Bailey County, Texas. (original) (raw)

Texas | Counties Texas Panhandle

34� 4' 12" N, 102� 49' 48" W (34.07, -102.83)

Population: 6,904 (2020)
7,165 (2010) 6,594 (2000) 7,064 (1990)

Total area: 827 square miles (2,140 km2)
827 square miles (2,140 km2) land
0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) water

| | Bailey County TX | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

Bailey County History

(Historical Marker on courthouse grounds)

THE FOUNDING OF BAILEY COUNTY

Bailey County was created August 21, 1876, and named for Peter James Bailey, a Kentucky lawyer killed at the Alamo during the Texas War for Independence.

This was thinly settled cattle country; Bailey was attached for judicial purposes to Baylor County in 1876-1891, and to Castro County, 1892-1918.

In November, 1918, Bailey County was finally organized. Its first officials were W. M. Wilterding, Judge; H. A. Douglass, Sheriff and Tax Assessor-Collector; C. C. Mardis, Clerk; G. P. Kuykendall, Treasurer; E. G. Hoskins, Inspector of Hides and Animals; J. B. Diggs, T. L. Snyder, C. E. Dotson and John S. McMurtry, Commissioners.

At the first meeting of the commissioners court, in Blackwater Valley State Bank on January 16, 1919, C. D. Gupton was appointed Justice of the Peace.

Muleshoe was designated county seat in a special election, April 12, 1919. A jail cell was purchased in June 1919 from neighboring Parmer County. In July a building contract was let for first courthouse -- a frame structure soon erected at a cost of $2,450.

Since institution of its government, this 832 sq. mi. county, with its good water resources, has developed an outstanding agricultural economy. Its progress is a tribute to the standards of its pioneer settlers.
(1968)

1936 Centennial - Highway Marker:

BAILEY COUNTY

A part of Bexar Territory 1836-1876.
Created August 21, 1876,
organized November 5, 1918.
Named in honor of Peter James Bailey 1812-1836. A Kentucky lawyer killed in defending the Alamo.
Muleshoe, the County Seat.

Bailey County Town List

Cities, Towns & Ghost Towns: History, attractions, landmarks, architecture, monuments, museums, cemeteries, bridges, parks, vintage & contemporary images, area destinations, forum...County Seat - Muleshoe

Parks or Preserve

Bailey County Vintage Maps

TX Bailey County 1907 postal map

Bailey County 1907 postal map
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

TX Bailey County 1920s map

Bailey County 1920s map
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

TX Bailey County 1940s Map

Bailey County 1940s map
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Bailey County Centennial Marker

TX - Bailey County Centennial Marker

Bailey County Centennial Marker
Photos courtesy Barclay Gibson, July 2009

TX - Bailey County Centennial Marker

Photographer's Note:
"The Bailey County Marker was originally placed in a road side picnic area on the western edge of Muleshoe. This became a neglected, trashy setting. Sometime after my visit there in 2009 the marker was moved to a safer area on the courthouse grounds where it was much more visible to the public." - Barclay Gibson, May 29, 2016

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