Organization of Floyd County
Floydada, Floyd County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Floyd County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1876. The Fort Worth and Denver City Railway Company began building westward from Wichita Falls, resulting in increased settlement of the area. Ranchers T. J. Braidfoot and J. R. McLain formed a partnership in 1887 to establish a town they hoped to promote as county seat. Named Della Plain, it soon boasted homes, businesses, and civic institutions. As more homesteaders settled northwest of Della Plain, a town named Lockney was created in 1889. Soon there was rivalry over which town would be named county seat. In 1890 M. C. Williams and J. K. Gwynn selected this site for a town called Floyd City. In an election held on May 28, 1890, the voters chose Floyd City as county seat. Officers elected were: Arthur B. Duncan, county judge; John C. Hendrix, county attorney; R. T. Miller, county and district clerk; D. W. Jenkins, sheriff and tax collector; E. E. Keeley, county treasurer; L. C. Darby, tax assessor; W. M. Massie, surveyor; and C. F. Ramsey, T. B. Michael, W. R. Vandeveer, and B. P. Merrell, county commissioners. When a post office was established in September, the name of the town was changed to Floydada. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Floyd County was carved out by the Texas Legislature in 1876, but which town would rule it was anything but settled. As railroad construction pushed westward from Wichita Falls and homesteaders poured in, rival townsites — Della Plain, Lockney, and finally Floyd City — jockeyed to become county seat. Voters settled the contest in May 1890 by choosing Floyd City, whose name changed to Floydada when its post office opened that September, and elected the county's first slate of officers.
Why it matters
The county-seat rivalries of the West Texas plains show frontier democracy in miniature, where railroads, boosters, and ballots together decided which raw townsites would survive.
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Related people
- · T. J. Braidfoot
- · J. R. McLain
- · Arthur B. Duncan
Related events
- · Floyd County seat election of 1890
Themes & tags
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