It's All Trew: Book offers county tales of the Texas Panhandle

A book titled "Presenting the Texas Panhandle" by Lan-Bea Publications in 1979 provides many interesting facts about the Texas Panhandle.

--"The counties of the Texas Panhandle were originally drawn in a "paper survey" by politicians in Austin laying a ruler on a Texas map, starting on the east with the 100th Meridian and drawing lines every thirty miles in every direction."

--The town of Panhandle was first named Panhandle City. Childress was first named Childress City, barely beating out a town named Henry for county seat.

--The census taker for the 1880 census count in today's Collingsworth County rode horseback for nine days trying to find six young cowboys, the only residents for the vast open prairie area.

--During an election in Collingsworth County, only after "the whiskey flowed generously" did the name of Wellington beat out the name of Aberdeen for county seat.

--Dalhart was once named Denrock, Twist and Twist Junction in its earliest days.

--Texline once boasted, "It is the biggest and best and the fastest and hardest and the busiest and wildest and roughest and toughest town in this section of the Panhandle."...more