Editing Young County, Texas (section)

==History==

===Native Americans===

The Brazos Indian Reservation, founded by General [[Randolph B. Marcy]] in 1854, provided a refuge from warring [[Comanche]] for the [[Lenape|Delaware]], [[Shawnee]], [[Tonkawa]], [[Wichita people|Wichita]], [[Yowani|Choctaw]], and [[Caddo]] peoples, who had migrated into Texas from other areas. Within the [[Indian reservation|reservation]], each [[tribe]] had its own [[village]] and cultivated agricultural crops. Government-contracted [[beef cattle]] were delivered each week. Most settlers were unable to distinguish between reservation and non-reservation tribes, blaming the reservation Indians for the raids by the Comanche and [[Kiowa]]. A newspaper in [[Jacksboro, Texas]], titled ''The White Man'' (or ''Whiteman''), advocated removal of all tribes from North Texas.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Brazos Indian Reservation | id= bpb03| author=Crouch, Carrie J| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref><ref>{{Handbook of Texas | title=White Man | id= eew11| author=Minor, David| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref>

During December 1858, Choctaw Tom, a [[Yowani]] married to a [[Hasinai]] woman, at times served as an interpreter to [[Sam Houston]]. He was among a group of reservation Indians who received permission to hunt outside the reservation boundaries, but on December 27, Captain Peter Garland and a [[vigilante]] group attacked Choctaw Tom's camp, indiscriminately murdering and injuring women and children along with the men.<ref>{{cite web | title=Choctaw Tom | publisher=Fort Tours |url= http://www.forttours.com/pages/choctawtom.asp|access-date=May 5, 2010}}</ref>

[[Hardin Richard Runnels|Governor Hardin Richard Runnels]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Texas Governor Harden Richard Runnels | publisher=State of Texas |url= http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40009/tsl-40009.html|access-date=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Library and Archives Commission</ref> ordered Major [[John Henry Brown]] of the state militia to the area, with 100 troops to control potential retaliation and unrest.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | title=John Henry Brown | id= fbr94| author=Baker, Erma| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> An examining trial was conducted about the Choctaw Tom raid, but no indictments resulted of any militia.

In May 1859, [[John R. Baylor|John Baylor]]<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=John Robert Baylor | id= fbaat| author=Thompson, Jerry| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> led a number of whites who confronted the United States troops defending the reservation, demanding the surrender of certain men from the tribe whom they thought were responsible for raids. The military balked, and Baylor retreated, but he killed an Indian woman and an old man in the process.<!-- How was this a side event? --> Baylor's group was later attacked by Indians off the reservation, where the military had no authority to intervene.

In May 1871, Kiowa [[medicine man]] [[Sitting Bear|Satank (Sitting Bear)]],<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Satank | id= fsa32| author=Hosmer, Brian C| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> and Kiowa chiefs [[Satanta (White Bear)]],<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Satanta| id= fsa33| author=Hosmer, Brian C| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> Addo-etta (Big Tree)<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Addo-etta Big Tree | id= fbi07| author=Hosmer, Brian C| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> and Maman-ti (Skywalker)<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Maman-ti | id= fmacz| author=Anderson, H. Allen | retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> led a force of over 100 Kiowa, Comanche, [[Plains Apache|Kiowa-Apaches]], [[Arapaho]], and [[Cheyenne]] warriors from the Oklahoma [[Fort Sill]] Reservation into Texas. On May 18, the Indians attacked a [[wagon train]] belonging to [[Warren Wagon Train Raid|Henry Warren]], killing all but five who escaped. [[Commanding General of the United States Army]] [[William Tecumseh Sherman]] personally arrested Satank, Satanta, and Big Tree at Fort Sill and had them tried in civil court in [[Jacksboro, Texas|Jacksboro]]. Satank was killed in an attempted escape, and others were found guilty and sentenced to hang. Their sentences were commuted by [[Edmund J. Davis|Governor Edmund J. Davis]] at the request of a group of [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]], and they were later [[parole]]d. The incident was a key element that contributed to the [[Red River War]].<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Warren Wagon Train Raid | id= btw03| author=Hamilton, Allen Lee| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref>

===Explorers and settlers===
[[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] Colonel [[Diego Ortiz Parrilla]]<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Ortiz Parrilla, Diego, Red River Campaign | id= poo01| author=Weddle, Robert S| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> travelled through the county en route to during the [[Battle of the Twin Villages|1759 Red River Campaign]]. Pedro Vial came through the region in 1789 while charting the [[Santa Fe Trail]].

The county was included in the 1841 Republic of Texas [[empresario]] [[Peters Colony]] land grant.<ref>{{cite web | title=Young County Timeline| publisher=Peters Colony Historical Society of Dallas County, Texas |url= http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txpchsdc/history/peters_colony.htm|access-date=May 5, 2010}}</ref> The Young County portion of the grant remained unsettled until the 1850s.

In 1851, Bvt. Brig. Gen. William G. Belknap founded the [[United States Army]] [[Fort Belknap (Texas)|Fort Belknap]].<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Fort Belknap| id=qbf02| author=Neighbours, Kenneth F| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> The fort was surrendered to the Confederacy in 1861, and reoccupied by federal troops in 1867. John and Will Peveler<ref>{{cite web | title=Young County Timeline| publisher=Young County TxGenWeb |url= http://txgenweb6.org/txyoung/history/timeline.html|access-date=May 5, 2010}}</ref> established a ranch {{convert|2|mi|km|abbr=on}} near<!-- below? --> Fort Belknap, becoming the first settlers.

===County established===

Young County was established by the [[Texas Legislature]] in 1856 from [[Bosque County, Texas|Bosque]] and [[Fannin County, Texas|Fannin]] Counties and organized later that same year. Belknap became the county seat. Many of the citizens abandoned the area during the [[American Civil War]] due to Indian depredations. In 1865, the county's government was dissolved, and the county records were transferred to Jacksboro. The county was reorganized in 1874, and the county records were brought back from Jacksboro. This time, the new town of [[Graham, Texas|Graham]], platted in 1873, was chosen as the county seat.

Gustavus and Edwin Graham began the town of Graham<ref>{{cite web | title=Graham, Texas | publisher=Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC. | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasTowns/Graham-Texas.htm | access-date=May 5, 2010}} Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> in 1872, and opened the saltworks in 1869. An 1876 area rancher meeting in Graham, regarding cattle rustling, became the beginnings of what is now known as the [http://www.thecattlemanmagazine.com/ Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association]. In 1891, a group of investors formed the Graham Mining Company in hopes of mining gold, silver, and coal in the area.

Between 1874 and 1910, railroad lines contributed to the county economy and facilitated transportation, including the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway]],<ref>{{cite web | title=CPI, Pac Railroad| publisher=American Rails |url= http://www.american-rails.com/chicago-rock-island-and-pacific.html|access-date=May 5, 2010}} American Rails</ref> the Wichita Falls and Southern,<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad| id=eqwue| author=Anderson, H Allen| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> and the Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad.

Federal programs came to the assistance of farmers and ranchers during the [[Great Depression]]. The [[Work Projects Administration]] restored old Fort Belknap in 1936. In the 1930s, Young County also joined 65 other counties to form the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas | name=Young County | id=hcy02| author=Leffler, John| retrieved=May 5, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> Oil exploration and production opened the 20th century, and had Lindy Lou No. 1 well come in. Actual production of [[petroleum]] began in 1920, and boom towns sprang up around the county. By 1990, {{convert|3431000|oilbbl}} had been produced.