Calliham

Calliham grew from a deal. In 1922 oilman William M. Stephenson arranged with rancher J. T. Calliham to lay out a townsite, reportedly guaranteeing him fifty dollars for each lot sold. The tent camp of 1918, called Guffeyola for a storekeeper, became a town of four cafes, three two-story hotels, a bakery, a drugstore, a pool hall, a newspaper office and a dance pavilion. A brick school replaced classes held on the Stitz Ranch in 1928, and the high school closed in 1948. When Choke Canyon Reservoir covered the old site, the town moved about three miles south.

What the plaque says

Calliham In 1918 had a post office, Guffeyola, in store of H.H. McGuffey. After oil and gas discoveries, 1917-1922, was tent city, then town of shotgun houses. Piped first natural gas to San Antonio. Name was changed 1923 to honor J.T. Calliham, rancher and townsite owner. Still produces oil and exports fine rocks and petrified wood. (1966)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Choke Canyon State Park — 0.3 mi
  A reservoir state park on the Frio River in two units, built after a 1982 dam, with birds, alligators and fishing on land people have crossed for more than 10,000 years.

More markers nearby

• First Producing Gas Well in McMullen County and First Gas Pipeline to San Antonio — steps away
• Townsite of Wentz — 5.8 mi
• Yarbrough Bend — 5.8 mi
• Site Planned for a Regional Trade Center: Simmons, Texas — 6.6 mi