County of courthouse: Swisher County
Location of Courthouse: SE 2nd St. (TX 86) & S. Austin Ave., Tulia
Architect: Elmer George Withers
Style - Texas Renaissance
Material - Red brick and sandstone
Remodeled - 1962
(806) 995-3294
Historic marker on site:
Date Dedicated: Dedicated July 21, 1990
County of Marker: Swisher County.
Marker Text:
SWISHER COUNTY
1890 - 1990
Faith and Courage... ...Endurance and Success
Established in 1876 by the Texas Legislature from Bexar District
Named for James Gibson Swisher, Hero of the Texas Revolution
Organized July 17, 1890
Pioneers who settled Swisher County
Endured hardships and adversity with unwavering courage
Tulia was named the county seat. Other towns are Happy and Kress
Rural communities and schools of the county were
Adair
Claytonville
Kaffir
Price
Valley View
Alexander
Elkins
Lakeview
Red Hill
Vigo Park
Auburn
Fanchon
Love
Sunny Slope
Whitfield
Center Plains
Flynt
McGuire
Taylor
Word
Childress
Salem
New Hope
Union Hill
Wright
Agriculture is the predominant industry in Swisher County
Law, Order, Education and Christian principles have sustained
Swisher County People for 100 Years
A little on the county:
"Native Americans
"Apachean cultures roamed the county until Comanche dominated around 1700. The Comanches were defeated by the United States Army in the Red River War of 1874. No significant combat occurred in the county. After the 1874 battle of Palo Duro Canyon, Ranald S. Mackenzie ordered 1450 Indian horses shot. The Buffalo Hunters' War of 1876 was an attempt by the Comanches to drive out the white man and stop depletion of their hunting grounds.
County Established and Growth
"In 1876 the Texas state legislature carved Swisher County from Young and Bexar districts. The county was organized in 1880, and Tulia, became the county seat.
"The area was by and large unsettled until the JA Ranch of Charles Goodnight came in 1883, which added the Tule Ranch.
"Although settlers gradually arrived, the county was dominated by ranching the remainder of the 19th Century. Good underground water at shallow depths gave to windmills that facilitated the stock-farmer.
"In 1906, the Santa Fe Railroad branch line from Amarillo came through the county and later connected the county with Hale County, and with Lubbock by 1910, giving Swisher a major north-south rail line and boosting the economy.
"The Great Depression had a devastating effect on the county’s economy, somewhat relieved by road work. The stimulus of World War II demand and, particularly, the development of large-scale irrigation in the area, led to the revival of the county's economy.
"The first successful extensive local use of underground water from the Ogallala Aquifer came in 1936. After World War II this activity increased dramatically; by the 1980s over 225,000 acres (910 km2) in Swisher County were irrigated.
"In 2002 the county had 578 farms and ranches covering 566,429 acres (2,292.26 km2), 69 percent of which were devoted to crops and 30 percent to pasture" ~ Wikipedia