John R. Banister

John Banister had three months of schooling. In Texas he cowboyed on Rufus Winn's ranch near Menardville and for Sam Golson, fought off raids and joined his first drive to Kansas in 1874. With the Frontier Battalion his company helped escort John Wesley Hardin from Austin to Comanche for trial. Later he ran a livery stable in Coleman, worked as a railroad detective, and from 1892 spent six years as a treasury agent policing the Mexican border against cattle smugglers. He organized the cattlemen's field-inspection service as its first chief. His papers are in Texas Tech's Southwest Collection.

What the plaque says

(May 24, 1854-Aug. 2, 1918) Missouri native John Banister left home in 1867 and came to Texas. He received training as a cowboy and participated in several cattle drives to northern markets. Banister served with his brother, Will, as a Texas Ranger and participated in the capture of outlaw Sam Bass. Other contributions to the state included his service as a railway officer, inspector for the Cattle Raisers' Association, and Coleman County sheriff. Recorded - 1984

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 19 mi
  A CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.

More markers nearby

• Emma Daugherty Banister — steps away
• Santa Anna, C.S.A. — 0.8 mi
• Mud Creek Cemetery — 9.2 mi
• Robert M. Coleman — 9.3 mi