Crosby county

Crosby County is located on the eastern edge of the southern High Plains, bounded on the west by Lubbock County, on the north by Floyd County, on the east by Dickens County, and on the south by Garza County. It was named for Stephen Crosby, a Texas land commissioner during the mid-nineteenth century. U.S. Highway 82 runs west to east across the county, and State highways 207 and 651 are major north-to-south roads.

Cities, Towns & Communities

History

Crosby County Formed from Young and Bexar Territories Created August 21, 1876 Organized September 20, 1986 Named in honor of Stephen Crosby 1800-1869 came to Texas in 1845 Commissioner of the General Land Office. County seat, Estacado, 1886, Emma 1890. Crosbyton, since 1911. – Historical Marker Text. Marker erected 1936. Located at Pioneer Memorial Building, FM 651, South and US 82, Crosbyton.

This is one of the plains counties of Northwest Texas, and until recent years has been essentially the home of stockmen. It was created in 1876, and was organized in 1886. Quite recently the county has come within the range of railroad facilities. After the completion of the Santa Fe to Lubbock, about 1910, the construction of a road from Lubbock eastward was undertaken, known as the Crosbyton South Plains Railroad. This road is now in operation as far as Crosbyton. When the county was organized the county seat was placed at Emma, but has since been moved to Crosbyton, which is the chief city, and in 1910 had a population of 800. Other towns are Emma, Estacado, Cone, Lorenzo and Ralla [sic].

The population of Crosby County in 1880 was 82; in 1890, 346; in 1900, 788; in 1910, 1,765; in 1920, 6,025. The total area of the county is 556,800 acres, of which 370,901 acres were included in farms or ranches in 1910. The amount of cultivated or improved land in 1900 was about 6,000 acres, and 30,000 acres in 1910.

Between 1909 and 1911 the Stamford and Northwestern and the Santa Fe railroads laid tracks into the region, but bypassed Crosby County. In 1910 local investors, including the C. B. Livestock Company, which owned 80,000 acres in the county, raised $75,000 to induce the Crosbyton-South Plains and the Santa Fe to build forty miles of track between Lubbock and Crosbyton. Owners of the C. B. Company hoped to use the new railroad connection to help them sell plots of land in the new settlements they planned to establish at eight-mile intervals between Crosbyton and Lubbock. The towns of Cedric, Lorenzo, and Idalou (the last in Lubbock County) were founded as a result. Emma, the county seat, faded away after the railroad was routed five miles to the north of the town. In 1910 Crosbyton became the new county seat. As development proceeded, the population of the county grew. As late as 1910 only 1,765 people lived in Crosby County, but in 1920 the census counted 6,084 residents.

Farming continued to develop rapidly in the county throughout the 1920s. By 1930, 11,023 people lived in Crosby County. The county was hit hard during the 1930s by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. Cotton production plunged, especially during the drought of 1933-34, and the county lost 451 farms between 1930 and 1940. On the eve of World War II, only 1,288 farms remained in Crosby County, and the population of the county had dropped to 10,046.

County Histories

A History of Crosby County, 1876–1977, 1978

Through the Years: A History of Crosby County, 1952

Courthouses

Crosby County has been home to two courthouses and three county seats: Estacado, 1886-1890, Emma, 1890-1911, and Crosbyton, 1911 to present. The same courthouse was used at both Estacado and Emma. It was taken down at Estacado and rebuilt at Emma.

Location

Crosbyton, TX 33° 39′ 36.306″ N, 101° 14′ 16.5408″ W

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