Seymour: Texas Weather Record Holder

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July 25, 2010

By Dr. Tommy Stringer Corsicana Daily Sun The Corsicana Daily Sun Sun Jul 25, 2010, 10:59 AM CDT

Texas is in the midst of another sizzling summer with blistering temperatures. The community of Seymour holds an unenviable record regarding Texas weather. Located southwest of Wichita Falls, Seymour is the county seat of Baylor County. The first Anglo settlers arrived in the area in the late 1870s from the northwestern United States, primarily from Oregon. Consequently, they called their community Oregon City. It was located on the Great Western Trail where it crossed the Brazos River as it stretched from south Texas northward to Dodge City, Kan. Millions of longhorns were driven over the Great Western Trail to the Kansas railheads and then shipped to metropolitan areas back east.

When a post office was established in 1879, the town’s name was changed from Oregon City to Seymour in honor of a local cowboy named Seymour Munday. That same year George Jones opened a general store and a newspaper began publication. The state legislature established Baylor County in 1884, naming Seymour as the seat of government. Residents constructed an impressive stone courthouse from which to conduct the county’s business.

The community experienced conflicts between area ranchers and farmers over grazing rights and crop production, which sometimes turned violent. The Baylor County Judge was killed in one such confrontation between the cowmen and the sodbusters.

Two events enhanced the town’s future. In the late 1880s, citizens raised $50,000 to entice the Wichita Valley Railroad to extend its line through Seymour, providing the town with dependable rail service to move people as well as goods. In 1906, oil was discovered in the area, giving Seymour and economic boost and a population increase. Population reached 1,500 about that time, and eventually reached 3,000 by the 1950s. That figure has remained constant since that time.

Seymour is a typical west Texas town with an agriculture based economy, but it is noted for two unusual events. The weather record held by Seymour occurred on August 12, 1936. On that day, Seymour reported a temperature of 120 degrees, the hottest ever recorded in the state. The second unique feature of Seymour is annual community celebration. When Lake Kemp opened in the 1920s, the town virtually shut down on May 1 as residents took the day off to go fishing. Eventually May 1 became an official local holiday. By the 1970s it became a 3-day event, spanning the first weekend in May. The celebration begins with a mayoral proclamation declaring that residents of Seymour shall lay aside daily pursuits and gird themselves with fishing poles, lines, hooks, and bait and test their skills, strengths, wits, and patience against the wily fish. Hot Seymour does know how to relax, at least once a year.

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Dr. Tommy Stringer is executive director of the Navarro College Foundation. He may be reached by e-mail at tommy.stringer@navarrocollege.edu. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

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Seymour: Texas Weather Record Holder

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