Martin County

Duane's take

The way I tell it, this comes straight from the official marker, so let's see what the record actually says about Martin County. Way out on the lower great plains of west Texas, there's a county that took a while to get its act together. Created on August 21, 1876, carved out of Young and Bexar territories, Martin County sat there on the map for the better part of a decade before anybody got around to organizing it.

Then, November 4, 1884, they made it official. Now, it was named for a man worth remembering. Wyly Martin, born 1776, died 1842.

He was an alcalde in Austin's colony, which is a kind of local magistrate if you're keeping score. He showed up to the Consultation in 1835 when Texas was figuring out whether to fight or fold. He soldiered through the Texas Revolution.

And then he took a seat in the Texas Congress. That is a resume, right there. The first commissioners court didn't waste much time.

They established the county seat and authorized construction of a courthouse in a place then called Marienfeld. That name stuck until 1890, when it became Stanton, and Stanton it has been ever since. Out twelve miles northwest of Stanton, at a place called Mustang Spring, the early C.

C. Slaughter ranch had its headquarters. Mustang Spring had a reputation as the best campsite west of Big Spring.

You stop and think about that for a moment. Out across all that open country, tired and dry, and somebody pointed you toward Mustang Spring. That would mean something.

As for what keeps Martin County going, the marker names it plain: grain sorghum, cotton farming, cattle ranching, and petroleum. The plains provide, if you know how to ask. Wyly Martin came to Texas, served it in war and in government, and a stretch of that same west Texas plain carries his name to this day.

Not a bad legacy for a man who never saw an oil well.

What the marker says

On lower great plains of west Texas. Formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created Aug. 21, 1876, and organized Nov. 4, 1884. Named for Wyly Martin, member of Austin's colony and Texas patriot. County seat established by the first commissioners court which authorized construction of courthouse in Stanton (then called Mariensfield). Early C. C. Slaughter ranch headquarters, 12 miles northwest of Stanton at Mustang Spring, best campsite west of Big Spring. Economy based on grain sorghum, cotton farming; cattle ranching; petroleum. (1936) Formed from Young and Bexar territories created August 21, 1876. Organized November 4, 1884. Named in honor of Wyly Martin 1776-1842. An alcalde in Austin's colony member of the consultation in 1835, soldier in the Texas revolution, member of the Texas congress. County seat, Marienfeld, 1884; Stanton since 1890.