Texas at the door to the Southern Plains, 1848-1886

Abstract

This study is an attempt to portray completely the formative development in the far reaches of what was known in the late nineteenth century as Northwest Texas. The adjustment to an unfamiliar environment, the development of a viable economic base, and the effort to imprint familiar patterns of life were the driving forces of this regional history. Central to this work are several prominent themes. A ranching-based society of Southern descent emerged in the late 1850s, forming a social and economic foundation. Despite the unfamiliar and often harsh environment, stockraisers persisted through conflicts with Indians, the Civil War, Reconstruction, outlawry, rapid settlement, and diversification. The process turned Southerners into Westerners. Others shaped the region's history as well, notably the ordinary Anglo men and women who immigrated to this country, Indians of various tribes, and African-Americans. The formative development of the land was also influenced by events that occurred in places far distant from this region. Partly as a result of outside forces, and partly because of the fickle nature of the land, "boom and bust" cycles have characterized the economy from the earliest days to the present. A strain of lawlessness and violence, moreover, coursed through the story of this land, but not in the manner that prevails in the popular perception of a "gunslinger mythology." The New Western History sets the context of this narrative study. Mistakes and failures are as much a part of this interpretation as triumphs and successes. The story also includes the themes of cultural pluralism and the environment, and provides a foundation for understanding present-day West Texas.