Growing up in Texas before Google existed, I always wondered why we had a county named “Deaf Smith.”

Now I can tell you Erastus Smith, a scout for the Army of the Republic of Texas during the Texas Revolution and the first person to reach the Alamo after its fall, was only partially deaf. I guess Partially Deaf Smith county was too long. I also learned Smith pronounced it “deef”.

Image Credit © Paul H. Byerly