Irion County, Texas: History
From 1858 to 1861, Butterfield Overland Mail crossed the region.
In 1876, John Arden brought the first flock of sheep from California, and Billy Childress established the Longhorn 7D Ranch.
The Texas Legislature formed Irion County from Tom Green County in 1889. Sherwood became the county seat.
Oil was discovered in Irion County in 1928.
In 1936, Mertzon became the county seat.
In 2020 Irion was the slowest county to comply with the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, forbidding the ban on same-sex marriages.
The Old Irion County Courthouse in Sherwood is the only property in the county listed on the National Register of Historic Places.