Crosby County Courthouses

Duane's take

The way I tell it, this comes straight from the official marker for Crosby County Courthouses, and friend, this is one of those stories where the courthouse just could not sit still. Crosby County was created in 1876 and organized in 1886, and right from the start, nothing about putting down roots here came easy. The first county seat was Estacado, founded in 1879 by a colony of Quakers, sitting up in the northeast corner of the county on a mail and stage road.

Sounds settled enough, right? Well, freight hauling of materials was slow, and for two full years, county offices were held together in dugouts, shacks, and wagons. Two years of government conducted out of holes in the ground and the back of wagons.

That is a certain kind of Texas determination right there. The first proper courthouse finally got finished in 1888. But Estacado was not long for its crown.

In 1890, the county seat moved nine miles west to a new town called Emma, named for the fiancée of R. L. Stringfellow, one of the town's promoters.

Now here is where it gets interesting. They did not just leave that old Estacado courthouse standing. They took it down, moved it, and rebuilt it, all for three thousand dollars.

And it served twenty years. Twenty years of justice, hauled across the prairie and reassembled. Then came the railroad.

When the Crosbyton-South Plains Railroad was built in 1910, Emma found herself four miles off the route. Four miles doesn't sound like much until it's the railroad doing the measuring. Crosbyton won an election as the new county seat, and Julian Bassett, one of the founders of Crosbyton, donated a site for the courthouse.

While they figured out what to build, the county court met in the schoolhouse, making do the way Crosby County always seemed to do, until the present courthouse and jail went up in 1914. The county judge at that time was Pink Parrish, and the commissioners were John K. Fullingim, W.

E. McLaughlin, J. A.

Noble, and R. M. Wheeler.

This marker was put together by the 1965 Commissioners Court, with County Judge Cecil Berry and Commissioners Leilan Caddell, Curt Hendrick, Jack Henry, and W. C. Odom standing witness to the whole long tale.

Three county seats, one courthouse dragged across the county, two years of government run out of dugouts and wagons. Crosby County earned every square foot of that building in 1914.

What the marker says

Crosby County, created in 1876 and organized 1886, had its first county seat at Estacado (founded 1879 by a colony of Quakers). It was on a mail and stage road, in the northeast corner of the county. Freight hauling of materials was slow. County offices were in dugouts, shacks and wagons for two years, until the first courthouse could be completed in 1888. The second county seat was established in 1890 at Emma (named for the fiancee of R. L. Stringfellow, one of the town's promoters), nine miles west of here. The courthouse at Estacado was taken down, moved and rebuilt at cost of $3,000. It served 20 years. When the Crosbyton-South Plains Railroad was built in 1910, Emma was four miles off its route. Crosbyton won an election as the new county seat, and Julian Bassett (one of the founders of Crosbyton) donated a site for the courthouse. The county court met in the schoolhouse until the building of the present courthouse and jail in 1914. County judge at that time was Pink Parrish. Commissioners were John K. Fullingim, W. E. McLaughlin, J. A. Noble and R. M. Wheeler. This commemoration is by the 1965 Commissioners Court. County judge, Cecil Berry; Commissioners: Leilan Caddell, Curt Hendrick, Jack Henry, W. C. Odom. 1966