"Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession.” ~ John Steinbeck
Bulcher first developed on a part of the land in the area known as Camp Creek & then was moved to its now present-day site. Tourists to Bulcher often contemplate how the town got its unique name. There is an old tale that the town’s name originated from a traveler, named Bulch, who passing thru the small community, stayed on Camp Creek. Somehow, this ultimately led the early pioneers of the area to name the settlement Bulcher.
Early settlers of this area include families of Dennis, Cox, Scanland, Hyman, and Ayres descendants. Records show that Bulcher was first officially recognized as having a post office and post office building on June 30, 1881 with James W. Gray serving as the first official postmaster. But before the first official post office was established in Bulcher, Matthew A. Morris & his wife Eliza have been credited with establishing a post office service for the community of Bulcher in their home in 1874. Mr. Morris served as the post master while his wife Eliza served as post mistress. Eliza was integrally involved in the post office after her husband’s death and also up until she could no longer work in the post office. Other Bulcher postmasters were Benjamin F. Greenwood, William F. Burns, William R. Hair, and the last postmaster on record for Bulcher was David S. Bulliner in June of 1907. After 1907, no records can be found of Bulcher having a post office or postmaster. People often wonder what happened and how the Bulcher post office mysteriously disappeared as no records on file show a dissolved date for this post office. Rumor has it that at some point the Bulcher post office burned. Then the mail service got transferred to Marysville and then later transferred to Muenster where it is still carried out of today.
A cotton gin was built in Bulcher in 1875. Soon after in the early 1880’s, Joseph Austin “J.A.” Dennis (an early pioneer of the Bulcher community) donated a tract of land for the construction of the Bulcher School (Old Center High School – District #64) which was built in 1896. (At one time Bulcher had up to three school buses in service for its school. The school was dissolved in 1925.) Not only did the school serve as an institution of higher learning in the community, but it also was the site for regular church services for Bulcher residents. In 1887, the population began to decline due to a railway passing just south of Bulcher. Furthermore, in the early 1890’s a meningitis epidemic swept the community, killing many early settlers. Then in 1926, oil was discovered in the area. Bulcher’s history as an oil-booming town was significant because the community was the site of the first commercial oil discovery in Cooke County. Three main oil companies (John Hooser Oil Company, Kewanee Oil Company, and Sun Oil) were responsible for the oil drillings in the community of Bulcher. As one could imagine, the roaring ‘20s coupled with the oil boom in Bulcher, was a heyday for many local residents. Stores were popping up in the community and there was even a Model T Dealership and garage in the town located (now on RRMT, Inc. Property…the old concrete slab still exists) then across the road from the Bulcher School. While the oil boom and the growth of Bulcher was short-lived, it did help Bulcher get put on the map. Once all the oil had been discovered, many people found that work was no longer available and thus families found it no longer appealing to live in the small, quaint country town. Eagerly as people had moved in, they moved out in masses.
Research figures show that Bulcher went from 250 people right before the oil boom in 1926 to 40 in 1933, 60 in 1986, and now to Bulcher’s reported 2000 census population of six. In August 2004, due to aging & deterioration thru the years, the old Bulcher School, built in the early 1880’s with its beautiful bell tower fell in. (The old bell from the Bulcher School House is now owned by a private individual who purchased the bell in an auction. The bell is now in his yard in Kilgore, Texas.) Now visitors to Bulcher are only able to see its dilapidated ruins on the ground off of local FM Road 373 that runs thru the heart of Bulcher.
While it had appeared that people had moved on and lost interest in the old town, in August 1972 the once oil booming community became revitalized …an off-road haven, Red River Motorcycle Trails, Inc. was established. Not only did the owners develop a 2,700 acre spread in the heart of the community, but it was no coincidence that the land owners taking an interest in the old historic town, ensured that the old Kewanee Oil Camp (the site of where one of the 3 major oil companies set up shop in the late 20’s during the oil boom in Bulcher), Dennis Barn (now known as the Red Bull Barn), Bulcher School, Rock Bluff, and old Model T Dealership site were now park of its world renowned park. (Unfortunately though, RRMT, Inc. wasn’t able to purchase the Bulcher School property until 2005, a little over a year after the old historic building fell in.) In December 2006, another old unique landmark started gaining attention in Bulcher…a distinctive turn of the century barn which had always existed on the property was painted with a Red Bull logo. Long before this barn became famous as the Red Bull Barn, it was known as the Dennis barn because J.A. Dennis, one of the earliest settlers of the area, was responsible for constructing this barn. What is incredible is that this barn is over 100 years old and it was constructed with lumber which was brought to Bulcher via horse and wagon from East Texas. This famous barn, which has now been seen around the world, can be viewed off of FM Road 373 just west of the old Kewanee Oil Camp Site.
Furthermore, the famous Rock Bluff site in Bulcher that is now part of the RRMT, Inc. facility has long been a popular spot for catching catfish among locals in the area. There are some pretty amazing stories of how big of fish people have caught at Rock Bluff. The well known spot also is home to old carvings that are in rocks along the banks of the Red River. But even more astonishing is the tale that a Bulcher resident back in the late 1870’s operated a small ferry boat service across to Oklahoma at this famous spot. The ferry, which used mules and pulleys was very time consuming, but saved many settlers wishing to travel to Oklahoma lots of time. This ferry crossing at Rock Bluff allowed early settlers to get their wagons across the river one at a time. If it were not for this ferry crossing at Rock Bluff in Bulcher, settlers would have had to drive their horses and wagons further down the river between Bulcher and Gainesville, which could have taken several days, just to find another ferry crossing over to Oklahoma.
While Bulcher has always been on the Texas map, in recent years, Bulcher has been no stranger to the spotlight…as it has been put on the world map…with riders from around the world transcending upon Bulcher to endure incredible adventures as they attempt some of the most gnarly and unforgiving terrain North America has to offer.
RRMT, Inc.’s Park Office & Facility is located at 15393 North FM 373 in Bulcher, Texas. If you have any collectibles such as old photographs and/or memorabilia from the history of Bulcher, please contact our park office at (940) 995-2903 or via email. The walls of our park office are adorned with memorabilia from events at our facility as well as historic collectibles from the Bulcher community. RRMT, Inc. is extremely proud of its park home and aims to keep the history of Bulcher alive for generations to come.
