Muenster, Texas, in Cooke County, began in 1889 through efforts of German-American colonizing entrepreneurs who attracted settlers from other German-American colonies in the United States. The community, founded on the premise of maintaining cultural purity, survived and prospered for a century by its reliance on crops, cattle, and oil. In its political conservatism and economic ties to the land, Muenster resembled its neighboring Anglo-American communities. Its Germanic heritage, however, became pronounced in the community's refusal to accommodate to the prohibitionism of North Texas regarding alcoholic beverages and in the parishioners' fidelity to the Roman Catholic faith. These characteristics are verified in unpublished manuscripts, governmental documents, local records, and interviews with Muenster residents.

"The organized woman's club movement spread into the State of Texas. Beginning as associations for self-culture and intellectual development, the clubs were soon laying the foundation for better conditions of living in their communities. Since Texas was largely in the pioneer stage of development with widely separated communities, the women's clubs in small centers became the nucleii for civic improvements. One of these small centers was the town of Gainesville, Texas, with a population of about 6,000 in the year 1893. That year the first women's club in the town was organized and named the Gainesville XLI Club. This club helped form the State Council of Women of Texas, formerly called the Women's Congress, in 1894, which was three years before the formation of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs."-- pg. 9-10 "It will, perhaps, be seen from the above survey that no transformation in modern society has been more striking or more fraught with significance than the change in the political, legal, economic, moral, and social status of women. Women's clubs were organized for discussion and study, with interests that varied according to location, surroundings, opportunities, and aspirations. The history of a pioneer club portrays the stages of development …

"This paper is the result of a study of the oil industry in Cooke County Texas. Consideration was given to the following factors: the physiography and geology of Cooke County, the first oil developments, opening of various fields, the Tydal Refinery, and the benefits of the oil industry to the county in terms of employment, busines establishments, schools, and social efforts. Both persona and documentary source were utilized for obtaining data on the present problem. Primary sources included statements made by land owners of Cooke County, oil operators, drillers, refinery personnel, business men, civic leaders, and the superintendents of schools, both in Gainesville, Texas, and in Cooke County. Secondary sources included newspapers, oil publications, and books on geology and the oil industry. "-- leaf vi.