Eden is a friendly little town at the northwest corner of our Hill Country map, where the hills have softened into a rolling prairie, and folks seeking big-city amenities head to San Angelo instead of Austin or San Antonio. Eden is the biggest town in Concho County, and a regular stop for travelers on Highways 83 and 87, which intersect in downtown Eden.

Every town has a story to tell, and the Don Freeman Memorial Museum -- on the square in Eden, Texas – does an excellent job of illustrating the triumphs and tragedies, the heroes, the legends and the countless hours of backbreaking labor that made Eden the charming little town it is today. The museum is housed in a white brick building, donated by the widow of local rancher Don Freeman, next to the city hall on Paint Rock Street.

A series of displays provide a dramatic timeline for the county and the town; the story begins with paintings and artifacts which illustrate the ancient presence of Indians in the Concho County area, particularly at Paint Rock, where Indian pictographs gave the county seat its name. A mysterious iron shoe sole found west of Eden suggests a lost soldier from Coronado’s army nearly 500 years ago.

The U.S. Army explored the area as early as 1849, and soon the countryside was criss-crossed by roads connecting neighboring forts; the county was created by the Texas state legislature in 1858. An 1862 map shows the completely-surveyed county, though actual settlers at that time were few and far between.

A few cattlemen arrived in Concho County to take advantage of the open grassland during the 1860s, but widespread Indian raids bankrupted most in 1871; actual government of the county was not established until 1879, when the fledgling town of Paint Rock, in the county’s northeastern corner, was named county seat. Sheepmen brought huge flocks of sheep to Concho County in the early 1880s; soon the county was divided into fenced pastures. Several fine houses were built by prosperous ranchers.

In 1882, an English rancher/businessman named Fred Ede platted a town in the southern half of the county, and Eden was born; the first school was built in 1884. Farming became more common during the 1880s, and cotton became the county’s major cash crop.

An accidental discovery of oil in 1891 brought a new industry to Concho County, one that has been an important part of Eden’s economy for more than a century. Although Fred Ede passed away in 1896, his town was a well-established rural community by the early 1900s.

The two world wars brought great change, but Eden produced two great American military heroes. General Ira C. Eaker worked with General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold to create the United States Air Force, and is one of only six American airmen honored with a Special Congressional Gold Medal; the others are: Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindbergh, Billy Mitchell and Chuck Yeager!

James Earl Rudder gained worldwide fame as a hero of D-Day, when he led his U.S. Army Rangers up the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc to silence the strategic German gun batteries there. He went on to become one of the most highly-decorated soldiers of World War II, mayor of Brady, Texas Land Commissioner, and president of Texas A&M University. Both heroes are celebrated, along with many other area veterans, at the Don Freeman Memorial Museum.

All these, along with the schools, churches, houses and businesses from Concho County’s history, are vividly illustrated in the attractively-arranged displays. Stop in on any given Saturday (from 10-5) or Sunday (from 1-4 p.m.) and get acquainted with a very special Texas town.