Colorado City, TX

Colorado City is Mitchell County’s seat, founded in 1880 where the Colorado River crossed the Texas & Pacific Railroad. A. W. Dunn opened the first store, and the line quickly turned the place into a cattle shipping point and supply depot for ranches stretching across West Texas and New Mexico. By the early 1880s, saloons and stores crowded the new town, and Texas Ranger Dick Ware became its first sheriff. Drought and the decline of open-range cattle later cooled the boom. Colorado City is a West Texas railroad town with a very loud first decade.