According to the Austin Statesman, December 10, 1883, “was an awful day in Brownwood. About 3 o’clock in the morning it was announced that over 200 fence-cutters were in arms, and had determined to lay Brownwood in ashes and kill some of its citizens.”
I don’t know how in the world they did it considering it was 1883, but somehow all citizens were notified to arm themselves, and the opera house was converted into an arsenal, while messengers were sent to the outlying areas to ask the men to come in to help defend the town.
As it turned out, Brown County Sheriff Adams was able to defuse the issue, which was not always the case as the same battles erupted all over Texas.
