Dickens County, Texas
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Formed
- Dickens County was created 1876 and organized 1891, from Bexar District.[1]
It is named for James R Dimpkins "Dickens", Alamo defender.
History/Timeline
Dickens county is located in the lower Texas PANHANDLE. It is named for James R Dimpkins "Dickens", Alamo defender.
- Pre 1800s' theWanderers Who Make Bad Camps Band of the Comanches dominated area The Comanches were fine horse-mounted warriors/ hunters and adapted culture to the Spanish horses. The Comanche Indians hunted buffalo in summer- fall food, clothing. [2]
- 1870s White hunters cleared the land of buffalo and wild horses. [2]
- 1874-75 Colonel Ranald S. MacKenzie's Fourth US Cavalry subdued the Comanches. [2]
- 1874 - MacKenzie's base of operations against the Indians was Anderson's Fort or Soldiers Mound, army supply camp near present day Spur, Tx. [2]
- 1876 the Texas state legislature formed Dickens County from land previously assigned to Bexar County.[2]
- 1880s to 1900s Settlers avoided area due to remoteness and low rainfall.
- 1878, 1880 Huge cattle ranches (the Spur, Pitchfork, and Matador, used most of the land). [2]
- 1878 - The Spur Ranch started , with 1,900 head of cattle that Jim Hull drove from Refugio County northward. In 1880 only 3 homes, a schoolhouse, and 28 people were in the county most were ranchhands.[2]
- 1884 - owners of the Spur attempted to encourage settlement. Lomax, manager conducted an agricultural experiment on company lands. [2]
- 1889 Cheap land-sold at two dollars an acre-inspired settlers like A. J. Hagins, W. L. (Bud) Browning, J. L. Gates, the Wilmores, and the Crawfords, and established a farm near old Fort Griffin. Hagins housed his wife and 6 children in a one-room dugout. Wood and water were readily available, and the pioneers grew corn. In 1890 the census counted 295 residents in the county.[2]
- 1890 Hagins planted the first cotton in Dickens County on school land ( fifteen cents/ acre)
- 1891 Hagins built gin to avoid hauling the cotton to Jones co.[2]
- 1891 county was politically organized, with the town of Espuela (located on land belonging to the Espuela Land and Cattle Company, which now owned the Spur Ranch) as county seat. Espuela Company refused to turn the townsite over to the county. [2]
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| Dickens jail and Sheriff's office. |
- 1892 settlers voted on the county seat, as there was issue of the county and its government should exist for benefit of the Cattle company of the settlers. Dickens was chosen as the county seat
- 1893 - town had a courthouse, hotel, 2 stores, and a wagonyard. [2]
- 1889 Windmills, a landscape feature throughout West Texas, provided water for livestock, cooling for various purposes, irrigation for the garden. [2]
- the Poison ( nester tried to poison a cowboy), the John's (1889), said to be the county's first; and the :1890-1935 Courthouse Windmills dominated the courthouse square.[2]
- 1900 197 farms/ranches had been established, population was 1,151 with 1,500 acres of county land was planted in corn, 400 in cotton, and 16 in wheat. Local farmers also raised 9,180 fowls chickens, turkeys and 58,750 cattle. [2]
- 1906 E. P. and S. A. Swenson headed a syndicate to purchase the Spur Ranch. Spur Ranch, manager Charles A. Jones sold farm acreage to farmers at reasonable prices. [2]
- 1909 Stamford and Northwestern Railway began.Oran McClure published the Texas Spur.[2]
- 1910 - 349 farms/ranches, population of 3,092.[2]
- 1910 Texas A&M established an agricultural experiment station on land donated by the Spur Ranch to help manage water and soil conservation, brush control, range management, and livestock production. [2]
- 1910 -1930 thousands of new farmers moved into area, encouraged by a cotton boom. Cotton was 5,481 in 1910, 35,494 Acres in 1920, and 1920 was 95,525 acres.as late as 1910.[2]
Spur Ranch
- The 439,972 acre Spur Ranch had its beginning in 1877 when Jim Hall brought 1900 head of cattle from the Refugio county near the Gulf Coast and turned them loose below the Caprock in West Texas. The cattle were branded Spur sideways and upside down spur.Ranch Headquarters for the Spur outfit was near Soldiers Mound ( the old base of Col. Ronald McKenzie during the Indian Wars.) In 1882 Stephens and Harris bought the Hall cattle and the Spur brand. This was still open free range for the cattle. When Texas gave tracts to railroads who brought in settlers, the Spur range passed into ownership of the Houston & Great Northern RailRoad Company.
Britton and Lomax bought out Stephens and Harris in the early eighties and founded the Espuela Land & Cattle Company which had policy of buying as much railroad land as possible. Lomax selected the Spur Headquarters about 1883. Cowboys working for the Spurs were Jake Raines and Jeff D. Harkey.
- Harkey had arrived from Refugio with Hall, and really liked the area he stayed and was later elected Sheriff after organization of Dickens county in 1891. He made his home in Dickens City until death, 1926.
- Raines came from New Mexico with the Cross-L Hall stock, thus was here 30 years with Spur Ranch.The ranch changed owners 5X, but Raines was rehired by each new owner. He held nearly every job on the ranch and eventually became an authority on cattle brands of the southwest.
1889, Fred Horsbrough became manager of the ranch and continued the buying more land, soon the company owned 675 sections in Dickens, Garza, Kent and Crosby counties. A large percent of which was suitable for farming purposes. 1906, S.M. Swenson and sons purchased the property, then thought of selling the level portions to farmers. Charles Adam Jones (late of Armour Packing Company) became manager for Swenson & sons, but went south in 1913 to Freeport. So his son Clifford Jones took the position and held it 20 more years.[3]
Source: History of Dickens County; Ranches and Rolling Plains, Fred Arrington, ©1971 p. 92
Pitchfork Ranch, Dickens and King counties
- 1883 Pitchfork Ranch, in Dickens and King counties, Acreage- 170,000 Acres, Primary use: cattle, quarter horses and farming..
- These friends, Eugene F Williams and D.B. Gardner left the Mississippi plantations to head for Texas. nities. Williams ended up in St. Louis, where he joined the Brown Shoe Company, eventually becoming a partner. Gardner arrived in Texas and began working first as cowboy, then foreman until he could buy a small rancho. In 1881 the Pitchfork brand was for sale for $50,00o. Col J.S. Godwin invested.The old friend finally arrived and bought Godwin/'s share, so he and Gardner founded the Pitchfork Ranch located near Guthrie, Texas. Cattle are the ranch main source of income, but the Pitchfork is known for the Thoroughbreds. By 1940 The Pitchfork switched to quarter very fine horses. Today the ’Forks (as it is called) is owned by Williams’ descendants.[4]
Government Offices
This 1893 building is the only courthouse they've had, located on US 82. The courthouse is Style - Romanesque Revival, and material was stone. However the original building looks quite different from that of today. An earlier view of the Dickens County Courthouse shows a differing roof, tower and chimneys.Photo courtesy THC[5]
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| 1893 Courthouse, with dome, roof, chimneys |
Drawing of the Dickens County courthouse in its original condition is shown on the second floor of the current courthouse at the top of the stairs.Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, February 2007[6]
1893 Courthouse - as it looked originally with dome additional floor, different roof and chimneys.
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| 1893 drawing of original courthouse with dome, roof |
1893 Courthouse -
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| 1893 Dickens courthouse (2nd floor unstable). |
Geography
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcd08
- Location - in Northwest Texas.
- Center point is 33°38' north latitude and 100°45' west longitude 50 miles east of Lubbock.
- Named for J. Dickens, who died at the Alamo.
- Terrain - broken terrain is surfaced by sandy, chocolate, and red soils.
- Creeks - Croton and Duck creeks drain the county. The flat NW part of Dickens County is above the Caprock on the Llano Estacado, the rest has with rolling terrain, is below below the Caprice..
Altitude - 2,000 to 3,000 feet Size:931 square miles
- Trees - mesquite, hackberry, cottonwood.
- Grasses are blue grama, sideoats, grama, white tidena, vine mesquite, and Indian grass
- Rainfall is 20.24 inches.
- Temperature in January is 28° F; in July the maximum is 95° F.
- Growing season is 217 days.
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcd08
Adjacent counties
- Motley County (north)
- King County (east)
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| adjacent counties |
- Kent County (south)
- Crosby County (west)
- Garza County (southwest)
- Floyd County (northwest)
- Cottle County (northeast)
- Stonewall County (southeast)
Protected areas
- East of Lubbock, Texas
Demographics
In 2000, there were 2,762 people residing in the county with a population density of 3 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 77.62% White, 8.18% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 12.35% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. 23.90% of the population were Hispanic. The median income for a household in the county was $25,898, and the median income for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $25,000 versus $18,571 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,156. About 14.10% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 18.20% of those age 65 or over.[7]
1929 Agricultural economics - Production of cereal grains, especially sorghum, also increased during this period, and poultry production grew; in 1929 county farms raised more than 52,000 chickens and sold 158,773 dozen eggs.
- Dickens County produces about $21.5 million worth of goods annually, mostly from beef cattle, horses, cotton, wheat, and sorghums.
- No manufacturing and only a modest amount of oil.
Highways:
- U.S. Highway 82 (west to east)
- TexasState Highway 70 (north to south).
- Texas 114 /U.S. Highway 82 / State Highway 114
- Texas State Highway 208
Towns
Formed From
- 1876 the Texas state legislature formed Dickens County from Bexar, Young, Baylor and Crosby Territories.
Resources
- Farming
- Espuela Land & Cattle Company
- Ranches
Census
- 1880 --- 28 —
- 1890 --- 295 953.6%
- 1900 --- 1,151 290.2%
- 1910 --- 3,092 168.6%
- 1920 --- 5,876 90.0%
- 1930 --- 8,601 46.4%
- 1940 --- 7,847 −8.8%
- 1950 --- 7,177 −8.5%
- 1960 --- 4,963 −30.8%
- 1970 --- 3,737 −24.7%
- 1980 --- 3,539 −5.3%
- 1990 --- 2,571 −27.4%
- 2000 --- 2,762 7.4%
- 2010 --- 2,444 −11.5%
- Est. 2015 --- 2,206
Notables
- Charles Weldon Cannon, rancher and boot and saddle manufacturer
- Marshall Formby, attorney, newspaper publisher, radio executive, and politician
Cemeteries
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- Alphebitical list, TxGen
- Dickens county cemeteries Gloria Mayfield
- FindaGrave cemeteries
Sources
- ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/dickens-county
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcd08
- ↑ http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txdicken/ranches/spur_ranch.htm
- ↑ http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-biggest-ranches/
- ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Dickens/Dickens-County-Courthouse.htm
- ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Dickens/Dickens-County-Courthouse.htm
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickens_County,_Texas
- Source: History of Dickens County; Ranches and Rolling Plains, Fred Arrington, ©1971 p. 92
- Alphebitical list, TxGen
- Dickens county cemeteries Gloria Mayfield
- FindaGrave cemeteries
- FamilySearch cemeteries, genealogy
- https://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?q=%22United+States+-+Texas+-+Dickens+County%22&t=dc.coverage
- "Matador Ranch," Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Motley County, Texas
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