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Going... Going... Gone!
Come join the excitement of October 1883 as we recreate that pivotal day
in Buffalo Gap history when the community lost the county seat to Abilene.
The folks up in Abilene (or as we call it, Mile Post 407) had been feeling
their oats since the Texas and Pacific Railroad by passed Buffalo Gap and
went their way. They called for a special election in 1883 to have the
county seat moved from the center of the county in Buffalo Gap (where it
had been since 1878) to the north end and to Abilene.
This special one-day living history program will mark the 120th anniversary
of that day. The Village will be open from 9:30 AM until 5:00 PM, and admission
will be free. Highlights:
Lunch will be be a special chicken dinner (remember, in the good old days,
“dinner” was “lunch”), served picnic style and catered by Buffalo Gap’s
own Perini Ranch Steakhouse. So bring your picnic blanket and join the
fun! The chicken dinner will be $10.00 per person and will benefit the
restoration of the 1879-1883 Taylor County Court House here at the Village.
Advance ticket sales on the dinner are required. The chicken dinner will
be served at 12 noon.
Wondering why chicken for dinner? When the final votes for the county seat
were cast, Abilene won. Buffalo Gap and South Taylor County folks thought
a “fix” had been made, so they contested the election. In a special Commissioner’s
Court meeting, the commissioners from the south end of the county voted
in favor of Buffalo Gap, while those from the north end voted for Abilene.
The result was a tie. Judge Murray had the final vote to break the tie
and he voted for Abilene. Later that night, the concerned citizens of Buffalo
Gap wanted to have a “discussion” with him concerning the vote — one involving
the use of tar and feathers. But the judge and his family had fled to their
new friends in Abilene, leaving only their chickens behind. So the Buffalo
Gap folks took their frustrations out on the only members of the Judge’s
family they could find.
Our chicken dinner on October 18th is in memory of the Judge’s late chickens.
R.I.P.! |
The final vote count: Buffalo Gap, 151; Abilene, 13
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