Collingsworth County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Collingsworth County. Carved out of Young and Bexar territories, created on August 21, 1876, though it wouldn't get itself fully organized until November 4, 1890.

That's the kind of patience Texas geography requires. But the name, now the name is where the story gets interesting. This county carries the honor of James Collinsworth, 1806 to 1838.

Say those years out loud and let them sit with you a moment. The man packed a considerable life into that span. He was the first Chief Justice of the Republic of Texas.

He put his name on the Declaration of Independence at the Battle of San Jacinto. He served as Secretary of State in Burnet's cabinet. First Chief Justice.

Signer. Secretary of State. The kind of resume that makes you wonder what else he might have done, if only the calendar had been more generous.

And so a county was formed in his honor, named and shaped and eventually seated at Wellington, the county seat, somewhere out on the rolling Texas plain, carrying a name that belongs to one of the Republic's founding figures. James Collinsworth, 1806 to 1838. Collingsworth County remembers.

What the marker says

Formed from Young and Bexar territories; Created August 21, 1876; Organized November 4, 1890; Named in Honor of James Collinsworth 1806-1838; the first Chief Justice of the Republic of Texas; Signer of the Declaration of Independence at the Battle of San Jacinto; Secretary of State in Burnet's cabinet; Wellington, The County Seat.