Robert E. (Bob) Martin came to Hansford in 1906, bought a section of land, and, eager to see the area develop, ran a livery stable that provided land prospectors from the north and east the only means of travel to seek out and buy property. Like many frontier sheriffs, he was a cowboy and farmer, chosen for office out of regard for his standing as a good citizen. He married Sophia Snowden and had 10 children. He was sheriff from 1908 until his untimely death, when he was killed while assisting a United States marshal making an arrest in a boundary line dispute in the northwestern part of the county.