Hanging out in Haskell County

Slightly larger than Throckmorton County is Haskell County with about

Historical Marker about Peters'
Colony

5,700 people and declining. You may not reach the end of the internet there, but you do reach the western boundary of what was Peters Colony. It seems that we can’t get out of Peters Colony if we’re in Texas roaming around. The eastern boundary cuts through Grayson, Collin, Dallas and Ellis Counties. That means that the Peters Colony land grant was about 200 miles wide.

The town of Haskell has had four names. It was originally known as Willow Pond Springs when Captain Randolph Marcy’s expedition passed

Haskell Centennial Muriel

through in 1849, then it was renamed for Charles Ready Haskell, a Texas Revolutionary War hero, and finally the name was changed again by Thomas Tucker, a relative of one of the men in Marcy’s expedition, to Rice Springs in 1879. And finally in 1882, upon request of the United States Post Office, the name was changed back to Haskell. As with Young and Throckmorton Counties, Haskell County was embroiled in conflicts with the Plains Tribes and welcoming to the fort building. Although the county was created in 1858, it was relatively unsettled for about 20 years. And as with Young and Throckmorton Counties, it was once a part of other counties; in this case Milam and Fannin Counties. Organized in 1885, the town of Haskell was named the seat of government with Thomas Tucker acting as the first county judge. A year later the Haskell Free Press became the first newspaper.

The first county courthouse was a two-story frame house. It was replaced

Haskell County Courthouse

in 1892 with a native-stone building in the Renaissance Revival architectural style. It was designed by Jacob Larmour and A.O. Watson; since 1906 the building has been remodeled four times. A new courthouse was nice, but the economy needed a boost so the folks living in Haskell, Munday, and Wichita Falls raised $120,000 to urge the Colorado and Southern Railroad to run the old Wichita Valley Railway line from Seymour to Stamford and then to Haskell; meanwhile in another part of the state, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient also extended its tracks into the county. These lines took produce from Haskell County to national markets and brought immigrants back. Just prior to World War II, the economics of the county were again boosted by the discovery of the Lawson oilfield just six miles east of Haskell.

Prickly pear patch

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