A THUMBNAIL SKETCH OF HENRIETTA HISTORY
The Comanche and Kiowa have for centuries travelled through what is now Henrietta. They wintered near San Antonio
and camped in the summer near Wichita, Kansas. One of their major stops on each trip was Henrietta because of its
spring, that they named "The Moving Spring". While not apparent to most folks today, the spring has actually moved
nearly 200 feet in the last 150 years or so.
In 1857, Clay (named for Henry Clay) and Montague counties were carved out of Cooke County. Henrietta was
declared the county seat. Cambridge (once called Pin Hook) felt it was better suited to be the county seat, and a
sizeable dispute erupted, with Henrietta eventually winning.
It has been reported that in 1860, Henrietta consisted of 10 houses and a General Store The population was counted
at 107 and 2 slaves. A Post Office was opened in 1862.
A small, one room Courthouse was built and an 1885 Sanborn map of Henrietta shows it located near the current 1890
Jail Museum site. Later it was converted to a jail (The Calaboose), and then to a library. It was later abandoned and
moved to it's current location at the Tex Rickard Rodeo Grounds.
When the Civil War broke out, all the Union soldiers were reassigned leaving the settlers unprotected. The town was
abandoned as people moved to Cooke County for protection from the Indians. The Indians burned what remained of
the town.
After the war, a small group of settlers led by a Doctor Eldridge, tried to settle here. After numerous raids by Indians
and with several people killed, they left.
In 1870, Goodleck Koozier, a Quaker, brought his family to Henrietta. He did not believe in fighting and carried no
weapons, believing peace and goodwill would win over the Indians. It didn't. He was killed and his family carried off by a
Kiowa named White Horse. It is reported that white men buried him under a large sandstone that served as a step to
his house. A Grand Jury issued an indictment for the crime, but there is no record that White Horse was ever captured
or tried.
After that, settlers began returning and in 1873, voters elected the first county officials. There was only one candidate
for each position. The Post Office reopened in 1874.
A unit of the US Army, 10th Cavalry, (the famous Buffalo Soldiers) then stationed at Camp Wichita (now called Ft Sill)
in Indian Territory, was dispatched to build a fort at Buffalo Springs. Due to a shortage of water and timber, the
location was moved to Jacksboro, and Ft Richardson was built. The Buffalo Soldiers spent most of their time in Texas
protecting the Fort Richardson-Fort Sill road.
Henrietta was incorporated in 1881.
In 1882, the Fort Worth and Denver City railroad reached Henrietta, and in 1887 the Gainesville, Henrietta and
Western Railroad was built through town. Later that same year it became part of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas
Railroad, later called the MKT and nicknamed the Katy line. Henrietta was also the hub for several stage lines.
Henrietta became the center for the buffalo hunters, and in 1873, Sam Satterfield had a buffalo hide storage yard that
was a 1/2 mile long. Several businesses were opened making buffalo robes for shipping to the east. The bones were
gathered and shipped to be ground into fertilizer.
At one time Henrietta was known as the Watermelon Capitol of the World, with train loads of the melons being shipped.
It was also an important shipping point for cotton, wheat and oats.
The courthouse was built in 1884. Population was 2100, with no slaves recorded. However, the new courthouse had
an outside restroom marked "colored" Although the building is still there, the signs have been removed.
By the 1890's the town had a 400 seat Opera House, two banks, a photographer, a cigar manufacturer, a school, 2
newspapers, five churches, a drug store with soda fountain, several hotels and saloons and a college.
By the 1930's, Henrietta had 90 businesses, including two cotton gins that shipped 13000 bales of cotton in 1937.
There were two movie theaters, The Dorothy, and The Royal. There were two drugstores, two dry goods stores, five
grocery stores, a blacksmith and two doctors, Dr Greer and Dr Hurn. Cars produced an opportunity for an early
drive-in restaurant called The Lo-boy, and a drive-in movie.
In the 1970's, the population reached 3600, but soon fell as the new highway (US287) bypassed Henrietta, and
businesses began to close.
This article is a compilation from the following sources and credit is given:
-Henrietta Independent, Oct 25, 1935
-Mr. John E. Harston, Pioneer resident of Clay County
-"The Adventures of Bloggard" by Arthur Cronos, dtd December 23rd, 2006
-on-line "History of the Buffalo Soldiers in Texas"