Kermit

Kermit is on the Texas-New Mexico Railway and State highways 18, 302, 703, and 115 seven miles northwest of Wink in central Winkler County. It began as a supply center for the scattered ranches of the area. Kermit became the seat of Winkler County when the county was organized in 1910. The first public school and the post office opened the same year. The town was named for Kermit Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt. The younger Roosevelt visited the T Bar Ranch in northern Winkler County to hunt antelope a few months before the town was named. In 1916 the county suffered a drought. Many homesteaders and ranchers were forced to leave. In 1924 only Ern Baird's family remained in the town. Only one student attended school in the county for five months of 1924. Only three houses and the courthouse were in use by 1926. On July 16, 1926, however, oil was discovered in Hendrick oilfield, near Kermit, and the town experienced a boom. In 1927 a population of 1,000 was reported; by 1929 that number increased to 1,500. On March 4, 1929, the Texas-New Mexico Railway reached the town.

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