Judge Legett of Abilene

When young Kirvin Kade Legett arrived in Buffalo Gap Texas in 1879 his principal assets were a good horse and saddle and a license to practice law. When the Texas and Pacific Railroad building west from Fort Worth missed Buffalo Gap the young attorney moved on to Abilene then a tent city with only two items for sale a train ticket to git away or a drink to make you willing to stay. The man and the country were to grow up together.Legett''s early clients were buffalo hunters bone collectors sheepherders cattlemen and farmers but he eventually handled cases of statewide and even out-of-state importance. Although he refused to seek public office he had some say about those who did and most serious candidates for state offices sought his counsel and support. A stock farmer and rancher as well as practicing attorney Legett was a forceful early advocate of farm diversification and did much to further the development of West Texas agriculture business oil exploration and education. Judge Legett was a pioneer and a man of stature; his life story is in a real sense an epitome of the history of West Texas especially of the Abilene area. By the time of Legett''s death that rowdy railroad town had become a thriving modern city. Vernon Gladden Spence''s biography based on an extensive collection of private papers offers a clear and detailed portrait of a man whose energies and talents helped turn a wilderness into a habitable and productive country.