Deborah M. Liles is an assistant professor and the W.K. Gordon Chair of Texas History at Tarleton State University. She earned her doctorate at the University of North Texas, where she examined the antebellum livestock trade and its relationship to the institution of slavery. She is an award-winning author and coedited four books that focus on Texas history. Almost all of the images selected for this book came from the many collections at the W.K. Gordon Center, located in Thurber on the former site of the famous brick plant. The Haley Library, Special Collections at the University of Texas at Arlington, and the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech also generously provided historical images.
