Upton Co. History

UPTON COUNTY, located in southwest Texas south of Midland county, is named for Confederate officers John C. and William F. Upton. The county is in the Edwards Plateau vegetation region. At 2,300 to 3,000 feet above sea level, the northern portion of the county is flat, while the southern section is rolling and hilly and has numerous small lakes, which drain to the Middle Concho and Pecos rivers. Earliest inhabitants were the Comanche and Apache Indians who lost their domain to the US Army and the "advancing tide" of settlers in the 1870s and 1880s. In the 1860s the Chihuahua Trail from Mexico to Indianola crossed the area, as did the Butterfield Overland Mail and the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

Originally a part of Bexar county, Upton was part of Tom Green county from 1874 until 1887 when Upton county was established. In 1890 census there were 52 people living in Upton county; 48 in 1900. A public school was established in 1908, and in 1910 there were 105 ranches or farms. Population had grown to 501.

In fall 1911 the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway reached the townsite of Rankin, which became the county seat in 1921. A full page is devoted to Upton county in the New Texas Handbook, which is recommended for further information.

The county clerk at Rankin, the county seat, has vital records since 1910.

From the New Texas Handbook


Cities & Towns in Upton County
McCamey
Midkiff
Rankin