DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Scurry County's first law men. Now, every county's got to start somewhere, and when Scurry County got itself organized in 1884, the first order of business was electing a sheriff. That honor fell to a man named W.
W. Nelson — though most folks knew him as Uncle Billy. Uncle Billy wasted no time.
He authorized the county's first jail, which they called the Calaboose. And I want you to picture this thing: a frame structure, eight feet wide, ten feet long, eight feet tall. That is a generous closet with a lock on it.
That's your law and order, right there. Now, Uncle Billy gave it a go. He really did.
But after six months, he resigned. The marker puts it plainly — cowboys were an unruly lot. Can't argue with that.
So in 1885, a man named T. J. Faught was appointed to take the job.
And here's where the story gets good. Faught needed to make an impression, and he got his chance at the west side saloon, where a rowdy group had decided the evening called for chaos. Faught walked in and calmed the whole situation — using a wooden pool cue as his weapon.
Not a gun. A pool cue. And from that moment on, he had the respect of the cowhands.
Here's the thing about T. J. Faught: he never wore a gun.
Not once. And the people of Scurry County elected him three terms, from 1886 to 1892. When the original town plat for Snyder was drawn up, they named a street after him.
That street is now called 27th Street. A man who kept the peace with a pool cue, never fired a shot, and got a street named after him. Scurry County's first law men set a pretty high bar.
What the marker says
First sheriff elected when the county was organized, 1884, was W. W. "Uncle Billy" Nelson. He authorized the first "Calaboose" (jail)--a frame structure only 8x10x8 feet. Uncle Billy resigned; however, after 6 months; cowboys were an unruly lot. T. J. Faught was next appointed sheriff, 1885. He gained respect of cowhands when, using a wooden pool cue as a weapon, he calmed a rowdy group in the west side saloon. Faught never wore a gun; was elected 3 terms, 1886-1892. In original Snyder town plat, a street was named for Sheriff Faught; it is now 27th Street. (1967)