Named for William Beck Ochiltree, a Republic of Texas
judge, secretary of the treasury and an officer in the army of the Confederacy,
the county was created 30 years after Texas was admitted to the Union.
It would take another 13 years for it to be officially organized. Until
that point, it was considered part of Wheeler County.
The town of Ochiltree was the county seat until 1919, when a great change
took place in the county. The Santa Fe Railroad was building a rail
line from Shattuck, Oklahoma westward, and the residents of Ochiltree
began making extensive efforts to have the railroad run through their
town. However, there were problems with this plan. If the Santa Fe Company
built the line within five miles of a county seat, they were required
to run part of the route through the town. The costs of building the
track through the banks of Wolf Creek proved to be prohibitive; for
these reasons, the railroad was constructed on its present-day route.
The town knew the importance of being close to the railroad and decided
that if the railroad would not come to them, they would go to it. The
towns of Ochiltree and Gray, Oklahoma decided to merge and move their
homes, businesses, churches and other buildings to the present-day site
of Perryton. This was a huge task in 1919 and garnered national attention.
Buildings — some with families inside — were literally picked
up off their foundations and moved across the prairie on specially constructed
wagons pulled by a pair of dapple-grays and a steam engine to the new
county seat of Perryton. At times, some of the 200 homes were chained
together and moved as one to increase the efficiency of the relocation.
The whole move took only a few weeks to complete. Today, the only thing
that remains of the old town of Ochiltree is one schoolhouse and a historical
marker.
To entice people to pick up their homes and move to the new town, a
committee was formed to execute deeds to those who owned homes and land
in Ochiltree. The committee placed a value on each family’s land,
and then the town-site company executed deeds to designated people without
cost. This not only helped people decide to move but also promoted a
harmony in the new community that still exists today. The town was later
named Perryton in honor of George M. Perry, a pioneering citizen who
served as the first county and district clerk and also served as the
county judge for many years.
Once relocated, the town began to grow quickly. With its prime location
near the railroad, the town experienced a steady rate of growth, with
the construction of brick buildings, the erecting of an elevator and
the planting of new trees. Before long, Perryton Public Utilities began
furnishing lights and water to residents. The town was being recognized
as a fast-growing and friendly city. Today, the town is still known
as the “City on the Move” because of its unique history.
But there is more to the history of the region than the moving of towns
for the railroad. One of the most spectacular finds in archeology —
and one of its best-kept secrets — exists just outside of Perryton.
Known as the “Buried City,” this Indian ruins area is rich
in clues to the lives of the earlier inhabitants of the area.
The site was first discovered and documented in 1907 by Dr. T. L. Eyerly,
a professor at Canadian Academy. Dr. Eyerly heard of a possible site
and took one of his classes to investigate. They discovered a two-mile
stretch of Indian ruins running along the Wolf Creek Valley. The discoveries
took place over a course of nearly a century.
In 1936, the state of Texas placed a stone marker on the site, and it
became listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The findings
there puzzled archeologists at the time. They knew the site was not
a Plains Pueblo site from the New Mexico Indian cultures, yet neither
was it a typical Plains Village Site. Today, most scientists agree that
it is not a Pueblo site but is still quite a departure from the typical
Plains or Buffalo cultures. This is what makes the site so unique. Work
to understand the site and to uncover more answers continues today on
what is now the private ranch of the Courson family.
The rich history of Ochiltree County is present throughout the borders
of the county and is available to anyone with an interest in the past.
Whether you are interested in early Native American culture or are more
influenced by Mexican culture, there is something here to pique your
interest.
