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. Carved out of Texas law in 1876, named for a Confederate general by the name of Horace Randal.

Now the county itself didn't have much company out there on the Panhandle plains right away, but it didn't stay empty long. Come 1877, a rancher named Leigh Dyer showed up and put down roots. And here's where the story gets a little thicker: Leigh Dyer was the brother-in-law of Charles Goodnight, the man who brought the first cattle to the Panhandle.

Think about that for a second. The first cattle. Out on those wide open plains.

Family has a way of finding the good country first. The county got itself properly organized in 1889, with Canyon as the county seat, and Canyon has held that title ever since. Now if you're rolling through Randall County today and you think it feels like a place that takes its history seriously, well, you're reading it right.

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

One county. A Confederate general's name on the sign, a rancher's boots in the soil, cattle trails stretching back to the beginning of the Panhandle story, and all of it still standing right there waiting for you. That's Randall County.

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)