WOOT WOOT first investigation episode in the books! Spoiler alerts ahead, so definitely do not recommend going through this post until you've listened to the episode. 👻
Here's a compilation of the images we referenced, as well as some other fun things!
First things first, here's a picture of the Walker House in the Block House Creek neighborhood.
The next thing I wanted to share is in regards to when this area was originally settled. In the episode we walk you through the history, and we actually have a first-hand account from a man by the name of Noah Smithwick. He was one of the men under the charge of Captain Tumlinson and actually aided in building the fort. In case you wanted some further illustration on what life was like back then, click below for an excerpt from his book. The event Noah describes here literally took place while they were on the way to build the fort. (*Warning, it does contain graphic material in regards to a skirmish with Native Americans*)
Now let's get into the Ranger uniforms from this time. Here's a look at the image from Darren Ivey's book, The Texas Rangers: A Registry and History. This image portrays the typical Ranger uniform from the 1830's/40's - notice the hat. The front of the hat is pinned back and, to us, there's no way this could be mistaken as a "top hat."
The next image we'll look at is actually the front cover of this book, which has an image of Rangers from the Frontier Battalion, which is what Andrew Mather was a part of. Here we start seeing uniforms that more resemble the "Top Hat," as well as vests and longer coats. This looks closer to what I saw.
Speaking of what I saw....here's the sketch I did. Pease note, yes I'm a terrible artist, don't judge me. And P.S. no I didn't see him without hands I just didn't want to try drawing hands. 😂
Andddd the photo we found of Andrew Mather for comparison:
Photo from historical.ha.com
And one final photo to share, the lookout tree we talked about! According to locals, it was cut down a long time ago, but here is a picture from the book Land of Good Water: A Williamson County, Texas, History by Clara Stearns Scarbrough:
So what do YOU think? Is it Andrew Mather? Is it a different Texas Ranger? Is it someone else entirely? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, make sure you follow us on Instagram @therealghostsof , and creep it real out there, y'all. 👻
