Dunn

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm going by what the official marker has to say, and this one's got a good quiet story in it. Out in Scurry County, there's a place called Dunn, and it didn't start with grand ambitions. It started with tired horses and heavy loads.

When the T. and P. Railway reached Colorado City in 1881, goods started moving north, and somebody had to move them. That meant freight teams, long hauls, and animals that needed swapping out along the way.

So right there beside a creek, this spot became a change station. A place to rest the teams, swap them out, keep the whole operation rolling. Freighters camped there, night after night, and where freighters camp, needs follow close behind.

A blacksmith shop went up. A store came along to supply them. And little by little, without anyone necessarily planning it, a town developed.

That's how these things go sometimes. You blink and there's a town. Now, mail had to go somewhere, and for a while it went to the home of Mr. and Mrs.

A. T. Dunn.

That arrangement became official in 1890, when a post office was granted and given their name. Mr. Dunn himself became the first postmaster.

That same year, 1890, the first school was built. A well went in, then a windmill, then a trough, so travelers and townspeople alike could water up and keep moving. That well sat right in the middle of the road.

For years, nobody much minded. But when the highway got paved in 1938, well, you can't pave around a well forever. So they covered it over.

The road won. The well's still down there somewhere under that pavement, and the town that grew up from a campsite beside a creek carries the Dunn name to this day.

What the marker says

Started as change station for teams hauling goods north after T. & P. Railway reached Colorado City in 1881. Freighters camped here beside creek. A blacksmith shop and store were started to supply them. In time a town developed. Mail was dropped at home of Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Dunn. Post office, granted 1890, was given their name; Mr. Dunn was first postmaster. In 1890, the first school was built. A well, windmill and trough were added for travelers and town. Because it was in middle of the road, well was covered when highway was paved in 1938. (1966)