247 of 254 Oldham County Courthouse, Vega, Texas. County Population: 2,052
"Oldham County is in the northwestern corner of the Panhandle, bordered on the west by New Mexico, on the north by Hartley County, on the east by Potter County, and on the south by Deaf Smith County. Oldham County comprises 1,485 square miles of relatively level grassland, broken by the Canadian River and its numerous intermittent tributaries; elevations range from 3,200 to 4,200 feet above sea level. Oldham County's history has revolved around the Canadian River, which runs in an east–west direction across the northern part of the county.
"In 1876 the Texas legislature established Oldham County from the huge original Bexar County, and the county was organized in 1880, with Tascosa as the county seat. The county was named for Williamson Simpson Oldham, pioneer Texas lawyer and Confederate senator. Sixteen unorganized Panhandle counties were attached to Oldham County for administrative purposes.
"Crop farmers began to move into the area after 1904, when the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway laid tracks through the southern part of the county for a line connecting Amarillo to Tucumcari, New Mexico. As the county developed Tascosa slowly lost population and influence to Vega, [on the railroad]. By 1915, when a special election moved the county seat to Vega, only fifteen people lived in Tascosa."
Handbook of Texas Online, Donald R. Abbe and John Leffler, "Oldham County"
I visited Oldham County and photographed the courthouses in Vega and Tascosa on May 8, 2016.
"In 1876 the Texas legislature established Oldham County from the huge original Bexar County, and the county was organized in 1880, with Tascosa as the county seat. The county was named for Williamson Simpson Oldham, pioneer Texas lawyer and Confederate senator. Sixteen unorganized Panhandle counties were attached to Oldham County for administrative purposes.
"Crop farmers began to move into the area after 1904, when the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway laid tracks through the southern part of the county for a line connecting Amarillo to Tucumcari, New Mexico. As the county developed Tascosa slowly lost population and influence to Vega, [on the railroad]. By 1915, when a special election moved the county seat to Vega, only fifteen people lived in Tascosa."
Handbook of Texas Online, Donald R. Abbe and John Leffler, "Oldham County"
I visited Oldham County and photographed the courthouses in Vega and Tascosa on May 8, 2016.