Old Tascosa: From Wild Cowtown to Boys Ranch

Tascosa was the original county seat, organized in 1880. It grew as a supply point for the big cattle ranches — the XIT, LS, LIT, and others — and earned a reputation as a rough Panhandle cowtown. When the railroad bypassed Tascosa in 1887, the town slowly died. By 1915, Vega had won the county seat in a special election.

In 1939 former wrestler and Amarillo businessman Cal Farley opened a home for at-risk boys on the abandoned Tascosa site. The land was donated by Julian Bivins, a prominent Panhandle rancher. Cal Farley's Boys Ranch still operates there today. The old 1880s county courthouse on the grounds was renovated in 1963 and now houses the Julian Bivins Museum. The Handbook of Texas at tshaonline.org has full entries on both Tascosa and Boys Ranch.