After The Red River War, the Causey Brothers built a half dugout at Buffalo Spring and some unknown hunters built a small log cabin just east of what is now downtown Lubbock. These are thought to be the first white inhabitants of Lubbock County, but by 1880, there were numerous small ranching operations along the Yellow House Canyon.
As a note of interest, Indians were not the only living menace to those early residents. Ranchers around the Yellow House Canyon reported thousands of migrating wolves between 1877 and 1880 roaming through the canyon. These wolf packs, sometimes twenty abreast, solid for several miles, where thought to be escaping the onslaught of the early settlers.
The early settlement of Lubbock County is closely related to that of its eastern neighbor, Crosby County. In fact, many of the histories of the area appear to skew the facts slightly. The first settlement of Lubbock County was not in Lubbock County, but rather straddled the Lubbock-Crosby County lines. When Estacado was designated as the County Seat of Crosby County in 1886, Lubbock County had been created, but not yet organized as a county. Early Lubbock records prior to 1891 remain in the Crosby County Courthouse because Lubbock, until then, was part of Crosby county's judicial territory. Estacado, the first white settlement on the High Plains was considered to be in Crosby County until 1921, when the county line was corrected for accuracy, leaving parts of the town in both counties. It is interesting to note that before Lubbock was actually formed, Estacado had a college in 1890 which had up to 100 students. The next closest college was Baylor in Dallas. Further, though the community is all but gone today, it had a glider training base during World War II.
This early settlement was founded by Paris Cox, a Quaker, who came to the area to farm and ranch. Mr. Cox moved to the area in 1878, and by 1879, a small settlement was established under his leadership. Regrettably, the three other families who moved to Cox's community at that time lived in tents and suffered many hardships through the winter months. In March, a violent sandstorm leveled their tents forcing all three families out of the area. In 1880, with his wife pregnant, Cox sent for his friend, Dr. Hunt. In June 1880, Dr. Hunt delivered a girl, Bertha Cox, the first white child born in Lubbock County. Dr. Hunt stayed on and the community grew.
In 1881, the same year that Bertha was born, George Singer came to the area and built a store at the northwest end of Yellow House Canyon, just northwest of the City of Lubbock.
