01 · Before 1858
Comanche country.
The land before the county line — Comanche territory, river crossings, and the Spanish trails that preceded statehood.
Read article →HISTORY
One county, four eras.
From cattle drives to combines, told across 38 articles. Pick an era to start.
02 · 1858 – 1890
The frontier years.
Buffalo hunters, Butterfield mail coaches, the Buffalo Soldiers, and the last Comanche raids — the thirty years that defined the county's founding mythology.
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03 · 1858 – 1920
Cattle, cotton, oil.
The Chisholm Trail ran through Saint Jo. Cotton built Bowie. Oil punched the first holes in the Permian margin. Three economies in sixty years.
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04 · 1920 – present
The modern county.
Twentieth-century Montague County: Route 82, the Lake Nocona impoundment, the Nokona glove factory, county government, and what remains.
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Heritage Businesses
Montague County enterprises that have operated for a generation or more — ranches, manufacturers, and family-run institutions still active today.
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Historic Markers
Every Texas Historical Commission marker in Montague County — subject, location, and the text on the cast-aluminum panel.
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NRHP Designations
Properties on the National Register of Historic Places within Montague County, with nomination summaries and significance ratings.
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How we research
Every entry draws from primary sources — TSHA Handbook, county clerk archives, THC Atlas, NRHP nomination forms, and on-site verification when accessible. Dates and names are checked against at least two independent records before publication. See our editorial principles →
The Friday email
One spotlight, five local events, no spam. Lands before coffee gets cold.