Site of Sanitarium of Alonzo Orrin Scarborough (1860-1952) Pioneer Doctor
Snyder, Scurry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1860-1952) Born in DeWitt County. Moved to Snyder in 1881 and worked on ranch as a horse trainer. Soon began "reading" medicine and started practice here in 1886. Received M.D. degree from the Kentucky School of Medicine in 1889. During his life-long career in Snyder, he made many calls on horseback, often traveling miles alone at night. Was chief railroad surgeon, 1909, and first county public health officer. Ran Scarborough Sanitarium--first in county--1910-1912. Practiced until age 90. Married Nancy Goodwin in 1886. Had 3 children: Ione, Hugh, Enid. (1969)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Alonzo Orrin Scarborough came to Snyder in 1881 as a ranch horse trainer, taught himself medicine by 'reading' it, and began practicing in 1886 before earning his M.D. from the Kentucky School of Medicine in 1889. For decades he answered calls on horseback, riding alone through the night across the sparsely settled Scurry County range, and served as chief railroad surgeon and the county's first public health officer. In 1910 he opened the Scarborough Sanitarium, the county's first hospital, and kept practicing until he was ninety.
Why it matters
Scarborough embodies the self-made frontier physician whose stamina and improvisation brought organized medicine to isolated West Texas communities.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Alonzo Orrin Scarborough
- · Nancy Goodwin
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Site of Store of William Henry (Pete) Snyder
Snyder, TX
William Henry "Pete" Snyder — a Civil War veteran who had mined Colorado gold, built Kansas railroads, and hauled freight and buffalo hides — opened Snyder's first trading post here in 1878, its lumber freighted by ox-wagon from Fort Worth. The store supplied buffalo hunters living in dugouts along Deep Creek. After three years Snyder left the trade, laid out part of the original townsite, and sold lots before moving to Colorado City, where he died in 1916.
Site of The MacKenzie Trail
Snyder, TX
After the Civil War, the U.S. Army pushed to secure the West Texas frontier, and Colonel Ranald S. MacKenzie became the central figure in the campaigns against the Comanche and their allies. From forts like Griffin and Concho he blazed supply routes across the Plains toward Palo Duro Canyon, where in 1874 his troops broke the power of the Southern Plains tribes. The trail crossing near Snyder was so well known that the town's 1881 townsite abstracts referenced 'The MacKenzie Trail' as a landmark.
County's First Law Men
Snyder, TX
When Scurry County organized in 1884, W. W. 'Uncle Billy' Nelson became its first sheriff and authorized a tiny 8-by-10-foot frame 'calaboose' for a jail — but he resigned after six months, worn down by unruly cowboys. His successor, T. J. Faught, won the cowhands' respect by quieting a rowdy saloon crowd with a wooden pool cue and, though he never wore a gun, served three terms from 1886 to 1892. A street in the original Snyder town plat was named for him, now 27th Street.
Scurry County Courthouse Site and Building
Snyder, TX
Scurry County was created in 1876 and organized in 1884, and local landholders donated the lots at the center of town for a courthouse square built atop a former buffalo trail. Citizens themselves bought the construction bonds, and a two-story courthouse of locally made red brick went up in 1886, complete with board sidewalks, a chain hitching rail, and a public windmill that served as the town's social hub. The present courthouse replaced it in 1909–11, and the old precinct boundaries laid out along the lanes approaching the square are still in use.