Travelers between Big Lake and Midland on highway 137 could very easily miss one of area’s original towns the hidden history. You can see a grand two-story courthouse from quite a distance but it might be missed if you’re not searching or just notice as you drive by. It looks out of place because there is nothing else around; nothing but stories.
Gordon Stiles and Gerome W. Shields first settled on this land in around 1880. More people relocated and petitions were filed to split from Tom Green County. The exact number of residents were two less than required until Bill and John Donuhu were added. Although there were actually no Donuhus, there were two mules named Bill and John. Those mules helped to form Reagan County and the town of Stiles in 1903. Stiles was named the county seat. Stiles Journal was founded by J. Marvin Hunter in 1907, although it lasted only a few years. Two temporary buildings were used until the permanent two-story 50’ by 50’ courthouse was built in 1911 and was the pride of the county. By this time, hundreds of houses had been built and local businesses were thriving.
Unfortunately, many communities of this time have a history of unique deaths. In 1906, wealthy rancher, J.R. Warren shot and killed his wife and houseguest, who may have been having an affair. He then called and left a message and the sheriff’s office before taking his own life. One of the courthouse’s most notable stories came from a disagreement between two prominent ranchers, Stiles’ first and last Sheriff, Henry Japson, and his long-time friend, James Belcher. According to Susan Patterson, her father, James Belcher was named a representative for the Drover’s Cattle Loan Company of Kansas City in 1912. This was a position previously held by Japson which led to an argument at the Bank of Big Lake. Belcher was at the county clerk’s office in Stiles the following day, when Japson entered and shot him dead. A shaken and distraught Japson went straight to the sheriff’s office, closed the door, and used the same gun to put a bullet in his brain.
Stiles’ downfall was the result of a major landowner refusing to grant right of way to an expansion of the Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient Railroad from San Angelo to Fort Stockton and Toyahville in 1912. This led to the birth of Big Lake when the rail line was built 20 miles south. Big Lake’s population matched Stiles’ in just six years. After multiple attempts over the next six years, the county seat was moved. The Stiles courthouse then served as a community center, school, dance center, and polling place. Population continued to decline until all that remained was the courthouse and ranches which took over all other land and buildings. The post office closed in 1938 after being open since 1900. What was previously the pride of the county was eventually converted to storage for county equipment by the 1960’s.
All that remains of Stiles today is a skeleton of the once great courthouse. It truly looks out of place with nothing else to show that this was once a place where memories were created. Along with several buildings in Reagan, Upton, Pecos, and Midland counties, arsons carelessly gutted the original pride of the county. Amazingly, the inside and outside walls held strong to provide us with a few more decades to observe and imagine what life was like over a hundred years ago.
