Randall County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Randall County. Created in 1876, named for Confederate general Horace Randal.

Now that right there is how this part of the Panhandle started its life, with a name carrying some history and a whole lot of open country ahead of it. The first settler to actually put boots on that ground was a rancher named Leigh Dyer, who arrived in 1877. And here's where the story gets interesting, because Leigh Dyer was the brother-in-law of Charles Goodnight, the man the marker credits with bringing the first cattle to the Panhandle.

You want to talk about being in the right family at the right time, well, Leigh Dyer was squarely in that circle. The county got itself organized in 1889, and Canyon became the county seat. Now once Randall County found its footing, it didn't stop there.

It became home to West Texas State University. It became home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. It sits alongside Palo Duro State Park and Buffalo Lake.

That's a county that came into being in 1876, got its first settler in 1877, organized itself in 1889, and just kept building. Not bad for a stretch of Panhandle ground that started with one rancher, a famous brother-in-law, and a whole lot of sky.

What the marker says

Created 1876; named for Confederate general Horace Randal. Settled 1877 by rancher Leigh Dyer, brother-in-law of Chas. Goodnight, man who brought first cattle to Panhandle. Organized in 1889. County seat: Canyon. Home of West Texas State University, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Palo Duro State Park, Buffalo Lake. (1965)