Donley County
Creeks, Lakes, and Rivers
Source: The Handbook of Texas Online
CLARENDON LAKE
GREENBELT LAKE
KELLY CREEK
BRUSHY CREEK
BARTON CREEK
HORSE CREEK
BIG SANDY CREEK
EAGLE HOLLOW
OAKS CREEK
GLENWOOD CREEK
CALF CREEK
PARKER CREEK
MCCULLUM CREEK
JONAH CREEK
HALL CREEK
BITTER CREEK
BUCK CREEK
PARKS CREEK
COTTONWOOD CREEK
LONE TREE CREEK
BERKLEY CREEK
BARTON CREEK
JESSE ARROYO
OKLAHOMA DRAW
CARROL CREEK
WHITEFISH CREEK
CLARENDON LAKE
Clarendon Lake is a playa on the northeast edge of the Clarendon
city limits in central Donley County (at 34°56' N, 100°53' W).
It is used primarily for recreation. The surrounding terrain is
flat to gently sloping surfaced by loose, sandy soil that
supports mesquite, brush, and grasses.
GREENBELT LAKE
Greenbelt Lake, formerly Greenbelt Reservoir, is in the Red River
basin about four miles north of Clarendon in south central Donley
County (at 35°00' N, 100°54' W).
The reservoir, built at the convergence of Carrol and Kelly
creeks with the Salt Fork of the Red River, is owned and operated
by the Greenbelt Municipal and Industrial Water Authority to
supply water for municipal and industrial use.
Adams Construction Company started work on the 5,800-foot-long
rolled earthfill dam on April 12, 1966; the dam was closed and
water impoundment began on December 5.
By 1968 the lake was on the verge of inundating the original
townsite of Old Clarendon, prompting the removal of the old
cemetery and other remnants of "Saints' Roost."
The reservoir has a capacity of 59,110 acre-feet with a surface
area of 1,990 acres at the service spillway elevation of 2,664
feet above mean sea level, and a capacity of 81,760 acre-feet
with a surface area of 2,470 acres at the emergency spillway
crest elevation of 2,674 feet above mean sea level. The drainage
area above the dam is 288 square miles.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise
(Wichita Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975).
Seth D. Breeding
KELLY CREEK
Kelly Creek rises seven miles west of Clarendon in central
western Donley County (at 34°56' N, 100°58' W) and runs
northeast for five miles to its mouth on the Salt Fork of the Red
River, six miles south of Howardwick (at 35°00' N, 100°54' W).
The lower portion of the stream is now backed up by the waters of
Greenbelt Reservoir.
Kelly Creek flows through flat to rolling terrain, with some
local escarpments, surfaced by deep, fine sandy loams that
support mesquite brush and grasses.
BRUSHY CREEK
Brushy Creek rises twelve miles west of Clarendon in southwestern
Donley County (at 45°50' N, 100°52' W) and flows south for
eight miles to its mouth on Mulberry Creek, twenty miles west of
Lakeview in northwestern Hall County (at 34°40' N, 100°52' W).
The stream was once part of the JA Ranch horse pasture and is now
on Bitter Creek Ranch property. A small reservoir is impounded
upstream near State Highway 70 in southern Donley County.
The creek flows through terrain with moderately steep slopes and
locally high relief, surfaced with silt loams in which grow
primarily mesquite and grasses.
BARTON CREEK
Barton Creek rises fourteen miles northeast of Howardwick in
north central Donley County (at 35°11' N, 100°51' W) and runs
southeast for eleven miles to its mouth on Saddlers Creek, ten
miles northeast of Clarendon (at 35°04' N, 100°45' W).
The stream was named for S. B. Barton, a former buffalo hunter
and surveyor who had a horse ranch on McClellan Creek.
One of three line camps on Lewis H. Carhart's Quarter Circle
Heart Ranch was on Barton Creek, as was J. F. Evans's original
Spade Ranch headquarters; this property was later owned
successively by the families of Charlie McMurtry and Thomas L.
Griffin.
The surrounding terrain is flat to rolling to steeply sloped and
surfaced with locally stony loams and clays.
Native vegetation includes mesquite scrub and grass.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise
(Wichita Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975). Willie Newbury Lewis,
Between Sun and Sod (Clarendon, Texas: Clarendon Press, 1938;
rev. ed., College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1976).
HORSE CREEK
Horse Creek rises eleven miles northeast of Howardwick in east
central Donley County (at 35°04' N, 100°43' W) and runs south
for four miles to its mouth on the Salt Fork of the Red River (at
34°59' N, 100°43' W).
The creek was on the RO Ranch.qv It traverses rolling to
steep-sloped terrain surfaced by shallow clay and sandy loams
that support native vegetation including juniper, cacti, and
sparse grasses
BIG SANDY CREEK
Big Sandy Creek rises in two main branches that meet five miles
south of Clarendon in southwestern Donley County (at 34°53' N,
100°54' W).
The stream flows southwest for twelve miles to its mouth on
Mulberry Creek, in the northeastern corner of Briscoe County (at
34°43' N, 100°05' W).
Sandy Camp, one of the JA Ranch's twelve winter camps, was
located near this stream.
Big Sandy Creek flows through an area of moderately steep slopes
with locally high relief and a surface of deep silt loams that
support mesquite and grasses.
EAGLE HOLLOW
Eagle Hollow, also known as Eagle Arroyo, begins ten miles east
of Clarendon in eastern Donley County (at 34°57' N, 100°44' W)
and runs northeast for four miles to its mouth on the Salt Fork
of the Red River, twelve miles southeast of Howardwick (at
34°59' N, 100°43' W).
The area terrain varies from flat to gently sloping to rolling,
with some local escarpments.
Native vegetation includes mesquite shrubs and bushes and grasses
in deep, fine, sandy loam and loose sand.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise
(Wichita Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975).
OAKS CREEK
Oaks Creek rises in southern Donley County (at 34°49' N,
100°46' W) seven miles southwest of Hedley and runs southeast
for fifteen miles to its mouth (at 34°35' N, 100°38' W) on the
Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, in central Hall County
ten miles south of Lakeview.
The headquarters of the Oak Creek Ranch is near the head of the
stream in Donley County.
The area terrain is characterized by moderate to steep slopes
with locally high relief.
Native vegetation consists primarily of mesquite shrubs and
grasses in shallow to moderately deep silt loams.
GLENWOOD CREEK
Glenwood Creek, an intermittent stream fed by Glenwood Springs,
rises twelve miles northeast of Howardwick in northern Donley
County (at 35°09' N, 100°47' W) and runs south for ten miles to
its mouth on Saddlers Creek (at 35°01' N, 100°46' W).
The stream is on land that was once part of the Quarter Circle
Heartqv and RO ranchqv ranges.
It traverses flat to rolling terrain with some local escarpments,
and thick, fine sandy loam soils that support native vegetation
including mesquite brush and grasses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise
(Wichita Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975).
CALF CREEK
Calf Creek rises ten miles east of Howardwick in north central
Donley County (at 35°04' N, 100°44' W) and runs south for three
miles to its mouth on Saddlers Creek, thirteen miles northeast of
Clarendon (at 35°00' N, 100°46' W).
The stream flows through an area that was part of the RO range,
where the land is flat to rolling with local escarpments.
Native vegetation consists primarily of mesquite shrubs and
grasses in soil composed of mostly deep, fine sandy loam.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Cowman's Country:
Fifty Frontier Ranches in the Texas Panhandle, 1876-1887
(Amarillo: Paramount, 1981).
PARKER CREEK
Parker Creek rises six miles southeast of Hedley in southeastern
Donley County (at 34°48' N, 100°35' W) and flows southeast for
twenty miles to its mouth on the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red
River, four miles west of Mauldin in eastern Hall County (at
34°35' N, 100°30' W).
It was once on Diamond Tail Ranchqv property.
The surrounding terrain varies from flat to rolling with local
escarpments to moderately steeply sloping with locally high
relief. Native vegetation consists primarily of mesquite shrub
and grasses in soil that varies from deep, fine, sandy loams to
shallow to moderately deep silt loams.
MCCULLUM CREEK
McCullum Creek rises in eastern Armstrong County southwest of
Goodnight (at 35°01' N, 101°14' W) and runs east for eleven
miles to the Donley county line, then runs about fourteen miles
south before joining Mulberry Creek in southwestern Donley County
(at 34°49' N, 101°02' W).
It was named for Green McCullum, a JA Ranch employee who also
served as the first foreman of the RO Ranch.
The creek is in an area of moderately sloping terrain surfaced by
shallow silt loams that support primarily mesquite and grasses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Cowman's Country:
Fifty Frontier Ranches in the Texas Panhandle, 1876-1887
(Amarillo: Paramount, 1981).
JONAH CREEK
Jonah Creek rises fourteen miles southeast of Hedley in extreme
southeastern Donley County (at 34°48' N, 100°33' W) and runs
southeast for twenty-two miles, crossing parts of southwestern
Collingsworth County and northeastern Hall County before joining
the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, fifteen miles
northwest of Childress in northwestern Childress County (at
34°34' N, 100°18' W).
The stream, formerly part of the Diamond Tail Ranch pastures,
still drains a vast ranching and agricultural area.
Jonah Creek traverses moderately steep terrain with locally high
relief. Native vegetation consists of mesquite and grasses in
shallow to moderately deep silt loams.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Panhandle
Pilgrimage: Illustrated Tales Tracing History in the Texas
Panhandle (Canyon, Texas: Staked Plains, 1976; 2d ed., Amarillo:
Paramount, 1978).
HALL CREEK
Hall (Halls) Creek rises two miles southwest of Clarendon in
southwestern Donley County (at 34°55' N, 100°57' W) and runs
southwest for seven miles to its mouth on Mulberry Creek (at
34°50' N, 101°01' W).
It was probably named for Jack Hall, an Amarillo cattleman who
worked at one time as a bookkeeper for the JA Ranch, where the
stream is located.
Hall Creek traverses terrain that changes from flat to rolling,
with some local escarpments, moderately steep slopes, and locally
high relief.
Native vegetation consists of mesquite brush and grasses in soils
that change in composition from mostly deep, fine sandy loams to
shallow to moderately deep silt loams.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Harley True Burton, A History of the JA Ranch
(Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1928; rpt., New York: Argonaut,
1966).
BITTER CREEK
The East and West forks of Bitter Creek rise in southern Donley
County and flow southwest for ten miles before converging a mile
north of State Highway 256 in northwestern Hall County (at
34°43' N, 100°51' W).
Bitter Creek runs southwest for six miles to its mouth on the
Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, in northwestern Hall
County (at 34°37' N, 100°53' W).
It traverses an area of moderately steep slopes with locally high
relief and a surface of silt loam that supports mesquite and
grasses.
The creek was probably named for the saline springs downstream.
The land upstream was once part of the JA Ranch horse pasture;
this area was later developed as the Bitter Creek Ranch by R. G.
Welch of California; in 1959 it became the property of Lawrence
R. Hagey, Amarillo businessman and civic leader.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise
(Wichita Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975).
BUCK CREEK
Buck Creek, also known as Spiller Creek, rises in two branches in
southeastern Donley County.
The North Fork rises four miles east of Hadley (at 34°52' N,
100°37' W), and the South Fork three miles southwest of Hadley
(at 34°50' N, 100°41' W). Both branches flow southeastward into
Collingsworth County, where they join fifteen miles west of
Wellington (at 34°50' N, 100°31' W).
The main stream flows seventy miles, through northeastern
Childress County and into Harmon County, Oklahoma, to its mouth
on the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River (at 34°50' N,
100°41' W).
William Riley Curtisqv established his Diamond Tail Ranch
headquarters on Buck Creek in 1879 and later obtained the
Morrisons' Doll Baby range upstream, where the town of Giles was
later established.
Sam and Joe White ran their OM cattle by the creek in 1880. Buck
Creek flows through flat to rolling terrain with local
escarpments to moderately steep slopes with locally high relief.
Fine sandy or silt loam supports mesquite shrubs and grasses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Cowman's Country:
Fifty Frontier Ranches in the Texas Panhandle, 1876-1887
(Amarillo: Paramount, 1981).
PARKS CREEK
Parks Creek rises in extreme southeastern Gray County (at 35°12'
N, 100°41' W) and flows south nine miles to join Whitefish Creek
in northeastern Donley County (at 35°05' N, 100°40' W).
The stream crosses flat to rolling terrain with local escarpments
and mostly deep, fine sandy loams covered with brush and grasses.
Parks Creek was formerly on the RO Ranch properties.
COTTONWOOD CREEK
Cottonwood Creek rises in east central Armstrong County (at
35°02' N, 101°15' W) and runs east for nine miles, passing
north of Goodnight, to its mouth on the Salt Fork of the Red
River near the Donley county line (at 35°04' N, 101°07' W).
The creek traverses sloping mesquite plains with loamy soils. It
was on the JA Ranch and later the Goodnight Ranch.
LONE TREE CREEK
Lone Tree Creek rises north of the JA Ranch in southeastern
Armstrong County (at 34°50' N, 101°11' W) and runs southeast
for six miles across part of Donley County to its mouth on Battle
Creek, in northeastern Briscoe County (at 34°49' N, 101°02' W).
It remains within the JA Ranch boundaries, in an area
characterized by gently rolling terrain with shallow loamy soils.
The vegetation consists primarily of mesquite and grasses.
BERKLEY CREEK
Berkley Creek rises near U.S. Highway 287 in southeastern Donley
County (34°48' N, 100°36' W) and flows southeast for about
eight miles to its mouth on Parker Creek, just south of Memphis
in northeastern Hall County (at 34°42' N, 100°32' W).
It extends through an area of moderately steep slopes and locally
high relief, surfaced with silt loams that support mesquite and
grasses.
BARTON CREEK
Barton Creek rises fourteen miles northeast of Howardwick in
north central Donley County (at 35°11' N, 100°51' W) and runs
southeast for eleven miles to its mouth on Saddlers Creek, ten
miles northeast of Clarendon (at 35°04' N, 100°45' W).
The stream was named for S. B. Barton, a former buffalo hunter
and surveyor who had a horse ranch on McClellan Creek. One of
three line camps on Lewis H. Carhart's Quarter Circle Heart Ranch
was on Barton Creek, as was J. F. Evans's original Spade Ranch
headquarters; this property was later owned successively by the
families of Charlie McMurtry and Thomas L. Griffin.
The surrounding terrain is flat to rolling to steeply sloped and
surfaced with locally stony loams and clays. Native vegetation
includes mesquite scrub and grass.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise
(Wichita Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975). Willie Newbury Lewis,
Between Sun and Sod (Clarendon, Texas: Clarendon Press, 1938;
rev. ed., College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1976).
JESSE ARROYO
Jesse Arroyo rises in east central Donley County (at 34°53' N,
100°33' W) and runs northeast for nine miles to its mouth on the
Salt Fork of the Red River, twenty miles northwest of Wellington
in west central Collingsworth County (at 35°00' N, 100°31' W).
The arroyo rises in flat to gently sloping terrain and traverses
an area with soils ranging from loose sand to clayey and sandy
loams. The surrounding vegetation varies from scrub brush and
grasses to water-tolerant hardwoods and conifers.
The arroyo was part of the RO ranch pastures
OKLAHOMA DRAW
Oklahoma Draw originates in southeastern Donley County (at
34°52' N, 100°41' W) a mile southwest of Hedley and runs
northeast for twelve miles to its mouth (at 34°59' N, 100°33'
W) on the Salt Fork of the Red River, twenty-five miles northeast
of Clarendon near the Donley-Collingsworth county line.
It was once part of the RO and Diamond Tail ranches. The local
terrain is flat to gently sloping, and native vegetation consists
primarily of mesquite brush and grasses in loose sand.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Cowman's Country:
Fifty Frontier Ranches in the Texas Panhandle, 1876-1887
(Amarillo: Paramount, 1981).
CARROL CREEK
Carrol Creek rises ten miles north of Howardwick in northwestern
Donley County (at 35°10' N, 100°54' W) and formerly ran south
for eleven miles to its mouth on the Salt Fork of the Red River
(at 35°01' N, 100°54' W).
The main headquarters for Lewis Henry Carhart'sqv Quarter Circle
Heart Ranch was located on Carrol Creek. The mouth of the creek
on the Salt Fork was inundated by Greenbelt Reservoir (now
Greenbelt Lake).
Carrol Creek runs through flat to rolling terrain with local
escarpments, surfaced by deep fine sandy loam that supports
native mesquite brush and grasses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Willie Newbury Lewis, Between Sun and Sod
(Clarendon, Texas: Clarendon Press, 1938; rev. ed., College
Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1976).
WHITEFISH CREEK
Whitefish Creek rises near Alanreed in southern Gray County (at
39°12' N, 100°47' W) and flows southeast for twenty-two miles
to its mouth on the Salt Fork of the Red River, in eastern Donley
County (at 34°60' N, 100°36' W).
In 1879 Whitefish Creek and its tributaries were occupied by the
Quarter Circle Heart Ranch, but in 1880 Alfred Rowe added them to
his RO Ranch.
The area is flat to rolling with local escarpments. The soils are
deep, fine, sandy loams that support hardwood forests, brush, and
grasses at the head.
The creek later reaches a flat area with local shallow
depressions, where clay and sandy loam soils support
water-tolerant hardwoods, conifers, and grasses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Cowman's Country:
Fifty Frontier Ranches in the Texas Panhandle, 1876-1887
(Amarillo: Paramount, 1981). Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson,
Panhandle Pilgrimage: Illustrated Tales Tracing History in the
Texas Panhandle (Canyon, Texas: Staked Plains, 1976; 2d ed.,
Amarillo: Paramount, 1978).
(information from The Handbook of Texas
Online --
a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and
culture.)