Terrell County

Duane's take

The official marker's got the story, and here's my telling of it. Way out in the far reaches of West Texas, there's a county with a name worth knowin'. Terrell County.

It was formed from Pecos County, carved out and made its own, created on April 8, 1905. Now, creating a county and organizing a county, those are two different things, and Terrell County did both in the same year. By September 19, 1905, it was organized and ready to do business.

That's a county that didn't waste any time. The name it carries belongs to Alexander Watkins Terrell, born in 1827, died in 1912. A distinguished officer in the Confederate Army.

A member of the Texas Legislature for sixteen years. Sixteen years. That's not a brief visit to the halls of government, that's a man who made himself at home there.

Terrell County's seat is Sanderson, a name that sits right out there in the brush and the limestone and the wide open sky of West Texas. One county. One name worth honoring.

And Sanderson holding it all together at the center.

What the marker says

Formed from Pecos County. Created April 8,1905, organized September 19, 1905. Named in honor of Alexander Watkins Terrell 1827-1912. A distinguished officer in the confederate army member of the Texas legislature for sixteen years. Sanderson, the County Seat.