Terry County, Texas: History
Terry County was formed from Bexar County in 1876 and named for Col. Benjamin Franklin Terry, who commanded the Terry's Texas Rangers in the Civil War.
In 1877, the ill-fated Nolan Expedition crossed the county in search of livestock stolen by Comanche renegades. The various Indian tribes had moved on by the time of white settlement, due to the depletion of the buffalo herds by hunters.
Terry County was organized in 1904, with Brownfield as the county seat.
The county was settled by ranchers such as Ira J. Coulver, J. R. Quinn, Englishman Q. Bone, and Marion V. Brownfield. By 1910 Terry County had 235 farms and 23,000 acres (93 km2) of improved land, with corn being the most important crop.
Terry County lies in the oil-rich north Permian Basin, and the discovery of oil in 1940 quickly led to production. By 1991 almost 363,143,000 barrels (57,735,100 m3) of crude had been extracted from Terry County lands since 1940.
In 1991, Terry County was among the leading cotton counties in Texas.