Donley County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Donley County now, and that name on the map has a story behind it. This land was formed from Young and Bexar territories, carved out and made official on August 21, 1876.

But here's the thing about a county being created on paper, it still has to be organized, and Donley County took its time getting around to that. Not until March 22, 1882 did the county get itself organized and ready for business. Six years of existing without quite existing.

Only in Texas. Now, the name. Donley County was named in honor of Stockton P.

Donley, born in 1821, died in 1871. He served as a Confederate officer, and after the war, in 1866, he was elected to the Texas Supreme Bench. A man who carried himself through war and then into the highest court in the state.

The county seat, if you're looking for it on your map, is Clarendon. That's the heart of it all. So the next time you cross into this stretch of the Panhandle, remember you're traveling through land that started as pieces of Young and Bexar territories, land that took six years to get its act together, named for a judge who wore a soldier's coat before he put on his robes.

Stockton P. Donley. The county remembers him.

What the marker says

Formed from Young and Bexar territories; Created August 21, 1876; Organized March 22, 1882; Named in honor of Stockton P. Donley 1821-1871; a Confederate officer elected to the Texas Supreme Bench in 1866; Clarendon, the County Seat.