Motley County, Texas from 1800's to 1950 as pictured in archived government photographs, vintage postcards, old school yearbooks and newspapers in Flomot, Matador and· Roaring Springs.

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Roaring Springs School in 1927

In 1927 all the students and their teachers in Roaring Springs Texas turned out for this huge photo

Fourteen graduates of Roaring Springs High School posed for this wonderful photo in 1927

The Matador Texas High School football built a tower of athletes for this amazing photo in 1918

Sometime between 1905 and 1910 twenty cowboys from the Matador Ranch were eating when this photo was captured. It includes Murdo Mackenzie (center with beard and suit) at the time he took over management of the ranch. At the extreme right is Henry H. "Paint" Campbell who established the ranch in 1879 with a half-dugout headquarters.

In 1909 a group of cowboys from the Matador ranched stopped for a rest at Roaring Springs

A cowboy follows his horses up a steep trail on the Matador Ranch in 1908

Cowboys washing clothes on the Matador in 1905

In 1905 Matador Ranch Cowboy Tom King used the brim of his hat to dip water out of a spring in the Dutchman pasture

Quanah Parker and three of his eight wives (in wagon) say goodbye to Matador cowboys after a visit in 1910

Cowboys of the Matador Ranch just before turning in for the night in 1907. John Jackson, wagon boss is identified as appearing in the back row, second from the left

In 1908 Harry Stewart was driving a chuck wagon followed by a hoodlum wagon to a new location on the Matador Ranch

Cowboy with pack horses takes a rough trail to the Spur Range in 1908 to claim any stray mavericks and return them to the Matador Ranch

A cowboy weighs a bull named Domino at the Matador Ranch headquarters in Matador Texas in 1905

In 1905 Claud Jeffers was captured working with an outlaw horse in the Matador Ranch corrals.

For the 1908 Roundup the Matador and Spur Ranches teamed up and pitched their chuck wagons side by side in this Erwin E. Smith photo.

Long time wagon boss for the Matador Ranch, Matt Walker, washes his horse blanket in Roaring Springs in 1908

A Wagon Cook on the Matador Ranch in 1908 prepares a cobbler for the cow hands in this crystal clear photo by Erwin E. Smith

Harry Campbell was the first child born in Motley County Texas. Years later, in 1908, famed photographer, Erwin E. Smith captured him branding a calf on the Matador Ranch

A Christmas Memory from Matador Texas

A heart warming story of a little girl in Matador Texas at Christmas during the depression. "When I was growing up, Christmas at our house was a happy time, with family and friends, and lots of delicious food to enjoy. But it was during the Great Depression, and Santa Claus didn't deliver a lot of toys to our house..." Read more

Breaking Muchachee the Mule

Marvin Stephens was hired to break horses on the Matador Ranch in the late 1930s when he was asked to saddle-break a mule named Muchachee he took on the task that resulted in this amazing and humorous photo series.

Branding on the Matador Ranch

In the late 1930s or early 1940s Marvin Stephens was holding the branding iron as 4 cowboys held the calf and tended to the business of turning young bulls into steers

At the Matador Ranch Bunkhouse in 1908 four cowboys and a lady posed with the ranch hounds

Matador Texas as it appeared in the 1950s near the Matador Auto Co Ford Dealership

In 1905 three cowboys wash their clothes and hang them to dry wherever they can on the open prairie of the Matador Ranch in Motley County Texas

It was a Peaceful day on the Matador Ranch when this image was captured of two cowhands tending cattle in Motley County Texas in 1900

In 1908 an unknown photographer captured this great old photo of a chuck and bedroll wagon crossing a dry river on the Matador Ranch

In 1908 George Pattullo, writer and cowboy from Boston, waits for Harry Campbell, Matador cowboy, to finish saddling up in front of the line camp that served as original headquarters for the Matador ranch in the 1880's.

Sometime around 1914 the Matador Land & Cattle Company truck, loaded with six men sitting on feed sacks, parked in front of Roaring Springs railroad depot for this amazing, crystal clear image. Note the truck appears to be chain driven . . .

Cook on the Matador Ranch in 1906 stirs a boiling pot under a tarp attached to the chuck wagon while a cowboy in the background is either eating something with both hands or playing his harmonica.

Family poses at Turtle Hole in northeastern Motley County while their chickens run from photographer in 1879. A post office stop between Childress and Matador operated there for a short time . . . Read more view full size

Quanah Parker, the last Comanche chief, and and three of his wives relax by the pond at Ballard Springs on the Matador Ranch in 1905

Photo by famed cowboy photographer Erwin Smith . . . See full size photo

Birdseye view of Celebration of the opening of Motley County Railroad in Matador Texas . . . look closer

Wedding Photo of Jim and Byrd Jackson in 1900

From an article by Janelle Jackson Shirley from Matador Texas.

"Today was the day, the year 1922. All good-byes had been said and now it was time to walk out the door of their Erath County home for the last time. Ever since the decision was made to move to West Texas, Byrd had tried to reassure her children about leaving their childhood home for a new home in the west" . . . read more

In the 1890's a family made camp outside Matador. Photo shows the Motley County Jail in background

Carouth Family Traveling to Terry County through Roaring Springs 1922

Carouth Family Stops in Roaring Springs in covered wagons on their way to settle in Terry County in 1922 . . . Take a closer look

Former Matador Ranch cowboy and owner of the Dew Drop Saloon Jeff Davis Boone was fatally wounded in the Motley County courthouse in 1892 when he picked a fight with newly elected Motley county Sheriff Joe Beckham . On September 21, 1892, a grand jury indicted Beckham for assault to commit the murder of Jeff Boon. The district judge moved the case to Floyd County (Floydada) . . . Read more

In 1908 Harry Campbell cleans his Marlin rifle at a dugout line camp on the Matador Ranch in Texas

Matador ranch hands pictured left to right have been identified as Unknown, Robert Thornton, Bill Hemphill, Wildhorse Melvin Warren (Wagon Boss), Rosie Deaton, Wishie Derickson, Alfred Irwin, Johnnie Cavitt, Cliff Stevens, Polecat Vinson (Cook), Unknown, and Ellis Key. Photo is from E.D. Smith Collection . . . see full size

Pictured from left to right, Jaunita Mize (manager), Mary Ruth Muse, Frances Carpenter, Eugenia Tilson, Mary Ellen Barton, Wandean Garrison and Coach Hugh Grey. Second Row: Ruby Burton, Janell Jackson, Ruth Jameson, Lucille Plumlea and Grace Lavern Tilson ... See full size

Resources:

West Texas History & Memories

Early Life in Texas County by County

Books about Texas People and Places

Famous People from Texas County by County

Motley County, TX History and Genealogy

Texas History and Frontier Genealogy