Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-05-02
A RICH COUNTY.
The Wonderful Fertility of Crosby County.
A Fruit and Grain County-The Peo-
pie Anxious for a Railroad.
EsrAcApo, TEX, April 80, 1891.


Travelling Correspondence OF the Gazette.
But few, in fact no one, who has not
visited this section, can form the slightest
idea of the magnifcence of the country sur
rounding Estacado. We had often heard of
the orchards of Crosby county, but the half
had not been told US. The truth about this
country would astonish the most credulous.
Here is rich county that can boast the
best improved farms in this great state,
and what makes it remarkable is
that the nearest railroad point is
125 miles away. Estacado is
300 miles northwest from Fort Worth,
or 125 miles south of Amarillo. and is
reached by the Clisby daily stage line from
that point. The soil of Crosby county is
rich loan with just sand enough in it to
make plow scour well. 1t is adapted to
all small grain and fruit, and is the finest
stock farming country in the state. Water
is found in the greatest abundance at
depth ranging from fortyto sixty feet, and
the very best quality. This soil will pro-
duce the finest quality Of wheat, yet owing
to its distance from rail but little has been
raised. The chief industry here at present
is planting orchards and forest trees. Some
of the finest orchards in Texas are to be
found in Crosby county, consisting Of ap-
pie, peach, pear, plum, apricot, cherry and
mulberry trees. Grapes and berries OF all
kinds do well here. We visited number
Estacado, and can say we never saw finer,
healthier trees in any country. They were
all loaded with fruit. Blackberry, straw
berry, gooSeberry anu curTant bushes and
grapeyines are all looking fine and full of
fruit. The reader will bear in mind this is
upon the plains, the country known as the
Llano Estacado, the Staked Plains, the
Great American Desert" the country
still spoken of in many of our books as
destitute of water and vegetation" the
''uninhabitable region These magnificent
orchards and groves of forest trees are
reared, too, without irrigation.
This county will be traversed by the
Fort Worth and Albuquerque railroad
when it is built, and we believe if few
railroad magnates could be induced to visit
this county and see the magnificent posi-
bilities OF the county, they would not hest
tate longer In building road into this rich
country. road northwest from Fort
Worth through this country would eclipse
the magnificent record of the Fort Worth
and Denver
The people of Crosby county are anxious
for a railroad and will do well by the first
road that builds in here.
This is the Oldest settled county on the
plains. The first settlement was made by
Capt. Parrish Cox of North Caro-
lima, who located here in 1889 near
where the town OF Estacado now stands.
Capt Cox died number of years ago, but
his widow, who married again, Mrs Mary
G. Osburn, the first woman who located on
the plains, still lives here and your cor
respondent had the pleasure of meeting
this cultured and most estimable lady
Capt. and Mrs Cox gathered around them
selves the very best element from the old
states which constituted what is known as
the Quaker colony.
They are a cultured class of people of ex-
cellent moral character and constitute one
OF the most desirable communities in which
to live. The first thing these people did
was to develop the country and improve
their farms. The town of Estacado is the
natural oEtgrowth of well developed
country. They have very nice court
house, ten general stores, two good hotels.
livery stable, u printing Office, a $4,000
school building just being completed, where
Quakers. Methodist and Baptist all wor-
ship. They have thriving public free
school with two teachers. They have a
splendid Sundayschool, foreign missionary
society and Christian endeavor society in
flourishing condition. OF course such a
community could not thrive without the
aid of the press, consequently ''The Texian
Press NJ. NJ. Cox proprietor and j. H.
Thomas editor and publisher, fourishes
and is one of the hest papers on the plains
Weswin have more to say about this magni-
fcent country in another article. For any
information address NJ. NJ Cox, Estacado,
Tex.