Books
The Early History of Motley County by Harry H. Campbell (San Antonio: Naylor, 1958; 2d ed., Wichita Falls: Nortex, 1971).The author's father was the long-time manager of the Matador ranch from 1879-1891. A detailed history of the county.
Of Such as These: A History of Motley County and Its Families by Eleanor Traweek (Quanah, Texas: Nortex, 1973).
Contents: I. Early History: The Comanche Indians, Designation and Organization of the County, Residents Since 1891, How the West Was Tamed, The Jail, Do You Remember? II. The Matador Ranch: Early History, Later History, Ranch Line Camps, The Cowboy. III. Landmarks and Towns: Points of Interest, Historic Landmarks, Towns. IV. Religious, Art, and Social Activities: Churches, Arts, Clubs and Organizations. V. Schools. VI. Business Activities: The Dewdrop, The Ice Cream Parlor, Newspapers, Banks, Mails, Transportation. VII. Tributes: Recollections of People, Places and Events, Award Winners, Memorials. VIII. Picture Section. IX. Family Histories. Scarce west Texas county history.
Motley County Roundup: Over 100 Years of Gathering in Texas by Marisue Burleson Potts
Motley County Roundup is a treasure trove of historical information about life in this history-filled county in the Rolling Plains region of Texas. Read about the people who explored, fought, worked, lived, and died in the area from the early 1800s to the 1990s. Woven throughout are personal perspectives from people who lived there, including those of the author, Motley County native Marisue Burleson Potts, whose family was part of that history ...
Mean As Hell: The Life of a New Mexico Lawman by Dee (Daniel R.) Harkey
Dee gives a detailed account of his brother, Jim Harkey, and the gunfight at Cotton Mott.
"In February, 1878, Jim was killed up there by Jim Barbee. They were living together in a log cabin with a stick and dirt chimney ...These boys were cowhands, and they rode drift line and ate together, though they were working for different companies. The day of the killing, they both got back to camp early and lay around the camp. Barbee told Jim that day the reason he was out there was because he had had a difficulty with his father and had tried to stab him with a butcher knife ..."
Getting Away with Murder on the Texas Frontier: Notorious Killings and Celebrated Trials by Bill Neal
"Fulcher's First appearance in recorded history occurred sometime in 1886 when he and his wife, Minnie, showed up dead broke in the West Texas Counties of Dickens and Motley. The Fulchers took advantage of the hospitality of three pioneer homesteaders: B. F. Brock, F. M. Wells, and J. A. Askins and their families. At some point Fulcher got into a bitter dispute with A. Beemer, a Civil War veteran who worked as a blacksmith on the the sprawling Matador Ranch ..."
Bones Hooks: Pioneer Negro Cowboy by Bruce Todd
Matthew 'Bones' Hooks was a true pioneer who not only built a town, schools, and churches, but also broke down racial barriers as one of the first black cowboys to work alongside whites as a ranch hand. Found inside: "He later joined cattle drives to Fort Worth and Kansas. He followed that up as manager of the Turkey Track Division of the Matador Ranch in King and Motley counties ..."
News from Down to the Cafe: New Poems By David Lee
David Lee was born in Matador, Texas. He played semiprofessional baseball as the only white player to ever play for the Negro League Post Texas Blue Stars and was a knuckleball pitcher for the South Plains Texas League Hubbers. These poems are rooted in stories overheard at the Wayburne Pig Cafe. They capture a rural community's true voice, peppered with gossip and arguments right off Main Street. It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.