Martin County, Texas
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Surnames/tags: Martin County US History texas
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: Martin County US History texas
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Welcome to Martin County, Texas Project!
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- The leader of this project is: Mary Richardson.
Contents |
History/Timeline
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| Mural probation office, in Stanton, Tx |
- Martin County was formed from Bexar District in 1876; organized in 1884. It is named for Wylie Martin, senator of Republic of Texas.[1]
Martin County is situated in West Texas,on the Staked Plains. It was created from a part of Bexar. [2]
- mid 1700s - Comanche Indians displaced Lipan Apaches in the region, then were displaced by the US Army following the Civil War. [3]
- 1876 Martin County was created from Bexar territory. Located in West Texas on the Staked Plains.[2]
- Aug 21, 1876 Martin County was formed from Bexar County, named for Wylie Martin, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists. [3]
- 1877 Christopher C. Slaughter's 37,500 section Lazy S Ranch extended into Martin County and had its headquarters at Mustang Spring.He had preempted this range.[3]
- The railroad started a 20-acre experimental farm at Grelton for wheat, barley, rye, and oats. The region was mild, with springs, such as Mustang Pond, where US Army officers noticed Indians watering 1,000 mustangs.[3]
- one pioneer described the country as
"This beautiful country, was just a lush garden with green plums, prairie chicken, and quail galore."
- one pioneer described the country as
- 1880s Mariensfield News, was published.[3]
- 1881 Texas and Pacific line began service to its lands in the Martin County area. It sold land to settlers for $1.50 to $2.00/acre. [3]Railroad promotion was a key factor to obtain settlers in West Texas.[3]
- 1881 Texas and Pacific Railway built a 2-story section house, a pump, and a water tank near Grelton, (a small settlement) in Martin County. [2]
- The first settlement in Martin County was Grelton (later known as Mariensfield)[3]
- Immigration to the area intensified after Konz encouraged a group of Carmelite priests from Anderson County to move to Martin County to establish a monastery. [3]The name of the original settlement, Grelton, was changed to Mariensfield (Field of Mary) by German settlers from Anderson County. [3]Encouraged by Christian D. (Father Anastasius) Peters, immigrants moved to Martin County directly from Germany. [3]
- Aug 15, 1881, 5 men, Konz's son, Adam Konz, Father Christian D (Anastasius) Peters, John Jacob Konz of Anderson co., Kansas, and Charles Froesee arrived in Grelton. Foresee surveyed the land around Grelton and marked off town lots.. [2]
- Oct. 1881 They built the first buildings and homes. Konz had returned to Kansas and organized a settlement party. He led more Kansas settlers to the settlement in 1882. [2]
- 1882 The first Catholic Mass in the county was celebrated on the site of the present county courthouse by John Konz and his family under the sponsorship of the Texas and Pacific Railway. [3][4]
- 1882-83 Konz built a general store. Father Peters relatives were part of a group from Arkansas. [2]
- 1883- Post office was granted, J.B. Konz was postmaster. Another settlement party arrived.[2]
- 1884- Martin co. was organized, named for Wyly Martin, and organized In 1884. [2]
- 1884 Martin County's first school was established. [3]
- Martin County was attached to Mitchell County for administrative purposes for 5 months and then attached to Howard County until 1884, when the county was reduced to its present size and organized with Mariensfield (now Stanton) as the county seat. [3]
- 1885 FatherBoniface wrote bulletins and took them to Germany to publicize the colony. [2]
- Post 1885 Citizens built first courthouse, petitioned the railroad to change the name to Marienfeld (meaning -- German for "field of Mary") Soon there were businesses, hotel, wagon yard, stores, jail, school, Catholic complex and the railroad buldings. [2]
- 1886 drought depopulated the community. Settlers planted grain, cotton, vegetables, vines, and orchards, hunted antelope, deer, quail.[3]
- 1890 3,316 cattle and 12,600 sheep were in the county; (1900 sheep raising declined, but cattle increased., [3]
- 1890 the town was renamed Stanton, for Edwin McMasters Stanton, a Supreme Court justice and secretary of war under President Lincoln.http://genealogytrails.com/tex/panhandle2/martin/
- 1890 Mariensfield's name was changed to Stanton, the area seemed more settled than 10 years ago.
- 1900 332 people were living in Martin County. [3]
- 1905 Stanton had become a major shipping point in the region; ranchers away in ht e South, drove herds there.[3]
- 1910-1920 land promoters subdivided cattle range into farm sites, 2nd railroad connection in N built through Lamesa. [3]
- 1910 2,000 acres were planted in corn, the county's most important crop, 900 acres in forage, and 946 were planted in cotton. [3]
- 1920 cotton had become the county's leading crop. with 6,700 acres were planted in cotton.
- 1930 80,000 acres in Martin County were planted in cotton, and sorghum (24,735 acres) had become the county's second most important crop.
- 1930-- The Great Depression years were difficult for farmers--Bankhead Cotton Control Act of 1934 and the Soil Conservation Act helped stabilize the market, and the Domestic Act of 1936 provided incentives for soil conservation.[3]
- 1940s World War II years were prosperous. The small irrigated section of the county was increased. [3]
- 1950s Martin County had 20,000 acres of farmland irrigated by sprinklers, 2,500 in flood irrigation. [3]
- 1945-50s producing well was drilled in 1945, the shallow Mabee field in Andrews County was extended into SW Martin County. [3]
- 1950- The first commercial petroleum production occurred in 1950, when the Texas Company drilled over 13,000 feet into the NW section of the county; more than 90,000 barrels of oil were produced in the county that year.
- 1951 3 more fields were located: Glass in the SW, Breedlove in the NW, and Stanton in the SW. [3]
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| Welcome to Stanton, Texas |
- 1887 Scharbauer Ranches
Located in Martin, Midland, Moore, and Oldham counties 150,000 Acres.....PRIMARY USE cow-calf, quarter horses
- John Scharbauer worked on his father-in-law's farm in Schenectady, New York, prior to immigrating to Texas, giving him some ranching experience. He traveled from the East via railroad in 1883. He and another newcomer bought a few acres and a heard of sheep.. He moved to Midland and began a cattle ranch. A nephew, Clarence joined John. When John died, Clarence inherited the ranch, and added more acres to the ranch. Clarence began a lease with the University of Texas. When Clarence died, Clarence Jr bought more acres including some from the Matador Land and Cattle Company. Clarence Jr and children own and operate the ranches today.[5]
Government Offices
Martin County has had three courthouses: 1886, 1908 and 1975[6]
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| gazebo made of 1908 dome and columns |
1st Courthouse, 1886
2nd Courthouse, 1908
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| Here's an image. |
3rd Courthouse, 1975 This courthouse is hard to see or find. The current Martin County Courthouse was built in 1975 and exemplifies the easy-to-forget architecture of the period.
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| 1975 courthouse |
Like many counties, Martin co. kept relics of the former courthouse , twelve columns from the 1908 Courthouse form a gazebo on the square. The gazebo on the courthouse square was made from the entrance columns and one of the corner turrets from the 1908 courthouse." - Terry Jeanson, June 2006 photo
Geography
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcm03
- Location - on the S High Plains of W central Texas
- Size - 911 square miles, bounded on N by Dawson County, on the W by Andrews County, on E by Howard County, and on S by Midland and Glasscock counties.
- Center -at 32°18' north latitude and 101°70' west longitude, twenty-five miles NE of Midland
- Elevation is 2,550 to 3,000 feet.
- Soils are red sandy loam
- Trees include hackberry, wild china, willow, plum, and mesquite. T
- Rainfall is 15.72 inches. The January
- Temperature averages 30° F in January, the maximum in July is 95° F.
- Growing season of 215 days
- Agriculture incolme $36 million annually, 90% from cotton, small grains, corn, and remainder from cattle, hogs, and goats.
- 1982 the county produced 8,859,780 barrels of oil valued at $234 million.
- Rivers/Creeks -Sulphur Spring Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River, and Mustang Creek, a tributary of the North Concho River, drain the N & S portions of the county
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcm03
- Type is a gentle, rolling prairie with draws crossing the county, that are dry, with occasional water hole. The soil is friable red, sandy, porous, having some black waxy spots in the depressions that hold water temporarily in rainy seasons.
- Vegetation -stunted growth of mesquite, cedar, hackberry and shin oak.
- Water is obtained from wells that are 10-150 feet deep.
- This is cattle raising county. Since water must be from wells with windmill power, farmers that plant truck patches, such as corn, peanuts, milo maize, Kaffir corn, sorghum for their own use.
Adjacent counties
- Dawson County (north)
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| adj counties |
- Howard County (east)
- Glasscock County (southeast)
- Midland County (south)
- Andrews County (west)
- Gaines County (northwest)
Demographics
In 2000, there were 4,746 people residing in the county with a population density of 5 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 79.01% White, 1.58% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 16.06% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. 40.56% of the population were Hispanic.The median income for a household in the county was $31,836, and the median income for a family was $35,965. Males had a median income of $29,360 versus $19,063 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,647. About 14.90% of families and 18.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.90% of those under age 18 and 17.10% of those age 65 or over.[7]
- The county is served by a weekly newspaper, local station KKJW (FM), nearby stations KBXJ (FM) and KPET (AM), and the various Midland and Odessa radio and TV stations.
- Population is estimate of 2,000 with Stanton as the county seat, population of 1,500 and is the only post office in the county.
- Water depletion in the 1960s halted the expansion of irrigation.
- The county has 5 public free schools.
- 1950s Martin County has been a member of the Colorado River Municipal Water District and shares construction costs of pipelines, dams, and reservoirs with other communities.
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| 1885 Martin co. Jail, houses sheriff &family |
Highways
- I-20 Interstate 20
- Business Loop Interstate 20 Business
- Texas State Highway 115
- Texas State Highway 137
- Texas State Highway 176
- Texas State Highway 349
- Martin County is a dry county ( no liquor sales)
- Martin County Hospital (20 bed) serves the county.
Cities/Towns
Formed From
In 1876, it was created from a part of Bexar territory.
Resources
Census
- 1880 --- 12 —
- 1890 --- 264 2,100.0%
- 1900 --- 332 25.8%
- 1910 --- 1,549 366.6%
- 1920 --- 1,146 −26.0%
- 1930 --- 5,785 404.8%
- 1940 --- 5,556 −4.0%
- 1950 --- 5,541 −0.3%
- 1960 --- 5,068 −8.5%
- 1970 --- 4,774 −5.8%
- 1980 --- 4,684 −1.9%
- 1990 --- 4,956 5.8%
- 2000 --- 4,746 −4.2%
- 2010 --- 4,799 1.1%
- Est. 2015 --- 5,641
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_County,_Texas
Notables
Land Grants
Cemeteries
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- Martin County Cemeteries Gloria Mayfield
- FindaGrave Martin Co. cemeteries
Sources
- ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/index.php?q=topics/government/martin-county
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 http://genealogytrails.com/tex/panhandle2/martin/
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcm03
- ↑ https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Martin_County,_Texas_Genealogy#Populated_Places
- ↑ http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-biggest-ranches/
- ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/StantonTexas/Martin-County-Courthouse-Stanton-Texas.htm
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_County,_Texas
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