DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Parmer County — named for a man who went by 'The Ringtailed Panther.' That alone ought to tell you something about the territory. Martin Parmer, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, lent his name to a stretch of the Panhandle that was carved out of Bexar County on August 21, 1876.
Now, carved out is the polite way to put it. This was raw land, open and enormous, and for a good long while, it belonged almost entirely to one of the biggest ranching operations the state has ever seen. The XIT Ranch.
It spread across nine counties — nine — and Parmer was deep in its grip. Here's how that came to be: Texas needed a Capitol building, and the Capitol Syndicate agreed to build it. In payment, the syndicate received three million and fifty thousand acres of land.
Three million and fifty thousand. They took that land and established the XIT in 1885, and Parmer County was largely theirs. Now you'd think a county that size, with that kind of operation running through it, would bustle.
But by 1890, the population of the entire county stood at seventy people. Seventy. The Panhandle can humble a person that way.
The turning point came with the syndicate land sales, and with something that has a way of opening up country in a hurry — the railroad, which arrived in 1904. Buyers rode in on those new rails, and brisk settlement began, small farms taking root across land that had once been pure XIT range. The county organized on May 7, 1907, and Farwell became the county seat.
The Ringtailed Panther's county had finally come alive. Sometimes all a place needs is a track laid down and somebody willing to ride it in.
What the marker says
Created August 21, 1876, from Bexar County. Named for Martin Parmer ("The Ringtailed Panther"), signer of Texas Declaration of Independence. Organized May 7, 1907. The XIT Ranch, extending across nine counties, initially owned most of Parmer. The Capitol Syndicate, which built Texas' Capitol, received in payment 3,050,000 acres of land and established the XIT in 1885. By 1890, population of the county was only 70. But, with syndicate land sales, buyers came on the new railroad in 1904. Brisk settlement began, with many small farms. Farwell is the county seat. (1965)