Cottle County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Cottle County — and friend, there's more packed into this one than you might expect. Now, the land out here is where the Pease and Little Wichita Rivers come along and break up what is otherwise level terrain. That's the lay of it.

Created in 1876, organized in 1892 — Cottle County took its time getting stood up proper, but when it did, it carried a name worth knowing. George Washington Cottle. Born 1798.

Came to Texas in 1832 as a settler in DeWitt's Colony. Fought in the Battle of Gonzales in 1835. And then — and here's where the story turns — he walked into the Alamo on March 1, 1836, and he died there defending Texas.

That's the man this county is named for. Not a politician, not a general with a portrait in some capitol hall. A settler.

A fighter. A man who made a choice in the winter of 1836 and didn't come back from it. Now the marker does something I find genuinely fascinating.

It steps back and takes a census of how Texas named all 254 of its counties. Bear with me, because the accounting itself tells a story. Forty-two counties carry Indian, French, or Spanish names — the older tongues of this land.

Ten honor colonizers, including Stephen F. Austin, who the marker calls, right there in stone, the Father of Texas. Twelve were named for Washington, Clay, and other American patriots.

Twenty-three carry the names of frontiersmen and pioneers. Eleven honor American statesmen who worked toward the annexation of Texas. Ten more recognize leaders in Texas since statehood — jurists, ministers, educators, historians, statesmen.

Thirty-six were named for men prominent in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Eight have geographical names. Two were named for battles, two for trees, and one for a fort.

And then there's the largest single group: ninety-six counties named for men who fought in the Texas War for Independence, signed the Declaration of Independence, or served as statesmen in the Republic of Texas. Ninety-six. And of those, fifteen died at the Alamo.

Cottle is one of those fifteen. So when you're rolling through this country — the fine farms, the ranches, the town of Paducah sitting out there as the principal market and shipping point — you're driving through a county that isn't just a name on a map. It's a marker for a man who entered a place on March 1, 1836, knowing what the odds were, and stood his ground anyway.

Out of 254 counties, Texas found 254 ways to remember. This one remembers George Washington Cottle.

What the marker says

Created in 1876, organized in 1892, in area where the Pease and Little Wichita Rivers break level terrain. Named for George Washington Cottle (1798-1836), an 1832 settler in DeWitt's Colony, who after fighting in 1835 Battle of Gonzales entered the Alamo March 1, 1836, and died there defending Texas. Of the 254 counties, 42 bear Indian, French or Spanish names. 10 honor such colonizers as Stephen F. Austin, "Father of Texas." 12 were named for Washington, Clay and other American patriots. 96 were named for men who fought in the Texas War for Independence (15, including Cottle, dying at the Alamo), signed the Declaration of Independence or served as statesmen in the Republic of Texas. 23 have names of frontiersmen and pioneers. 11 honor American Statesmen who worked for the annexation of Texas; 10 leaders in Texas since statehood, including jurists, ministers, educators, historians, statesman; and 36 men prominent in the Confederacy during the Civil War. 8 have geographical names. 2 were named for battles, 2 for trees, one for a fort. Cottle is noted for fine farms and ranches, with Paducah the principal market and shipping point. (1964)