Dumas

Dumas, Texas

Dumas, Texas

View of Downtown Dumas, the seat of Moore County, Texas. Photograph by Billy Hathorn.
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Map of Moore County

Dumas, the county seat of Moore County, is at the junction of U.S. highways 87 and 287 in the center of the county. It was named for Louis Dumas, president of the Panhandle Townsite Company in Sherman, who purchased railroad survey lands in the Panhandle. In January 1891 Dumas and his associates formed the Moore County Townsite Company and platted the town on a site some five miles south of South Palo Duro Creek. The first building housed the company office, a hotel, a general store, and the first post office. James C. Wilson served as first postmaster and was followed by John F. Patterson, who opened a general store later that year. The following year Moore County was organized, and Dumas was elected county seat. By then several lots had been sold and a courthouse erected. The first school was constructed in 1892 on the block west of the courthouse.

A plague of grasshoppers in the summer of 1893 and a severe winter during 1893–94 almost reduced Dumas to a ghost town. Even Louis Dumas gave up hope and moved back to Grayson County. At times during the next few years only one family was reported as inhabiting the townsite. In 1900 Arthur Nield's mercantile store was the sole business in operation. In 1904 Phillips and Son bought this establishment and started an enterprise that is still in operation. J. V. Mills opened a rival general store, and the first bank was opened in 1908. Since there was no railroad, supplies were hauled overland from Amarillo. A skating rink was opened, and the county's first newspaper, the Moore County Pioneer, began circulation in 1909. Two churches had been established, and by 1910 automobiles and telephones were in use. When the Enid, Ochiltree and Western Railroad announced plans to build through Dumas, the population increased from twenty-three in 1903 to over 100 by 1915. Though that railroad scheme fell through, Dumas grew to around 200 and had a blacksmith shop, a barbershop, a lumberyard, a drugstore, and other businesses serving area ranchers and wheat farmers. After cotton was introduced to the county in 1918, a gin was opened in Dumas.

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H. Allen Anderson | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Dumas is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Dumas is classified as a Town

Location

Latitude: 35.86133520
Longitude: -101.96419000

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

14,290