Texas Porch

Oldham County, Texas

6 local notes for Oldham County — practical, plain-English, and pointed at the official source to confirm. Panhandle / High Plains.

Money & Taxes

Property Tax

Property Tax: Two Offices, Not One

Oldham County splits property tax work between two offices, and knowing which does what saves you a wasted trip.

Home & Property

Groundwater

Your Well Draws from a Shrinking Aquifer

Oldham County sits over the Ogallala Aquifer, the main water source for the Panhandle, but water is being used faster than it refills.

Outdoors

Hunting

Hunting in Oldham County: Deer, Pronghorn, and More

Oldham County offers white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn by permit, turkey, quail, and pheasant — with rules that differ from other parts of Texas.

History & Culture

Local History

Old Tascosa: From Wild Cowtown to Boys Ranch

The ghost town of Tascosa was Oldham County's rowdy first county seat, and it survives today as the campus of Cal Farley's Boys Ranch.

Local Identity

Vega: County Seat on the Mother Road

Vega became the county seat in 1915 and grew along Route 66, which is now Interstate 40 — it remains the commercial and government hub for Oldham County.

Ranching Heritage

The XIT Ranch and Oldham County's Cattle Roots

Oldham County was shaped by massive cattle ranches in the late 1800s, and ranching still defines the land and culture today.

Keep going

Browse another county

See local notes for any Texas county.

All counties ->

Statewide Local Notes

Short notes on Texas-wide quirks.

Browse notes ->

Look up a place

City pages with local checks and official links.

Find a place ->