The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 13

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau
Number of Pages: 1204

USA > Texas > The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1 > Part 13

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Upwards of one billion dollars are said to have been paid for oil leases in the Fort Worth area of the West Texas oil field and at this time hundreds

Bathing at the Municipal Beach, Lake Worth

on natural gas from Oklahoma, although that has served its purpose well. Two pipe lines now are being constructed, one by the government which purposes bringing gas of a superior quality from Petrolia, a few miles north, to manufacture argon gas or helium for use in balloons and another from the Ranger field, about one hundred miles to the west, which will bring to the city Texas gas for heating and power purposes.

CATTLE RAISING IN TEXAS By E. B. SPILLER

Secretary, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers' Association

T HE live stock industry is one of the largest and in many respects the most important industry in the United States. The value of the live stock in the United States is estimated at more than $3,000,000. Aside from the vast investment the importance of the industry is found in the necessity for live stock to maintain the fertility of the soil, and to consume the products of farms and ranges, 80 per cent of which, according to census reports is fed to live stock; and the further fact that animal food is a very essential factor in the diet of the American people of today.

Texas is the leading cattle breeding state of the ('nion, and annually furnishes steers for the feed lots of the corn belt

cattlemen, their long journeys over the trails with vast herds of cattle en route to Kansas and other states before the days of the railroads; and the evo- lution of the Texas steer from the longhorn of years ago to the modern market-topping and prize winning steer of today.

The mild climate over most of the state and the succulent native grasses which need be supple- mented with other feed only on rare occasions, make it possible to breed cattle in Texas more economic- ally than in any other state in the United States. The principal beef breeds of cattle are Herefords or white faces, Shorthorns, or Durhams, and Aber- deen-Angus or black muleys, with the Herefords leading numerically. Along the Texas coast the Brahmas because of their power to resist ticks, flies, mosquitoes and other pests, and ability to thrive evin in times of short range, are becoming very popular. Many breeders prefer a cross of Here- fords and Shorthorns, and others are crossing the Angus and Brahmas with Herefords and Shorthorns

vates, and the ranges of Okla- toma, Kansas, Col- orado and other range states. Vol- umes would be re- quired to review even briefly the magnitude of the business in Texas and the far-reach- .ng influence which .he breeding, fat- tening and market- ng of live stock kas upon the social and economic wel- fare of all lines f industry. In the short space alloted to me I must !» content with a few general observations and re- frain from reference to the hardships of the pioneer

One of the Herds of Thoroughbred Cattle which Graze on the Large West Texas Ranches

with highly satisfactory results.

Splendid herds of registered and grade breeding cattle are found in all sections of the state, but because of the severe weather, which sometimes visits the Pan- handle, cattle breeding is conduct- ed more successfully in the western, southwestern and southern portions of the state. By using good bulls, culling the herds of undesirable animals annually, careful herd man- agement and good business meth- ods, the leading stockmen of Texas have succeeded in raising the qual- ity of their range herds to a very high plane. Breed improvement has progressed more slowly in the eastern part of the state, but the doctrine of "better sires" is spread- ing, and soon the "piny woods scrub," like the longhorn will be a relie of the past.

Some stockmen keep only their breeding herds and sell the increase as calves; others keep up their

The Packing House District of Fort Worth as Viewed from an Airplane

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

breeding herds and hold the increase until one or two years old, and still others handle only steers. Many Panhandle stockmen buy calves, yearlings or one or two-year-old steers, hold them for a short time and either feed them for market or sell to grazers and feeders in other states. Cattle bred on the Texas ranches and fed in the corn belt states have won many prizes, the championship at leading stock shows-topped the markets hundreds of times.

St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Wichita Falls, St. Joseph and New Orleans, or from pastures in other states, and many of the choicest fat cattle sold at the Chicago market are bred in Texas and fed in the corn belt.

Texas cattle pulled the chattels of the pioneers to the plains of Texas, drew the plows which first cultivated the soil, converted grass and weeds into

In normal years cattle may be wintered in most sections of the state without feed other than the na- tive grasses. In the Panhandle ' it is customary to feed cattle thru the winter to have them in good flesh in the spring, and many are "full fed" in order that they might be fat and ready for the spring market. The principal feeds used for wintering and fat- tening cattle are cotton seed cake, meal and hulls, hay, silage, sorg- hum, kaffir and other forage crops. Because of the tropical clim- ate in the south- ern part of the state stockmen of that section usual- ly have grass fat steers for the early spring markets, and realize good prices from them. While Fort Worth is now the third largest market in ' the United States, and receipts of this market are confined almost entirely to Texas cattle, one cannot get a fair idea of the volume of the cattle business in this state from this alone. In ad- dition to the very large number of cattle handled at the Fort Worth market. thousands are sold and slaughtered at the markets at San An- tonio, Houston and El Paso, and much greater num- bers are shipped direct to markets at Kansas City,

ARMOUR & COMPANY

Where the Live Stock from the West Texas Plains is Converted into Meat. Upper : The Armour Packing Plant. Center: The Stock Exchange. Lower: Swift Packing Plant.

milk and beef, and hauled to market the products of the fields. They were the foundation of our modern civilization; without them the wheels of commerce would grind more slowly.

FORT WORTHI AS AN OIL CENTER By T. B. HOFFER

H ER geographical loca- tion and the fact that her transportation fa- cilities excel those of any city southwest of Kansas City were the principal factors which combined to make Fort Worth the now undisputed center for oil companies operating in the new fields in North Texas. Within a radius of a little more than a hun- dred miles are located prac- tically all the fields which are now contributing to the large oil production of North Cen- tral and West Texas. Burk- burnett is 115 miles north- west, Electra 125 miles, Holi- y 105 miles, and Petrolia 105 miles in the same direction. Breckenridge lies 90 miles di- tretly west, Caddo 80 miles west, Strawn, 70 miles arst and Ranger 80 miles west and a little south. The Desdemona field is 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth. With the vast amount of the present pro- Juction coming from Wichita, Stephens, Eastland and Comanche counties, Fort Worth finds herself Ihr nearest large city having direct rail communica- :. on with all these areas.

Hier seventeen railway outlets, moreover, are a tremendous asset to large companies operating in the city as through them all important points in the country can be reached. These transportation facil- :fes enable the operator to bring and concentrate supplies, and to ship petroleum with little difficulty.

Production Company, Empire Gas & Fuel Company, Humble Oil & Refining Company, Sinclair-Gulf Oil Company, Pierce Oil Corporation, Cosden & Com- pany, Magnolia Petroleum Company, Invisible Oil Corporation, The Texas Company, Transcontinental Oil Company, Inland Refining Company, Evans- Thwing Refining Company, Home Oil & Refining Company, Star Refining Company, Imperial Refin- ing Company, Beaver Valley Refining Company, United Producers Pipe Line Company, Crew-Levick, Southern Oil Refining Association, Federal Oil & Refining Company, Texas Producing & Refining Company, Panther City Oil & Refining Company, OK-IN Oil & Refining Company.

Since the discovery of oil in west Texas two pipe lines have been laid from that area to Fort Worth, those of the Gulf Pipe Line Company and the United Producers Pipe Line Company. The Gulf Pipe Line Company is now laying a line from Burkburnett to Fort Worth and at least one additional line is pro- jected between Fort Worth and west Texas.

In addition to the larger concerns who have es- tablished offices in Fort Worth, more than four hun- dred smaller companies have offices there. Some of these have secured production and others will do so. Some are destined to fail but the day of the fake promoters in Fort Worth is rapidly passing. Wild speculation in leases has subsided, and within a short time it is likely that the froth will be cleared from the situation and the new fields, especially those in West Texas, wil be on business-like basis.

Outside of the Petrolia and Electra fields which have a joint production of about 11,000 barrels per day, practically all of the production of North Cen- tral and West Texas has been developed within the

Fort Worth will benefit n many ways from the de- rlopment of the oil fields. Her population has al- *rady increased by many 'ousands. Business in rwry line has been stimu- a:rd. Bank deposits have "creased enormously, and "vr trade territory with- " which lie practically all "+ new fields, has noi -ly increased the popula- : in and wealth, but it is 'nding the means for rapid development. Better : A«, better homes, better ? hools and generally im- wed living conditions : touxhout the district are wwured through the vast amount that has been paid : leases and in royalties to land owners. The

One of the Oil Refineries Near Fort Worth

wraith brought to North Central and West Texas "rough this oil development will result in this ter- " Poty developing in a few years to an extent which Forwise would have required several decades.

A score of larger producing and refining compa-

" .. s have shown their faith in the future of the city ! Fort Worth by establishing operating headquar- Ers here. The list includes the following: Gulf

past two years. The record production of this area was 265,000 per day established during the month of August, 1919. The potential production is consid- erably in excess of this amount and there is little doubt that upon the completion of pipe lines now under construction to care for the surplus in the Desdemona field and the Northwest extension of the Burkburnett field, a daily production in excess of 300,000 barrels will be obtained.

WICHITA FALLS, THE CITY THAT FAITH BUILT By WICHITA FALLS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

R EALIZING the discovery of great oil fields in Wichita County as a remarkable bit of good fortune, and also as a commanding op- portunity for new civic advancement, Wichita Falls has started activity on an enlarged program of solid, substantial improvements. It is ambitious as a city to become known, not only for its wealth in oil, wheat, cattle and cotton, but as a delightful city in which to live and to rear children, as well as to make a living.

While oil has played a big part in the growth of Wichita Falls, it is a mistake to consider that it is merely an oil town. Wich- ita Falls had 8,200 people in 1910 and in 1917, before the discovery of the Burk- 1 burnett oil field, it had in- creased more than 100 per cent to a population of 18,- 000 based upon its agricul- tural and jobbing and manufacturing resources. Following the discovery of oil in 1918 at Burkburnett, Wichita Falls leaped into the city class and the 1920 census gave it a population of 40,079. This made the percentage of growth in the ten years from 1910 to 1920, 388 per cent.

A Night View in Wichita Falls

The oil fields of Burkburnett, Iowa Park, Electra, Petrolia, Holliday and other parts of northwest Texas, with a daily production of nearly one hun- dred thousand barrels are an important factor in Wichita Falls. Wichita County produces more oil than any other county in the United States. There are about thirty refineries in the Wichita Falls oil district, thirteen of these being in Wichita Falls. Wichita Falls is the headquarters of hundreds of oil companies and of thousands of individuals who fol- low the oil business in one or another of its various phases. New oil producing territory is being steadily developed.

Wichita Falls does not look to oil alone for her substantial prosperity. The city is a wholesale center for a large portion of northwest Texas, and southwest Oklahoma, and is constantly adding to its wholesale trade. It is the retail center of a pros- perous district. There are about fifty manufactur- ing plants in the city, their products including flour, motor trucks, glass jars, window glass, refinery products, brooms and brick and tile material, oil field tools and equipment, building material, roasted coffee, foundry products and other articles. The Wichita truck, manufactured in Wichita Falls, is sold throughout the civilized world, and the scope of

its distribution is scarcely less extensive than that of other Wichita Falls products.

Wichita Falls is the center of a prosperous farm- ing community, for which the city is both the mar- ket and the source of supplies. Wheat, oats, corn, forage crops, cotton, fruit and truck are produced and the farm production is to be greatly increased when the $4,500,000 irrigation project is completed. Already large tracts near the city are under irriga- tion, and such records as $7,500 worth of melons, $400 of tomatoes, 150 bushels of sweet potatoes and 1,000 bushels of cucumbers, from one acre, have been made. The new irrigation project will add 150,000 acres of irrigated land and will also insure a perma- ment ample water supply for the city. Grain finds a ready market in Wichita Falls, there being four elevators with a combined capacity of 1,180,000 bushels.

Wichita Falls is division headquarters for both the Ft. Worth and Denver, and Missouri, Kansas and Texas systems, which con- trol all of the seven rail outlets. More than 1,000 men are employed in the offices, shops and yards of these railroads. Two new railroads are soon to reach Wichita Falls, one is the Wichita Falls, Ranger and Gulf, financed largely by home capital, to con- nect with the oil fields of central West Texas; the other, the Rock Island soon to be built from Waurika, Okla.

No city in the United States saw more new build- ings erected, in proportion to population, than did Wichita Falls in 1919-1920, it being estimated that a total of more than $20,000,000 was expended.

The city school system comprises a high school, a junior high school, seven ward schools and a negro school. During 1920 a total of $300,000 was spent by the Board of Education in erecting new buildings. There are 30 churches and missions in the city, and the larger denominations are housed in splendid buildings of worship. One congregation recently constructed a $250,000 building and two others have plans under way for buildings rivaling this.

Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce is stronger, numerically and financially, than that of any other city in America of less than 100,000 population, hav- ing a membership of 2,500, and an annual revenue of $60,000. Wichita Falls offers innumerable oppor- tunities for commerce, industries, manufacturies and agriculture, and invites all those who are in any way interested to write the Chamber of Commerce.

Skyline of Wichita Falls today. The Oil Metropolis of North Texas

WICHITA FALLS IRRIGATION PROJECT

By J. A. KEMP

Chairman of Board, City National Bank of Commerce

A Z important election was held on Septem- ber 7, 1920, by the Wichita County Water Im- provement District No. 1, which comprises the city of Wichita Falls and some acre- age of farm lands to the north and to the south of the eity, and voted bonds in the amount of $4,500,000 to com- plete the irrigation project. The bonds have been sold and the construction work begun. This project is to furnish the city of Wichita Falls with a permanent and adequate supply of pure water and also to irrigate approxi- mately 150,000 acres of the rich Wichita Valley land lying on both sides of the Wichita River in the vicinity of Wichita Falls.

A large dam will be constructed across the Wichita River in the north central part of Baylor County, thus forming an artificial lake covering some 17,835 acres of land and holding 444,168 acre feet of water, an acre foot being water one foot deep over one acre of land. In addition to the large reservoir there will be a diversion dam and reservoir built some

# 13

The City National Bark of Commerce Building. Home of the Banking Institution of that Name

twenty miles east of the main reservoir which will have an additional capacity of 45,000 acre feet of water. From this diversion dam site two canals will be constructed, one running north and one running

south of the city limits of Wichita Falls. The south canal will be used to supply Lake Wichita with an abundant supply of water at all times. A chemical analysis of the river water made by the Fort Worth

Kemp Hotel, Named for the Pioneer Citizen of Wichita Falls One of the Finest Hotels in the Southwest

laboratories, May 20, 1920, shows that the water con- tains very little hardness of any character. An analysis shows the following ingredients:

Calcium Carbonate 66 parts per million

Calcium Sulphate 245.8 parts per million

Calcium Chloride 104.4 parts per million

Sodium Chloride 112.8 parts per million Thus indicating that the water is excellent water to drink and also to put on the land for irrigation purposes.

The city of Wichita Falls is now confronted with a situation similar to that confronting Los Angeles in 1905. In order to maintain our present pros- perity and to provide for the future growth of the city, a permanent and adequate supply of water is imperative.

After many years of testing of the underground water in this part of the state we are assured that the underground supply is entirely inadequate and so full of mineral salts as to make it unsuited for drinking purposes. The only adequate and satis- factory supply within the reach of this city is the Wichita River which extends some 200 miles to the west and flows sufficient water for all purposes. The location of the large dam and reservoir is ideal and sems to have been made by nature for this very purpose. A large natural basin has been surveyed in the north part of Baylor County and a dam will be built across a narrow gap in the hills impound- ing sufficient water to take care of a city of a million people and also to irrigate some 150,000 acres of the rich Wichita Valley land in Archer and Wichita counties. It is difficult to realize the change that will occur in the surrounding country when this irrigation has been completed. On the Seymour road

. .

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

and the Electra road we will see hundreds of homes surrounded with five, ten, twenty acre tracts in- tensively cultivated in field and garden truck of all character. Fruit and shade trees, in abundance, berries of all kinds, sugar beets, long staple cotton, wheat, alfalfa, corn and other field crops will be grown with a certainty of success because an abund- ant supply of water is ready to be placed on the land, whenever required. Farmers will make as much money from a ten-acre tract under irriga- tion as they now make from a hundred acres without sufficient water. Many prominent people in this city have already decided to acquire a small acreage under this irrigation ditch and build a home where

duplicate the wonderful results in those states.

In many respects our climate is more advantag- eous to some crops than either Colorado with its severe cold or California with its rainy season. This project has been favorably passed upon by some of the best irrigation experts in the country and there seems to be no unfavorable features to overcome.

The water is here in abundance, of good quality and favorable for the land. The entire project will be gravity flow, thus saving the expense of pumping the water as is done all along the Rio Grande.

With the cultivation of land which will vastly in- crease the rural population, there will also be the introduction of industries which go hand in hand

The Business Section of Wichita Falls, from a Point Beyond the Railroad Track

they can have fresh vegetables, eggs, milk, etc., every morning with beautiful country surroundings, and run into the city for business on the concrete roads that will be built along the valleys.

Intensive cultivation of some 150,000 acres of land in the vicinity of this city will give us the most densely populated agricultural districts in the state and will furnsh the necessary labor for the opera- tion of many factories which will locate here in order to handle the agriculture products and also to avail themselves of the labor thus afforded. Traction lines will probably be run through the thickly settled valley lands to accommodate the people and to handle the products of the farms.

The completion of this project will accomplish two things. It will furnish the city of Wichita Falls an abundant supply of pure water for all future time and thus stabilize and maintain our pres- ent real estate values, and provide for the future a confidence on the part of our present and future citizenship in the continued growth of our city.

with rural communities. Much of the land will un- doubtedly be turned to fruit raising. This will be ac- companied by the organization and building of pack- ing plants and canning factories, to take care of the produce as fast as it is gathered. Manufacturing establishments will also be erected to furnish utensils. machinery and tools used in the cultivation of the land. These institutions will employ a great deal of labor, thus increasing the population of this element. This additional population will vastly in- crease the mercantile business, both retail and whole- sale. Money will be deposited in the banks, all kinds of permanent improvements will be made, thereby increasing the wealth of the community and estab- lishing a stable and permanent business in all lines.

The project will be owned by the people, and man- aged by a board of directors elected by them. It will be carried out under the irrigation laws of the State of Texas and there will be absolutely no profit to anybody connected with the enterprise in the way of promotion or the sale of water rights. The entire project will be owned by the people and the cost, owing to the favorable engineering features will be less than any other irrigation project of this mag- nitude ever completed. The entire cost will be di- . vided between District No. 1, comprising the city of Wichita Falls and some fifteen thousands acres of irrigatable land north and south of the city, and Dis- trict No. 2, comprising the main irrigatable land lying west of the city in the Wichita Valley. The only other expense will be the maintenance and operating expense each year. The bonds will be 40 be arranged in easy payments.

It will also bring hundreds of farmers from out- . side our country who will locate here and take up the valley land in small acreage farms and build their homes among us and intensively cultivate this rich valley. Under irrigation one acre of land fre- quently nets the farmer from $500 to $1,000 and such acreage planted in fruit, walnuts, pecans, etc., in other irrigated districts sells from $1,500 to $3,000 per acre. Agriculturists have examined the soil in the Wichita Valley and have pronounced it as rich as any irrigated land in Colorado or California, and . year bonds and the principal and yearly interest will state that with irrigation we should be able to

TRANSPORTATION AND INDUSTRIES OF WICHITA FALLS By FRANK KELL

W ICHITA FALLS does not look to oil alone for her substantial prosperity. The city is a - wholesale center for a large portion of northwest Texas and southwest Oklahoma, and is constantly adding to its wholesale trade. Because of its location and excellent railroad facilities Wichita Falls was known as a thriv- ing manufacturing center be- fore oil was discovered and gained first place among its industries. Excluding its re- fineries and other plants deal- ing with the oil business there are approximately 45 manufacturing firms in the city having a total in- vestment of more than $7,000,000 and an annual gross output valued at more than $20,000,000. About 1,500 people are employed in these plants.

Aniong the important articles manufactured in the rity are motor trucks, window glass, brick, tiles, fruit jars, mattresses, flour, brooms, tanks and meal. The Wichita trucks, manfactured here, are sold in GS countries of the world, one shipment recently going to a buyer in the Gobi Desert in Asia, to re- place camels. Flour made in Wichita Falls is sold extensively for export trade also, shipments going to South America, Cuba, Norway, Sweden and many other parts of the world. The capacity of the Wich- ita Mills and Elevator Company's two plants is 3,500 barrels daily, together with 500 barrels of meal and 2.000 bags of feed. About 30,000,000 bushels of wheat are handled on the average each year.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 13

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau Number of Pages: 1204

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau
Number of Pages: 1204