When you travel U.S. 183 through Throckmorton, think cattle drive. The highway traces the 1870s-1880s route of the Great Western Trail where tough cowboys drove millions of cattle from South Texas, across Indian country, to railheads in Kansas. That’s about the time Throckmorton County was organized with Throckmorton as its seat of government. To make a statement about its future, the county built a grand Italianate-style courthouse in 1890, even though the town only had 124 residents at the time. A short drive down Chestnut Street leads to the 1893 county jail, now home of the Throckmorton County Historical Museum. The two-story stone building still features original iron cells upstairs, some bearing prisoner graffiti. The downstairs sheriff’s quarters displays local historical artifacts and vintage photos. Each June the Throckmorton Ranch Rodeo and Pioneer Day celebrates the area’s cowboying past.
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Forts Trail Region
Throckmorton County Courthouse
121 N Minter Ave Throckmorton, TX 76483 (940) 849-4411 Website
Throckmorton County Courthouse121 N Minter Ave
Throckmorton, TX 76483