Winkler's Well

Wentworth was two miles south of the site of present Sonora in Sutton County. In 1884 A. T. Winkler and his family moved to the area after being washed out by the Ben Ficklin flood. About 1885 Winkler drilled a well. A settlement grew up on Winkler's property called Winkler's Well. By 1887 Winkler's Well had twenty families, twelve dwellings, a store, numerous tents, a feed barn, and a building used as a Masonic Lodge, a church, and a school. In 1887 Sutton County was established from Crockett County. In a contest for the county seat against Sonora, Winkler's Well changed its name to Wentworth, a move designed to gain the support of P. A. Wentworth, owner of the county's largest ranch. In 1890 Sonora secured the county seat. Wentworth quickly declined and within a year had lost most of its citizens and the Masonic Lodge to Sonora. Wentworth had a post office from 1890 until 1891. Although some dissatisfied Sonorans tried to revive Wentworth in 1898, this project failed, and by 1900 Wentworth had disappeared.