USA > Texas > Tarrant County > Fort Worth > History of Texas : Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition, Volume II > Part 32
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The county seat took its name from the painted rocks along the Concho River near the town. These paintings were discovered with the country and have been preserved all these years. It is believed that the aborigines painted these rocks, as they are drawings of the hunt. Some will be the man shooting antelope and buffalo with a bow and arrow. Paintings of this kind are to be found in the south- western part of Texas, but these are the best and have been better cared for than any in the surrounding country. The owner of these rocks takes great pride in their being on his ranch and sometimes savs VOL. II-19
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that if the state will take the Painted Bluff he will deed it for a park to be preserved for the future generations.
COOKE COUNTY
One of the foremost agricultural and horticultural counties of North Texas, Cooke County, became settled during the decade of the '70s, and for more than thirty years its population has kept within the twenty thousands. The county was created by the Legislature in 1848 and organized in the following year, and in 1850 its population was a little more than 200. Cooke County is near the northeast cor- ner of the original Peter colony grant, and its first settlers were Peters colonists. The pioneers began coming into the county about 1845. Gainesville was settled in 1848, and was selected as the county seat, and in 1856 was the only postoffice in the county. As the Red River
HIGH SCHOOL, GAINESVILLE
forms the northern boundary and north of that was formerly the Indian Territory, the inhabitants were especially exposed to Indian attacks for many years, particularly during the Civil war decade. In December, 1863, a raid into Cooke County resulted in the death of nine citizens and three soldiers, also the wounding of three soldiers and four citizens, and ten houses were burned, also a great quantity of grain. A number of the citizens left their homes and moved farther east, some in a destitute condition, without bedding or change of clothing. All the houses in Gainesville were crowded with refu- gees from the north and west part of the county. It was in 1868 that the Comanches made their last raid into Cooke and Denton counties. Thus to a large degree the progress which had been made before the war was lost, and the old and new settlers who returned during the late '60s found the fields almost in their virgin condition, and the work of development had to be begun over again.
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During the '50s Cooke County was one of the large centers for the growing of wheat in North Texas, and in 1856 it was estimated that about 20,000 acres were in that crop.
By 1870 Cooke County had a population of 5,315; then followed the years of rapid settlement, and by 1880 the population was 20,391; by 1890, 24,696; in 1900, 27,494; and the first decade of the present century was marked by a decrease, the census figures of population being 26,603. Cooke County is the home of a considerable number of thrifty German people, and the last census reported over 1,000 inhabitants of that race.
The first railroad penetrating Cooke County was a branch of what is now the Missouri, Kansas & Texas. It was first built under the name of Denison & Pacific Railroad, west of Denison, and reached Gainesville by November, 1879. About the same time a tele- graph line was put in operation between Denison and Gainesville. Gainesville thus became the commercial metropolis for Cooke and several other counties and also for the Chickasaw Nation of Indian Territory. Soon after the first railroad reached the town it began building rapidly, and in a few years claimed a population of 5,000 and was a considerable manufacturing and trade center. In 1886-87 the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad was extended north from Fort Worth to Gainesville, and subsequently construction work was extended north through the Indian Territory.
A report on the county in 1882 estimated that about one-fifteenth of the arable land was in cultivation, while the one most profitable industry was stock raising, and the county then had in round numbers about 40,000 cattle, 10,000 horses and mules, 6,000 sheep and 12,000 hogs. The following paragraph from the report refers to the rail- roads and towns and school facilities: "The Denison & Pacific branch of the Missouri Pacific Railway, in operation to Gainesville, is projected westward through the county. Gainesville,the county seat and principal station on that road, has 4,000 inhabitants and an annual trade of $6,000,000. Custer City, Dexter, Rosston, Maryville, Valley View, Era, Lindsay and Muenster are villages with from 100 to 300 inhabitants and each with a good local trade. There are eighty public free schools in the county, with a scholastic population of 7,300, and these are taught eight months in the year. A handsome and sub- stantial public free school building, with a capacity of 600 pupils, and supplied with the most approved outfit of globes, apparatus and other conveniences, has been erected in Gainesville, and the school put in operation on the basis of a nine months' term."
Gainesville in 1890 had a population of 6,594; in 1900, 7,874; in 1910, 7,624 ; in 1920, 8,648. As a city its chief importance is derived from its position on two railway lines and as the trading point for a large and prosperous country surrounding.
It has several factories of iron and machinery products, a canning factory, broom factory, cotton gins and oil mills, flouring mills, a brick plant to utilize the beds of brick clay in the vicinity, and a refinery. Besides Gainesville the chief towns, some of which have developed in recent years and others dating back to the '60s and '70s, are Valley
G
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View, Windsor, Fair Plains, Maryville, Muenster, Myra, Lindsey. Woodbine and Dexter.
Cooke County has done much in recent years to improve its high ways, and now has more than 100 miles of paved roadway. While for many years its agriculture has been important, the farmers have done much to diversify their industries and in the vicinity of the towns and cities fruit and truck growing is a large and profitable resource. The fruit country is the cross timber section of the county where the soil is especially adapted to fruit. In spite of the long con- tinued efforts of farmers in the county for more than forty years, this county still has a great amount of virgin soil, and while fully three-fourths of the county is tillable, little more than a half has been brought under cultivation. The total area of the county is 577,280 acres, of which 500,129 acres were included in farms at the last census. The amount of "improved land" in 1910 was about 250,000 acres, as compared with about 225,000 acres in 1900. The number of farms increased from 3,307 in 1900 to 3,438 in 1910. A survey of the chief resources of the county on the farms is found in the statistics fur nished by the last census. There were 25,985 cattle; about 14,469 horses and mules; 8,224 hogs. The acreage planted in corn, the chief crop, in 1909, was 80,360; in cotton, 73,741; in wheat, 16,807; in oats, 13,142; in hay, 13,823. With a much smaller acreage some of the minor crops usually classed as truck have a large proportionate value. About 2,000 acres were planted in potatoes, sweet potatoes and other vegetables, several hundred acres in peanuts. Alfalfa is a valuable crop, especially along the bottom lands, and in 1910 about 145,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated, besides about 17,000 grape vines. In 1870 the taxable value of property in the county was $863,629 ; in 1882, $3,674,770 ; in 1903, $8,321,820; in 1913, $16,471,897 ; in 1920, $17,703,810. Thus the increase of material wealth nearly doubled in the last ten years, although population remained about sta- tionary.
GAINESVILLE
Gainesville, the county seat of Cooke County, has a population around 15,000. The assessed valuation is $11,477,000.
It has a training school for girls, a state institution, seven public schools, three kindergartens and has recently authorized a bond issue for the erection of a $150,000 high school. There are fourteen churches for whites and four for negroes. All the principal denomina- tions are represented.
There are two national banks, with a combined capital of $400,000 and deposits aggregating $3,500,000. One state bank, capital $50,000, deposits $600,000.
Its industrial enterprises include a refining plant, cotton mill, ice factory, cotton warehouse and compress; iron foundry, mill and elevator, grain elevator, mattress factory, brick company and three cotton gins.
There are the usual complement of social clubs and fraternal organizations, a $25,000 library fully equipped and containing a large collection of books, magazines and periodicals.
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There is a fully equipped, modern fire department, a beautiful, well kept city park, well constructed street improvements and side- walks. Fuel is supplied by natural gas from the gas fields in Clay County and Oklahoma.
It boasts of its beautiful homes and claims to be the most desirable place of residence in this section.
COTTLE COUNTY
The building of the Quanah, Acme & Pacific Railroad in 1909-10 opened up Cottle County to the agricultural settler, and a rapid devel- opment has ensued, but as yet there are no official statistics to cover this recent growth.
Cottle County was created August 21, 1876, and was organized January 11, 1892. In 1880 only twenty-four inhabitants were enum-
CHURCH STREET, GAINESVILLE
erated as residents of the county. Population in 1890 was 240; in 1900, 1,002; in 1910, 4,396, and in 1920, 6,901. Paducah, which was established as the county seat, had a population in 1910 of 1,350.
Cottle County is still prominent as a cattle country, but farmers are invading the pastures and demonstrating the value of the land in the production of cotton, grain and fruits. In recent years several of the largest ranches have been broken up into tracts. In 1900 the
number of farms and ranches in the county was 122, and in 1910 there were 506. The total area of the county is 647,680 acres, of which 460,439 acres were reported in farms and ranches in 1910. The rapid process of agriculture is indicated by the fact that in 1900 only about 8,000 acres were classed as "improved land," while by 1910 about 214,000 acres were classified. The last census reported 16,488 cattle, and 3,920 horses and mules. In 1909, 17,151 acres were planted in cotton, 5,550 acres in corn, and 2,860 acres in kaffir corn and milo
.
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maize. About 6,500 orchard fruit trees were enumerated. The value of assessed property in 1903 was $1,627,982; in 1913, $4,581,538, and in 1920, $6,821,475.
Paducah was incorporated in 1910, and now has a population of something over 2,000 people. The last census only gave a population of 1,357 people, but it was discovered on recount that erroneous reports had been made and that the actual population, as stated above, was around 2,000 people. The assessed valuation of the city is $1,447,- 727.20, on a 65 cent rate, and that of the schools is $2,846,986, on a 50 cent rate. Paducah has four white churches, two of which are excellent brick structures, and one negro church. In addition there is a large public tabernacle of modern construction. The Paducah High School is rated by the State Department of Education as a school of the first class, and is housed in a $50,000 brick building. In addition there are two frame buildings for white ward schools, and one frame building housing the colored school. Paducah has three banks and is situated in the center of a large territory, extending into five counties.
CRANE COUNTY
This is one of the West Texas counties as yet without organized local government. It was created in 1887 from Tom Green County, and the Pecos River forms its southwestern boundary. In recent years a very limited amount of land has been brought under irrigation in the valley of that stream. Near the northwest corner of the county passes the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway, and for many years the stock interests have used some point on that railroad as their center and shipping point. In the southern part of the county is a salt lake, covering 2,000 acres, and salt has been manufactured there since the first white settlers occupied the county.
At the census of 1890 only fifteen inhabitants were enumerated ; in 1900 fifty-one; in 1910, 331. The total area of the county is 561,920 acres, of which 310,362 acres were reported as occupied in farms, and 1,584 acres classified as "improved land." The number of farms in 1910 were seventy-one, compared with twelve in 1900. The only important crops developed are kaffir corn and milo maize, to which 249 acres were planted in 1909; and corn with an acreage in 1909 of eighty-one. In 1920, 7,872 cattle were enumerated, and that is almost the only live stock found in the country. The total assessed wealth in Crane County in 1909 was $770,971; in 1913, $754,535; in 1920, $532,145.
CROCKETT COUNTY
When created on January 22, 1875, Crockett County comprised an area of 10,000 square miles. The south line of original Tom Green County bounded it on the North, the Pecos River on the West, it extended along the Rio Grande for a number of miles, as far as original Kinney County, and included besides its present immense area a portion of Val Verde County and also the counties of Sutton and Schleicher. Val Verde County was created in 1885, and Sutton and Schleicher counties in 1887. Crockett County still has an area
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of about 3,000 square miles. There are no railroads, except a few miles of the Orient line through the extreme northwest corner and the county seat is at Ozona, located on a tributary of the Pecos River. The surface in the northern portion of the county is level, high plains, while the southern and western parts are very rough, consisting of high hills, narrow valleys and canyons.
Crockett County is essentially a stock raising country, and with the exception of a few acres cultivated near ranch houses there is no attempt at farming.
The county was organized July 14, 1891. Its population in 1880, before the division of its territory, was only 127; in 1890, 1,194; in 1900, 1,591; in 1910, 1,296, and in 1920, 1,500.
The total area of Crockett County comprises 2,057,600 acres, and the last census classified about 47,000 acres as "improved land." The live stock interests at that time were enumerated as follows: Cattle, 79,765; horses and mules, about 4,000; sheep, 109,943, and goats, 8,793; in 1920, 56,621 cattle, 3,454 horses and mules, 77,033 sheep, 21,707 goats.
The only crops that found a place in the statistics for 1909 were 561 acres in hay and forage crops, and forty-three acres in kaffir corn and milo maize. The first bale of cotton was raised in the county in 1903. Ten years ago it was stated that about half of the land belonged to the state school and university funds, and the other half to railroads and individuals.
In 1910 only seventy-nine farms and ranches were enumerated. The assessed value of property in the county in 1903 was $2,199,653; in 1913, $2,742,442 ; in 1920, $3,634,030.
CROSBY COUNTY
This is one of the plains counties of Northwest Texas, and until recent years has been essentially the home of stockmen. It was created in 1876, and was organized in 1886. Quite recently the county has come within the range of railroad facilities. After the completion of the Santa Fe to Lubbock, about 1910, the construction of a road from Lubbock eastward was undertaken, known as the Crosbyton South Plains Railroad. This road is now in operation as far as Crosbyton. When the county was organized the county seat was placed at Emma, but has since been moved to Crosbyton, which is the chief city, and in 1910 had a population of 800. Other towns are Emma, Estacado, Cone, Lorenzo and Ralla. For many years a county of large ranches, this section is now developing into a farming region. Large farms are the rule, and most ranchmen raise a variety of feed stuffs for winter use and some cultivate cotton. Since the construction of the railroad new settlers have arrived and are demon- strating the productive value of the land and the feasibility of dry farming methods. The population of Crosby County in 1880 was 82; in 1890, 346; in 1900, 788; in 1910, 1,765; in 1920, 6,025. The total area of the county is 556,800 acres, of which 370,901 acres were included in farms or ranches in 1910. The amount of cultivated or improved land in 1900 was about 6,000 acres, and 30,000 acres in 1910.
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There were 242 farms and ranches in 1910, as compared with 116 in 1900. The number of cattle enumerated in 1920 was 13,060; horses and mules, 5,764. The assessed valuation in 1920 was $4,372,564.
The chief crops in 1909 were: Hay and forage crops, 6,310 acres; kaffir corn and milo maize, 3,563 acres; corn, 2,189 acres; cotton, 324 acres; wheat, 131 acres; while about 10,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated. Crosbyton, the county seat, has two national banks, four nice church buildings, and a $50,000 school building. It is incor- porated and one of the coming towns of the South plains.
CULBERSON COUNTY
Culberson County was created by the Legislature and organized in 1911, with an area of 3,780 square miles. Through the south end of the county pass the two railways, the Texas & Pacific and the Southern Pacific, and Van Horn, the county seat, is a railway division point on the Texas & Pacific. The county was named in honor of Senator Charles A. Culberson. The surface of Culberson County is mountainous in the south and southwestern parts, with many breaks and canyons through the northern and eastern sections. In this county is Guadalupe Peak, with an altitude of 9,500 feet, and there are many others of lesser elevation. To a limited extent irrigation has been employed from wells for the growing of vegetables, but so far the grazing of stock is the chief use to which the lands have been put. Culberson County has valuable marble deposits and has also a place in the production of gold, silver and copper, several mines being located near Van Horn. As the last census was taken before the organization of Culberson County, there are no statistics of popula- tion and its economic resources.
DALLAM COUNTY
Occupying the extreme northwest corner of the Panhandle, Dal- lam County was for two-thirds of its area included in the great Capitol Syndicate holdings, and about fifteen years ago it was estimated that half the lands of the county were held in large tracts. Two railroad lines have encouraged development of agriculture and the breaking up of the big ranches, and in recent years the county has come to claim distinction as a productive center for all the staple Panhandle crops.
Dallam County was organized September 9, 1891. In 1888 the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway was built across the county to Texline, where the two divisions of the road were connected. Tex- line, close to the New Mexico boundary, was the original county seat. In 1900 the Rock Island Railroad was built across the county at right angles to the first line, intersecting at Dalhart, near the south- ern edge of Dallam County, with a portion of the larger city of today in Hartley County. Dalhart, founded as a railroad junction point, has grown rapidly and is now one of the largest towns in the Pan- handle, having a population in 1910 of 2,580 and in 1920 of 2,676, con- siderably more than half the population of Dallam County. While the center of a large trade, both retail and wholesale, Dalhart derives its chief importance from the railroad, the Rock Island maintaining
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shops and division headquarters there. It is now the county seat. Outside of Dalhart and Texline other towns in the county are Corlena, Terico, Ware, Matlock, Chamberlin, Conlen and Hovey.
The population of Dallam County in 1890 was 112; in 1900, 146; in 1910, 4,001, and in 1920, 4,528. In 1900 there were only four farms in the entire county, due to the fact that most of the lands, as already stated, was under one corporate ownership. By 1910 the large tracts had been broken up, and there were 201 farms. The amount of land officially described in the census as "improved land" in 1900 was 1,280 acres, and by 1910 that had increased to about 48,000 acres. The total area of Dallam County is 980,480 acres, and 346,697 acres were included in farms at the last census. The number of cattle found in 1910 was 27,419; of horses and mules, about 900; and of sheep, 6,443; in 1920, 37,428 cattle, 2,231 horses and mules.
Although situated high up on the Plains region, Dallam County citi- zens claim that every staple crop can be grown except cotton. In 1909 the acreage in hay and forage crops was 10,501 ; in kaffir corn and milo maize, 7,118; in wheat, 3,787 ; in corn, 509, and in oats, 479. The valua- tion of property in the county in 1903 was $1,367,798 : in 1913, $6,763,- 300: and in 1920, $8,853,999.
DALHART
The town of Dalhart was incorporated in 1902, and immediately thereafter began the development of a real town, based on city building methods.
At present Dalhart has six business blocks, paved with brick, a $25,000 sewerage system, which includes fifteen miles of mains, an up-to- date electric lighting system with twenty-five miles of high tension wires, through which the beautiful "White Way" is illuminated.
Among the industries in Dalhart there is an ice plant with a storage capacity of 2,400 tons, and all fruit shipments from the Imperial Valley of California are re-iced and placed in proper condition for further ship- ment. These shipments arrive via the Rock Island Railroad lines.
The local telephone plant, with its rural connections and long dis- tance lines, is modern in every particular.
The city has eight churches, two schools and an up-to-date water supply from the system of deep wells, two concrete reservoirs of 250,000 gallons capacity and a standpipe holding 80,000 gallons with a pressure of eighty pounds.
From a civic standpoint Dalhart ranks among the most modern towns in the West. A movement is now on foot for the organization of "The Tennessee Club," membership in which will be limited to natives of Tennessee. Judge W. H. Denton, who came here in 1892, being the oldest Tennessean in point of residence in this section, is slated to be the first president of this club.
The vicinity of the Rita Blanca Canyon, a wide shallow arroya which lies across the southern part of the town, makes a very attractive resort for those who like to hike and spend their time in the great outdoors, and its rocky slopes, carpeted with flowers in springtime, makes a wel- come break in the monotony of the Plains.
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A plain is now on foot to purchase several thousand acres of the Canyon as a park and pleasure ground for Dalhart and its visitors, which will add immensely to the attractiveness of the town.
DAWSON COUNTY
Perhaps no county in the Plains country of West Texas has developed more rapidly since the beginning of the present century than Dawson. The county boundaries were assigned in 1858, but the county received only scant attention even from the stockmen, and its population did not justify a county government until 1905. In 1880 only twenty-four per- sons were enumerated in the county ; in 1890 the population remained about the same, twenty-nine inhabitants being reported ; in 1909 the popu- lation was thirty-seven, but by 1910, 2,320 inhabitants were found in the county, and in 1920 there were 4,309.
The development which was carried on so rapidly during the first decade of the present century came in advance of the first railroad. The Pecos & Northern Texas Railroad was opened as far as Lubbock in 1910, and has since been continued south to the town of Lamesa in Dawson County. Since then population has continued to increase, and there has occurred a general breaking-up of the large ranch holdings into small farm areas.
In 1900 only five individual farms or ranches were enumerated in the entire county. This number was increased to 330 by 1910. In 1900 thirty-five acres were reported as in cultivation, and in 1910 about forty- three thousand acres. The total area of the county is 577,920 acres, and 177,432 acres were included in farms in 1910. The census reported 5,729 cattle; about 1,400 horses and mules, and 1,606 hogs. In 1920 the enumeration is : Cattle, 10,500 ; horses and mules, 2,625. In 1909, 7,290 acres were planted in kaffir corn and milo maize; 3,287 acres in corn ; 1,438 acres in cotton, and about 8,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated and some other fruits. The valuation of property in 1913 was $2,838,- 026, and in 1920, $6,554,646.
LAMESA
Lamesa, the county seat, has had a steady growth since the organiza- tion of the county, which was in 1905. It has four churches, two banks, five grocery stores, three dry goods stores, three drug stores, two hard- ware stores, one variety store and confectionery, two millinery stores, one electrical supply store, one harness and saddle shop, two abstract plants, four hotels, two restaurants, two haberdashers, three garages, three blacksmith shops, four gin plants, one ice, light and power com- pany, one watchmaker, one butcher shop, three petroleum agencies, and preparations are being made to erect a seventy-five thousand dollar school building.
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