Perryton, Texas

Secretary treasury and last attorney general Republic of Texas. Secession Convention delegate 1861. Influential member Provisional Congress which drafted Confederate Constitution, mobilized manpower, set up financial structure, elected political leaders. Resigned to raise 18th Texas Infantry. Led troops to Arkansas in 1862 when regiment called in campaign to repel Union forces from state. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy Erected by the State of Texas 1963.

A native of Iowa, George Morgan Perry (1862-1944) moved to the Texas Panhandle town of Ochiltree in 1886. Active in the formal organization of the county, he served as county clerk, district clerk, and county judge. A supporter of railroad building in the Panhandle, he was honored by the Santa Fe Railroad when the town of Perryton was established on the rail line and named for him in 1919. He served as first president of the Chamber of Commerce and continued to promote settlement and business development in the city until his death in 1944. (1994)

Built about 1912 in Ochiltree. Designed by Mrs. John Blasingame; 19th century English, German influence. Constructed by Sam Whittaker; lumber and red brick hauled from Glazier. Luxurious home had attic, full basement. Heavy embossed picture moulding. Contained much intricate glass work - two leaded stained glass windows, of Bavarian design, on sides of living room mantels. Was moved to Perryton, 1961, by the Willard McLarty family. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

Ochiltree County is in the far northern Panhandle , bordered on the north by Oklahoma, on the east by Lipscomb County, on the south by Roberts County, and on the west by Hansford County. The county is in the heart of the High Plains , with its center at 36°17' north latitude and 100°49' west longitude. Perryton, the county seat, is in the north central part of the county, 120 miles northeast of Amarillo. The area was named for William Beck Ochiltree , a Republic of Texas judge, secretary of treasury, and an officer in the army of the Confederacy. The county occupies 907 square miles of level prairies cut by Wolf Creek, which runs eastward from the center of the county; by South Wolf Creek, which runs northward into Wolf Creek from the south central part of the county; and by Palo Duro and Chiquita creeks, which flow northward into Oklahoma from the northwestern corner of the county. These streams are all intermittent. The rich clay and loam soils support abundant native grasses as well as wheat, grain sorghum, corn, and alfalfa. Oil and gas are produced in substantial quantities. Elevations range from 2,600 to 3,100 feet above sea level, and the county's annual average rainfall is 20.48 inches. Temperatures range from an average minimum of 18° F in January to an average maximum of 93° F in July. The average growing season lasts 191 days. A modern highway system focusing on Perryton developed between the 1930s and the 1950s. U.S. Highway 83 runs from Liberal, Kansas, to Perryton, then on to Canadian, and U.S. Highway 70 runs from Perryton south to Pampa. State Highway 15 runs east to west across the county, parallel to the Santa Fe Railroad, and various farm-to-market roads link the major routes to the rural area. Prehistoric cultures occupied this region, then the Plains Apaches appeared. The historic-era Apaches arrived, then were pushed out of the region in the early eighteenth century by the Comanche Indians, who dominated the Texas Panhandle until the 1870s. The Red River War of 1874–75 led to the removal of the nomadic Indians to Indian Territory, which in turn led to the arrival of the ranching era. In 1876 the Texas legislature established Ochiltree County from lands formerly assigned to the Bexar District. Ranching arrived a little later in Ochiltree County than it did farther south in the Panhandle. By 1885 Henry W. Cresswell had purchased or leased most of the county and established the Cresswell Ranch (Bar CC) on Wolf Creek in the eastern part of the county and moved its headquarters from Roberts County to the new site on Wolf Creek. His company, the Cresswell Land and Cattle Company of Colorado, was syndicated as the Cresswell Ranch and Cattle Company by 1885. The Cresswell Ranch controlled most of the land in the county. Dee Eubank and Tom Connell, who arrived on Wolf Creek in 1879, controlled much smaller acreages in the eastern part of Ochiltree and the western part of Lipscomb counties. After the blizzards of 1886–87 county lands were opened to settlement by stock farmers who operated on a much smaller scale. The availability of land in Ochiltree County coincided with the proximity of a new railroad. In 1887 the Southern Kansas Railway Company of Texas, a Santa Fe subsidiary, built a line from Kansas through Oklahoma into the Panhandle via Canadian and Panhandle. This line passed through Lipscomb County, thirty to forty miles east of Ochiltree. Thus the county was only one or two days' travel from the railroad. Proximity to the railroad brought an influx of settlers into the county, especially after 1900, and the ranching economy evolved into a stock-farming system. Between 1890 and 1900 the number of ranches in the area increased from forty-seven to seventy-one, and the number of cattle grew from 10,000 to 84,000. At the same time the area's population rose from 198 to 267. Almost no crops were grown in the area at the beginning of the twentieth century, though some ranchers did grow corn and vegetables for th

Ochiltree, on State Highway 70 nine miles south of Perryton in central Ochiltree County, was established in 1885 and named for a Texas politician and Confederate officer, William B. Ochiltree . The post office opened in September 1886, and the town was elected county seat when the county was organized in 1889. Population growth was sporadic, but by 1915 Ochiltree had a population of 500, a bank, a school, and two or three churches. It also had two newspapers, the Eagle Investigator and the Ochiltree News , and a community orchestra organized by the James Whippo family. Chautauquas, movies, and automobile races also provided recreation. On September 23, 1909, the Enid, Ochiltree and Western Railroad Company began construction on a railroad to connect Ochiltree and Dalhart. The section from Dalhart to Dumas was graded, but only 13.7 miles of track were laid before the company failed. The Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway came through the area in 1919 but missed Ochiltree by several miles. The same year, the town of Perryton was established on the railroad eight miles north of Ochiltree and was elected the new county seat. The citizens of Ochiltree moved their homes and businesses to Perryton. After 1920 Ochiltree was an unorganized community. The post office was discontinued in September 1921.