Historic plaque - Founding of Colorado City

Description

Photograph of a historic marker in Colorado City. It reads: "The Founding of Colorado City. Founded, 1880, at the crossing of the Colorado River and Texas & Pacific Railroad right-of-way: central shipping point and supply depot for the sprawling cattle ranches of west Texas and New Mexico. From 1880 (when A. W. Dunn opened his dirt-floor. Tent-roof General Store) to 1890. The boisterous cattle town garnered notoriety as well as fame. The largest community between Fort Worth and El Paso. Colorado City had more millionaires than any other Texas town and the most saloons in the west. Law and order … continued below

Creation Information

Belden, Dreanna L. August 7, 2005.

Context

This photograph is part of the collection entitled: Photographing Texas and was provided by the UNT Libraries to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 1153 times, with 26 in the last month. More information about this photograph can be viewed below.

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Description

Photograph of a historic marker in Colorado City. It reads: "The Founding of Colorado City. Founded, 1880, at the crossing of the Colorado River and Texas & Pacific Railroad right-of-way: central shipping point and supply depot for the sprawling cattle ranches of west Texas and New Mexico. From 1880 (when A. W. Dunn opened his dirt-floor. Tent-roof General Store) to 1890. The boisterous cattle town garnered notoriety as well as fame. The largest community between Fort Worth and El Paso. Colorado City had more millionaires than any other Texas town and the most saloons in the west. Law and order was housed in a dugout at the edge of town. Where a company of Texas Rangers made all men check their guns. Modest, courageous Ranger Dick Ware was elected first sheriff in 1881. Population soared from 700 to 5,000 in the first two years. As cowboys, cattlemen, merchants, and (as a visitor said) "any number of bummers", vied for space. The first sermon was preached in a saloon and the town "jail" was a chain attached to a mesquite tree, but citizens could find beauty in the lantern-glow from dozens of tents in the center of town. Althought drought and the passing of the open range soon diminished Colorado City's glory, its first decade won for it the epithet, 'Mother City of West Texas.' (1968)"

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Photographing Texas

These images come from individuals' travels across the state. Subjects include Texas scenery, wildlife, county courthouses, state parks, national parks, libraries, museums, historic sites, outdoor murals, architecture, monuments, and historic plaques -- a little bit of everything Texas!

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Creation Date

  • August 7, 2005

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Added to The Portal to Texas History

  • Aug. 17, 2005, 5:11 p.m.

Description Last Updated

  • July 19, 2013, 5:39 p.m.

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Yesterday: 1
Past 30 days: 26
Total Uses: 1,153
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  • 32.391186910670385, -100.8678823017309

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Belden, Dreanna L. Historic plaque - Founding of Colorado City, photograph, August 7, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5302/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .

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