DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for Comanche County tells it like this, and I'll do my best to honor every word of it. Now, five families. That's all it took to plant roots in what would become Comanche County — five families, arriving in 1854, setting down in land that was not, by any stretch of the imagination, unoccupied.
The county itself was created and organized in 1856, and it was named for the Comanche Indians — and the marker doesn't shy away from what that name carried with it. Lords of the Texas frontier, it calls them. Nomads of the Plains.
Superb horsemen, successful hunters, courageous warriors. People who had built a way of life on these grounds for generations. And now settlers were pushing in, dispossessing them of their hunting grounds.
The marker holds both truths at once, and so will I. The Comanche harassed those settlers — stealing cattle and horses, keeping farmers out of their own fields. This was not a peaceful frontier.
This was a contest, and people on both sides understood exactly what was at stake. The county seat started out as Troy — changed over to Cora — and then on July 18, 1859, Comanche took that title and has held it ever since. Now, 1861 is a year worth pausing on.
Somehow, food shipped in from neighboring Bell County was the only thing standing between the people of Comanche County and outright starvation. Think about that — a county holding on by a thread, sustained by what came in from somewhere else. By 1879 a stage line was crossing the county.
Then the Texas Central Railroad came through in 1880. The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad followed in 1890. The county was threading itself into the wider world, mile by mile, rail by rail.
And then came 1918 to 1920 — an oil boom. Agriculture, though, the marker notes, has long been the major industry. From five families on uncertain ground to a county with railroads, oil, and harvests — Comanche County earned its place on the map the hard way, and the name it carries reminds you exactly what that cost.
What the marker says
First settled in 1854 by five families, the county, created and organized 1856, was named for Comanche Indians, Lords of Texas frontier, who were losing hunting grounds to settlers. First county seat was Cora. Comanche has been county seat since July 18, 1859. Indians harassed settlers, stealing cattle and horses, and keeping farmers out of fields. Food from neighboring Bell County kept people here from starvation in 1861. By 1879 a stage line crossed county; the Texas Central Railroad came through in 1880; Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad in 1890. An oil boom occurred in 1918-1920. Agriculture has long been major industry (1966) 1936 Text: Created January 25, 1856. Organized May 17, 1856. Named for the Comanche Indians, nomads of the Plains; successful hunters, superb horsemen, and courageous warriors; the terror of Texas frontier settlers, who dispossessed them of their hunting grounds. County Seat Troy (changed to Cora), 1856; Comanche, since July 18, 1859.