High Plains Pioneer Henry Clay Smith

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about High Plains Pioneer Henry Clay Smith, out of Crosby County. Now, some men leave a mark on a place. Henry Clay Smith didn't just leave a mark.

He practically invented the place. Born in 1836, died in 1912, and in between those two years, Smith packed in more firsts than most counties ever see from any one soul. First to set up a post office in Crosby County.

First to farm it. First to break land on the High Plains. First to drill a water well up there.

You start stacking those up and you realize this wasn't a man who followed trails. He was the kind of man trails got named after. But before all that, before Crosby County even knew his name, the Civil War came calling.

And it found Henry Clay Smith in a place you might not expect. When the war started up, Smith was out in Pinos Altos, New Mexico, working as a miner. Gold and silver country.

And when the moment came, he joined in the moves to take those mines for the South. Bold play in rough terrain. Then the land itself pushed back.

Indian raids closed the mines. That was that. When the Confederate Army withdrew from Arizona and Mexico in 1861, Smith and others joined the South's cause proper.

He served four years in Texas. And when it was over, he stayed. Spent the rest of his life right here.

In 1877, he built himself a rock house near this very spot. That house is gone now, but a replica stands in the museum up at Crosbyton, so you can still get a sense of what a man's hands built when the High Plains was mostly wind and waiting. Henry Clay Smith showed up first.

And then he stayed. On the High Plains, that counts for just about everything.

What the marker says

(1836 - 1912) First to set up a post office and to farm in Crosby County; first to break land and drill a water well on High Plains. At start of Civil War, he was miner at Pinos Altos, New Mexico and joined in moves to take gold and silver mines for South. But Indian raids closed mines. When the Confederate Army withdrew from Arizona and Mexico in 1861, Smith along with others joined the South's cause. Served four years in Texas and spent rest of his life here. Replica of old rock house he built near here in 1877 is now shown in museum at Crosbyton. (1965)