Chief of the Pastores Casimiro Romero
Dalhart, Hartley County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1833 - 1912) Moved to Texas, 1876, from New Mexico-- wife and two children in a coach, goods in 14 wagons. Owned 6,000 sheep. A Castilian Spaniard by birth, Romero spoke for pastores (sheep herders), who built eleven haciendas and plazas in Canadian River area. Cattle rancher Chas. Goodnight in late 1876 made a pact with Romero to respect right of the pastores to valley of Canadian River. But, railroads and cattle ranches in 1880s cut into sheep lands. Romero returned to New Mexico, selling Texas lands, 1897. He is memorialized in this area by town of Romero (3.5 mi. SW of here). (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Castilian-born Spaniard, Casimiro Romero moved from New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle in 1876 with his family in a coach, his goods in fourteen wagons, and 6,000 sheep. As a leader of the pastores, he spoke for the sheepherders who built eleven haciendas and plazas along the Canadian River, and in late 1876 he struck a pact with cattleman Charles Goodnight to protect their range. As railroads and cattle ranches encroached in the 1880s, Romero sold his Texas lands and returned to New Mexico in 1897; the nearby town of Romero bears his name.
Why it matters
Romero's story preserves the little-remembered Hispanic sheepherding frontier of the Panhandle and its brief, negotiated coexistence with the incoming Anglo cattle empire.
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Related people
- · Casimiro Romero
- · Charles Goodnight
Themes & tags
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