Sherman County is named after Sidney Sherman, a New Yorker who, while living in Cincinnati, heard of the struggle for Texas Independence from Mexico, recruited a unit of 50 men, and fought for the Texan cause, serving at the Battle of San Jacinto. Sherman County was named for him, as was Sherman, the county seat … Continue reading 130. Stratford, Sherman County →

Three days ago was the one year anniversary of finding my first cache (or as those in the lifestyle call it, my geoversary). That in and of itself is worthy of note, but I said nothing because a) I already had an entry for that day and b) I was saving it for this. As … Continue reading We Interrupt Our Current Narrative… →

The first thing I noticed looking around at things... Is that a bullet hole? And, if not, what the heck happened here? That said, today was the day before Memorial Day. I would see people placing flags and flowers for the next couple of days. A lot of men and not a small number of … Continue reading 129. Spearman, Hansford County →

If I had to pick two words to describe my trip to the Panhandle, they would be "standing" and "water". It would not stop raining on and off. In small spurts, it was annoying, but over and over was more than enough to leave pools everywhere. And, of course, that means it was muggy as … Continue reading 128. Perryton, Ochiltree County →

Paint Rock, you have more competition! Forty-four people. Forty-four. That is the population of Lipscomb. Do they even have the courthouse open every day with that few people? They must since they'd have to administer to the county's needs, but how do so few people live here then? I'm always a bit leery of seeing … Continue reading 127. Lipscomb, Lipscomb County →

The sky keeps getting dark and the clouds get foreboding. I prefer that gray and overcast coolness, but this wasn't it. This was a storm hanging around, wanting to give itself vent, waiting to offer its water to the Texas earth. Or some kind of thing like that if you're in the mood to wax … Continue reading 126. Canadian, Hemphill County →

I'm beginning to wonder if I should start rating courthouses on aesthetics, impressiveness, or possibly both. Or maybe some kind of overall rating. Like for instance this one... It would get high marks for both aesthetics and impressiveness, but in an overall rating, it would lose points because it's lacking some je ne sais quois. … Continue reading 125. Wheeler, Wheeler County →

And we continue up the Panhandle. Again, I'm wondering about the overlap between courthouse and high school architecture, but here we are, seeing what we're seeing. Obviously there's no central air because I've never seen so many window units sticking out of a courthouse. Their power bills must be crazy... This was kind of interesting. … Continue reading 124. Wellington, Collingsworth County →

I slept for a few hours in the car until day was about to break and then I began my work. Another small town courthouse that has seen better days, but she is a majestic creature. In a completely unrelated query, why do I think of courthouses as female? I'm sure a therapist would spend … Continue reading 123. Childress, Childress County →

I hit the Will Rogers Memorial Center before it opened. There were campers nearby of people who had spent the night previously, awaiting the big event just as I was. But the doors were not open at 7am as I stood there. I had a personal goal for the day, though. I intended to get … Continue reading GeoWoodstock XVII →