J. Frank Norfleet
Hale Center, Hale County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1865 - 1967) Son of a rancher and Texas Ranger, J. Frank Norfleet was born in Lampasas County. With little schooling, he grew up working on ranches. He served as foreman for 20 years on the Spade Ranch. Norfleet married Mattie Eliza Hudgins (1871-1972) in 1894 and they had four children. In 1905 after years of frugality, the Norfleets moved to their own land located on the east boundary of Spade Ranch. In time their holdings grew to 20,000 acres. In 1905 the Panhandle Short Line Railroad from Vega to Lubbock was begun through the new town named for Norfleet. The site lay 10 miles west of Hale Center. Soon a school called Norfleet was moved in and houses and stores appeared. Due to competition and lack of funds, the railroad was abandoned and the town died soon after. In 1919, while in Dallas, Norfleet was swindled out of $45,000 by a bunco gang. Enraged at losing his savings, he spent almost five years searching the United States, Mexico, Canada and Havana, Cuba, for the five thieves. His determination won him the nickname of "Little Tiger". After the capture which reportedly netted about 75 other confidence ring members, he wrote "Norfleet", a book about his adventures. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
J. Frank Norfleet rose from a ranch hand with little schooling to a Panhandle cattleman whose holdings grew to 20,000 acres, and a short-line railroad town briefly bore his name before competition and thin finances killed it. In 1919 a swindle cost him his savings, and rather than accept the loss he spent nearly five years chasing the con men across North America and the Caribbean, an odyssey he later put into a book. His dogged manhunt made him a folk figure of frontier justice.
Why it matters
His story braids two great Panhandle themes — the rise and fall of railroad boomtowns and the self-reliant grit of the ranching frontier — into one long life.
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Related people
- · J. Frank Norfleet
- · Mattie Eliza Hudgins
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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