Archer County was part of the Peters Grant in 1841, was created on January 22, 1858, and was organized on July 27, 1880. It was named in honor of Dr. Branch Tanner Archer, 1790-1856, a Texas Commissioner to the United States in 1835, a Member of Congress, and Secretary of War of the Republic of Texas. The first permanent settlement was established in 1874, the first railroad arrived in 1890, and Archer City became the county seat.