Hi Sandy, This is from the book "A Family History of Jeremia Gardner"., by Leroy Gardner l970 Reprinted and appended by Marie Gardner Wong l995. Many Indians made their homes nearby -- Turnbull, Folsom, Perkings, Cochnauer, Freeny, Ward, James, Crain and many others. They built on this site a church, a school, a home for the missionary, a home for mission teachers and boarding students, a store nearby and an enclosure for the horses of the Post. This store was owned and operated by my grandfather (step), Levi Crain. My father pointed out to me the place where Levi Crain was killed and where he had his store at Mt. Pleasant. Frank and Jesse James and Cole Younger were related to my father. Mamma told me about times when Frank James and Cole Younger would ride up to their house to stay all night, and on one occasion, Frank came alone and held a meeting under an arbor for a week or two. She said after he came home at night after church, he would spend the rest of the night looking for money they had hid years before nearby. Our old home was near a spring on the main freight road from Paris, Texas to Caddo, Oklahoma and was a camping place for all who wanted to use it. I can remember when there would sometimes be several wagons with families camped there. Some would only stay overnight, but some would stay several nights to rest and to wash their clothes in the good soft spring water. I greatly enjoyed those times because there was always lots of children that I could play with. My father looked for the James boys' money in many places throughout all of his later years but never had any luck. I think Papa's mother was a sister to Frank James, his mother was Harriett James, born in l845. Frank was born in l843. Little Jimmon James was born about l848. He married Judge Gardner's oldest sister and Jefferson Gardner married Lucy James, grandma's sister. Also Chief Ben Smallwood married another sister, Abbie James. Another sister, Kizzie James married Dul Sanders, and later married Ben Batiese and had six children by him: Harriett, Annie, Frank, Lula, Sissie Bell and Turner. Harriett was Ben Risner's mother. Ben is now Sheriff of our county, so Ben Risner's grandmother was a sister to my grandmother. One of her daughters told me that the James boys always came to their house and would stay like they did at our place. She said she always hated for them to come on account of having to whisper and tiptoe around and never mention their right names while they were there. She is still living and is in good health at 88 years of age. Walton James was my father's uncle and Albert Matoy his cousin, and I remember the three of them were always on a hot lead to some of the James boys' hidden loot. Sometimes they would be gone a month at a time, but if they ever had any luck, I never saw any of it. Page 14 I can recall many things like this about happenings here. Once when a white man stole one of Brother Lloyd's horses, Frank James and Cole Younger heard of it and they went after the white man, caught and killed him, and returned the horse to Brother Lloyd. Many tears were shed and many heartaches borne here, but also many pleasantries and much enjoyment and lots of old Camp Meetings. Brother Lloyd could preach in both Choctaw and English, and many sermons have I heard like this with first the English and then the interpreter would take over, women and girls on the one side of the church, men and boys on the other. I only wish I could live it over again. This Church is the oldest organized church now in use in all the county--120 years old. Bennington Church was formerly Mt. Pleasant. Paul