Dateline: September 20, 2001

City to celebrate its 100th anniversary   

Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The City of Clarendon will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its incorporation next Tuesday, September 25, 2001.

Mayor Tex Selvidge and the Board of Aldermen have invited the public to attend an Open House at City Hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in honor of the milestone.

Clarendon was first established in 1878 when Rev. L.H. Carhart led a group of Methodist colonists to settle this part of the Texas Panhandle. The town, named in honor of Carhart’s wife Clara, was originally situated at the junction of Carroll Creek and the Salt Fork of the Red River.

The colonists strictly forbade drinking and other sinful habits, and the town quickly garnered the derisive nickname “Saints’ Roost” from the area cowboys and folks in the only two other towns in the region – Tascosa and Mobeetie.

Nine years later, it became necessary to move the town when the tracks of the Ft. Worth & Denver City Railway missed Clarendon by five miles. A town site was located along the railway in 1887, and “new” Clarendon soon replaced the old town. But it was another 14 years before Clarendon had a city government.

An application for incorporation of the Town of Clarendon was filed with Donley County Judge B.H. White on September 9, 1901. The petition was signed by George W. Washington, H.B. White, Geo. L. Jowell, J.A. Hill, C.C. White, J.M. Hill, Morris Rosenfield, F.A. White, I.W. Carhart, W.M. Stevens, M.W. Easum, John Codger, Gus Jacques, T.H. Westbrook, W.H. Caldwell, H.D. Ramsey, T.P. Davis, T.W. Oliver, J.J. Harrison, T. Ewing, F.A. Dewey, W.E. Jones, Jas. Trent, A.M. Beville, H.A. Campbell, L.D. Rhode, Clifton Carter, R.A. Chamberlain, Willis Holtson, T.W. Carrol, S.J. White, J.J. Alexander, J.N. Eddins, Wm. H. Cooke, J.E. Griffin, H.A. Morgan, R.F. Wood, W.H. Oliver, W.G. Jones, John M. Clower, I.W. Carhart, Jr., Del W. Harrington, J.D. Jefferies, H.E. Taylor, June W. Taylor, J.B. Pope, Jno. E. Cooke, A.C. Barrett, W.P. Blake, Geo. F. Morgan, W.M. Hildebrand, B.H. White, and W.C. Freeman.

Judge White declared on September 10, 1901, that there were more that 2,000 people living in the area seeking incorporation, and he ordered an election to be held on September 24. The vote was 114 “for corporation” and 90 against the measure.

After canvassing the vote on September 25, 1901, Judge B.H. White decreed: “the inhabitants of said town of Clarendon be and they are hereby incorporated….”

The first city election was held on Tuesday, October 29, 1901. Citizens elected I.W. Carhart as Clarendon’s first mayor. Original members of the Board of Aldermen were W.H. Cooke, R.A. Chamberlain, L.C. Beverly, T.J. Noland, and F.D. Martin. Geo. L. Jowell was elected as City Marshall.

Those early city fathers laid the groundwork for the city improvements and services citizens of Clarendon enjoy today.

In preparation for the city government’s 100th anniversary, City Secretary Janice Barbee and City Clerk Linda Smith have been working hard to compile a list of all former mayors along with former members of the Board of Aldermen and former city marshals.

During its centennial Open House Tuesday, City Hall will be displaying a copy of the petition for incorporation, the city charter, and interesting ordinances from the early 20th century.

Citizens of Clarendon and surrounding communities are encouraged to stop by City Hall and help commemorate the city’s centennial by enjoying cake and refreshments during the come and go Open House.