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Ochiltree
County Creeks & Lakes
Source: The Handbook of Texas Online
BARTON CREEK
KIOWA CREEK
NORTHRUP CREEK
GILHULA CREEK
CHIQUITA CREEK
WOLF CREEK
LAKE FRYER
GIBSON CREEK
FIRST CREEK
PICKETT RANCH CREEK
PAT'S CREEK
BARTON CREEK
Barton Creek rises at the edge of timber brakes in
southeastern Ochiltree County (at 36°05' N, 100°35' W)
and flows south for eight miles to its mouth on the
Canadian River, in northeastern Roberts County (at
35°59' N, 100°34' W).
The stream was formerly part of Henry Cresswell's Bar CC
property and was probably named by him for his neighbors,
the Barton brothers.
The terrain is flat to rolling with local escarpments.
The soil, mostly thick, fine, sandy loam, supports
hardwood forest, brush, and grasses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Wheatheart of the Plains: An Early
History of Ochiltree County
(Perryton, Texas: Ochiltree County Historical Survey
Committee, 1969).
KIOWA CREEK
Kiowa Creek rises southwest of Huntoon in northeastern
Ochiltree County (at 36°25' N, 100°41' W) and runs
northeast for nine miles into Lipscomb County, then
continues for another eight miles through Darrouzett into
Beaver County, Oklahoma, where it drains into the Beaver
River (at 36°46' N, 99°54' W).
During its course the stream is fed by several
tributaries. It traverses a low-lying area surfaced with
loose sand that supports scrub brush and grasses.
Kiowa Creek was named for the Indian tribe that once
roamed this area.
It was part of the Bar CC and Seven K ranch ranges.
The Jones and Plummer Trail crossed its upper portion in
eastern Ochiltree County.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Wheatheart of the Plains: An Early
History of Ochiltree County
(Perryton, Texas: Ochiltree County Historical Survey
Committee, 1969).
NORTHRUP CREEK
Northrup (or Northrun) Creek rises (at 36°06' N,
100°47' W) just north of Farm Road 281 in southern
Ochiltree County and runs northeast for eleven miles to
its mouth (at 36°13' N, 100°38' W) on Wolf Creek, just
downstream from Lake Fryer.
The local terrain is flat to gently sloping and surfaced
by loose sand that supports scrub brush and grasses.
The Jones and Plummer Trail crossed the upper waters of
the stream, which was once part of the Bar CC ranges.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Wheatheart of the Plains: An Early
History of Ochiltree County
(Perryton, Texas: Ochiltree County Historical Survey
Committee, 1969).
GILHULA CREEK
Gilhula
(Gilaloo) Creek rises in eastern Ochiltree County (at
36°19' N, 100°38' W) and runs southeast for twelve
miles to join Wolf Creek in western Lipscomb County (at
36°14' N, 100°28' W).
It traverses flat to rolling terrain with local
escarpments and mostly deep, fine, sandy loam soils that
support hardwood forests, brush, and grasses.
The area was at one time used by Pueblo Indians.
In early settlement days, before its springs dried up,
the creek was a favorite location for swimming, fishing,
and baptizing.
The name Gilhula is probably of Indian origin.
The stream was once on the Seven K Ranch.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Gunnar Brune, Springs of Texas,
Vol. 1 (Fort Worth: Branch-Smith, 1981).
Wheatheart of the Plains: An Early History of Ochiltree
County (Perryton, Texas: Ochiltree
County Historical Survey Committee, 1969).
CHIQUITA CREEK
Chiquita Creek rises in northwestern Ochiltree County (at
36°24' N, 100°59' W) and runs north for seven miles
into Texas County, Oklahoma, to its mouth on Huckleberry
Creek (at 36°38' N, 101°00' W), a short distance above
the point where their waters drain into the North
Canadian River.
It rises in a barren area with shallow depressions
surfaced by variable soils that support grasses and runs
into flat to rolling terrain with local escarpments
surfaced by deep, fine, sandy loam that supports brush,
grasses, and limited hardwood forest.
A trail, thought to be part of the Tascosa-Dodge or a
cutoff in flood periods to the Jones and Plummer Trail,
ran along the eastern edge of the creek and on
northeastward.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Wheatheart of the Plains: An Early
History of Ochiltree County
(Perryton, Texas: Ochiltree County Historical Survey
Committee, 1969).
WOLF CREEK
Wolf Creek rises at the junction of its main and south
forks in central Ochiltree County (at 36°18' N, 100°56'
W) and flows east seventy miles across Lipscomb County,
Texas, and central Ellis and northwestern Woodward
counties, Oklahoma, to its mouth on the Canadian River
(at 36°35' N, 99°30' W).
The surrounding terrain is typically flat with local
escarpments. Brush and grasses grow in the mostly deep,
fine sandy loam along its banks.
Evidences of pre-Columbian Indian habitation on Wolf
Creek were discovered with the excavations of the
"Buried City" in Ochiltree County. The Coronado
expedition is thought to have come by the stream on its
way to Quiviraqv in 1541, and Juan de Oņate's expedition
reportedly camped there in 1601.
Hide hunters from Dodge City frequented the stream during
the height of the great buffalo slaughter of the 1870s.
Some of the Panhandle's first Anglo pioneers, including
Charles Dietrich, Ed Jones, Joseph Plummer, Dee Eubanks,
Tom Connell, and the Barton brothers, settled along its
banks.
Among the early ranching outfits that established their
headquarters on or near Wolf Creek were the Cresswell
(Bar CC), Seven K, and Box T. Lipscomb was founded near
the stream in 1887.
The Wolf Creek Dam and Lake, which were washed away by
floodwaters in 1947, were replaced by Lake Fryer in
eastern Ochiltree County.
LAKE FRYER
Lake Fryer, originally known as Wolf Creek Lake, was
formed by the construction of an earthen dam on Wolf
Creek in eastern Ochiltree County (at 31°46' N, 95°42'
W). After the county purchased the site, construction on
the dam was begun in 1938 by the Panhandle Water
Conservation Authority.
M. P. Exline was project manager, and Richard Marsh was
chief engineer. About 200 people were employed, and funds
were obtained from several federal government sources,
including the Public Works and Works Progress
administrations.
Twice during construction the rising creek threatened the
partially built fill, but work crews were able to prevent
any damage. The dam was completed by the late summer of
1940. During the next few years Wolf Creek Lake was used
primarily for soil conservation, flood control, and
recreation.
In 1947 a flash flood washed away the dam, but during the
1950s congressman Walter Rogers secured a deed to the
county from the federal government in order to rebuild.
After a bond election to obtain local funds, the dam was
rebuilt in 1957, with M. J. Wolfrum as project engineer.
The reservoir was named Lake Fryer after James T. Fryer,
an area pioneer rancher. During the 1980s the lake and
the surrounding park were owned and operated by Ochiltree
County and included a Girl Scout camp and other
recreational facilities.
Abundant evidence of occupation by prehistoric people
near Lake Fryer has been unearthed in a buried Pueblo
city.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Gunnar Brune, Springs of Texas,
Vol. 1 (Fort Worth: Branch-Smith, 1981). Wheatheart
of the Plains: An Early History of Ochiltree County
(Perryton, Texas: Ochiltree County Historical Survey
Committee, 1969).
GIBSON CREEK
Gibson Creek rises in southeastern Ochiltree County (at
36°05' N, 100°39' W) and runs northeast for ten miles
to join Wolf Creek in western Lipscomb County (at 36°12'
N, 100°32' W).
It traverses flat to rolling terrain with local
escarpments, surfaced by deep, fine, sandy loams that
support hardwood forests, brush, and grasses.
The great Panhandle drift fence crossed the upper portion
of the creek, which once was part of the Bar CC and Seven
K Ranch ranges.
FIRST CREEK
First Creek rises a mile from the Ochiltree-Lipscomb
county line in southeastern Ochiltree County (at 36°21'
N, 100°34' W) and runs southeast for eight miles to its
mouth on Wolf Creek in Lipscomb County (at 36°15' N,
100°27' W).
The stream was on the route of the Jones and Plummer
Trail and on the range of the Seven K Ranch.
First Creek traverses flat to rolling terrain with some
local escarpments, surfaced by thick, fine sandy loam
that supports mesquite brush and grasses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Cowman's
Country: Fifty Frontier Ranches in the Texas Panhandle,
1876-1887 (Amarillo: Paramount,
1981).
PICKETT RANCH
CREEK
Pickett Ranch Creek rises (at 36°06' N, 100°43' W) at
the edge of the breaks in southern Ochiltree County and
runs south for eight miles to its mouth (at 35°59' N,
100°43' W) on the Canadian River, in north central
Roberts County.
The terrain is flat to rolling with local escarpments.
Brush and grasses grow in the mostly deep, fine, sandy
loams along the banks of the creek.
The stream was once part of Henry W. (Hank) Cresswell's
Bar CC ranges.
PAT'S CREEK
Pat's Creek rises in southwestern Ochiltree County (at
36°04' N, 101°03' W).
Two branches, Pat's Creek (formerly known as Walker
Creek) and the East Fork of Pat's Creek, flow together
and then join the Canadian River (at 35°57' N, 100°58'
W) to the south.
Most of the creek, including its two forks, lies within
Roberts County.
The distance from the source of each fork to the
confluence with the Canadian is about six miles.
The creek flows through flat to rolling terrain where
sandy loams support brush and grasses.
The area was once part of Henry Cresswell's Bar CC Ranch
range.
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was last updated March 17, 2003.
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