Wellington, Texas, Collingsworth County Seat. (original) (raw)
History in a Pecan Shell
The county's first resident settled the area in 1876.
When the county was organized in 1890, Wellington had a rival for county seat. Only two miles from Wellington, Pearl City was thought to be a shoe-in.
The management of the Rocking Chair Ranch urged their employees to join the Wellington camp. The strange name was in honor of the Duke of Wellington. (A distant relation of a Rocking Chair Ranch partner was present at the Battle of Waterloo.) Voters in the county were offered free town lots if they voted for Wellington. Hardly anyone was surprised when Wellington defeated Pearl City.
Wellington got a saloon (moved from Pearl City) and a post office (mail via Memphis) in the same year of 1891. The county voted dry in 1898, eliminating the saloon.
Cotton replaced cattle as the major economic influence and the town had 600 people when the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway came through in 1910.
The arrival of the Fort Worth and Denver Northern Railway occurred while the new courthouse was being constructed in 1931 and further improvements in the city's infrastructure resulted in an increased population.
Wellington, Texas
Landmarks/Attraction
Wellington Depots ›
The Fort Worth & Denver Northern Railway Depot
& The Katy RR Depot
Wellington City Limit Sign
Photo Courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2008
Wellington Post Office Cornerstone
Photo Courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2008
Tombstone with angel in North Fairview Cemetery
Photo Courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2008
Rocking Chair "Ranche" Historical Marker
On US 83, 8 miles N of Wellington
in a park on north side of Red River
Photo Courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2008
Historical Marker:
Rocking Chair "Ranche"
(1883-1893)
Owned by Scottish Earls of Aberdeen and Tweedmouth. The headquarters were at Aberdeen (about 7 miles northeast). Starting with 14,745 cattle, the Rocking Chair made profits for a few years, then failed. In north part of county are hills bearing its name. Also, town of Wellington was given that name at wish of rocking chair owners, who had a kinsman die at Waterloo where he was aide to the Duke of Wellington.
W.E. Hughes in 1893 bought the land and added it to Mill Iron Ranch. Later the 235 sections were sold to others, to convert to farms and smaller ranches.
(1970)
More Texas Ranches
Capt. Randolph Marcy's Exploration Route Through Collingsworth County Historical Marker
On US 83, 2 miles S of Wellington
Photo Courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2008
Historical Marker:
Capt. Randolph Marcy's Exploration Route through Collingsworth County
In 1852, Capt. R.B. Marcy led a survey expedition along the Red River to document the river's channel and related streams. The team, which included Capt. G.B. McLellan of the Corps of Engineers, entered the Texas panhandle June 10, 1852 and arrived in what is now Collingsworth County on July 7. Traveling eastward through the southern part of the county, the team identified the sources and route of the Red River. The team left Texas north of Dodson and returned to Fort Arbuckle in present Oklahoma. Their survey later proved important in settling a boundary dispute between Texas and Oklahoma.
(2006)
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Bura Handley › Chances are good that those citizens of Wellington whose age is less than 60 years may sometimes wonder just what the man whose name adorns the Bura Handley Community Center was really like. Perhaps this small accounting of history will provide some answers to that question, as well as a degree of insight into the character, integrity, and sheer genius of the man whom I was privileged to call my �Dad�, while others simply referred to him as �Mister Wellington.� |
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