Silverton

Silverton, the county seat of Briscoe County, is on State Highway 86 in the central part of the county. In August 1890 Thomas J. Braidfoot filed claim on the section of land that would later contain Silverton. He soon built a house in the area. In the spring of the following year he and his associates, most of whom had arrived from Della Plain in Floyd County, formed a townsite company. The name, submitted by his wife, was reportedly derived from the silvery reflections of the shallow lakes in the area. A post office, three stores, a blacksmith shop, and a school were established by the fall of 1891. Thomas J. Briscoe started the first newspaper, the Silverton Light. When the county was organized, a special election was held on March 15, 1892, in which Silverton beat out two rival townsites, Linguish and Tarlton, as the county seat. A two-story, frame courthouse was erected in 1893. The following year a jail built of stone from Tule Canyon was completed; its first occupant was the county sheriff, Miner Crawford, who was jailed as a joke during the opening ceremony. Tom Braidfoot's two-story house served as the town's first hotel. A community church was used by various denominations until they built their own houses of worship.

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.