USA > Texas > Tarrant County > Fort Worth > History of Texas : Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition, Volume II > Part 39
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Lipscomb County has for a number of years held a high rank among Panhandle counties for its live stock and agriculture. The creek valleys have been utilized for the production of varied crops, and the settlers have raised considerable fruit for a number of years. There has as
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yet been little development of irrigation, though the natural conditions offer much encouragement for such enterprises. The total area of the county is 568,320 acres, of which 423,250 acres were farms in 1910. The number of farms increased from 117 in 1900 to 375 in 1910, and the same time the amount of "improved land" increased from about 11,000 acres to about 109,000 acres. The enumeration reported 26,804 cattle ; about 3.150 horses and mules ; 2,659 hogs, and 13,887 poultry ; and in 1920, 64,527 cattle and 4,306 horses and mules.
In 1909, 10,071 acres were planted in hay and forage crops, including about 900 acres in alfalfa, 8,810 acres in corn, 7,473 acres in kaffir corn and milo maize, 3,884 acres in wheat, and a small acreage in oats. The number of orchard fruit trees enumerated were 4,500.
LOVING COUNTY.
While the boundaries were given to this county in 1887, it has never been organized and is attached to Ward County for judicial purposes. Aside from its value as a stock range the only importance to be noted is the progress of irrigation along the Pecos River, which forms the western boundary of the county. In 1910 there were seventy-nine individual farms or ranches in the county, as compared with only six in 1900. Twelve farms were irrigated in 1909. There were four irrigation enterprises, which were capable of irrigating over 5,000 acres. The amount of land classified as "improved" was 580, practically all of it under the irrigation ditches. The total area of the county is 481,920 acres, and in 1910 about 200,000 acres were included in farms or ranches. The number of cattle reported at the last enumeration was 4,159, and 380 horses and mules. The county has long been regarded as one of the best cattle ranges in West Texas. In 1909 the total assessed values in the county were $392,341; in 1913, $384,887 ; in 1920, $653,574.
In 1890 the county was credited with a population of only three inhabitants ; in 1900, 33 ; in 1910, 249; and in 1920. 82.
LUBBOCK COUNTY.
A few years ago Lubbock had nothing to distinguish it particu- larly from other counties in the Staked Plains region. Its large area supported a meager population of stockmen, there were no railroads, and the only thing to attract new settlers was the grazing of pasture lands. The last decade has witnessed many remarkable changes. In 1907 a branch of the Pecos & Northern Texas Railway was completed from Canyon City as far as Plainview, and by the spring of 1910 trains were operating from Plainview south to Lubbock. During 1910 construction work was being rapidly pushed on the Texico-Cole- man cut-off of the Santa Fe, passing through Lubbock County and Lubbock City. This road was completed by 1911, and about the same time a branch was extended east from Lubbock, known as the Crosbyton & South Plains Railroad. Settlers and capital at once came into the Lubbock district, and many of the large ranch holdings were cut up into farms, and while farmers as a rule employed with satisfying success the dry methods of cultivating the plains crops, a still greater resource so far as future development is concerned was
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found in the discovery of the shallow well water supply, by which copious streams of water can be brought from a depth of 40 to 100 feet and pumped over the fruit, alfalfa and other grain fields, insuring splendid crops from the fertile soil. Recently a number of test wells have been put down, and by the use of gasoline power and centrifugal pumps enormous flows of water are obtained. Continual pumping for many hours has failed to perceptibly lower the water in these wells. In the valleys of the streams, tributaries of the Brazos River, a large acreage is already sub-irrigated and alfalfa grows luxuriantly.
The rapid development of the agricultural possibilities of Lubbock County, as representing the entire section known as the South Plains, underlain by the Shallow Water Belt, is due in a large part to the educational activities and results announced by the State Experiment Farm No. 8 maintained two and one-half miles east of the city of Lubbock, where more than 3,000 experiments are carried on each year to determine the profitable crops and methods of production to be suited to this section.
While irrigated farming is practiced to a profitable advantage in the case of commercial and home gardens, orchards and intensive stock farms, the improved methods of cultivation developed by this experiment farm have demonstrated the dependable profit to be made from ordinary farming methods adapted to the conditions prevailing through this section. The record breaking crop grown in this section up to and including 1920 was that of 1920 and was "laid by" upon 14.5 inches of rainfall.
Diversified farming is making rapid progress in this county, whose increase in number of farms reported by the Federal census of 1920 amounted to 384% or 1,908 farms. The rural condition is further improved in this county by the high grade of public schools being constructed by the county board of education. With twenty-one rural schools in the county, eleven have modern brick buildings and the rural school property showed an increase of 940% in the four years previous to 1920.
Lubbock County produces the world's supply of Sudan grass seec in addition to the profitable production of small grains, sorghums, alfalfa, clover, cotton, fruit and vegetables. There is considerable activity in dairying, and pure bred hog production is reported in the county and in the South Plains counties surrounding Lubbock County. These activities are carried on exclusively by the ordinary method of cultivation as distinguished from the irrigated method of farming.
The legislative act of August 21, 1876, carved out Lubbock County among others in Northwest Texas. The county was organ- ized in March, 1891, with a population of thirty-three, or an increase from twenty-five in 1880. In the next ten years it increased to 293 and by 1910 it had increased to 3,624 or 1,136%, while the 1920 census showed an increase of 296% or 11,096 inhabitants. In 1903 the assessed value of property was $1,146,672; by 1913 the assessed valua- tions aggregated $4,971,301 ; and in 1920, $12.633,190.
During this period the number of farms increased from nothing
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except ranch gardens in 1880-90-1900 to 208 farms in 1910. In 1920 there were 1,008 farms, or an increase of 384% as compared to the state increase of 3.4%. In the total area of 555,520 approximately 50% is included in the farms with less than 25% in cultivation. Of this area in cultivation the Chamber of Commerce estimates 12,500 acres in Sudan grass, 28,600 acres in cotton, 32,500 acres in grain, sorghum, alfalfa, clover, corn and other feed crops, and 16,300 acres in small grains.
In 1910 there were 18,191 cattle enumerated, 2,100 horses and mules, and 4,213 sheep. In 1920 there were 14,340 cattle, less than five per cent of which were dairy cattle, 5,330 horses and mules, and 29,800 sheep, in addition to the 7,500 head of lambs fed for the market through the winter. The hog industry has grown from a half dozen "killing hogs" on the ranches in 1900 to more than 3,000 in 1920, a large part of which are pure bred breeding hogs of the highest quality. Several breeders of national importance are located in the county.
Following exhaustive experiments on the State Experiment Farm at Lubbock and Spur the hog and sheep feeding industry is making rapid growth in the county to consume the great production of grain sorghums found to be superior to corn heretofore employed to feed out market hogs in the North and Central states. More than 500,000 pounds of wool was marketed through Lubbock in 1920, according to figures compiled by the South Plains Wool Growers' Association of this place.
CITY OF LUBBOCK
The city of Lubbock has grown from an isolated village in 1900 of seventy-five inhabitants to the railroad center of the South Plains. Reported in 1910 with 1,938 inhabitants, or an increase of more than 2,500%. Between the years 1910 and 1920 it made a gain of 109%, with a present population of 4,051, which is the largest of any city between Amarillo and Sweetwater and the largest city of the South Plains, due to its five railroads. six designated state highways and numerous county highway outlets, giving ready access to foreign and local markets and wholesale centers.
The city owns and operate's its own light, water and sewer plants, under the city manager, commission form of government, with a taxa- ble valuation of $4.003,950 at a tax rate of $1.25. It has twenty blocks of brick pavement, covering the retail section of the city, with ornamental street illumination throughout the principal portion. Two modern hospitals care for the emergencies of the Plains section.
The school system of the city is composed of three ward schools. one grammar and high school with a separate negro and Mexican school. The scholastic enrollment of the rural schools of the county total 1,720 pupils and of the city of Slaton 550.
Slaton is the division point of the Santa Fe Railroad for this division, with a population of 1,590 in 1920, as compared with less than 300 in 1910.
LYNN COUNTY
Lynn County was created in 1876, but was not organized until April, 1903, with Tahoka as the county seat. While cattlemen VOL. II-23
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employed its area to a limited degree for grazing purposes, there was no development to speak of and little population until the present century. The county had nine inhabitants in 1880, 24 in 1890, 17 in 1900, but by 1910 its population was 1,713; in 1920, 4,751. For many years the nearest railroad was the Texas & Pacific, seventy-five miles to the south. The influx of stock and agricultural settlers began about ten years ago, and the notable developments which centered in Hale and Lubbock counties to the north gradually extended to include Lynn County. In 1910-11 the Pecos & Northern Texas main line was built across the northeast corner of Lynn County, and subsequently a branch of the same road was extended south through the center of Lynn County, with Tahoka as one of its stations. Since the con- struction of this road the movement of homeseekers into this section has been heavy and a start has been made in the development of the varied resources. Although prominent as a cattle country, the excellent supply of underground water offers many possibilities for agricultural and horticultural development.
In 1900 only five farms and ranches were reported in the county ; by 1910 the number was 201. The total area of the county is 552,960 acres, of which 260,792 acres were included in farms in 1910, and about 20,000 acres of "improved land," as compared with only 246 acres in 1900. The live stock in 1910 was 11,182 cattle, and about 2,100 horses and mules. In 1920, 26,663 cattle, 3,050 horses and mules were enumerated. In 1909, 1,976 acres were planted in kaffir corn and milo maize, 1,076 acres in corn, 1,003 acres in cotton, and there were about 6,400 orchard fruit trees.
The value of taxable property in 1903 was $947,630; in 1913, $2,082,007; and in 1920, $3,992,915.
MCCULLOCH COUNTY
Created from Bexar County August 27, 1856. Named for Gen. Ben McCulloch. Located in West Central Texas. Organized in 1876. Area 1,110 square miles. County seat, Brady. Other princi- pal towns, Rochelle, Melvin, Mercury and Lohn. Population of county in 1900, 3,961 ; population in 1909, 16,505; increase, 12,545; in 1920, 10,559. General surface rolling, with fertile valleys among the hills. The Colorado River forms the northern boundary of the county. The San Saba River and Brady Creek traverse the territory from west to east. These water courses and the plentiful supply of under- ground water, which can be tapped at depths of from 50 to 150 feet, render the county one of the best watered in the region. The uplands are timbered with post oak, live oak and cedar. There is considerable mesquite in the valleys. These growths are sufficient to furnish wood for fuel and fence posts. Soils vary from black sticky to dark choco- late loam, and are quite fertile. It is estimated that about half of the area of the county could be profitably devoted to farming. The main field products are cotton, corn and forage crops. Fruits and vege- tables are grown on some of the farms for the use of the families occupying them. McCulloch County is a fine stock raising country. Railroads in the county are the St. Louis & San Francisco and Gulf
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Colorado & Santa Fe. Taxable values of county in 1909, $5,754,804 ; in 1920, $8,797,455. In 1920, 30,001 cattle and 6,701 horses and mules, and 18,432 sheep were enumerated.
BRADY, TEXAS
Brady is the county seat of McCulloch County. It is at the junc- tion of the Frisco & Santa Fe systems, giving it easy, convenient service, fully capable of handling any amount of tonnage, with close connection to all markets of the country. It has local, rural and long distance telephone systems, communication by telegraph and cablegram to all parts of the world.
It has two big oil mills, a first class cotton compress and several wholesale houses. It has two papers, one weekly and one semi- weekly, both with a wide circulation and a competent corps of editors and correspondents. There are two national banks and a Chamber of Commerce, which looks after the dual interests of both city and country. This latter organization is supported and controlled by the leading business men of the city and is doing much good and render- ing valuable assistance along lines of public interest.
MARTIN COUNTY
Martin County was created in 1876, and its county government organized in November, 1884. It is one of the counties tributary to the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway, built through the southeast- ern corner in 1881. Stanton, the county seat, is the only town of any importance in the county, and is located on the railway. In spite of its convenience in the matter of railway facilities, the county's development was very slow until the present century, and it is still a section for ranch farming rather than agriculture. There is an abundant supply of water at shallow depth beneath the surface, and irrigation has been practiced on a small scale.
The population of the county at successive decades has been: In 1880, 12; in 1890, 264; in 1900, 332; in 1910, 1,549, and in 1920. 1,146. In 1910 there were enumerated 17,093 cattle and about 1,100 horses and mules. Much of the land is still held in large tracts by the ranchmen. The total area of the county is 578,560 acres, of which 271,752 acres were included in farms or ranches in 1910. In 1900 only 203 acres were classed as "improved land," but that amount was increased during the succeeding years to 14,400 acres in 1910. The number of farms or ranches in 1900 was 33, and 147 in 1910. The acreage devoted to the principal crops in 1909 was: Kaffir corn and milo maize, 1,699; cotton, 946; hay and forage crops, 892; and corn, 252. The property valuation of the county in 1903 was $821,253; in 1913, $2,603,143, and in 1920, $2,103,096. Stanton, the county seat, has four churches, a Catholic boarding school, two banks and one cotton gin. About 4,000 bales of cotton have been marketed here this year.
MIDLAND COUNTY
Reference has been repeatedly made in these sketches of Texas counties to the remarkable development that followed the construc-
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tion of the Texas & Pacific Railroad from Fort Worth west to El Paso. In almost every case the counties through which that line passed were the first to begin development on a permanent basis, and the line of railway became the backbone to the economic activities spreading for many miles on each side. Between the town of Big Springs, in Howard County, and the Pecos River, the Texas & Pacific crosses the immense territory formerly comprised within Tom Green County. As elsewhere stated, the breaking up of the original Tom Green County began during the '80s, and it is noteworthy that the first division was made at the western end rather than at the eastern side of the original county. The first of such counties to be detached and separately organized was Midland, created and organized in 1885.
For more than thirty years Midland and sourrounding counties have been a center for some of the most extensive cattle operations in the entire state. Midland has for a number of years, and is yet, particularly the home of wealthy cattlemen, and many of the veterans in the industry have at some time or other been identified with the country tributary to Midland City. While the old Texas "longhorn" was the feature of the cattle herds in that vicinity for a number of years, some of the first successful attempts to introduce thoroughbred cattle were made in the Midland country. Not long after Midland County was organized the great Chicago packer, Nelson Morris, bought up and established the great ranch of more than 300 square miles in the district north of Midland City and started the experiment of raising Polled Angus cattle, and at one time had as many as 20,000 head of this strain on his ranch. His stock was sold a few years ago. Midland is the home of the largest registered herd of Hereford cattle in the world, owned by Schaurbauer Brothers, and there are also many Durham cattle. Ever since the coming of the railroad the greater part of Midland County has been occupied by ranches and was gradually enclosed in immense pastures by various corporations and individual cattlemen. During the present century there has been a gradual subdivision and breaking up of these extensive ranches, and farming, especially by the dry farming methods, and more recently with the aid of irrigation, has become a pronounced feature. In 1911 the many experiments hitherto conducted for drawing water from an underground supply to irrigate land came to a climax with the opening of a great well near Midland, which developed a flow of 2,000 gallons per minute. The success of this initial well has stimu- lated the investment of capital and enterprises in many other localities about Midland City, and irrigation farming is now on a fairly well established basis.
Some facts taken from the last census report give the status of the live stock industry and of agriculture in the county as follows: There were 178 farms, as compared with 73 ten years previously. Of a total area of 567,680 acres, 466,367 acres were occupied as farms. About 16,000 acres were cultivated as "improved land," as compared with 897 acres in 1900; 16,300 cattle were enumerated in the county in 1920, and 1,175 horses and mules. The acreage of the chief crops during 1909 was : Kaffir corn and milo maize, 2,438; cotton, 1,755;
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hay and forage crops, 2,252; and corn, 421. About 3,500 orchard fruit trees were enumerated. In 1890 Midland County had a popula- tion of 1,033; in 1900, 1,741 ; in 1910, 3,464; and in 1920, 3,000. There are one or two small villages, but the greater proportion of the county's population is concentrated in Midland City, which had 2,192 inhabitants in 1910. Midland City, which got its name from the fact of its location about midway between Fort Worth and El Paso, claims the distinction of being the wealthiest town per capita in the United States, and has a trade territory covering an immense district on all sides. The city has well improved streets, a number of modern busi- ness blocks, schools and churches, and is the natural business center for counties both to the north and south.
The assessed values of property in the county in 1903 were $2,009,- 294 ; in 1909, $5,882,603; in 1913, $5,734,287; and in 1920, $5,891,285.
MITCHELL COUNTY
Located on the headwaters of the Colorado River, and traversed by the Texas & Pacific Railway since 1881, Mitchell County has long been one of the centers of the live stock industry in West Texas. Colorado City, the county seat, has been particularly noted as a cat- tlemen's town. The county has been described as a country of undulating prairies, traversed by numerous streams, with broad and beautiful valleys, skirted by a shattered growth of scrubby mesquite, hackberry and wild china, interspersed with an occasional live oak, pecan and cedar tree, in some parts mountainous, and in others stretching out into elevated tablelands.
A report of the county in 1892 said : "Stock raising is the engross- ing pursuit of the inhabitants, and it is an industry of large and increasing importance. Nearly the entire surface is covered with the long and the curly mesquite, buffalo and gamma grasses, on which cattle, sheep and horses keep in good condition the year round."
In round numbers the estimate of stock in the county in 1892 was 35,000 cattle, 13,000 sheep, and about 1,000 horses and mules. At that time practically none of the land was under individual owner- ship. The county was occupied by the scattered cattle outfits. Ranch buildings were anywhere from 15 to 30 miles apart, and as a common rule each man recognized and respected the range rights of his neighbors in good faith. In the gradual process of breaking up the old range new factors were introduced from time to time. These were chiefly improved stock, provident management, and individual control of more or less of the land upon which each stockman oper- ated, accompanied by the building of wire fences, an innovation that began about the close of the '80s. In Mitchell and other counties of the same area the old-time cattlemen drove their stock from place to place in search of grass and water, but since then surface water sup- ply has been supplemented by wells. During the last twenty years the underground water supply, tapped by numerous wells, has been drawn upon, and the traveler through the Plains country finds the numerous windmills the most impressive feature of the landscape. Colorado City, and other towns have frequently been referred to as "windmill cities."
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The report of 1892, previously quoted, says: "The Texas & Pacific Railroad runs through the county from east to west and has four stations-Loraine, Colorado City, Westbrook and Iatan. The latter place is situated about twenty miles west of Colorado City, in what is known as Paradise Valley, which contains about 5,000 acres of fertile land, and is strikingly picturesque and beautiful. Colorado City has about 1,500 inhabitants and does a large trade with the sur- rounding counties." Within the present decade the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad has been constructed, touching the northeast cor- ner of Mitchell County, and with that exception the railway mileage is exclusively that of the Texas & Pacific.
In 1880 Mitchell County had a population of only 117, in 1890, 2,059 ; in 1900, 2,855; in 1910, 8,956; and in 1920, 7,527. The largest town is Colorado City, with a population in 1910 of 1,840. Loraine at the same census had 633 inhabitants.
One important resurce of the county is the production of salt, and two plants at Colorado City are engaged in its manufacture.
In 1881, at about the beginning of development in the county, the assessed value of taxable property was $589,959; in 1903, $2,549,330 ; in 1913, $6,366,848; and in 1920, $5,807,851.
To a limited extent irrigation has been employed to water the garden erops, but the chief reliance has been upon natural rainfall and dry farming methods. Subject to the variation of seasons in West Texas, Mitchell County has made notable progress in agricul- ture, though the chief resource is still live stock. In 1910, 1,108 farms were enumerated, and the number at the preceding census was 232. The total area of the county is 566,400 acres. Of this 106,302 acres were classified as "impoved land" at the last census, while the preceding census found but about 17,000 acres thus classified. In 1920, 7,918 cattle were enumerated; about 3,300 horses and mules, 2,934 hogs. In 1919, 32,055 acres were planted in cotton, 20,247 acres in kaffir corn and milo maize, 8,969 acres in hay and forage crops. 2,411 acres in corn. There was a limited production of peanuts and vegetable crops, and about 23,000 orchard fruit trees were found.
COLORADO
Colorado City, the county seat of Mitchell County, is located on both banks of the Colorado River. It is noted for its sidewalks, and shade trees, pretty women and fat men. It has one of the best school sys- tems in West Texas. The present court house is a three-story brick structure built in 1884 at a cost of $80,000. Colorado City's trade terri- tory extends from 20 to 30 miles in each direction from town. It is con- sidered one of the oldest cow-towns in Texas, its farming, and espec- ially stock-farming interests are growing fast. Its days of rough and tumble "shoot the town up," cow-boy fashion, are past, although it is still the home of large ranch owners, they are a different type of men, more progressive and energetic than in former days.
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