howeenterprise.com
Monday, March 21, 2016
Texas History Minute:
Page #10
Winterguard takes fourth place
Anson Jones in 1845 and later served as the second lieutenant governor of Texas from 1847 to 1851. He died in 1855. The Texas Legislature named the county in his honor in February 1860. After the interruptions of the Civil War and Reconstruction, settlement in the area picked up steadily in the 1880s. In 1879, when Congress created a new Dr. Ken Bridges federal judicial district for North Texas, Greer County was included Texas is an immense landscape, and rather than being pushed into the the land seems to stretch on forever. Indian Territory. By 1886, the The question of the Texas border has town of Mangum was established resulted in many disputes. One as the county seat, with schools infamous land dispute in the late and ranches being established 1800s resulted in a piece of Texas across the area. called Greer County becoming a part of Oklahoma. After the Indian Territory was opened to settlement and Native The dispute arose over a portion of a American claims stripped away, fork in the Red River. On the border the federal government took of what is now Wilbarger County, interest in Greer County. Where the Red River forks into two distinct Texas had claimed the North Fork rivers. One fork, called at one time as the border, the federal the South Fork and now often government claimed the South referred to as the Prairie Dog Town Fork as the border, putting Greer Fork, continues westerly into the County in the newly rechristened Panhandle. Another fork, called the Oklahoma Territory. A protracted North Fork, goes straight northward legal fight erupted. In 1895, the from the main branch of the Red Supreme Court heard testimony River before curving back westward from both sides but ruled that the and into the Panhandle along what is southern fork was the real now Interstate 40. boundary, ruling in United States v. Texas in 1896. Congress In 1819, the United States signed the formalized the ruling later that Adams-Onis Treaty with Spain, year, giving Oklahoma full rights which set portions of the Texas to Greer County. border at the Red River. Years after Texas gained its independence from Since Oklahoma was admitted as a Mexico and then joined the Union, it state in 1907, Greer County was claimed the North Fork of the Red subdivided into four counties: River as part of its boundary with the Greer, Beckham, Jackson, and 100th Meridian marking the eastern Harmon. The area today is thinly edge of the Panhandle. The areas to populated, and the economy is the north of the Red River were set mostly devoted to ranching. aside as the Indian Territory, lands Border disputes between Texas and reserved for Native American tribes. Oklahoma continued for more than A series of surveys were completed a century. By 2000, Texas and by the federal government in the Oklahoma agreed to a formal river 1850s to further define the border. boundary at the vegetation line on As the surveys were completed, the south bank of the Red River Texas officials moved to secure their and Prairie Dog Town Fork of the claim by organizing the entire region Red River. The fight over Greer between the North Fork of the Red County proved to be just one of River and the 100th Meridian as many battles that Texas and Greer County. Oklahoma had to face with each other. The county was named for veteran Texas politician John Alexander Dr. Bridges is a Texas native, Greer. Greer had a respected career writer, and history professor. He that included serving as the last can be reached at Secretary of the Treasury of the drkenbridges@gmail.com. Republic of Texas under President
Howe Winterguard had a fantastic showing at the NTCA State Championships at Flower Mound Marcus High School on Saturday. Their score of 79.4 was their best to date and earned them fourth place out of 12 groupls in round one.
award-winning program and training these 14 students. The students are (left to right in photo above): Dawson Mitchell, Abby Morrow, Cameron Garner, Kacie Taylor, Kylie Krauss, Kaylin Bouse, Jordan Griffin, Grace Jones, Taylor Thurman, Bethany Masters, Joseph Brennan, Addisyn Pecina, JP Queen, and Ashley Pelt.
Unending gratitude goes to Director Julie Cook and Creative Director Celestine Sosa who put countless hours into developing the Submitted by Gay Brennan
