Cranfills Gap
Bosque Co., Texas  by Elroy Christenson

CG.sign2.72.jpg
East SH #22 entrance to Cranfills Gap, Texas

Cranfills Gap community was named for George Eaton Cranfill who came to Texas from Illinois. According to Gail Cranfill Whittingham, his great grand-daughter, he sold his farm in Illinois in September 1854 when he moved to Dallas County. By 1856 he was paying taxes on a lot in Lancaster, Texas where he seems to have remained through 1860. [George E. Cranfill entry, Dallas County, Texas; Dallas County Tax Rolls 1846-1910, microcopy reel 155; Texas State Library, Archives Division, Austin.]    He finally bought land in Bosque County on February 5, 1859. "The land was part of the original survey made for Francis Renfro who had died with his father, Creath (Renfro), from an Indian raid in 1857." George's father-in-law was Erasmus Canter. George's son, Samuel B. Cranfill, established the Cranfills Gap Post office at Cranfills Gap, Bosque County, on May 21, 1879 on Meridian Creek on the Hamilton-Bosque County line in what was an old stage coach stop. To correct the history, Samuel Cranfill's father-in-law was William Nelson Crawford as stated in the Deed Book of Coryell County, Gatesville, Texas. According to Tony Rohne the building still stands on land owned by Chris Morris Rohne Hanson. A month later it became Cranfills Gap, Bosque County. The community is situated in the gap between two small limestone hills that formed the passage between the cities of Hillsboro, Meridian, and Hamilton, Texas. It lays on Texas State Highway #22 and Farm Road #219. Up to the 1960's Cranfills Gap was a vital farming community supporting the efforts of the dry land farming of corn, grains, and cotton. More recently many of the farms have been turned in the ranches for cattle and private hunting reserves for deer and more exotic animals. [records of Gail Cranfill Whittingham, Sept. 2020]

Prior to the Spanish coming into the region this area had been the hunting grounds for Tonkawa and/or Tawakoni tribe. They were migratory hunters of deer and wild game which inhabited the area primarily around the Brazos river north of Waco. They were said to have numbered about1600 when the Spanish arrived about 1690. Their population was reduced to less than half after a small pox epidemic. The tribe was herded into two missions by the Spanish but they resisted staying in one place for very long especially with other tribes incursions into their area. In 1756 they assisted in the destruction of the San Saba Mission set up for the Apache, which also moved into the area. In 1855 the United States government establish two reservations on the Brazos river for the Tonkawa and several other tribes. By 1859 the white settlers made so many complaints that the were removed to the Oklahoma territory. Here In 1862 the Delaware, Shawnee, and Caddo Indians found an opportunity to settle old scores and massacred 137 of the 300 remaining Tonkawa tribe. When finally protected and gathered into one reservation in 1884 near Ponca, Oklahoma they numbered only 92; by 1937 the population was only 51. [Texas Tribes]

The Spanish colonization of Texas began as early as 1716 although it did not really become efficient at giving and surveying the land grants to individuals until 1767. Some of the original grants were given on the basis of merit or seniority. The largest of these "porciones" consisted of 600,000 acres. [Texas Red River Authority] It is said that the rock fence that runs to the north and west of Cranfills Gap was built by some of these Spanish settlers with the assistance of Indian volunteers or (probably) Indian slaves. This rock fence which runs for miles across the hilly landscape was used as a demarkation of the property but also to keep control of grazing stock. It has fallen in the disrepair more recently with some parts of it being used as a quarry for building material by the locals. I have not been able to ascertain the length or direction of the entire fence that still exists but it also passes near the old stage coach stop and was one border of Pete Christenson's farm in Hamilton County.  Many farmers used the stone from the fences in buildings for their farms so it may only exist is certain locations.

Eventually the Spanish offered land grants as enticements to new settlers from the United States and other foreigners. Under the Republic of Texas rule "first class" head-right grants were given to all heads of families living in Texas on March 4, 1836 except Africans and Indians consisting of one league and one labor (4605.5 acres) and single men who were seventeen years or older would get one-third of a league (1,476.1 acres). By 1841 "fourth class" land grants were given to heads of families of 640 acres and 320 acres to single individuals. [Texas Red River Authority]

Cranfills Gap, Texas
          1910

Cranfills Gap, 1910
unknown photographer, reprinted in the Clifton Record, 1978

In the above photo, Cranfills Gap is barely more than a few buildings.  In the caption below "Christ Christenson, on extreme left and G. O. Bronstad with vest, over on right with boys in center being Ervin Christenson and Clyde Bronstad."  The Chris Christenson in this picture is actually my dad's uncle with Ervin being his son.  Two years later Chris, pictured here, dies and three years later my dad, Chris Christenson, is born.  The building on the right is the Bronstad General Store.

St. Olaf's in CG

The First Norwegian families started coming to this area of Texas as early as 1841. Rock
            churchThe State of Texas offered major land incentives for settlers of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They were led here largely by Cleng Peerson who helped Norwegian settlements across the United States. The Rock Church was built about 1888 by Andrew Mickelson with local help. See more information here on the Rock Church and the Scandinavian Community.  The vitality of this heritage is still celebrated with a "lutefisk dinner" each year that draws crowds from all over Texas.

The primary Lutheran church services were moved from the Rock Church to the new St. Olaf's in Cranfills Gap which was built in 1917. It is still used as the main sanctuary for Lutheran services although other denominations such as the Baptists and Methodists have built in the area.

During the 1930's and 1940's many residents started the gradual emigration to other regions because of both the Depression and World War II. My grandfather, Pete Christenson, almost lost the farm during the Depression and only survived by selling off a large portion to make the necessary payments. My own parents and several relatives moved to Gary, Indiana to work in the steel mills during the war. The population of the town has varied from about 500 to the present 329 people.

During the 1960's Bynus (Binus?) Tindell ran an old fashioned drugstore on the corner 3rd Street, which was the main shopping street. It was a full service drugstore with a marble counter-topped soda fountain with wire framed chairs and marble-topped tables. Cherry Cokes were the specialty. Comic books were available for discounted prices because the covers had been taken off. Behind the drugstore was the local doctor's office and next door on the north was The Viking Theater (later the Gap Theater), owned by a Mr. Millinax, which still stands but has not operated for 20 years. My dad was a projectionist during the 1930's for a period of time while my mother worked in the ticket booth.
CG
                  Viking theater
      The old drug store, Viking Cinema and grocery store south toward SH #22.

Next to the Viking picture show was a two story limestone buildings until the 1940's that contained a shoe shop that my father operated for a while with the major part of the building used for a dry-goods store. It had been the tallest building in the community. The building was torn down and replaced with the smaller of two grocery stores in the town. At one time there were as many as five grocery stores. This store was a co-op grocery store. It contained local vegetables and necessary household items where folks sold and bought bulk quantities of sugar and bread flour in 50 pound cotton print bags. These bags could be later turned into dresses or used as fabric for patchwork quilts that were created by the Women's Axillary (Ladies Aid) group of St. Olaf's church. My grandmother, Eva Christenson, sold them regular quantities of eggs and butter.

Old state bank, Cranfills Gap, TX           

The old First Security State Bank                                                        The Feed Store
                                                                                           (now called the Horny Toad Bar and Grill)

Just down the street on the same side was the First Security State Bank whose president was Chris Rohne, my father's cousin. It was first chartered in 1910 as the First Guaranty State Bank of Cranfills Gap. It has since built a new building across the street. Across the street on the same side of 3rd Street used to be a garage owned by my grandfather, Ed Johnson, my uncle Herman Reesing and my dad. Here they worked on combines, thrashing machines, and steam engines. Since it was a big building it was rented out during the 1930's to show silent films complete with live piano music on a regular basis. This was before the cinema was built. Occasionally it was also rented to a medicine show. The feed mill across the street from the bank had all the expected items. South of the feed store on the next block was Witte's Hardware store and the larger grocery store and combination gas station. This corner store in the 1920's had been a gas station for early autos with a blacksmith shop which my grandfather, Pete Christenson, owned was in the rear for the continued use of horses . Besides shoeing horses he also had a couple of thrashing machines that he rented and operated during the wheat and oats harvest seasons. Across the Highway 22 from the grocery is a garage in which local cars, trucks and tractors were repaired. Another limestone faced gas station existed on the other corner of the main intersection. This also became a domino parlor at one time. Somewhere in town I remember there being a barbershop. The barber, Bernt Bertelson, at that time was about 70 years old and had dyed black hair that looked very peculiar to me as a child. It seemed to be another center of local gossip for the men of the community.

Entertainment came in various forms. In the location of the new bank was a building that was a domino parlor which had various locations in town. Here the local men folk played games during the heat of the day but in the evenings they would play croquet in vacant lots. Next to the present Post Office, which had been the Bronstad Store, was an empty lot that had been turned into a professional croquet court with concrete perimeters and 1/2" steel wickets. In another empty lot on the opposite side of the street behind the hardware store was another similarly laid out court for the competition.
 This one had lights making it possible to play all night. The games were very heated and probably were used to lay small wagers. The courts no longer exit and the lots have returned to the earlier weed patches they were. Vacant lots were used also for religious revival meetings and itinerant roller rinks under tents. Occasionally someone would invite several families over to there house for "A Singing". Folks would gather around a piano and sing songs such as hymns and other old standards. The community also had a concert band. Several of my relatives were members including Jake Christenson, Mangus Rohne, Bernhardt Rohne, and Freddie Bertelson.

A couple of block west at the intersection with FR 219 was location of the Cranfills Gap Cotton Gin operated by A. C. Grimland. It was a co-op gin for the local farmers. Here they brought the cotton by horse or tractor from local fields. The building has long since been torn down and presently houses a wrecking yard of antique tractors. Just south of the gin was the switch board for the local phone company. The Cranfills Gap Phone Company set up in 1906 was the most antique hand-crank magneto type with five to ten families hooked to a single line. Each family had a separate ring such as one long and two short rings and everyone on the party-line knew exactly what was going on in every family. Dating was quite an experience since everyone frequently listened in on the conversations. In 1971 it was sold to the Clifton Telephone Company which updated the equipment to rotary dial phones.

Cranfills Gap eastside      Cranfills gap
            store
The new First Security State Bank looking south toward SH #22 and the general store looking north.

The school holds all grades in two buildings and sit on a hillside on the other side of the creek that runs through the community. The community was one of several in Texas that were identified as a losing population by the Dallas Morning News in 1999. Along with population it has also lost a very vital way of life. Many of the present residents are retired or commuting long distances for work. Farming in the area has changed with the consolidation of land holdings. Where there were 15 to 20 family farms north of the Gap now there is one large ranch. These are usually owned by folks who live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and have little to do with the local community. Some of the farms have been turned into hunter sanctuaries for trophy deer and elk. One such farm near the Rock Church has high wire fences and security cameras monitoring the perimeters.

National notoriety for the town came in a November, 1970 visit by Charles Kuralt, the Columbia Broadcasting System television commentator, for his series The Man on the Go. They filmed the District Championship Football game between Iredell community high school and the Gap. Since these are small districts they came up with a unique form of football based on a Six-man football team.

Cranfills gap class of '36
Cranfills Gap High School graduating class of 1936
(Violet Kirkland, my mother, 2nd from right standing ()

In 1982 King Olaf V of Norway came to Cranfills Gap to lay a wreath at the grave of Cleng Peerson who had brought so many Norwegian and Scandinavian immigrants to America including areas of Pennsylvania, Minnesota and this particular region of Texas where he died.  The Old Rock Church is a great memorial to the early immigrant.  

2008, Dec 13 - One hundred out of about 350 residents of Cranfills Gap were taken to Las Vegas for a few days vacation as part of a publicity campaign operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.   The town was picked from 125 prospective towns as the quintessential "small town".  The production company came into town about a month ahead of the scheduled date to film the town individuals to use in the "Bound for Vegas" campaign kicked off by this small town.  Not everyone in the town was thrilled with the prospect.  A few residents had apparently not been out of Bosque county and had to be convinced to go.  The town received all kinds of recognition from the articles in several Texas newspapers as well as in USA Today about the project.  I'm presently awaiting the responses of the travelers. [Wacotrib.com, article From Cen-Tex to Sin City, Cranfills Gap residents treated to trip to Las Vegas,  by Wendy Gregg, 5 Dec 2008]



sources:

Scandinavian Rock Church || Thrashing Bee || Cranfills Gap Slide Show (allow time to load)

Johnson/Rohne/Christenson photo map
Egeberg/Johnson lineage map || Johnson Family Index

Elroy's Family Index || Ancestor Chart #1 || Regional History Index


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All information and photos included within these pages was developed by the help of hundreds of researchers. The information here is for the express purpose of personal genealogical research and is freely offered as long as this site is listed as a source. It may not be included or used for any commercial purpose or included in any commercial site without the express permission of Elroy Christenson. Copyright Elroy Christenson 1998-2020.

web pages created by Elroy Christenson- elroy@next1000.com - last updated 9/22/2020