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HENRIETTA,
TEXAS
Clay County Seat,
North
Central Texas
Highways 287, 82, 148, and FM 1197
On the Little Wichita River
20 Miles SE of Wichita
Falls
28 Miles W of Nocona
Population: 3,264
(2000)
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The
former Clay county jail in Henrietta
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August, 2003 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
When Cooke County was separated into two counties, the day before
Christmas 1857, Clay County needed a seat of government. The centrally
located town of Henrietta is the result – even though no one knows
for sure the origin of the name. One stretched (but somewhat believable)
theory is that since the county was named after Henry Clay, a feminized
version of his first name was in order. (Ships, cities, and countries
were once referred to as feminine.)
There wasn’t a fight for county seat, since it was the only real contender
for the title. With just a store and about ten residences, and less
than 110 people, tiny Henrietta had nowhere to go but up. In 1860,
it was the North
Texas frontier. Although it was granted a post office in 1862,
it was still a wild place and open to Indian attacks.
Abandonment and Resettlement
When the Civil War demanded the troops that were stationed there,
residents moved into Cooke and Montague counties, and by 1862 Clay
County was, for all intents and purposes, a ghost county. Indians
had reportedly left "strange” markings on the town buildings, prompting
a purifying fire by troops. This may have sent the spirits on their
way, but now the town would be starting from scratch if and when people
decided to resettle here. One attempted resettlement in 1865 was a
little too early. Several members of the group were killed and the
rest retreated. A second attempt by a Quaker group (1870) met a worse
fate. The leader, Goodleck Koozer was killed and his wife and daughters
taken as captives (but eventually released). That same year fifty
soldiers and 300 Kiowas fought a pitched battle in the foundations
of the former town.
In time, settlers returned and the post office was reopened in July
of 1874. The isolation of the settlers made the town the judicial
“capital” of the region. The railroad arrived in 1882 (the Fort Worth
and Denver City) with the Gainesville, Henrietta and Western Railway
becoming the towns second rail connection in 1887. Travelers would
arrive by train and then ride stages to their final destinations.
During the buffalo slaughter of the 1880s, Henrietta was an outfitting
center and a shipping center for the bones of the slain animals.
During this period, Henrietta, dwarfed the town of Wichita
Falls. Clay
County's first permanent courthouse was built in 1884 and is still
standing. By 1890 the population was over 2,000 and the town had all
the amenities of a large town – and then some – including hotels,
five churches, two newspapers, and a 400-seat Opera House.
The population stayed about the same, but dropped slightly during
the Great Depression to just over 2,000. Growth was slow, and by the
1970s it had peaked with 3,600 people calling Henrietta home. By 1990
the population had declined to 2,896, growing to the figure at the
top of this page for the 2000 census.
Local attractions include Lake Arrowhead, just north of town.
Events: The Clay County Pioneer Reunion and Rodeo (September). |
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