Early Wilbarger County

Wilbarger County was organized in 1858 and named in honor of Mathias and Josiah P. Wilbarger, early Texas settlers. Josiah, a surveyor, became famous as the man who lived 12 years after being scalped by Comanches in 1833 near Austin; he saved his life by putting a wool sock on his head and was rescued the next day by neighbors. An adobe house built in 1878 by Jonathan and C. F. Doan, the first settlers in Wilbarger County, marks the Red River crossing of the famous Western Cattle Trail. Vernon, formerly Eagle Flat, became the county seat in 1881, and the first railroad reached the town in 1886.

Vernon, Texas · United States