Organization of Floyd County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little room to breathe. Floyd County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1876. Just created, mind you.

No county seat, no courthouse, no nothing yet. Just a big stretch of Texas with a name on a map and a whole lot of future ahead of it. Then the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway Company started building westward from Wichita Falls, and folks began following that rail line like it was a promise.

Settlement picked up, and where settlers go, ambition follows close behind. Two ranchers, T. J.

Braidfoot and J. R. McLain, formed a partnership in 1887 to get ahead of all that ambition.

They picked a site, laid out a town, and called it Della Plain. And Della Plain did not waste any time. Homes went up.

Businesses opened. Civic institutions took root. It was shaping up to be exactly the kind of place that expects to be in charge of things.

Now, northwest of Della Plain, homesteaders were settling in too, and in 1889 they got their own town. Called it Lockney. And right about there is where things got interesting, because now you had two towns, one county seat to give out, and no shortage of opinions about who deserved it.

Then in 1890, two men named M. C. Williams and J.

K. Gwynn stepped into that rivalry and selected an entirely different site. A third option.

They called it Floyd City. On May 28, 1890, the voters of Floyd County went to the polls, and Floyd City won. Just like that, Della Plain's grand ambitions hit a wall, and Lockney had to settle for being a fine town that was not the county seat.

Floyd City got the prize, and the new county government got to work filling its offices. Arthur B. Duncan became county judge.

John C. Hendrix, county attorney. R.

T. Miller took on the combined duties of county and district clerk. D.

W. Jenkins drew the job of sheriff and tax collector. E.

E. Keeley became county treasurer, L. C.

Darby tax assessor, and W. M. Massie the surveyor.

Four men, C. F. Ramsey, T.

B. Michael, W. R.

Vandeveer, and B. P. Merrell, were elected county commissioners.

That is a full slate of officials for a brand new county seat, and they had work to do. Then September arrived, the post office got established, and here is the little twist at the end of the story. The name Floyd City?

Changed. The town that had just won the whole county seat fight turned around and took a new name: Floydada. That is the name it carries to this day, earned the hard way, through rivalry, an election, and one well-timed post office.

What the marker says

Floyd County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1876. The Fort Worth and Denver City Railway Company began building westward from Wichita Falls, resulting in increased settlement of the area. Ranchers T. J. Braidfoot and J. R. McLain formed a partnership in 1887 to establish a town they hoped to promote as county seat. Named Della Plain, it soon boasted homes, businesses, and civic institutions. As more homesteaders settled northwest of Della Plain, a town named Lockney was created in 1889. Soon there was rivalry over which town would be named county seat. In 1890 M. C. Williams and J. K. Gwynn selected this site for a town called Floyd City. In an election held on May 28, 1890, the voters chose Floyd City as county seat. Officers elected were: Arthur B. Duncan, county judge; John C. Hendrix, county attorney; R. T. Miller, county and district clerk; D. W. Jenkins, sheriff and tax collector; E. E. Keeley, county treasurer; L. C. Darby, tax assessor; W. M. Massie, surveyor; and C. F. Ramsey, T. B. Michael, W. R. Vandeveer, and B. P. Merrell, county commissioners. When a post office was established in September, the name of the town was changed to Floydada. (1990)