History
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.
History
Bailey County Cemetery
When Mariah "Aunt Rye" Long died in 1918, Emil and Anna Wellsandt offered a parcel of their land on this site for use as a public burial ground. Several others were buried in 1918, most of them victims of the influenza epidemic. The Bailey County Cemetery Association was formed that year. The cemetery served primarily the northern part of the county.
Nature
Coyote Lake
One of numerous natural salt lakes in the Texas Panhandle; its waters, although brackish, have been welcome enough at various times to Indians, buffalo hunters, and thirsty cattle on hot, dry days. The lake, having a shoreline of over six and a half miles and a bed area of 829 acres, is one of the largest of the many saline lakes in the region.
History
First Irrigation Well in Bailey County
500 Yards South to Site of First Irrigation Well in Bailey County Dug by hand in 1909 on farm of Willard Burns. A pit well (large enough for workmen to enter), it measured 6 by 10 feet across and 15 feet deep. A 10-inch centrifugal pump removed 1,000 gallons of water per minute.
History
La Pista de Vida Agua
La Pista de Vida Agua (Trail of Living Water) crossed the Llano Estacado, linking several lakes in the region. Three lakes in Bailey County lie along the trail: Coyote Lake, where the Mackenzie Expedition camped; Monument Lake; and White Lake in Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge. By the late 1700s, a trading route, known as the Comanchero Trail, developed along the road. In the late 1800s, the Ft.
History
Old Hurley
One-half mile west to townsite of Old Hurly. First town in Bailey County. Promoted in 1907 by land company of Stevens A. Coldren (d. 1924). He had a townsite surveyed and named it for Patrick J. Hurley (1883-1963), New Mexico political leader. Company built a general store, hotel and livery stable. Wide plowed furrows indicated future streets. In August 1907 a post office was established.
History
Old Muleshoe Ranch Cookhouse
Cookhouse built in Parmer County about 1897. Bought and moved here about 1902. Dodge City couple moving to Texas found shoe thrown by mule. Used it for good luck and as branding iron on ranch to which this old cookhouse belonged. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965
History
Pastores of Bailey County
Sheep herders from communities along the Pecos River in New Mexico, known as the pastores, used La Vista de Vida Agua, or the Trail of Living Water, to bring their large flocks into the grasslands of the western Llano Estacado and to Bailey County. Pastores arrived as family-based sheep operations along the Canadian River from the 1840s to the 1890s.
History
Site of Virginia City
Part of a land promotion scheme begun 1908. Advertised as future metropolis by shrewd dealers, who implied that good rains and bumper crops were typical of region. Naive buyers were treated to tours through town, where they saw shops, a lot reserved for the courthouse, and a roadbed for the railroad. Town was named for wife of an early county landowner.
History
The Founding of Bailey County
Bailey County was created Aug. 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 Nov. 1918, Bailey County was finally organized. Its first officials were W. M.
History
The Mule
Without ancestral pride or hope for offspring, the mule -- along with buffalo, hound and longhorn -- made Texas history. In war he carried cannon on his back. Because he was available to haul freight, forts rose on frontiers. Indians ate horses hitched to cart or coach, but let tough mule meat go by.
History
The XIT Ranch South Line
(About 100 feet south of this marker) One of most famous boundaries in Texas. Marked edge of XIT -- ranch empire bartered away by Texas for its Capitol building. The 16th Legislature in 1879 designated a 3,000,000-acre tract to be used in payment for the Capitol. The grant extended 200 miles north from line here.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
