Parnell

Duane's take

Well, I'm retelling this one straight off the official historical marker, so here's how the record reads — and I'll tell you, the record does not disappoint. Roberts County was created on August 21, 1876, by the Texas Legislature. Big day on paper.

Slightly less impressive on the ground, seeing as how the entire county had exactly one settler that year. One. The Legislature carved out a county and handed it to a single soul.

By 1880, the population had climbed all the way to 32. Progress. Then the Santa Fe Railroad came through in 1887, and settlement started picking up in earnest.

Enough folks had arrived by January of 1889 that it was time to organize the county proper — hold an election, stand up a government, the whole ceremony. Only problem was, that election turned out to be riddled with fraudulent voting and was invalidated. Now here is where things get interesting.

The disqualified officers — the ones who were not legally elected — went ahead and opened a courthouse anyway, in a vacant store over in Miami, twenty miles south-southeast of where you're standing. They set themselves up like nothing had happened, and they put the county records inside a heavy safe. The legally elected authorities had a problem.

The records were in enemy hands, locked in a safe they didn't control. So they did what any right-thinking Texan would do in 1889: they hired a gunman to impersonate a landowner, and that man captured the safe when it was opened. They hauled that safe — records and all — to the legal county seat near this very site.

And then, because the safe was heavy and nobody was especially eager to move it again, they set it on blocks. And then they built a two-story frame courthouse around it. Around the safe.

The safe became the foundation. The courthouse grew up like a shell around a pearl. The town itself had gone through a couple of names before it settled down.

First it was called Bennett. Then Oran. Then in March of 1890, when the United States Post Office opened, it was renamed Parnell.

By then Parnell had a few businesses, about twelve residences, a school, and a saloon. Guests rode twenty-five to thirty miles to attend dances in that courthouse — the same building that had been built around a stolen safe. Those who came for court sessions had to camp out, because the hotel was small.

Parnell had its moment. But in 1898, Miami became the county seat, and just like that, Parnell was abandoned. A county born with one settler, organized through a gunfight over a safe, and anchored by a courthouse that was literally constructed around the evidence — Roberts County did not come easy, and Parnell did not last long.

But it left a story worth stopping for.

What the marker says

(One mile east) Roberts County was created on Aug. 21, 1876, by the Texas Legislature, but remained unorganized, as in that year it had only one settler. Its 1880 population was 32. After the Santa Fe Railroad was built across this area in 1887, settlement increased. A Jan. 1889 election to organize the county was invalidated by fraudulent voting. However, the disqualified officers opened a courthouse in a vacant store in Miami (20 mi. SSE), the county seat according to the contested election, and placed the records in a heavy safe. The legally elected authorities later obtained the records by hiring a gunman to impersonate a landowner and to capture the safe when it was opened. Hauled to the legal county seat near this site, the safe was set on blocks and a 2-story frame courthouse was built around it. First known as Bennett and then as Oran, the town was renamed Parnell when the U.S. Post Office opened in March 1890. Parnell had a few businesses, about 12 residences, a school, and a saloon. Guests rode 25 to 30 miles to attend dances in the courthouse. Those attending court in Parnell had to camp out, as the hotel was small. Miami became county seat in 1898, and Parnell was abandoned. (1973, 1986)