Greer County, Texas
Encyclopedia
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
on February 8, 1860 (and named for John Alexander Greer
John Alexander Greer
John Alexander Greer was a Texan politician, and the second Lieutenant Governor of Texas.Greer was born at Shelbyville, Tennessee on July 18, 1802. He was in Kentucky before moving to Texas in 1830. He represented San Augustine as a senator in the Congress of the Republic of Texas from...
, Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
), was land claimed by both Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Origin of the dispute
The dispute arose from a mapMap
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
submitted with the Adams-Onís Treaty
Adams-Onís Treaty
The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty or the Purchase of Florida, was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that gave Florida to the U.S. and set out a boundary between the U.S. and New Spain . It settled a standing border dispute between the two...
of 1819. The treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
stated that the boundary
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
between the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
claims on the north and the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
claims on the south was Rio Roxo de Natchitoches (Red River
Red River (Mississippi watershed)
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
) until it reached the 100th meridian west
100th meridian west
The meridian 100° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
as noted on John Melish's map published in 1818. The problem was that the 100th meridian on the Melish map was some 90 miles (144.8 km) east of the true 100th meridian and the Red River forked about 50 miles (80.5 km) east of the 100th meridian. Texas claimed the land south of the North Fork and the United States claimed the land north of the South Fork (later called the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River
Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River
Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River is a sandy-braided stream about long, formed at the confluence of Palo Duro Creek and Tierra Blanca Creek, about northeast of Canyon in Randall County, Texas, and flowing east-southeastward to the Red River about east of the 100th meridian, south-southwest of...
).
United States vs. State of Texas
The dispute resulted in a lawsuitLawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
, which eventually wound up before the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
—no lower court having jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
. The Court's opinion, in United States v. State of Texas , issued on March 16, held that the land of some 1.5 million acres (6070 km²/2345 mi²) belonged to the United States. Following that ruling, on May 4, 1896, the land was officially assigned by Congress to Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
. The Greer County Homestead Law, passed just afterwards, gave the Texas settlers the 160 acres (647,000 m²) they were living on and the option to purchase an additional 160 acres (647,000 m²) for $1.00
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
per acre ($247/km²).
"Greer County" Today
When Oklahoma became the 46th U.S. state (November 16, 1907), old "Greer County" was divided into GreerGreer County, Oklahoma
Greer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 6,061. Its county seat is Mangum. From 1860 to 1896, the state of Texas claimed an area known as Greer County, Texas, which included present-day Greer County along with neighboring...
, Jackson
Jackson County, Oklahoma
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 28,439. Its county seat is Altus.-Geography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water....
, and part of Beckham
Beckham County, Oklahoma
Beckham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 19,799. Its county seat is Sayre.Founded upon statehood in 1907, Beckham County was named for J. C. W...
counties. Harmon County
Harmon County, Oklahoma
Harmon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 2,992. In population, it is the second smallest county in Oklahoma, only Cimarron County, according to the 2010 census, having fewer inhabitants. The county seat is Hollis.-Geography:According to the...
was created May 22, 1909 by a vote of the people from a portion of Greer County, Oklahoma.
See also
- OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
- Greer County, OklahomaGreer County, OklahomaGreer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 6,061. Its county seat is Mangum. From 1860 to 1896, the state of Texas claimed an area known as Greer County, Texas, which included present-day Greer County along with neighboring...
- Harmon County, OklahomaHarmon County, OklahomaHarmon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 2,992. In population, it is the second smallest county in Oklahoma, only Cimarron County, according to the 2010 census, having fewer inhabitants. The county seat is Hollis.-Geography:According to the...
- Jackson County, OklahomaJackson County, OklahomaJackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 28,439. Its county seat is Altus.-Geography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water....
- Beckham County, OklahomaBeckham County, OklahomaBeckham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 19,799. Its county seat is Sayre.Founded upon statehood in 1907, Beckham County was named for J. C. W...
- Red RiverRed River (Mississippi watershed)The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
- TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Texas Panhandle
- Childress County, Texas
- Collingsworth County, Texas
- Hardeman County, TexasHardeman County, TexasAs of the census of 2000, there were 4,724 people, 1,943 households, and 1,319 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile . There were 2,358 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
- List of extinct United States counties
Sources
- Estill-Harbour, Emma, Ph.D. "Greer County", Chronicles of Oklahoma 12:2 (June 1934) 145-162 (retrieved August 16, 2006).