Tascosa, named for nearby Atascosa Creek, was rooted in a local crossing of the Canadian River which cowboys passed on their way to the railhead and cattle markets in Dodge City. Established in 1876 by ex-soldier and blacksmith Henry Kimball, the role of Tascosa was comparable as a regional center to that of Mobeetie in Wheeler County further east. Tascosa was a town of tents and adobe, with a stone court house erected in 1884 at a cost of $18,000. It reached its peak in 1888 with cattle, farming, dairying, and general merchandising. Tascosa served the cattle ranches for a hundred miles in every direction. It was a popular rendezvous for cows hands who frequented bars and dance halls after hard labor on the sage brush and sands of the Canadian River Valley. With its gambling houses and brothels, Tascosa was visited by such Old West characters as Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. Despite a reputation for lawlessness and the lack of a church for several years, Tascosa had a considerable element of substantial citizens. The Tascosa Pioneer wrote that the community "is not half so rough as many have been led to believe... but in general the people of Tascosa and Oldham are whole-hearted, sociable, and exceptionally civil. Law-breaking is the exception and not the rule." The post office opened on June 24, 1878. By 1880, enough voters were available in Tascosa and Oldham County for purposes of organization of government. Oldham was the second county organized in northwest Texas. Nine other Panhandle counties were removed from Wheeler County and joined with Oldham for land and judicial purposes. Tascosa hence had a governmental role like that of Mobeetie. On March 21, 1886, the Tascosa Gunfight led to the deaths of four persons. Tascosa was the site of a Boot Hill cemetery.
Decline
The coming of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway was expected to revitalize Tascosa. However, there were two miles of deep sand between the railroad track and the town. Though the editor of The Tascosa Pioneer believed the citizens could overcome all odds against them, this physical limitation proved insurmountable. In 1893, the bridge was washed out and the flood damaged homes and businesses. That is when people began to move away. Two of the last residents were ex-gambler Mickey McCormick and a former dance hall girl and card dealer Frenchy McCormick. Mickey died in 1912, and Frenchy in 1941. Both are buried next to each other outside town. In 1939, Cal Farley's Boys Ranch opened after Julian Bivins, son of Lee Bivins, donated the town site, the renovated old courthouse, and the surrounding 120 acres. The courthouse, now a museum, and the 1889 schoolhouse are the only buildings from the old town to survive into the 21st century. Tascosa was the setting for the showdown between Lin McAdams and Dutch Henry Brown in the 1950 American western film, Winchester 73.
