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Naming Seminole

By the Gaines County Museum

The story of naming our city of Seminole began over 200 years ago when a group of the Creek tribe broke away from the main Creek nation and relocated to Florida in the early 1800’s. The word
“Seminole” originates from the same Creek word that means “runaway”. At the time, Florida was under Spanish rule, and while it welcomed the Seminole, it also offered a haven for freed and escaped slaves, who over time intermarried and adapted to the Seminole culture, becoming known as the “Black Seminole” and also the “Seminole Negroes”. Florida became a U. S. territory in 1821 and what followed was almost 30 years of warfare against the tribes by the U. S. Army. In battle, the Black Seminole proved to be especially fierce warriors, since they fought not only for the Seminole’s freedom, but also for their own. After decades of battles and broken treaties with the U. S. Army, the Seminole and the Black Seminole were relocated to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. In 1849 many of the Black Seminole moved to northern Mexico where under an agreement with the Mexican government they settled and fought against raiding Comanche, Apache, Lipan and other outlaw bands, once again establishing themselves as extraordinary fighters, scouts, and trackers.

Following 20 years of protecting the northern borderlands of Mexico, the Black Seminole scouts chose to return to the United States hoping to reclaim their land rights set out in original treaties. However, the treaties only named the Seminole tribe, not the Black Seminole, and this omission led to years of protracted legal challenges for both tribes. The Black Seminole were hired by the U.S. Army and became known as the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts (not to be confused with the better-known Buffalo Soldiers). The scouts were assigned to Fort Duncan (Eagle Pass, TX) and Fort Clark (Brackettville, TX) where they resided outside the forts with their families. Lt. John L. Bullis led them on more than two dozen campaigns without any loss of life or serious injury, and four of the scouts were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions. Some of these campaigns brought the Black Seminole scouts to West Texas and Gaines County. One foray into Gaines County led to a draw located approximately 2 miles south of present-day Seminole where the Bullis expedition also discovered over 50 shallow water wells. Early Gaines County settlers knew this area as Hackberry Grove due to the abundance of hackberry trees. The military was also charged with recording natural resources and topographical details of any area travelled; thus, the draw became known on maps as Seminole Draw.

When Texas became an independent republic in 1836, the municipalities created under Mexican colonial rule were converted to counties and further divided as settlement continued, leading to the current 254 counties in Texas. The number of counties is the results of the theory that no person should be required to travel more than one day to their county seat. Early Gaines County settlers suggested a list of possible names for the newly formed town, and the list was forwarded to the U. S. Post Office in Washington, DC for consideration. The USPS would determine the city’s name as there could not be multiple postal locations with the same name within the same state. From this list, the name Seminole was selected thereby honoring the Black Seminole who traversed and protected West Texas settlers in earlier years. Gaines County Commissioner’s Court accepted the name of Seminole as evidenced in the Court minutes of 1906. The Black Seminole were also previously honored with two other county geographical locations known as Seminole Draw and Seminole Wells located in Hackberry Grove. To the Black Seminole … we honor and salute you for your service to the Texas and the American West!