Dallam County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. We're talking about Dallam County, way up in the far corner of the Texas Panhandle, and this story's got layers. Pull up a chair close to that fire.

On August 21, 1876, the Texas legislature carved this county out of Young and Bexar territories. Carved it right out, like cutting a piece of pie. But here's the thing about that piece of pie.

It just sat there. Nobody organized it, nobody ran it, nobody hung a shingle. For fifteen years, Dallam County existed on paper and nowhere else.

Then, on July 28, 1891, they finally got around to organizing the place. Fifteen years is a long time to leave a county just sitting. Now, the name.

The county was named in honor of James W. Dallam, born in 1818, died in 1847. Young man.

And in the time he had, he did something that mattered. In 1845, he compiled a digest of decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas. Think about that.

Texas was its own republic, its own nation, with its own supreme court handing down decisions, and James W. Dallam was the one who gathered those decisions and made sense of them for everybody. That's the kind of work that outlasts a man.

When the county was organized in 1891, Texline became the county seat. Texline held that distinction until 1903, when Dalhart took over, and Dalhart has been the county seat since. One more thing worth sayin' about this place, and the marker says it plain.

This area was once part of the XIT Ranch. The XIT. If you know anything about Texas land, you know that name carries weight.

Dallam County, formed from territories, named for a man who spent his short life organizing the law of a republic, and sitting on ground that was once part of one of the most storied ranches this state ever knew. Some places carry more history per square mile than others. This is one of them.

What the marker says

Formed from Young and Bexar territories: Created August 21, 1876; Organized July 28, 1891. Named in honor of James W. Dallam, 1818-1847. Compiler of digest of decisions of Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, 1845. County Seat, Texline, 1891-1903. Dalhart, since this area was once part of XIT Ranch. (1936)