Summerfield-Dameron Corner
Dimmitt, Castro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1876, English native John Summerfield (1885-1918) began his work locating and surveying millions of acres of land in present-day Randall, Deaf Smith, Castro and Swisher counties. One of the earth monuments he erected that year was located near this site and became a starting point for surveys in many Panhandle counties. In 1925, a group of Castro County citizens placed a concrete monument at the site, which had become known as Dameron's Corner after a local landowner. The monument was buried in 1958 when a road was cut through the area. (1985)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1876 the English-born surveyor John Summerfield began mapping millions of acres across the Texas Panhandle, raising earth monuments to anchor his work. One such marker near this spot became a starting point for surveys spanning several counties and later gained the name Dameron's Corner after a nearby landowner. Citizens set a concrete monument here in 1925, though a road cut buried it in 1958.
Why it matters
Land surveys turned the open Panhandle into the mapped grid of ranches and farms that made settlement possible, and their reference points quietly shaped the region's geography.
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Related people
- · John Summerfield
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Castro County
Dimmitt, TX
Carved from earlier territories and formally organized in 1891, Castro County honors Henri Castro (1786–1861), a French-born empresario who colonized the Texas Hill Country. Castro founded Castroville, Quihi, Vandenburg, and D'Hanis in Medina County, recruiting European settlers — many Alsatian — to a raw frontier. Dimmitt serves as the county seat on the High Plains far to the north of the towns that bear his mark.
Shoot-out on Jones Street
Dimmitt, TX
The choice of a county seat was serious business on the Texas Panhandle frontier, serious enough to draw blood. At an 1891 meeting, heated words passed between Ira Aten, a retired Texas Ranger backing rival Castro City, and Andrew McClelland, spokesman for Dimmitt. Days after Dimmitt won the vote, the two shot it out in the middle of Jones Street; Aten wounded both McClelland and his brother, was acquitted, and was soon appointed county sheriff.
Castro County Courthouses
Dimmitt, TX
When Castro County was organized in 1891, the town of Dimmitt set aside this square and held court in a private office until its first courthouse rose. That ornate wooden building burned after a lightning strike in 1906, a domed brick successor served into the 1930s, and the present stone courthouse was raised in 1939 with Works Progress Administration labor.
Gilbreath-Cowsert House
Dimmitt, TX
Tennessee native and local merchant Jeff T. Gilbreath brought his family to the newly settled Castro County in 1905 and built this house in 1909, soon selling it to county attorney Mark Cowsert. A fine example of early 20th-century vernacular architecture with its bay window and hipped, gabled roof, the house was preserved when the Castro County Museum acquired it in 1976.