County of site: Lipscomb County
Location of county: Furthest NE county in the Panhandle and State of Texas
Location of city: Center of county and on TX Hwy 305, about 15 miles N. of US 60
The Person:
Full Name: Abner Smith Lipscomb
Location: Section: Republic Hill, Section 1 (C1)
Grave Site: Row: Q Number: 18
Reason for Eligibility: Veteran, War of 1812; Secretary of State, Republic of Texas; District Attorney, 1st Judicial District, Republic of Texas; Delegate, Constitutional Convention of 1845; Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Texas
Birth Date: February 10, 1789
Died: December 8, 1856
Buried: December 9, 1856
"LIPSCOMB, ABNER SMITH (1789-1856). Abner Smith Lipscomb, lawyer, justice, and secretary of state during the Mirabeau B. Lamar administration, the son of Joel and Elizabeth (Chiles) Lipscomb, was born on February 10, 1789, in Abbeville District, South Carolina. He studied law in the office of John C. Calhoun, was admitted to the bar in 1810, and began practice at St. Stephens, Alabama.
"In 1819 he was appointed a circuit judge of Alabama and from 1823 to 1835 was chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. He was a member of the Alabama legislature in 1838.
"In 1839 he moved to Texas and established a law practice. He was secretary of state under Lamar from January 31 to December 13, 1840. Lipscomb was a member of the Convention of 1845 and served that year on the select committee that drew up a report on the General Land Office. He was appointed an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 1846 by Governor James Pinckney Henderson and was elected to the same position in 1851 and 1856.
"Lipscomb married Elizabeth Gains in 1813. She died in 1841, and he married Mary P. Bullock of Austin in 1843.
"Lipscomb died in Austin on December 8, 1856, and was buried in the State Cemetery. Lipscomb County, established in 1876, was named in his honor." ~ Texas Cemetery
The City:
Marker located on the edge of town @ N 36° 14.008 W 100° 16.544
Marker erected by The State Historical Survey Commission inn 1968
Marker text:
Established, 1886 by settlers hoping to benefit from proposed Santa Fe Railroad in Panhandle.
Post office was opened in 1886; Lipscomb Town Company sold land for $3 an acre in 1887. In first month, seven businesses started.
When county was organized in 1887, Lipscomb became seat, named for A.S. Lipscomb, secretary of state in Republic of Texas and Justice of State Supreme Court. Hotel from undeveloped town of Dominion was moved here, 1887.
First courthouse was built in 1887. The first school -- in a church -- had 25 pupils, 1888. A new courthouse was erected, 1916.
LIPSCOMB, TEXAS.
Lipscomb, the county seat of Lipscomb County, is on State Highway 305 in the central part of the county. Originally its site in Wolf Creek Valley was deemed a cattleman's paradise. In 1886 J. W. Arthur, anticipating the arrival of the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway, established a combination store and post office at the site. Arthur named his townsite Lipscomb, after pioneer judge Abner Smith Lipscomb. Frank Biggers, the county's leading developer, organized the town company, which sold land for three dollars an acre. The next year, Lipscomb was elected county seat after a heated contest with the rival townsites of Dominion and Timms City. John Howlett operated a general store; John N. Theisen took over the Gilbert Hotel after its move from Dominion; H. G. Thayer managed a saddle and harness shop. A school district was established for the community. Liquor flowed freely at the Alamo Saloon until 1908, when the county voted to go dry. As it turned out, the railroad routed its tracks south of the townsite. Subsequent attempts to get a railroad line to Lipscomb were unsuccessful, as was the attempt of local businessmen to develop a coal mine in 1888, after a five-inch vein was discovered in the area. The present courthouse was built in 1916. The community's position as the county seat, coupled with the success of W. E. Merydith's real estate ventures, has enabled the town to survive. By 1910 several churches, a bank, a drugstore, and various other businesses had been established there. Lipscomb has had two newspapers, the Panhandle Interstate and the Lipscomb County Limelight. Only two businesses and the post office remained at the community by 1980. Nevertheless, the importance of the town as a farming and ranching center, along with oil and gas explorations in the vicinity, kept Lipscomb's economy alive. For most of the twentieth century, its population level has remained fairly stable: population was reported as 200 in 1910, 175 in 1930, 200 in 1940, and 190 in 1980. By 1990 it was estimated as forty-five. Though in the early 1990s Lipscomb remained the smallest town in the county, was off the main highways, and lacked rail facilities, it was still the permanent county seat. The population was forty-four in 2000 with four businesses." ~ Texas State Historical Association online
The County:
The county marker is located at the state and county line: N 36° 07.765 W 100° 00.315
Marker erected by the Texas Highway Department
in 1936
Marker text:
Formed from Young and Bexar territories: Created, August 21, 1876 Organized June 6, 1887 Named in honor of Abner S. Lipscomb, 1789-1856. Secretary of State in President Lamar's cabinet member of the Constitutional Convention, 1845; associate justice of the First Supreme Court of Texas. Lipscomb, the county seat
"Lipscomb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,302. Its county seat is Lipscomb. The county is named for Judge Abner Smith Lipscomb, a secretary of state of the Republic of Texas.
"According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 932.3 square miles (2,414.6 km2), of which 932.2 square miles (2,414.4 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2) (0.01%) is water." ~ Wikipedia
"The courthouse:
Date - 1916
Architect - W. M. Rice
Style - Classical Revival
Material - Brick & concrete
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000
"Established in 1886 and organized the following year with Lipscomb as county seat, Lipscomb County was named for Abner S. Lipscomb, an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court in the 1840s-1850s. A one-story wood frame building served as the first county courthouse.
"During the first decade of the 20th century, the number of farms and ranches in the county more than doubled, and the population more than tripled that of the 1900 census. In 1915, county voters approved the issuance of bonds for a new, larger courthouse to serve the governmental functions of a growing county. The commissioners court selected William M. Rice of Amarillo as both architect and general contractor for the project. Edward S. Altmiller, who had been the contractor for the 1910 Lipscomb County jail, served as construction superintendent.
"Rice designed the courthouse in the Classical Revival style, with style-defining features such as the arched doorway and the triangular pediment supported by Doric order columns over the entrance. Design and construction took place primarily during 1916, with final details completed in early 1917.
"Despite its status as the smallest town in the county, largely the result of being bypassed by the railroad, Lipscomb retains its designation as county seat. The Lipscomb County courthouse, which dominates the town site, continues to function as the center of government and politics for county residents." ~ Texas State Historical Commission