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Courthouse, Hereford, Deaf Smith County, Texas

Deaf Smith County is located on the Texas - New Mexico Border and has a very interesting history. The county was named after Erastus "Deaf" Smith, a Texas scout, guide, Indian Fighter and participant in the battle of San Antonio and the Battle of San Jacinto. He was born in New York on April 19, 1787. Smith was "hard of hearing" at an early age which caused him "to remain silent and fond of solitude". This, in turn, led him to become observant and get to know the land around him well. This enabled him to pass valuable info for the Texas Revolution. His monument says, "Deaf Smith, The Texas Spy".

The county was created from Bexar Territory on Aug. 21, 1876 but was not organized until 1890. It was attached to Oldham County for law and court business with Tascosa as the county seat. Some of the early city officials were: Mayors, L.Gough, S.B. Edwards, J.H. Head. Aldermen: L.A. Stroud, R.N. Mounts, Judge J.R. Dean, Atty. F.C. Highsmith, County and Dist. Clerk C.W. Witherspoon and Sheriff, J.M. Cook.

Beef Capital of the World

Deaf Smith County is also known as the Beef Capital of the World because of the large number of cattle fed in the area. Hereford, TX, is named for the Hereford cattle breed. [Wikipedia]

Resources

On-Site

Biographies Cemeteries Census Records Landmarks Local Information Lookups Maps Military Records Newspaper Articles Obituaries Photographs Place Names Surrounding Counties Vital Records

Off-Site

Deaf Smith Archives Other TXGenWeb Counties Portal to Texas History Query Board Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO)

Communities

(g) = ghost town
Ayr (g)
Bippus (g)
Bootleg Corner (g)
Dawn
Ford
Garcia
Glenrio
Hereford (Bluewater) (cs)
Kelso (g)
La Plata (Grenada) (g)
Milo Center (Ward)
Simms
Walcott
Westway
Wyche (g)

Publications

Hereford Brand (?-present)
La Plata Star (1890?-1899?)
The Land and Its People, 1876-1981: Deaf Smith County, Texas
A History of Deaf Smith County
History of the Deaf Smith County Courthouse (video)

(awarded to Rob posthumously)

Rob Yoder, TXGenWeb

In memory of Rob Yoder (1953-2023), coordinator for Deaf Smith County for almost 10 years.