Carson County Locales/Creeks
WHITE DEER CREEK. White
Deer Creek rises southeast of Skellytown in eastern
Carson County (at 35°28' N, 101°10' W) and flows north
twenty-six miles to join the Canadian River in eastern
Hutchinson County (at 35°52' N, 101°08' W). It runs
through flat to rolling terrain with some steep slopes,
where clay and sandy loams support cacti, brush, and
grasses. The stream, once on Diamond F ranges, gave its
name to the White Deer Lands Company and the town of
White Deer to the south. It drains the Skellytown
oilfield and a vast ranching area.
DIXON CREEK (Carson County). Dixon Creek, sometimes known
as Limestone Creek, rises in north central Carson County
(at 35°34' N, 101°21' W) at the confluence of two of
its three branches; the third branch joins it a mile
south of the Hutchinson county line. The creek runs north
for twelve miles to its mouth on the Canadian River,
northeast of Borger and Phillips in southern Hutchinson
County (at 35°45' N, 101°21' W). Dixon Creek is in the
center of the Borger oilfield, where many of the early
strikes that touched off the Panhandle boom of the late
1920s were made. The stream traverses an area with deep
sandy loams and was named for the frontier scout William
(Billy) Dixon. The headquarters of the Dixon Creek
division of the Four Sixes Ranch is located in Carson
County near the middle branch of the creek.
H. Allen Anderson
HILL CREEK (Carson County). Hill Creek rises in
northwestern Carson County (at 35°35' N, 101°28' W) and
runs north for ten miles, across mostly flat rangeland,
to its mouth on the Canadian River, northwest of Borger
in southern Hutchinson County (at 35°44' N, 101°28' W).
The stream, formerly on the LX Ranch, drains part of the
Borger and Pantex oilfields.
ROCK CREEK (Carson County). Rock Creek rises in northern
Carson County (at 35°32' N, 101°29' W) and flows north
for twenty miles into the Canadian River northwest of
Borger in southwestern Hutchinson County (at 35°44' N,
101°23' W). It runs through flat land and rolling to
steep slopes surfaced by clay and sandy loams that
support cacti, brush, and grasses and drains the center
of the Pantex oilfield, on which the community of
Bunavista is located.
SPRING CREEK (Carson County). Spring Creek rises in east
central Carson County (at 35°31' N, 101°16' W) and
flows northward twenty miles until it empties into the
Canadian River in the east central part of Hutchinson
County (at 35°48' N, 101°15' W). It flows through flat,
rolling, and steep terrain surfaced by clay and sandy
loams that support cacti, brush, and grasses. Once part
of the Diamond F ranges, it drains a vast ranching and
oil producing area.
BEAR CREEK (Carson County). Bear Creek rises at the
junction of its east and west forks in central Carson
County (at 35°31' N, 101°18' W) and flows to the north
for seventeen miles to its mouth on the Canadian River,
northeast of Borger in southern Hutchinson County (at 35°46'
N, 101°19' W). The stream, in the Dixon Creek Division
of the Four Sixes Ranch, is in the center of the vast
Panhandle oilfield, a harsh, mostly flat area of sandy
soils that support brush, grasses, mesquite, and cacti.
ANTELOPE CREEK (Carson County). Antelope Creek starts
where its east and west forks join, northwest of
Panhandle in northwestern Carson County (at 35°35' N,
101°32' W), and flows north through a ranching and oil
area for twelve miles to its mouth on the Canadian River,
east of Sanford in southwestern Hutchinson County (at 35°44'
N, 101°29' W). The stream was once a part of the LX
Ranch. It gave its name to the Antelope Creek Focus, the
common term used by archeologists for sites of
pre-Columbian Indian slab-house ruins in the general
area. The stream crosses an area of rolling to steeply
sloping terrain and loamy and clayey soils. The
vegetation includes juniper, cacti, and sparse grasses.
SALT FORK OF THE RED RIVER. The Salt Fork of the Red
River rises near the Carson county line in northeastern
Armstrong County (at 35°09' N, 101°21' W) and flows
southeast across central Donley and Collingsworth
counties. When it crosses the 100th meridian at the
eastern boundary of Collingsworth County, it enters
Oklahoma and flows east across north central Harmon and
southern Greer counties. Southeast of Mangum it turns
south and crosses central Jackson County to its mouth on
the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, opposite the
northernmost point of Wilbarger County, Texas, sixteen
miles northwest of Vernon (at 34°27' N, 99°21' W). The
Salt Fork and its Panhandle tributaries were the scene of
military activity during the Red River War in 1874.
Several early ranches, including the Half Circle K, the
RO, the Spade, and the Rocking Chair, owned land on or
near the stream. Clarendon was established on the Salt
Fork in 1878 but moved five miles south to the Fort Worth
and Denver Railway nine years later; now the original
site in Donley County is partially inundated by Greenbelt
Lake, with the community of Howardwick on its north
shore.
ANTELOPE CREEK starts where its east and west forks join,
northwest of Panhandle in northwestern Carson County (at
35°35' N, 101°32' W), and flows north through a
ranching and oil area for twelve miles to its mouth on
the Canadian River, east of Sanford in southwestern
Hutchinson County (at 35°44' N, 101°29' W). The stream
was once a part of the LX Ranch. It gave its name to the
Antelope Creek Focus, the common term used by
archeologists for sites of pre-Columbian Indian
slab-house ruins in the general area. The stream crosses
an area of rolling to steeply sloping terrain and loamy
and clayey soils. The vegetation includes juniper, cacti,
and sparse grasses.