Sosebee's Bluff/Bosque County, Texas
Marker Dedication Ceremony Saturday For Sosebee’s Bluff
Tuesday, January 09, 2007By David Anderson, Associate Editor
CLIFTON — At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13 (weather permitting), family and friends of the Sosebee family will gather to dedicate a marker as the name Sosebee’s Bluff is rightly reclaimed at Lake Whitney. For years, an error that changed the name to Soldier’s Bluff has gone uncorrected. A long fight by the family will culminate in Saturday’s ceremony.
However, the victory is not complete, as the park itself will, at least for now, remain known as Soldier’s Bluff Park, the name given to the area by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The park is located just off Hwy. 22 in Laguna Park at the northwestern edge of the Lake Whitney Dam.
In the July 27, 2001, Clifton Record, a story detailed how former Bosque County Historical Commission Chairman Elizabeth Torrence enlisted the help of Bosque County Commissioners’ Court in correcting a portion of Bosque County’s history that has been in error for several decades. Descendants of the Sosebee family were seeking to have the park and the area in which it is located changed from Soldiers’ Bluff to the more historically accurate moniker of Sosebee’s Bluff.
While the name change was granted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, and was made official on March 25, 2002, visitors to the area in Laguna Park are still greeted with a sign that reads "Soldier’s Bluff."
In a letter to Dannah Wayne Rose, Sr., an Irving resident and a Sosebee family descendant, U.S. BGN Executive Secretary noted that while the change was granted, "the name Soldier’s Bluff Park is not affected by this decision."
The area where the park is located had been known to county residents as Sosebee Bluff for many years. However, when the park was named by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1951, the name was changed.
In a past letter to The Clifton Record, Rose reported that "efforts are currently under way to have the correct named marker put in place."
The efforts of Rose and other family members appear to have been not totally in vain. While the marker will proclaim "Sosebee’s Bluff" will greet those entering the park. However, the Corps’ sign naming it "Soldier’s Bluff" will also remain in place.
Soldiers Bluff Park sits on the southern edge of Lake Whitney, at the northwest corner of the Whitney Dam. However, the park sits on land that was owned by the Sosebee family for many years, and the cliff on that land was long known as Sosebee Bluff.
The Sosebee name has been closely related to the area even before there was a Lake Whitney. The Brazos River was once forded near Walling Bend before a ferry began operation. That vessel was known as the Sosebee-Biffle-Dennis Ferry. The ferry ceased operation in 1914 when a new bridge crossing the river was opened.
More Replies:
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Re: Sosebee's Bluff/Bosque County, Texas
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Re: Sosebee's Bluff/Bosque County, Texas