near Newcastle, Texas.
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Two Miles Southwest to
Fort Belknap
Established in 1850
The largest military post in
northern Texas
until the Civil War.
The first county seat of
Young County.
A station on
the Southern Overland Mail Line
connecting
St. Louis and San Francisco
1858 - 1861
(Forts, Castles • Communications) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Two Miles Southwest to
Fort Belknap
Established in 1850
The largest military post in
northern Texas
until the Civil War.
The first county seat of
Young County.
A station on
the Southern Overland Mail Line
connecting
St. Louis and San Francisco
1858 - 1861
(Forts, Castles • Communications) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Founded 1917; incorporated 1921. Named for Thomas C. Spearman, a vice-president and head of the Land Department of the Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe line was completed to Spearman in 1920, making this the first railroad shipping point in the county.
Killed while assisting United States marshal making arrest in boundary line dispute in the northwestern part of county.
Built 1909, by Bert O. Cator, J. H. Wright and S. B. Hale, Hansford County pioneers. Cator had built first dugout in the Panhandle, 1873; Hale was first druggist in Old Hansford; Wright promoted town of Hansford, now abandoned. Victorian architecture. This was first hotel erected in Hansford. In 1920 building was moved 6 miles east to Spearman, after railroad came into county at this point. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
This frame commercial building with decorative sheet metal siding was constructed in 1918. D. E. Dillow built the structure for the mercantile partnership of P. M. Maize and his brother-in-law Fred Brandt (d. 1962). Originally, located in the nearby community of Hansford (6 miles west), then the county seat, it was moved to this site in 1920. Brandt became sole proprietor of the business nine years later and continued the operation until the 1950s.
Spearman was platted in May 1917 and incorporated in 1921, surviving disastrous fires to become the largest city in the county. A brick school, hospital, and several commercial buildings were built by 1927, and the city council that year made plans to pave city streets. The Northwestern Construction Co. of Dallas paved the streets, and George E. Ellison built the sewer system beneath the pavement. Property owners paid for their own portion to be paved at a cost of $16.01 per foot of frontage. Spearman's progress led to relocation of the county seat from Hansford in 1929. While some of the historic brick streets have been replaced or paved over, remaining portions recall Spearman's early prosperity and role as a center of commerce.
Ohio's
In this area, several groups of midwestern emigrants, who had escaped from hazards and privations in Death Valley in 1849, sought to secure water from Searles Lake. When they discovered its salty nature, they turned northward and westward in despair, and with travail crossed the Argus and other mountains to reach settlements of Central and Southern California.
Formed from Young and Bexar
Built about 1912 in Ochiltree. Designed by Mrs. John Blasingame; 19th century English, German influence. Constructed by Sam Whittaker; lumber and red brick hauled from Glazier. Luxurious home had attic, full basement. Heavy embossed picture moulding.
Secretary treasury and last attorney general Republic of Texas. Secession Convention delegate 1861. Influential member Provisional Congress which drafted Confederate Constitution, mobilized manpower, set up financial structure, elected political leaders. Resigned to raise 18th Texas Infantry. Led troops to Arkansas in 1862 when regiment called in campaign to repel Union forces from state.
A native of Iowa, George Morgan Perry (1862-1944) moved to the Texas Panhandle town of Ochiltree in 1886. Active in the formal organization of the county, he served as county clerk, district clerk, and county judge. A supporter of railroad building in the Panhandle, he was honored by the Santa Fe Railroad when the town of Perryton was established on the rail line and named for him in 1919. He served as first president of the Chamber of Commerce and continued to promote settlement and business development in the city until his death in 1944.
Has been listed in the
