In the early 1800s, Tascosa, Texas, was a campsite beside
the Canadian River for hundreds of settlers heading westward. Sheepherders from
New Mexico and cattlemen followed this vital crossing into the Texas Plains.
The town began in 1876, when a blacksmith built a one-room adobe by a creek called Atascosa. Shortly after, more businesses arrived, including a general store, the Exchange Hotel, the Tascosa Pioneer newspaper, and the Equity Bar.
With the addition of more businesses, the town grew and developed into two sections: Upper Tascosa, home to upstanding citizens, and Lower Tascosa, known as Hogtown, where saloons, dance halls, and soiled doves attracted a crowd.
Back in the day, several well-known ranches existed in the area, including the LS, the KIT, the Frying Pan, and the XIT. The names of cattle barons Charles Goodnight, John Chisum, and George Littlefield have become legendary. A cattle trail connected Tascosa to Dodge City, and Tascosa soon earned the title “Cowboy Capital of the Panhandle.”
Other famous figures associated with the town include Billy the
Kid, Henry Brown, Pat Garrett, and Charlie Siringo, whose names remain
intertwined with the Old West.
More than twenty-five people are buried in Tascosa’s Boot
Hill cemetery, including four who died from the 1886 “Big Fight at the Jenkins
Saloon,” also known as the “Tascosa Gunfight.”
What led to Tascosa’s decline? Several factors over the years played a role, including barbed wire. The Frying Pan Ranch and the XIT fenced in the open range, which blocked cattle trails leading into town. The railroad bypassed the town, further isolating it, and in 1893, heavy rains flooded the Canadian River, destroying most of the buildings.
While Old Tascosa is a ghost town, the area is home to Carl Farley’s Boys Ranch. The only sites remaining from Old Tascosa are the courthouse (now a museum), the frame school (converted into a home), and Boot Hill.
