Wilco

Wilco (originally Wilcoe), on Farm Road 2587 in extreme northeastern Hartley County, was founded in 1909 by the brothers James Edward and Frank B. Wilson, ranchers and land developers who came with their families from Effingham, Kansas. The Wilsons' brother John and his wife, Katie, also helped promote the proposed townsite. The Wilsons established a mercantile store and a combination school and church near their new ranch headquarters, laid out a park with planted trees, and soon sold several town lots. Wilco was one of the townsites included in the proposed Enid, Ochiltree, and Western Railroad line, and the tracks were laid from Dalhart to Wilco before the railroad plans fell through. Service on this line continued until 1911, however, and later on it was connected with a spur of the Rock Island line to Pringle in Hutchinson County. By 1940 only the school remained. Ed Wilson and his wife lived at Wilco until they moved to Dalhart in the late 1940s. Their heirs continued to occupy the ranchhouse. A grain elevator stands near the railroad spur, and the mail is routed through Dalhart.