Lamb County

Lamb County, is located on the southern edge of the Panhandle, in the South Plains portion of the state, bordered on the east by Hale County, on the south by Hockley County, on the west by Bailey County, and on the north by Castro and Parmer counties. Littlefield, the county seat, is in the southern part of the county on Highway 84, forty miles northwest of Lubbock.

Cities, Towns and Communities

Amherst | Circle | Cofferville | Earth | Fieldton | Littlefield – county seat | Olton | Pep | Rocky Ford | Spade | Springlake | Sudan | Witharral

History

Lamb County, Formed From Young and Bexar Territories. Created August 21, 1876. Organized June 20, 1908. Named in honor of George A. Lamb, 1814-1836, a Second Lieutenant who fell in the first charge at the Battle of San Jacinto. Olton, County Seat. – Historical Marker Text. Marker located 1.5 mi. W. of Olton, US Hwy 70. – Historical Marker Text. Marker erected 1936.

Lamb County lies directly west of Hale County, was created in 1876 and was organized in June 1908, with Olton as the county seat. [Littlefield became the county seat in 1946.] In 1911 the Texico-Coleman branch of the Santa Fe Railroad was built across the county, leaving Olton to one side, and several other stations have since been established along the line. The railroad has opened up the land for agricultural settlement, but it is still strictly a cattle county, and the greater portion of its area is included within large ranches. The surface is quite level, except where broken by three tributaries of the Brazos River, and it is devoid of timber except the groves planted by ranchmen. Excellent results have been obtained by the few farmers who have recently settled, and the staple crops of the Panhandle region have been successfully grown.

Lamb County. On June 20, 1908, Lamb County was organized with Olton as the seat of government. By 1910 there were ninety-two ranches and farms, and the population had risen to 540. The county was primarily a ranching area with a small number of merchants, farmers, and stockfarmers. Immigration into the area was encouraged in the early 1910s when the Santa Fe Railroad made plans to build a branch line from Lubbock to Clovis, New Mexico, bisecting Lamb County from southeast to northwest. Littlefield cooperated with the railroad in bringing the line to fruition and helped to establish a townsite, ultimately known as Littlefield, on the railroad. Preliminary work on the Lubbock-Clovis line began as early as 1909, and by 1912 the townsite of Littlefield had been laid out. George Littlefield initiated land sales of major ranches in 1912 when he began to sell off parts of the LFD Ranch. Once the railroad was finished in March 1913 and the town of Littlefield established, farmers began to move into the area in larger numbers. By 1920 the county had 172 farms and ranches, and the population had increased to 1,175.

Courthouses

Created in 1876, Lamb County was unorganized until it could muster 21 qualified voters, 1908. Citizens donated labor for first 9-room frame courthouse, which served until it burned in 1922. First county officials were: Judge H. R. Miller; Commissioners, J. A. Hooper (Precinct No. 1), Claude E. Halsell (No. 2), G. M. Arnett (No. 3), Walter Sullivan (No. 4); sheriff, Herb Dickenson; clerk, George Gallaway; treasurer, Fred Schreier; assessor, Luther Williams. A new courthouse of brick and concrete was built here, 1922-23. After a 1946 election, the county seat was removed to Littlefield. (1972) – Historical Marker Text. Marker located southeast corner 8th & Main Streets, Olton.

Location

Littlefield, TX 33° 55′ 2.334″ N, 102° 19′ 29.6472″ W

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