China Creek is a creek in
Wilbarger County, Texas
Wilbarger County ( ) is a county located in the North Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,887. The county seat is Vernon. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1881. Wilbar ...
.
Location
The creek runs from
Harrold for twelve miles, all the way down to the
Red River.
["CHINA CREEK (WILBARGER COUNTY)," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbcdq), accessed November 14, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the ]Texas State Historical Association
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of ...
.
History
The creek was first known as "Moore's Creek" by an employee of the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railroad.
It was renamed "China Creek" for the
chinaberry
''Melia azedarach'', commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native ...
that grew on its banks.
It was also described by early Texas settler Richard Boren.
[Steve Wilson, ''Oklahoma Treasures and Treasure Tales'', Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989, p. 19]
/ref>
By 1879, the creek was flowing through the Waggoner Ranch
The Waggoner Ranch is a historic north Texas ranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fen ...
established by Daniel Waggoner
Daniel Waggoner (July 7, 1828 – September 5, 1902) was an early American settler and rancher in Texas. He also owned five banks, three cottonseed oil mills, and a coal company. He established the Waggoner Ranch, which spanned eight counties: Wise ...
. This section was managed by his son, William Thomas Waggoner.["WAGGONER, WILLIAM THOMAS," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwa09), accessed November 12, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.] W.T. Waggoner sold this section of their ranch to developers in 1903.[H. Allen Anderson, "WAGGONER RANCH," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apw01), accessed November 12, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.]
See also
* China Creek (San Saba County, Texas).["CHINA CREEK (SAN SABA COUNTY)," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbcdp), accessed November 14, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.]
*List of rivers of Texas
The list of rivers of Texas is a list of all named waterways, including rivers and streams that partially pass through or are entirely located within the U.S. state of Texas. Across the state, there are 3,700 named streams and 15 major rivers acc ...
References
Wilbarger County, Texas
Rivers of Texas
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