Editing Groom, Texas (section)

==History==
===Early exploration===
The route from [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]], to [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], along the [[Canadian River]] was charted circa 1849 by Captain Randolph Barnes Marcy. Published in 1859, Marcy's book, ''[[The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions]]'', contained maps and illustrations of routes between the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] and the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and was used as a basic manual by westward-bound wagon trains and travelers for years.<ref name="pan-tex1">[http://www.pan-tex.net/usr/p/pampa-hist/pa01004.htm  The Log House on White Deer Creek, Eloise Lane] Retrieved June 22, 2009</ref>

===Colonel B. B. Groom===
Colonel B. B. Groom, an experienced cattleman near [[Lexington, Kentucky]], leased from the New York and Texas Land Company {{convert|592920|acre|km2}} of land in [[Hutchinson County, Texas|Hutchinson]], Carson, [[Gray County, Texas|Gray]], and [[Roberts County, Texas|Roberts]] counties in the [[Texas Panhandle]] in 1882, resulting in the organization of the Francklyn Land and Cattle Company. Groom purchased an estimated 1,300 head of [[shorthorn]]s in 1882 and selected the Diamond F [[livestock branding|brand]], approved by the Francklyn officials and filed as the company's brand in October 1882. Unfortunately, Groom's vision of the finest and most desirable cattle ranch in the United States did not materialize for him. The Francklyn Land and Cattle Company became insolvent in 1886. The bondholders foreclosed and organized a new company known as White Deer Lands (later White Deer Land Company), under the management of the agent [[Timothy Dwight Hobart]], one of the subsequent founders of [[Pampa, Texas]].<ref name="pan-tex1"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dsf02|title=Francklyn Land and Cattle Company|encyclopedia=[[The Handbook of Texas]] Online|accessdate=February 14, 2015}}</ref>

===Harrison Groom===
Colonel Groom's son, Harrison Groom, established a camp at the edge of a little lake just west of the present town of White Deer.<ref name="pan-tex1"/>

===The town===
The site of Groom was chosen in 1902, along the route of the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway. Groom was first incorporated in 1911.<ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlg36  The Handbook of Texas Online] Retrieved June 22, 2009</ref>