Upland, now abandoned, was intended as a station on the rail line from St. Louis to Chihuahua, Mexico, and stood near the stage route of the Butterfield mail line. Henry Halff and his son platted the townsite in 1908, and a school opened the same year. In 1910, Upland became the first county seat, and a stone courthouse was later built. The town declined after new rail lines bypassed it and a severe drought struck, and by 1921 homes and buildings had been moved away when Rankin became the new seat of government.