Winkler County’s first courthouse eventually became Kermit’s first church. The gray, black-roofed building stood for 19 years before being moved to the edge of the town square to make way for the new courthouse. The original county capitol was eventually sold for $1, relocated, and converted to a house of worship.
The second and final temple of justice was fashioned of brick in the Texas Renaissance style, complete with a columned façade. Built by C.S. Oates and Son of Abilene, the courthouse cost the county $193,380.
Winkler County, established in 1887 from territory in Tom Green County, was named for Confederate Col. Clinton M. Winkler.
The county was organized in 1910, when Kermit was deemed the county seat. Residents christened the town Kermit to honor the son of President Theodore Roosevelt, who supposedly hunted nearby.
Winkler and other West Texas counties saw an influx of settlers from 1901 to 1905, thanks to a state law that allowed the sale of school lands, meaning one could purchase four sections of land with generous credit terms. The law changed in 1905 to benefit the highest bidder, but settlers continued to plant roots. In 1910, Winkler County was home to 442 people.
A drought swept across the area in 1916, driving many residents off the land. By 1920, only 81 were left. The drought lasted into 1926, and the population continued to decline; in fact, the public school and post office were located in the courthouse from 1924 to 1926 to serve the few remaining residents.
The discovery of oil in 1926 ushered new life into the county. The boom saw the establishment of Wink in the southwestern part of the county. Newcomers had to move their belongings into tents and makeshift structures while waiting for housing. The area is supported by the oil and gas industry to this day.
Winkler County is home to the majority of the Monahans Sandhills State Park, which includes almost 4,000 acres of a massive dune field that stretches into New Mexico, measuring 150 miles long and 22 miles wide. Some 300 acres of the park are located in Ward County.
Visitors enjoy riding down the sandy hills on discs or sleds; in fact, the state park headquarters rents sand discs and sells disc wax, which speeds up the sleds by reducing friction with the sand.
Winkler County is also home to the two largest sinkholes in the Lone Star State, located just outside of Wink. The first formed in 1980 and the second in 2002. Although the sinkholes are nothing new to local residents, they did gain national attention in 2016 after studies discovered the possibility of the two collapsing in on each other. While the “Wink Sinks” remain a scientific wonder, visitors are only allowed to view them through fences, installed as safety measures. For more information, go to https://cityofwink.com/wink-sinkhole.
