Greer County, Texas Greer County, Oklahoma Territory Greer County, Oklahoma |
Legal history of the land, the area that would become Greer County, began in the year 1803, Napoleon was preparing to go to war with England. France owned all the land west of the Mississippi River, and owned Louisiana which controlled both sides at the mouth of the river. Thomas Jefferson sensed the fact that Napoleon needed more money than he did this land. At that time this Government only extended west to the Mississippi River. The river was the great channel of commerce for all territory west of the Allegany mountains. It is still a vital artery of commerce clear up the Ohio to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and the Cumberland river to Nashville, Tennessee. Jefferson was not pleased with the fact that two governments had control of the river, and that France had exclusive control at the mouth at New Orleans. Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase for a few cents per acre. All of Greer County within that purchase. In 1819 the United States bought from Spain what is now Florida. At that time the Kingdom of Spain owned what is now Texas. It afterward became the Republic of Mexico, and the Republic of Texas. But tacked on to the purchase of Florida the United States and Kingdom of Spain entered into a treated defining the boundaries of the two nations. It commenced at the mouth of the Sabine river; thence North so far to the Red River; thence up Red River to the 100th Meridian; thence across Red River, following the 100th Meridian to the Arkansas River. Shortly after the Civil War and along in the seventies a railway was built out to Abilene and Dodge City, Kansas. Many cattlemen of North and Central Texas in the spring of the year would start to drive their cattle to market. They could only make three or four miles a day, for the reason the cattle had to eat along the way. Cowboys would ride ahead and undertake to find a creek, river or some watering place for the cattle. If the drive was especially hard one day the cattlemen would let their cattle rest a day or so and not drive very far. Their object was: To have the cattle good and fat when they reached a railway shipping point in the fall of the year. Along in the late seventies, a few cowboys were especially impressed with the good, tall grass in what is now Mangum, Oklahoma. They would let the poor and sick cattle remain. They were not physically able to make the long trek to Kansas. At times some of the cowboys would stay with the cattle. They would dig a hole in the ground, commonly called dugout and remain here. Soon great ranches were established in what is now Greer County, Oklahoma. The brand of one large cattle company was "J" and then a buckle. This outfit became known as the JayBuckle. They selected a young man by the name of Samuel Houston Tittle as their foreman, and he kept the cattle near a spring four miles north of the present town of Reed. This spring is known today as J Buckle spring. S. H. Tittle, later of Granite, Oklahoma, was sheriff of Greer County a number of years, and the father of Louis Tittle, a Mangum businessman.
At that time all who lived in what is now Greer County, Oklahoma went to Wheeler County, Texas for court. Greer was formed and named by Texas legislature in 1860, unorganized up to 1886, attached to Wheeler County for judicial business since 1881. Greer County served as an election precinct for Wheeler County in 1884, voting place was the McNulty & Pope ranch, known as the Y Cross. From the Red River, running south of Altus and near Quanah, Texas, to the North Fork of the Red, running near the present towns of Granite and Sayre, Oklahoma, some 100 families were located with their cattle. They found it very inconvenient to go to Mobeetie, Texas, the county seat of Wheeler county for business matters. In fact when Miss Lucy Sweet, soon to be Mrs. A. R. Wilson, married, she and her groom had to get in a hack and go to Mobeetie, Texas for a marriage license. Just think of having to travel about 100 miles in a two horse hack for a marriage license. Under provision of an 1858 act of Texas legislature Henry Clay Sweet and one hundred sixty two citizens petitioned Wheeler County with desire to organize Greer County. Found in Wheeler County Commissioner Court minutes of June 19, 1886. Court ordered an election be held on Saturday, July 10, 1886, at four voting precincts, for the selection of county seat and election of one county Judge, one County & District Clerk, one Surveyor, one Assessor, one Treasurer, and for each of the four precincts one Commissioner, one Justice of Peace, one Constable. The temporary county seat would be Mangum. *note Precinct No. 1 at Mangum, John R. Crouch, presiding officer, bounded on the North by Elm or true Salt Fork, East by Red River, South by a line from the trail crossing due West on the East line of Precinct No. 2 and North to Salt Fork or Elm. Precinct No. 2 at H-Y headquarters, N. G. Lane, presiding officer, bounded on the North by Red River, East by East line of Day Land & Cattle Company pasture fence, South and West by county line. Precinct No. 3 at Ikard Springs, H. G. Daniels, presiding officer, bounded on West by Day Land & Cattle Company East fence line, North and East by Red River, South by Elm or true Salt Fork. Precinct No. 4 at Frazier, John McClarin, presiding officer, bounded on West by Precinct No. 2, South by Prairie Dog River, East by Red River, North by Precinct No. 1. On July 14, 1886 a special meeting was held by the commissioner's court of Wheeler county for the purpose of canvassing the returns of the election and declaring the results. Minutes of the meeting show that no election was held in Precinct No. 2, the Northwest portion of the county, where the election was to be held at the H-Y ranch headquarters, with N. G. Lane as presiding officer. Frank H. Sweet told the story why no election was held. "My father gave me a bunch of tickets with road instructions to find the H-Y headquarters, on the ninth of July 1886. The H-Y ranch was the place in Precinct No. 2 to hold the election the next day, July 10. "Another young man joined me on the trip. We got a late start and failed to locate the big ranch dugout before it got dark. We hobbled our horses and slept on our saddle blankets that night and renewed our search as soon as we could see in the morning. "We soon found the object of our search, but there was no one at the big dugout except the ranch cook. "We waited at the ranch all day, and no one came. The ranch boss, being opposed to organization and settlement of Greer County, had seen to it that his boys had business elsewhere to attend to. "Many of the cow-hands were favorable to our plans for settlement and had signed our petition for organization, which required 50 signatures in the county. I returned from the H-Y ranch with the tickets not voted." The ballots were printed on slips of cheap paper three and one-half inches wide and twelve inches long. The election was held under the laws of Texas, and certain privileges were granted voters then that are not accorded them under the modern election systems. There were no squares in which to stamp the familiar "X". Instead, the voters used a pencil and struck out the names of the candidates for whom they did not wish to vote. Voters could also write in the names of persons for whom they wanted to vote although their names did not appear on the ballots. In fact, names of some of those elected at the first election on July 10, 1886, did not appear at all on the printed ballots. Returns by precincts for the various candidates for county officers were shown as follows: County Judge. F. B. Duke received 24 votes in Precinct 1 and 5 votes in Precinct 3, a total of 29 votes. He was elected by a majority of 12 votes. County Clerk. J. R. Crouch received 13 votes in Precinct 1, one vote in Precinct 3, and one vote in Precinct 4, a total of 15. W. P. Johnson received 5 votes in Precinct 1 and 3 in Precinct 4, a total of 8. Lewis Smith received 12 votes in Precinct 1 and 8 votes in Precinct 4, a total of 20 votes. Smith was elected by a majority of 5 votes over J. R. Crouch. County Attorney. C. E. Meredith received 5 votes in Precinct 1, a total of 5 votes, and was elected by a majority of 2 votes. H. A. Houghes received 2 votes in Precinct 1, a total of 2 votes. E. G. Patton received 3 votes in Precinct 1, a total of 3. Sheriff. W. T. Williamson received 12 votes in Precinct 1 and 2 in Precinct 4, a total of 14. L. T. Kitzmiller received 7 votes in Precinct 3, a total of 7. D. E. Youkom received 12 votes in Precinct 1, one in Precinct 3, and 4 in Precinct 4, a total of 17. He was elected by a majority of 3. N. J. Powers received 2 votes in Precinct 4, a total of 2. Surveyor. H. C. Sweet received 12 votes in Precinct 1, 5 in Precinct 3, and 2 in Precinct 4, a total of 19. J. W. Anderson received 19 votes in Precinct 1 and 7 in Precinct 4, a total of 26. He was elected by a majority of 7. Assessor. D. M. Paulk received 2 votes in Precinct 1, 2 in Precinct 3, and 4 in Precinct 4, a total of 8. W. B. Hart received 16 votes in Precinct 1, 3 in Precinct 3, and 5 in Precinct 4, a total of 24. He was elected by a majority of 16, although the returns placed his majority at 17. H. Matthewson received 7 votes in Precinct 1, a total of 7. Treasurer. J. M. Berryman received 23 votes in Precinct 1, 5 in Precinct 3, and 2 in Precinct 4, leading the ticket with a total of 30 votes, and a majority of 17 over his closest opponent. Joe White received 13 votes in Precinct 1, a total of 13. W. F. Yeckley received 7 votes in Precinct 4, a total of 7. Commissioner Precinct No. 1. Z. R. Spencer received 9 votes, J. W. Rose 12, and C. M. Williamson 5, Rose being elected by a margin of 3 votes. Commissioner Precinct No. 3. E. G. Daniel was unanimously elected with a total of 5 votes. Constable Precinct No. 1. G. W. McDougle was unanimously elected with a total of 2 votes. Constable Precinct No. 3. Samuel Carter was elected with 1 vote. In the election of a County Seat, Mangum and Frazer were the opposing candidates. Mangum received 26 votes in Precinct No. 1, a total of 26 votes, and won by a majority of 11. Frazer received 6 votes in Precinct 1 and 9 in Precinct 4, a total of 15 votes. The government of Greer County did not begin functioning until July 21, 1886. A meeting of the Commissioner's Court of Wheeler County was held on that day. The minutes of the session show F. B. Duke, County Judge of Greer County, Texas, appeared with bond and Clerk administered the oath of office. The first session of the Commissioner's Court of Greer County was held on Tuesday, July 29, 1886. Minutes of that session report: "Be it remembered that on the 29th day of July 1886, there was begun and holden at the town of Mangum, a special term of the Commissioner's Court of said County. Present and presiding Hon. F. B. Duke, County Judge; J. W. Rose qualified as Commissioner of Precinct One; H. G. Daniel qualified as Commissioner of Precinct No. Three; J. McClearen qualified as Commissioner of Precinct No. 4; L. A. Smith, Clerk. Whereupon the following proceedings were had, to wit. "J. H. Kiser appointed as Commissioner of Precinct No. 2. J. W. Rose of Precinct No. 1, H. G. Daniel of Precinct No. 3, J. McClearen of Precinct No. 4 was duly elected by July 10 1886 but failed to get certificates to the office of Justice of their respective precincts, are duly appointed by the Commisioners Court. It is now ordered by the Judge that the Court adjourn until tomorrow term. Read and approved." *The jurisdiction changed. According to obituary of James W. Smith, elected county attorney of Wilbarger County for the term of 1890 and 1891, he was the second person elected to serve the county in that capacity. At that time, old Greer County, which included what is known as Greer, Jackson and Harmon Counties and a part of Beckham County, was attached to Wilbarger for judicial purposes. During the ten years beginning with organization of the county, July 6, 1886, extending through a six year-suit before the United States Supreme Court, and ending with it's decision, March 16, 1896, which declared Greer County not to be in Texas, Greer maintained county government without levying real estate tax, all money necessary for support of county government being raised by personal tax alone. Cattle formed the bulk of the wealth, aside from land, and cattle tax furnished nearly all the money raised in support of county government. Some land owners sought to pay real estate tax to strengthen land titles, but the county refused to accept the money. Despite the lack of title, residents of Greer County bought and sold land in the county, and the county clerk recorded numerous warranty deeds and other conveyances of land. This conditioned existed for many years, during which time many settlers came into the county. The county government continued to function, and the State of Texas recognized Greer County as one of it's regularly organized counties. District court terms were held at Mangum on the First Mondays of March and September, and continued in session for four weeks. After the March 16, 1896 decision by U. S. Supreme court, there was an interval of about two months in which no state law was in force in Greer County, due to the fact that William C. Renfrow, Governor of Oklahoma Territory, did not immediately appoint officials for Greer County. Greer County citizens were law-abiding and not a crime was committed in the county during the interval when the county was without government. The jail record at Mangum shows that during eight years, ending May 12, 1896, the county jail, which stood nearly a block east of the present courthouse and jail, contained only fourteen prisoners. Following the Supreme Court decision, a Congressional act of May 4, 1896, declared that portion of the Territory of Oklahoma formerly known as Greer County, Texas, to be established as Greer County, Oklahoma, with Mangum as the County seat. The county officials then serving were to hold office as county officials in the Territory of Oklahoma until the next territorial election, or the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1896. These officials were to enforce the laws applicable to counties in Oklahoma. The judicial proceedings of the several courts and officers of Greer County, Texas, were to have the same binding force as if such courts and officers had been legally authorized courts and officers of the United States or of the Territory of Oklahoma. All suits pending on March 16, 1896, were to be entered upon the dockets of Oklahoma courts having jurisdiction in like cases, and the procedure employed was to be the same as if the cases had been brought in Oklahoma courts. All judgments rendered by the courts of Greer County Texas, civil or criminal, prior to March 16, 1896, were to have the same binding force as if Greer County had legally formed a part of the territory of the State of Texas up to that date, and then been lawfully ceded by Texas to the United States with a reservation and ratification of all existing rights and liabilities. On March 16, 1896, President Cleveland by proclamation withdrew the lands of Greer County from disposition under the public land laws of the United States. He declared these lands to be in a state of reservation until the order of withdrawal could be revoked, and warned all persons against entering them with a view to occupying them under the public land laws during the existence of such an order. The President's order was meant to protect those who had settled upon such lands prior to December 30, 1887, and against outsiders until Congress should consider their claims for relief. No doubt these settlers had acted in good faith, believing that the land belonged to Texas and was subject to its jurisdiction. President Cleveland also desired to hold these lands intact until their status should be determined. He desired this in view of the fact that the Choctaw nation had not been extinguished by treaty with the United States in their cession of 1866. The anxiety of the occupants of these lands was in a measure relieved by the Congressional act of January 18, 1897. This act protected all occupants of lands in Greer County on March 16, 1896, who were qualified under the homestead laws of the United States. It entitled each person to continue occupation of land and to make improvements not to exceed 180 acres, in recognition of homestead right. Six months from January 18, 1897, was the time given in which to initiate claim. The title could be perfected under the provisions of the homestead law, upon the payment of land office fees, at the expiration of five years from the date of entry, with credit recognized for all time during which the claimant had continuously been a resident, prior to March 16, 1896. Additional reliefs were extended, school lands set aside, lands that were being used for churches, cemeteries and schools, not to exceed two acres in each case, were to be patented to the authorities in charge. To protect and promote the landed interests of settlers during the period of political fusion of Greer County with Territory of Oklahoma, a federal land office was established at Mangum. Laws authorizing the commutations of homesteads in Oklahoma were extended to Greer County. On March 1, 1899, Congress extended the preference rights clause of the Act of 1897 concerning preemption of quarter-section and purchased quarter to include all persons who had purchased lands in Greer County from the Sate of Texas. This was to be applied provided no adverse rights had become attached, even though previous to this time such settlers had received the benefit of the homestead laws of the United States. compiled by Susan Bradford, Duke, Oklahoma Sources: "Greer's First Settlers," The Mangum (Oklahoma) Daily Star, October 13, 1937. James Albert Barnett, "A History of the Empire of Greer," Thesis submitted to the Department of History Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1938. Judge Percy Powers, "History of Greer County," 5 page manuscript, 1943. A History of Old Greer County and Its Pioneers, Greer County Museum, 1980 |
Heard October 22-25, 1895. The Decision March 16, 1896.
"1. In fixing the boundary between the territory of the United States
and Texas, the treaty of 1819 between the United States and Spain; controls
and the entire instrument must be examined in order to ascertain the real
intention of the contracting parties, and the Melish map referred to therein
is to be given the same effect as if it had been expressly made a part of the
treaty.
2. The Melish map of 1818, referred to in the treaty of 1819 between
the United States and Spain as showing the 100th meridian, with other lines
named in describing the boundary fixed by the treaty, was taken as a general
basis for fixing the boundary, but was not intended to control the location of
that meridian as against its true position astronomically located and
differing from that on the map, but the treaty itself provided for fixing the
boundary line with more precision by surveying and marking it.
3. The convention or contract between the United States and Texas, as
embraced in their respective enactments of 1850, together with the subsequent
acts of the two governments, adopts the true or actual 100th meridian, and not
its false position on the Melish map, as the true boundary of Texas.
4. The Red River, or Rio Roxo, which by the treaty of 1819 between the
United States and Spain was to be followed westward to the 100th meridian of
longitude, must be taken to be the south or Prairie Dog Town fork, which most
nearly answers to the description of the Red river as shown on the early maps,
including that of Melish referred to in the treaty, instead of the north fork,
the course of which would make the line run north and north westwardly.
5. The inclusion of Greer county, Texas, among the counties named in
the act of Congress of 1879 as constituting the northern judicial district in
Texas, merely placed the territory claimed to constitute that county, but
which the United States had claimed as part of Indian territory, in that
district for judicial purposes such as were competent to the United States
courts, and was not intended to express the purpose of the United States to
surrender its jurisdiction, and does not admit the right of Texas to that
territory.
6. The designation for a short time of a post office as in Greer
county, Texas, on petition of persons describing themselves as residents of
such county, before the authorities of the Postoffice Department discovered
that it was located in the territory which was in dispute between the United
States and Texas, does not strengthen the claim of Texas to such territory.
7. The location of the line established by the treaty is to be
determined by the course of rivers and degrees of latitude and longitude,
rather than by routes, trails, or roads, the extent and character of which
cannot be certainly known at this day, and over which, at the date of the
treaty and prior thereto, travel by traders and trappers could have been only
occasional and limited.
8. The territory east of the 100th meridian of longitude, west and
south of the north fork of Red river, and north of a line following westward,
as prescribed by the treaty of 1819 between the United States and Spain, along
the south bank both of Red river and of the Prairie Dog Town fork or south
fork of Red river until such line meets the 100th meridian of longitude, which
territory is sometimes called Greer county, constitutes no part of Texas, but
is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States."
Interesting Opinion
from the Cheyenne Transporter Darlington, I. T., November 5, 1884
"The question as to whether Greer county belongs to Texas or the Territory is
still unsettled. It is one of the largest counties in the United States,
comprising about 1,700,000 acres, enough to lead to a strong fight for its
possession. Orders were issued for all settlers to vacate, but at present
there are only a few settlers in the county. It is said that as an
agricultural country, it is poor and is fit for no other than grazing
purposes. It seems that this disputed tract of land justly belongs and should
be annexed to the Territory. In this case it would be a part of the Cheyenne
and Arapahoe reservation."
An early effort to decide the question ... Cheyenne
Transporter, July 12, 1886
"The Greer County boundary commission,
which comprises four officers of the United States Army and four citizens of
Texas, convened in secret session at Fort Worth on the 15th inst. The question
under consideration by this commission is a very important one to the people
of Texas, since it involves the ownership of a snug back yard some 1,628,000
acres in area - perhaps it's for this reason that the sessions of the
commission are so secretly conducted. Each member seems bound by a Knight of
Labor oath to divulge nothing, yet we are able to make the positive
announcement that the commission has practically and in fact overwhelmingly
decided that Greer county does not belong to the state of Texas, but that it
is part and parcel of the lands belonging to the government. It is learned sub
rosa, that the commission was nearly if not quite unanimous in this
conclusion, but that no official announcement can be made until the report of
the chairman of the federal branch of the commission has been submitted to the
secretary of war and by him approved. Greer County has for years been by many
Texans considered part and parcel of the Lone State - but a well informed
member of the commission is authority for the statement thattheir never was
the smallest grounds for this presumption on the part of Texas. The ancient
maps exhibited by the representatives of the war department proved
conclusively to the most skeptical members of the commission that the disputed
territory belonged to the United States. One thing is certain, the state
of Texas made a big mistake when it presumed to give patents for lands it
never had the shadow of a legal claim to. Something over half a million acres
of fine grazing lands in Greer county are now located upon by veteran land
certificates issued by the state of Texas. The finding of the boundary
commission nullifies these pre-emptions and the parties who own these
certificates will be compelled to raise them (if they have not done so
already) and float them on the general market. The prospects are that veteran
land certificates can be bought pretty cheap in a few weeks."
Opinion from HERALD-SENTINEL, at Cloud Chief, Washita
County, Okla.Terr. December 1, 1893
Page 4. "The case of Texas vs.
the United States, involving the title to Greer county, is being tried at
Paris, Texas this week. Everybody who knows about old trials and land marks
are in requisition as witnesses. Greer county people do not want to be annexed
to Texas, its so dry down there."
Since early Mangum newspapers before 1898 have never been found to be microfilmed at OHS, we look into Greer County's neighbor newspaper at Cloud Chief.
HERALD-SENTINEL, Cloud Chief, Washita County, Okla.Terr. March 16, 1894
Page 1. "Now that the supreme court of the U. S. has a full bench we shall
expect an early settlement of the Greer county question, and by its settlement
Oklahoma will be, we believe, enlarged and enriched to that extent."
HERALD- SENTINEL, Cloud Chief, Washita County, Okla. Terr.
Sept 6, 1895
Page 1. "The decision for Greer county has been all but written up. Oklahoma
gets Greer county. The decision has not been handed down yet, as they wish
congress to make some disposition of the land. The law will probably give each
settler his choice of 160 acres of the land he now claims, opening the residue
for settlement, under the homestead law, the claimant paying for the
improvements."
HERALD- SENTINEL, Cloud Chief, Washita County, Okla. Terr.
Jan 10, 1896
Page 2 - "The news comes from Washington that in the supreme court ballot for
decision of the Greer county case, the government won by a strong majority of
the court, and that not later than next week, the opinion will be handed down
giving the disputed territory to the United States."
HERALD- SENTINEL, Cloud Chief, Washita County, Okla. Terr. May 1, 1896
Page 2. Greer County Bill. The house committee on public lands decided this
morning to report favorably a bill to allow each settler in Greer county
160 acres under the homestead act, also to allow any settler to take an
adjoining 160 provided he has made improvements on the same, and to pay
for that $1 per acre in five years, or to commute, at the option of the
settler. Section 13 and 33 in addition to sections 16 and 36, are reserved for
educational purposes.
Delegate Flynn has prepared an amendment which he will offer to the bill
reported by the judiciary committee confirming judgments of courts in Greer
county. The bill also provides that the governor of Oklahoma shall appoint
county officials. The proposed amendment provides that the present county
officials hold until the election of officers this fall.
HERALD- SENTINEL, Cloud Chief, Washita County, Okla. Terr. July 2 , 1897
Page 3. The land office at Mangum has opened up for business, and Greer county
is becoming "Oklahomaized" by having a "rush for claims."
HERALD- SENTINEL, Cloud Chief, Washita County, Okla. Terr. July 9, 1897
Page 3. Up to Wednesday night 100 homestead entries had been received at the
Mangum land office. Total number of applicants to purchase additional quarter,
33. Whole number of applicants for final proof, 29. The biggest run was on
opening day, when 25 filings were made, and the smallest run on Tuesday when
only 6 were placed. Mangum Sun.
Mangum Annual Rattlesnake Hunt and Fleamarket Last weekend of April Annual Rattlesnake Derby |
Old Greer County Museum & Pioneer Hall of Fame |
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Victor Wickersham 1906-1988 Greer County Clerk 1926-1935, 7th District U. S. Representative 1941-1947, 1948-1952, 6th District U. S. Representative 1952-1956, 1960-1964, Oklahoma Legislature 1971-1979, 1988. |
Victor Wickersham Collection Carl Albert Center, University of Oklahoma Congressional Papers Of Oklahoma Congressman Victor Wickersham, 1941-1965 |
Census Population |
Greer |
Harmon |
Jackson |
1900 | 17922 |
- |
- |
1910 | 16449 |
11328 |
23737 |
1920 | 15836 |
11261 |
22141 |
1930 | 20282 |
13834 |
28910 |
1940 | 14550 |
10019 |
22708 |
1950 | 11749 |
8079 |
20082 |
1960 | 8877 |
5852 |
29736 |
1970 | 7979 |
5136 |
30902 |
1980 | 7028 |
4519 |
30356 |
1990 | 6559 |
3793 |
28764 |
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