Parmer County

Parmer County, on the western border of the Panhandle of Texas, is bordered on the west by New Mexico, on the north by Deaf Smith County, on the east by Castro County, and on the south by Bailey and Lamb counties. The county is on the High Plains of Texas, and its center is located at 34°33' north latitude and 102°47' west longitude. Farwell, the county seat, is on the Texas-New Mexico border, fifteen miles southwest of the center of the county and eighty-five miles southwest of Amarillo. The county was named for Martin Parmer, an early settler and Texas Revolution veteran. Parmer County occupies 859 square miles of level plains surfaced by sandy, clay, and loam soils. These soils support some native grasses, but now the land is largely cultivated and produces abundant corn, sugar beets, and potatoes, as well as sorghums, cotton, wheat, hay, and soybeans. The elevation ranges from 3,800 to 4,202 feet above sea level, and the county is bisected from northwest to southeast by Running Water Draw, an intermittent but flood-prone creek. Lesser dry arroyos, such as Catfish Draw and Frio Draw, also serve to break the level plains in some areas. Rainfall averages 17.50 inches per year. The average annual minimum temperature is 21° F in January, and the average maximum is 92° F in July. The growing season averages 183 days per year.

The region including Parmer County has remained rather isolated throughout its history. It is possible that the José Mares expedition from Santa Fe to San Antonio crossed the northeastern corner of the county in 1787, but for the most part the region remained under the control of its aboriginal inhabitants. Apaches occupied the Panhandle-Plains until they were pushed out around 1700 by the Kiowas and Comanches, who ruled the Texas High Plains between 1700 and the end of the Red River War in 1874. After their defeat and removal to Indian Territory, the Parmer County region was opened for White settlement.