History of Courtney, Martin County: From Ranch Headquarters to Community
By: Noel Wiggins
Published: 1952
Updated: December 1, 1994
Courtney is in south central Martin County on land that had previously served as headquarters of the Christopher C. Slaughter ranch. The community was named for John H. Courtney, who in 1889 began farming there and who donated land for a school, which opened in 1907. A rural school district was organized in 1916, and Courtney became an independent school district in 1927. In 1949 the Badgett school was consolidated with that of Courtney, and in the 1950s the Courtney and Stanton schools were consolidated. Baptists and Methodists joined to build a union church, known as the Courtney Tabernacle, in 1924. The Baptists built a new building in 1941, and the Methodists disbanded in 1954. Church of Christ and Primitive Baptist congregations also met in Courtney. The 1984 county highway map showed a church at Courtney.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Noel Wiggins, “Courtney, TX (Martin County),” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/courtney-tx-martin-county.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
HRC97
- 1952
- December 1, 1994
