Espuela

Duane's take

Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official marker — here's how Espuela came to be, and how it went. It starts with a dugout. Not a town, not a dream of one — just a hole in the earth on the west bank of Duck Creek, dug by a man named J.H.

Parrish in 1870, sitting about a half-mile southeast of where you're standin' right now. Parrish farmed the land and set up a small store, serving travelers first, then cattlemen, then buffalo hunters as they rolled through. And roll through they did.

See, as the last of the Native American tribes left this area in 1876, the commercial buffalo hunters moved in like a tide. What they left behind was tens of thousands of carcasses scattered across the plains. Tens of thousands.

Let that sit with you a moment. Then the ranchers came. From 1879 to 1884, this whole stretch was free range land for thirty cattle outfits.

Thirty. Open grass, open sky, and cattle as far as you could see. But that kind of freedom has a way of attracting money, and money brings fences.

The Espuela Land and Cattle Company purchased most of those free lands, plus twenty sections of public domain territory from the state, and fenced in five hundred sixty-nine thousand, one hundred and twenty acres. That's not a ranch — that's a kingdom. Their headquarters landed about two miles west of what would become the Espuela townsite, and they bought up most of the free range cattle while they were at it.

Meanwhile, back at that little store Parrish built — the one that started as a dugout on the creek bank — a community was growing up around it. By the mid-1880s, it had become the largest community in the county. Parrish himself platted the town and became its first postmaster in 1883.

The children who'd been holding school in a dugout got themselves a one-room schoolhouse. Dickens County was created that same year, and Espuela — this town that started from one man's store — became first the temporary and then the permanent county seat. By summer of 1891, Espuela was booming.

A gristmill. A blacksmith shop. Several stores, a hotel, a bootmaker, a saloon, a newspaper, civic organizations, and a cotton gin.

Now here's the wrinkle in all that prosperity: neither a courthouse nor a jail were ever erected. The county seat of Dickens County never built a courthouse or a jail. Make of that what you will.

And then — March 8, 1892. Another election, this one called because of boundary issues surrounding Espuela. When the votes were counted, Dickens was the new county seat.

Settlers and businesses moved on, as they do. But the town of Espuela held on, surviving as long as the land and cattle company that had built up around it kept breathing. In 1905, the company sold the Spur Ranch near this site to E.P. and S.A.

Swenson. The post office packed up and moved to the new town of Spur in 1910. All that remains of the town of Espuela is the cemetery.

Started with a dugout. Ended with one, in a manner of speaking.

What the marker says

In 1870, J.H. Parrish built a dugout on the west bank of Duck Creek a half-mile southeast of this site. He farmed and established a small store serving travelers and, later, cattlemen and buffalo hunters. As the last of the Native American tribes left this area in 1876, commercial buffalo hunters moved into the region. They left tens of thousands of buffalo carcasses in their wake. From 1879 to 1884, this area was free range land for 30 cattle outfits. The Espuela Land & Cattle Company purchased most of the free lands and 20 sections of public domain territory from the state, fencing 569,120 acres. The company purchased most of the free range cattle, and located their headquarters about two miles west of what became the Espuela townsite. By the mid-1880s, the community that had begun with Parrish's small store was the largest in the county. Parrish platted the town and became its first postmaster in 1883. A one-room schoolhouse replaced a dugout already in use by the children and their teacher. Dickens County was created that year, and Espuela became first the temporary and then the permanent county seat. In summer 1891 the town boasted a gristmill, blacksmith shop, several stores, a hotel, a bootmaker, a saloon, a newspaper, civic organizations and a cotton gin. Neither a courthouse nor a jail were ever erected. On March 8, 1892, another election was held because of boundary issues surrounding Espuela, and Dickens was voted the county seat. Though many settlers and businesses moved on, the town of Espuela survived as long as the land & cattle company existed. In 1905, the company sold the Spur Ranch near this site to E.P. and S.A. Swenson. The post office moved to the new town of Spur in 1910. All that remains of the town of Espuela is the cemetery.