Henrietta, Texas: The Pioneer Town of North Texas

As we continued along the US 287 corridor, we stopped in Henrietta, Texas. It's the county seat of Clay County and was formed in 1857. The county was named for Henry Clay. The town? Hmm...there are several suggestions like it's the femininization of Henry Clay's name or that it was named for his wife, Lucretia. I'm not sure how you get Henrietta from Lucretia but, what do I know.

Early settlers to the town had to contend with numerous attacks by Native Americans. So much so that they fled and abandoned the town in 1862. But, by 1870, the settlers were back and this time for good. One of the settlers was Goodleck Koozer, a Quaker who mistakenly thought if he treated the Indians with respect, he would be fine. He was killed by Comanche Chief Whitehorse and his family was abducted. They were later released.

The Clay County Courthouse was built in 1884. The jail was originally located in the basement of the courthouse. It's the oldest continuously used courthouse in Texas.

In 1890, this county jail was built. Note the bars on the windows to the left along with the bars on the door. That side was the jail. The section on the right was the home to the Clay County Sheriff and his family.

The residence had its own entrance on the front so that the family could go in without having to see the prisoners. The residence probably had a parlor, a kitchen and dining area, bedrooms upstairs and an office for the Sheriff. There was also a gallows on the second floor of the jail but nobody was ever executed there.  There are rumors that members of Bonnie and Clyde's Barrow Gang may have been detained here but there are no records confirming that. Most of these small town jails were temporary holding sites until the criminals could be moved to a larger, more secure facility.

This building ceased being the jail in 1973 and is now a museum that's open Thurs, Fri & Sat. It's free. Unfortunately, we were there on a Wednesday.

This is one of the buildings in the commercial district in downtown Henrietta. I think the top floor was a Masonic Lodge. The bottom floor would have been retail. If only people kept records! I would love to know what went on here.

In 1882, the Fort Worth & Denver Railway came to town helping to make Henrietta a great travel center as this was also on a major Stagecoach route. You would take the train to Henrietta then hop on the stagecoach to your final destination. This red train car is a 1920s rail car. It's currently the home of the Henrietta Chamber of Commerce.

This used to be the lodge for the International Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization that focuses on community service. The building was erected in 1909 and the second floor was most likely used as the meeting place for the lodge members. I'm not sure when the Olsen-Stelzer Boot company moved in but Carl Olsen was a shoemaker from Norway. He met Julius Stelzer when they both worked for Justin Boots. In 1934, Julius moved to Henrietta and teamed up with Olsen. Olsen designed the boots and Julius mass produced them. The company is now in Dallas and this building has become an Ace Hardware store.

Only three thousand people live in Henrietta so there aren't many businesses there. The grocery store is a Dollar General and I didn't even see any fast food places let alone chain restaurants. Chances are that most people who live here work in Wichita Falls.

For the last 90 years, Henrietta has hosted the Pioneer Reunion and Rodeo. It starts off with a parade and includes a barbeque and three days of rodeo action. It usually takes place in September. It's called the Pioneer Town of North Texas because of it's early origins in the area.

I wish we'd been able to check out the museum. I can only imagine that it would have been interesting. It's a cool little town and if you don't need much, it would be cool to live there. Maybe buy one of those old buildings on the town square and renovate it into a home. 

If you're in the area, check it out!