.
On October 9, 1847, Walker was killed while leading a charge into Huamantla, Tlaxcala, Mexico. Samuel Walker’s remains were later returned to Texas and buried with honors at San Antonio. Walker County is named in his honor.
Clinton Thomas Peoples was born in Bridgeport, Texas on August 25, 1910.During the height of the oil boom in Conroe, Peoples served as a deputy sheriff and was promoted to chief deputy. Also, while in Conroe, Peoples was appointed a Special Texas Ranger by Governor Miriam “Ma” Ferguson to police the state’s four horse racing tracks.
In 1941, Peoples joined the Texas Department of Public Safety as a highway patrolman. In 1946 he was appointed to the Texas Rangers and assigned to Headquarters Company in Austin. In 1953, Peoples was promoted to Captain of Company F.
During his years in the Rangers, Peoples worked a variety of cases, including those involving Billie Sol Estes, the Maceo brothers gambling syndicate in Galveston, the La Grange Chicken Ranch, and George Parr, the “Duke of Duval.” In 1969, Peoples was made the Senior Ranger Captain for the Texas Rangers and transferred to Austin. He retired from the Rangers on March 31, 1974. Peoples was appointed U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas by President Richard Nixon in 1974. He held this position for 14 years.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross was born September 27, 1838 at Bentonsport, Iowa Territory. In 1839 his family migrated to Texas, first settling in Milam County. By 1849 the family had settled at Waco.
In the summer of 1858, Ross signed on with the U. S. Army as the leader of a band of Indian auxiliaries from the Brazos Indian Reservation. His skill and courage were noted by the regular army officers.
Ross joined the Texas Rangers in 1860, first serving as a lieutenant and later as a captain. He was empowered by Sam Houston to raise a company of men to serve in Young County and the surrounding area. He showed the same skill and courage as a Ranger captain as he had shown earlier with the army. In December of 1860 he and his company pursued a Comanche raiding party that ended in the battle of Pease River in which Cynthia Ann Parker, who had been captured by the Comanche some 20 years earlier, was rescued. Ross resigned from the Rangers at the beginning of the Civil War.
Ross enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861. He was soon promoted to the rank of major of the 6th Texas Calvary, and in May 1862 he was promoted to colonel. He was promoted to brigadier-general as a reward for his skill in covering the retreat of Gen. Earl Van Dorn from Corinth, Mississippi in 1863. He commanded a brigade in Wheeler’s cavalry, Army of Tennessee, and later was in command of the Texas Calvary, Army of the West.
Returning to Texas after the war, he took up farming. He served as sheriff of McLennan County, a member of the 1875 state constitutional convention, state senator, and governor of Texas from 1887-1891. Following his last term in office, he was appointed president of the struggling Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University), an office he held until his death on January 3, 1898, in College Station.
James Riddles was born in Windom, Fannin County, Texas, September 27, 1910. He taught mathematics and coached in public school in Fannin County. It was the concept of coaching and teamwork that became the hallmark of his administrative career in both the military and law enforcement.
As a U.S. Army captain in WWII, he served in the encircled town of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, at Remagen Bridge as a company commander, and ultimately as the first Provost Marshal of Berlin following the Allied occupation. After leaving the army in 1946, Riddles rejoined the Texas Department of Public Safety, where he worked briefly before the war, and served in every division of the department.
He was appointed to Rangers, where he became widely known for his skill as an interrogator and investigator. He quickly earned promotion from private to sergeant. In 1967, he was promoted to Captain of Company E, the former Frontier Battalion, headquartered in Midland.
The Rangers of Company E became known as “Riddles’ Rangers.” His motto was “Do the needful thing.” He managed by consideration and suggestion instead of orders. One retired Riddles’ Ranger stated that he would rather have “shot himself in the foot than have disappointed his Captain.” Capt. Riddles said of his men, “My Rangers don’t need supervision in the field; if they needed field supervision, they wouldn’t be Rangers.” Jim Riddles exhibited a fierce pride in the men who served under his command and always considered it an honor rather than a job to have been chosen a leader among such officers. Capt. Riddles often said, “Occasionally a Ranger may need some help, and that’s my job.” Captain Riddles’ ability to analyze a situation and determine a course of action resolved many potentially dangerous situations.
Jim Riddles remained in Midland for eight years. His career was cut short by his untimely death in 1975. Capt. Riddles exemplified the pride, quiet self-reliance, ability, and service that made him among the most admired modern Texas Ranger captains.
William Jesse McDonald was selected to replace S. A. McMurry as Captain of Company B, Frontier Battalion in 1891. He served as a Ranger captain until 1907. Capt. McDonald and his company took part in a number of celebrated cases including the Fitzsimmons-Maher prize fight, the Wichita Falls bank robbery, the Reese-Townsend feud, and the Brownsville Raid of 1906. His handling of the troops of the 25th U.S. Infantry during this last incident made him known as “a man who would charge hell with a bucket of water.” He had a reputation as a gunman that rested upon his marksmanship and his ability to use his weapons to intimidate his opponents.
In 1905, McDonald served as bodyguard to President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1907, Governor Campbell made him a state revenue agent. He again fulfilled the role of bodyguard in 1912 for a visit by Woodrow Wilson. Later Wilson appointed him U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas.
McDonald’s motto was, “No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that’s in the right and keeps on a-comin’.” This later was adopted as the motto of the Rangers.
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