Hansford County Sheriff Robert E. (Bob) Martin

The Officer Down Memorial Page lists Robert Eli Martin among officers killed in the line of duty. Its account says he was shot inside a barn at a ranch he and a deputy marshal had gone to under a court order, and that his killer was convicted of murder and given a life sentence, escaped after five years, and was later shot and killed by officers. Martin's Hansford was a small county seat whose first bank opened in 1907; it had about 100 people in 1915 and emptied after the railroad chose Spearman.

What the plaque says

(1868 - 1911) Killed while assisting United States marshal making arrest in boundary line dispute in the northwestern part of county. Like many frontier sheriffs, he was a cowboy and farmer chosen for office out of regard for his standing as a good citizen. Came to Hansford, 1906, bought a section of land. Eager to see area develop, he ran a livery stable. This provided for land prospectors from the north and east the only means of travel to seek out and buy property. He married Sophia Snowden; had 10 children. Was sheriff form 1908 until his untimely death. (1965)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Plains — 26 mi
  Perryton's four-acre museum of the wheat country at the top of Texas, with an 1899 depot, five historic buildings and a life-size Hank the Cowdog, whose author grew up here.

More markers nearby

• Hansford County — steps away
• Spearman — steps away
• Lindberghs Land at Spearman — 1.8 mi
• Old Farwell — 11 mi