SAMNORWOOD, TEXAS. Samnorwood, just west of U.S. Highway 83 in north central Collingsworth County, is a shipping center for an agricultural and ranching area between Elm and Dozier creeks, named for Sam W. Norwood, a county pioneer. The town was established in 1931 when the Fort Worth and Denver Northern Railway built its line from Childress to Pampa. Its formal opening, complete with a picnic and typical fanfare, was celebrated on July 4. Soon a barber shop, a cafe, a gin, a depot, and two general stores were established. A post office was granted in October 1932. By 1934 a brick high school building was completed at a cost of $25,000. The population reached 100 by 1940. In 1984, in addition to the school and post office, Samnorwood had a store, a church, and a population of about forty. In 2000 the population was reported at thirty-nine, and there was still one business in the community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Clyde Chestnut Brown, A Survey History of Collingsworth County, Texas (M.A. thesis, University of Colorado, 1934). Fred Tarpley, 1001 Texas Place Names (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1980).

H. Allen Anderson