|
|
Blanket is on U.S. Highway 67/377
ten miles northeast of Brownwood in eastern Brown County. According to
some accounts Blanket Creek was named in 1852 by a group of surveyors
who came upon a band of Tonkawa Indians who had been caught in a
downpour and had spread their blankets over sumac bushes near the
creek for protection. Later the name was transferred to the community
that developed on its banks. Two of the earliest settlers in the area
were F. M. Cross and Dan Pinkard, who arrived in 1862. Pinkney
Anderson established a store in 1873 and was the first postmaster when
a post office was established in 1875. When the Fort Worth and Rio
Grande Railroad was extended from Comanche to Brownwood in 1891,
Blanket was moved from its former site to its present location. It had
a population of 304 in 1904 and 472 in 1929. In the 1930s it had
twenty businesses and a population of more than 300. By 1970 it had
seven businesses and its population remained at around 300. In the
late 1980s Blanket had five businesses and 388 residents, and in 1990
its population was 381. Artist Harold O. Kelly lived for a while in
Blanket. |
|
from the Handbook of Texas Online |
| |
|
Blanket Texas Community History, compiled by Estill Franklin
Allen available from
the Brown County Historical Commission |
|
|