Editing Upton County, Texas (section)

==History==

===Native Americans===

[[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] were the first inhabitants of the area. Tribes present at the time of conquest included the [[Comanches]] and [[Apache]].<ref name="Upton County, Texas">{{cite web|last=Leffler|first=John|title=Upton County, Texas|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcu02|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 15, 2010|author2=Hunt, William R }}</ref>

===Trails===

One of the first routes bringing people through the area was the [[Chihuahua Trail]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Perry|first=Ann|title=A Guide to Hispanic Texas|year=1996|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-77709-5|author2=Smith, Deborah |author3=Simons, Helen |author4= Hoyt, Catherine A |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sharp|first=Jay W|title=Desert Trails: The Chihuahua Trail|url=http://www.desertusa.com/mag03/trails/trails05.html|publisher=Desert USA|access-date=December 15, 2010}}</ref> connecting Mexico's state of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]] with [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]. The trail served as a trade route for nomadic tribes of Indians and [[Spanish people|Spaniards]], as well as traders from both [[Mexico]] and [[Texas]].

The [[Butterfield Overland Mail]] crossed the area from 1858 to 1861.<ref>{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Jon L|title=Texas on Stamps|year=1996|publisher=Texas Christian University Press|isbn=978-0-87565-164-4|page=16}}</ref>

The [[Goodnight-Loving Trail]] served as a cattle-drive trail from 1866 to 1888. The trail began at [[Young County, Texas]], and passed along the [[Pecos River]] to [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico]], and into [[Colorado]] before ending in [[Cheyenne, Wyoming]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Janin|first=Hunt|title=Trails of Historic New Mexico: Routes Used by Indian, Spanish and American Travelers through 1886|year=2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4010-8|pages=141–149|author2=Carlson, Ursula B }}</ref>

===Establishment of the county===

Upton was formed in 1887 from [[Tom Green County, Texas]]. The county was named after John C. Upton and his brother William F. Upton. of [[Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web|title=John C. Upton and His Brother, W. F. Upton - Rankin, Upton County, Texas|work=Texas Historical Markers|url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5461002771|publisher=William Nienke, Sam Morrow|access-date=December 15, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301062030/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5461002771|archive-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref> Cattleman George Elliott became the first to establish a homestead in Upton County in 1880.<ref>{{cite web|title=Elliott Ranch - Rankin, Upton County, Texas|work=Texas Historical Markers|url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5461001460|publisher=William Nienke, Sam Morrow|access-date=December 15, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301062040/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5461001460|archive-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref> Beginning as open range, the land was shared with sheepmen by the 1890s. The United States Census counted 52 people living in the county in 1890, and only 48 in 1900; most of these were either members of three families, or were in their employ. The agricultural sector of the county has been outpaced by cattle and sheep ranching. In 1982, about 92% of the land in Upton County was in farms and ranches, but less than 1% of the county was considered prime farmland, and only 2% of the county was cultivated.<ref name="Upton County, Texas"/> In the fall of 1911, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway reached the townsite of Rankin, and by January 1912, most of the people living in Upland had moved to Rankin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rankin, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/WestTexasTowns/Rankin-Texas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 15, 2010}}</ref>

===Oil===

Wildcatter George McCamey's Baker No. 1 in September 1925 opened up the McCamey Oil Field, established the town of [[McCamey, Texas|McCamey]] and brought the subsequent oil boom to Upton County.<ref>{{cite book|last=Warner|first=C A|title=Texas Oil & Gas Since 1543|year=2007|publisher=Copano Bay Press |isbn=978-0-9767799-5-7|author2=Thompson, Ernest O |page=292}}</ref>  The [[Yates Oil Field]] in [[Crockett County, Texas|Crockett]] and [[Pecos County, Texas|Pecos]] Counties resulted in a financial boon for the town of [[Rankin, Texas|Rankin]], which served as a supply and service center. The resulting financial windfall benefitted infrastructure in Rankin.<ref>Hyne, Norman J. ''Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Exploration, Drilling, and Production, 2nd edition.'' PennWell Books, 2001.  {{ISBN|0-87814-823-X}}, {{ISBN|0-87814-823-X}} p. 105.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=University of Texas Oil Connections|url=http://www.utwatch.org/utimco/oilfields.html|publisher=UT Watch|access-date=December 15, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213050505/http://www.utwatch.org/utimco/oilfields.html|archive-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref> In 1946, [[Michael Late Benedum|Mike Benedum]] began wildcatting in Upton County and opened up what would become known as the Benedum Oil Field.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Murphy|first=Charles J W|title=Old Mike's Big Strike|magazine=Life|date=February 16, 1948|pages=51, 52, 54, 56, 58}}</ref>   The Weir No. 1 gushed in 1961 and enabled Upton County to continue as an outstanding Texas production area.<ref>{{cite web|title=Weir No. 1 Oil Well - Rankin, Upton County, Texas|url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5461000016|work=Texas Historical Markers|publisher=William Nienke, Sam Morrow|access-date=December 15, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301062049/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5461000016|archive-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref>