Quitaque, Texas, a town Briscoe County. (original) (raw)

Quitaque peak seen from the Flomot valley
Photo courtesy Eric Blackwell November 2006

History in a Pecan Shell

Comanchero trader Jos� Piedad Tafoya is said to be the first settler in the area. He operated a trading post from 1865 to 1867, his main customers the Comanches. In 1877 the Lazy F Ranch was formed when George Baker arrived with a herd of cattle.

Charles Goodnight bought the ranch in 1880 and renamed it Quitaque, which someone had convinced him meant "end of the trail." Others say that the real meaning is horse manure - the same story is told of Waxahachie. A third translation supposedly means "whatever one steals."

A post office was established in 1882 and eight years later the town had forty residents. When Briscoe County was organized the townsite was platted.

A school was opened in 1894 and moved to Quitaque in 1902.

In 1907 the Twilla Hotel, a local landmark, opened.

By 1914 the town had seventy-five citizens and the the Fort Worth and Denver South Plains Railway came through town in 1928.

By 1940 the town had a population of 763.

A Railroad Tunnel near Quitaque, Texas.
The highlight of the "Rails to Trails" trail about 8-10 miles south of Quitaque.
Photo courtesy Eric Blackwell (left) November 2006

Light at the end of the tunnel
"You can see the ranger's truck tracks through the guano - looks almost like someone has driven through a recent deep snow. The ranger seems to make at least one trip each day along the full length of the trail, which is reassuring for us old bike riders."
- Eric Blackwell, November 08, 2006

Midway Drive-In Theater ticket booth
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, July 2009

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

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