DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the J.O. Bass Blacksmith Shop out in Swisher County — and friend, this one's worth every mile. By the end of the Red River War in 1875, settlers started pushin' into this stretch of the Texas Panhandle.
Spreadin' across five counties, the J.A. Ranch was running over a hundred thousand cattle, and that meant cowboys, ranch hands, and an endless hunger for the tools that kept the whole operation moving. Horseshoes.
Branding irons. Spurs. Out here, where supplies were difficult to acquire, a good blacksmith wasn't just useful — he was essential.
Now, into this world steps a boy born on March 19, 1879, in Atlanta, Georgia. One of seven children. James Oscar Bass.
In 1890, his family made the move to Young County, Texas, and then pushed a year later into the Panhandle itself. They didn't make it all the way, though — couldn't get their wagon over Caprock Canyon. So the Bass family settled right there in what became Quitaque.
The canyon stopped them. The Panhandle kept them. In 1897, at eighteen years old, J.O.
Bass opened a blacksmith shop in Quitaque. He started making spurs for local cowboys and ranchers, and word got around fast. Lazy F and Matador ranch hands — proud men, particular about their gear — prided themselves on owning a pair of Bass spurs.
The reason was simple: durability. Out on the range, that was no small thing. But here's where the story stretches past the canyon walls.
Orders for Bass spurs and bridles started comin' in from other states. Montana. Nevada.
And then — and you better hold onto your hat — the Texas Rangers placed orders. And so did a Western movie star by the name of Tom Mix. Tom Mix.
The man wore Bass spurs on screen for the whole country to see. In 1902, Bass moved his shop to Tulia, looking for a more centralized and populated location. The town of Tulia incorporated in 1909, and J.O.
Bass was right there in the thick of it — one of the first city commissioners, alongside other early Tulia pioneers. The man who couldn't get a wagon over a canyon had become a founding pillar of a Texas town. Then came 1914.
Bass entered a pair of gal-leg spurs — inlaid and overlaid with gold and silver — into the Texas State Fair. He won the Metallurgy Award. The finest craftsmen in the state had a look at what one Panhandle blacksmith could do, and they handed him the prize.
Bass retired in 1924 and bought land west of Plainview. He passed on February 3, 1950, and is buried in Plainview Cemetery. Worn and loved by cowboys and ranchers across the Panhandle and well beyond, J.O.
Bass left behind a legacy that started with a family stuck at the foot of a canyon and ended up on the heels of Texas Rangers and movie stars. Not bad for a blacksmith's life.
What the marker says
By the end of the Red River War in 1875, settlers began to move to this area. Stretching across five counties, the J.A. Ranch employed ranch hands and cowboys to care for over 100,000 cattle. The life of a rancher depended on tools of the trade. The need for blacksmiths to make horseshoes, spurs and branding irons was great when supplies were difficult to acquire. James Oscar Bass was born on March 19, 1879, in Atlanta, Georgia, as one of seven children. In 1890, his family moved to Young County, Texas, and then to the Panhandle a year later. Unable to transport their wagon over Caprock Canyon, the family settled in what became Quitaque. In 1897, at eighteen years old, J.O. Bass opened a blacksmith shop in Quitaque where he made spurs for local cowboys and ranchers. Lazy F and Matador ranch hands prided themselves in owning a pair of Bass spurs for their durability, a valuable asset. Orders for Bass spurs and bridles extended to other states, including Montana and Nevada, and to the Texas Rangers and Western movie star Tom Mix. Bass moved his shop to Tulia in 1902 for a more centralized and populated location. The town of Tulia incorporated in 1909 with J.O. Bass as one of the first city commissioners, along with other early Tulia pioneers. In 1914, J.O. Bass won the Metallurgy Award at the Texas State Fair for a pair of gal-leg spurs with inlaid and overlaid gold and silver. Bass retired in 1924 and bought land west of Plainview. He passed on February 3, 1950, and is buried in Plainview Cemetery. Worn and loved by many cowboys and ranchers, J.O. Bass's legacy of craftsmanship impacted the Panhandle frontier and beyond. (2016)