Legends and Stories of the Big Bend Area

Dan Murphy was a man who wanted a town for a monument. The new Southern Pacific railroad wanted the water from Murphy's spring. They dickered. In a deal old Dan Murphy gave the company a 99 year lease on Burgess Spring a mile or so north of the tracks and the company changed the name of the future Alpine from what it was then called, Osborne, to Murphyville. This was done, no doubt in 1882 or 1883.

Adventuresome and hopeful settlers began to build a town. They did not like the name of Murphyville. They said it was too long to write. Perhaps that was the real reason. Perhaps they felt that the name Murphy, applied also to potatoes, did not fit in with the country, somehow. Typewriters not being in general use, it is said the railway company soon got tired of writing the long name over and over thousands of times in their business.

So the name was changed and Daniel O. Murphy's dreams and hopes went smash.

Apparently the circumstances surrounding the name and its origin has been lost in history's shuffle. Nobody appears to know the who, why or when of it. It is said authentically that the name was painted neatly on each end of the boxcar railway station. Probably this was done in the latter part of 1882 or early 1883, at about the time the steel was laid for the long and shimmering track, or at the completion of the railroad in January 1883, down near the Pecos River. Jim P. Wilson said the name Osborne was on the station when arrived in town June 20, 1884. But Jim Cotter said recently that when he caught a train in the town in May 1883, the place was spoken of as Murphyville, regardless of what name might have been on the signboards.

It is said that old Dan Murphy had worked a gang of Chinese coolies in the building of the railroad and that when the big job was done he was offered a position as section boss and accepted it. Also Dan Murphy has been described as a post trader at Fort Davis. There can be no argument to his being in Fort Davis a great deal. Today middle-aged men in Fort Davis who were boys there knew old Dan well. Mr. Murphy is described as a sociable, friendly man of medium height and slight build. It was said that Murphy owned land "everywhere". Murphy owned land at San Solomon Spring at what is now Toyahvale, and at Fort Davis. Some of the Fort Davis Murphy land is still in the possession of Murphy heirs. Many of the lots have been sold to Mexican citizens in the last four and five years.

The story is told that a Catholic priest in Fort Davis advised Murphy to file on a section of land at the site of Osborne, saying there was bound to "be a town". This priest was not the one who served his church in Fort Davis for nearly half a century, Father Brocardus, who legal name was Nicholas Brocardus Ecken-because father Father Brocardus did not arrive at the old military town until 1892. Whoever the priest was, he must have realized that a town would grow on the site because of the water spring that was called, then, Burgess Spring and now, Kokernot Spring, because it was a long way to a possible town east or west, and because it was bound to be an important calle country. It is said further that the priest surveyed the town site of Murphyville

However all that may be-and it sounds logical, doesn't it?-Murphy located section 42 in block 9, and Governor John Ireland signed a patent to Dan's Don Thomas O. Murphy, October 26, 1883 for 640 acres of land, Dan Murphy, in filing-Judge Van Sickle said-paid down just $19.20 to the state, or three percent of the purchase price. Naturally the rest of the price was forked over when Tom completed the patent.

In Volume 2, Record of Deeds, now at the Brewster County courthouse, a plat of Murphy's town site is recorded, on page 96, along with a deed giving the county ownership of streets and some alleys. Also, Murphy gave the right-of-way to the railroad, do doubt because the railroad was on the land first. There was no date easily discoverable to when Murphy filed on the land but or course that would be found at the State land office. It could have been in 1883, but more likely was in 1882. The plat and instrument deeding the streets to Brewster County were filed in November 1883, by Dan's son Thomas.

The town grew. In February 1887, Brewster County was organized and officers elected. A year later the county was in the throes of voting bonds and building a courthouse. And apparently along about then that long name of Murphyville began to stick in people's craws. There spring up an ambition to have a real town. So on July 17, 1888, an election was held to incorporate under the name of Alpine. The total vote was 71, with 60 ballots in favor of the proposition. So Murphyville became Alpine.

The railroad did not change the name at once. For it, the town continued as Murphyville, with the name on the little depot. But the duality was confusing. The railroad also wished to change. Judge Van Sickle said recently that Murphy declined to resist the change, saying that he was getting along in years and agreeing that if the railroad would void the 99 year lease on Burgess Spring he would make no objection to the name of Murphyville being dropped. It is understood the railroad was tired of its lease, because its pipline would wash out or be broken up in every f rain, and was ready to drill wells. Anyway, an adjustment was made, the name Murphyville vanished-along with a man's ambition and dream-and Alpine came into full being.