Parmer County, TX
The Parmer County story, from its organization in 1907 to 1930, is a true saga of westward expansion.
Parmer County Courthouse 1917
Three hundred years after the English adventurers settled at James Town, Virginia, the county of Parmer was organized in the Texas Panhandle. The fates have decreed that the path of the Pioneer shall not be easy. Just as their forefathers had battled the stormy Atlantic, so did the first settlers of Parmer fight against the unyielding sea of grass that had been termed unfit for human habitation. This website attempts to describe the land, the weather, the economic conditions, and the myriad problems that confronted the residents of the area. The formation and organization will be explained, and the first quarter century of history will be explored.
The histories of incorporated towns and rural communities will constitute a major portion of the content. Other pages will deal with the world-famous XIT ranch, Martin Parmer, the man for whom the county was named, and the business and social life of those who settled before 1930.
Surveyors Camp in Parmer County, preparing XIT land to be sold. March 19, 1906
“Where do we go from here.” Capitol Freeland Investment Company
Parmerton Hill
Founded as the Parmer Switch on the Pecos and Northern Texas Railroad in 1898. In 1906 became the site of a model farm, using the Campbell Dry Farming method, run by the Capitol Free-hold Land & Investment Company.
In 1907 Parmeton Townsite Company bought 200 acres of the farm and laid out a town designated the first county seat that same year. A post office was soon established.
When in late 1907, Farwell was elected a new county seat, Parmerton’s citizens departed, taking their homes and other buildings with them. Only the railroad switch marks the spot today.
Parmerton Marker Dedication June 1971