Stringfield Massacre

Ida Alice Stringfield was eight on September 28, 1870, when raiders attacked her family's wagon. Her parents, Thomas and Sarah Jane, were killed, and her brother Adolphus, six, is reported killed. Ida was speared seven times, trampled and left for dead; a Mexican family living nearby cared for her until relatives came. She lived until 1937. In 1925 she gave a sworn statement that became part of a claim against Mexico, for which one account says $25,000 was paid. In it she said she never learned what became of her brothers.

What the plaque says

Stringfield Massacre On Sept. 28, 1870, the Thomas W. Stringfield family was ambushed by Indians and bandits raiding from Mexico. Overtaken in their horse-drawn wagon, the victims ran for a nearby house, but did not reach it. Thomas and wife Sarah Jane were stabbed and shot to death. Six-year-old son Adolphus was also murdered, but the fate of Thomas, 4 years, was never known. The survivor, 8-year-old Ida Alice, fought to avoid capture. She was then speared 7 times, trampled by the raiders' horses, and left for dead. She was later rescued and lived until 1937. 1968

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Choke Canyon State Park — 28 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

• Louisa Renshaw Covey — 22 mi
• John Swanson Yarbrough — 22 mi
• Old McMullen College — 22 mi
• Tilden — 23 mi