The Railroad Created Perryton and Made the County Seat Move

Ochiltree County was created by the Texas legislature in 1876. For decades, the county seat was the town of Ochiltree, about 20 miles from the present county seat. In 1919, the North Texas and Santa Fe Railway built a line across the Panhandle. The railroad made wheat farming profitable because farmers could finally move grain to distant markets.

Perryton was laid out along the new rail line in 1919 and became the county seat that same year. The original town of Ochiltree quickly lost population. Today Perryton is the commercial and government center of the county. The county's history shows how much one infrastructure decision — where the railroad went — shaped where people settled and built communities on the High Plains.