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Wilbarger
County Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
Historical
Marker Text
Early
Wilbarger County
Organized 1858 and named in honor of Mathias and
Josiah P. Wilbarger, early
Texas settlers. Josiah, a
surveyor, had become famous as the man who lived 12 years after being scalped
by Comanches, 1833, near Austin.
He had saved his life by putting a wool sock on his head; he was rescued next
day by neighbors. An adobe house built 1878 by Jonathan and C. F. Doan, the first
Wilbarger County settlers, marks the Red
River crossing of the famous Western Cattle Trail. Vernon
(formerly Eagle Flat) became county seat in 1881. The first railroad reached town,
1886. | |
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