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Historical Markers
INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM
Texas Historic Sites Atlas Home Page
|
Marker Number: |
1806 |
|
Marker Title: |
First Oil Well in Hockley County |
|
Index Entry: |
First Oil Well in Hockley County |
|
Address: |
1.5 mi. S on FM 303 |
|
City: |
Sundown |
|
County: |
Hockley |
| UTM
Zone: |
13 |
| UTM
Easting: |
732739 |
| UTM
Northing: |
3700694 |
|
Subject Codes: |
DL; RN |
| Year
Marker Erected: |
1973 |
|
Designations: |
na |
|
Marker Location: |
From Sundown, take FM 303 about 1.5 miles south |
|
Marker Size: |
18" x 28" |
|
Repairs Completed: |
has bullet holes; replace |
|
Marker Text: |
On April 6, 1937, this well was completed by the Texas
Company (Texaco, Inc.), flowing 502 barrels per day from a depth of
5,023 feet, on land owned by J. E. Guerry (1885-1956). The Guerry
family purchased surface and 1/8 mineral rights on 127 acres, in
1929, from R. L. (Bob) Slaughter (1870-1938), who inherited over
160,000 acres of the Lazy S Ranch after death of his father, Col. C.
C. Slaughter (1837-1919). Located in the vast Slaughter field, this
well was the first of over 2,600 active wells in the county, which
have produced over 400 million barrels of oil. |
|
Marker Number: |
2504 |
|
Marker Title: |
Hockley County |
|
Index Entry: |
Hockley County |
|
Address: |
4.2 mi. N on US 385 in roadside park |
|
City: |
Levelland |
|
County: |
Hockley |
| UTM
Zone: |
13 |
| UTM
Easting: |
744222 |
| UTM
Northing: |
3728195 |
|
Subject Codes: |
CO |
| Year
Marker Erected: |
1936 |
|
Designations: |
na |
|
Marker Location: |
4.2 miles north of Levelland on US 385 in roadside park. |
|
Marker Size: |
Pink granite highway |
|
Repairs Completed: |
None |
|
Marker Text: |
Formed from Young and Bexar territories; created August 21,
1876; organized February 19, 1921. Named in honor of George W.
Hockley, commander of the artillery at San Jacinto. Secretary of War
of the Republic of Texas. Died in 1851. Levelland called Hockley
City until 1912. County Seat. |
| ID: |
243 |
| County: |
Hockley |
| City: |
Levelland |
| Current
Use: |
Active Courthouse |
| Owner: |
County |
| Service
Dates: |
|
|
Construction Date: |
1928 |
|
Architect: |
Preston Lee Walker |
|
Contractor: |
|
| Style: |
Renaissance Revival |
| Square
Footage: |
|
| RTHL
Date: |
no |
| SAL
Date: |
no |
|
National Reg. District: |
no |
| Nat.
Register Listing: |
no |
|
Description: |
Three story courthouse with classical details. Ionic engaged
columns create the effect of a 2-story loggia on the second and
third floors. Classical cornice and roof balustrade. |
|
Substantial Modifications: |
Tinted metal frame windows replaced original |
|
Marker Number: |
888 |
|
Marker Title: |
City of Levelland |
|
Index Entry: |
Levelland, City of |
|
Address: |
Courthouse Square, SH 114 |
|
City: |
Levelland |
|
County: |
Hockley |
| UTM
Zone: |
13 |
| UTM
Easting: |
744299 |
| UTM
Northing: |
3720292 |
|
Subject Codes: |
CY; DL; RR |
| Year
Marker Erected: |
1972 |
|
Designations: |
na |
|
Marker Location: |
Courthouse Square, State Highway 114, Levelland |
|
Marker Size: |
18" x 28" |
|
Repairs Completed: |
None |
|
Marker Text: |
Surveyed and platted in 1912 as "Hockley City" by cereal
magnate C. W. Post. Although only a barren townsite, place won race
for county seat in 1921. The first meeting of county officers was
held at future courthouse site-- in a Cadillac automobile. Soon city
square boasted a temporary courthouse (16 by 32 feet), a well, and a
community black-eyed pea patch. When a post office opened, in 1922,
city was renamed Levelland, for its topography. Prosperity arrived
with the coming of the railroad in 1925 and discovery of oil in the
county in 1937. 1972 |
|
Marker Number: |
4874 |
|
Marker Title: |
Site of Primrose School |
|
Index Entry: |
Primrose School, Site of |
|
Address: |
.5 mi. S on US 82 |
|
City: |
Ropesville |
|
County: |
Hockley |
| UTM
Zone: |
13 |
| UTM
Easting: |
763455 |
| UTM
Northing: |
3699368 |
|
Subject Codes: |
ED |
| Year
Marker Erected: |
1974 |
|
Designations: |
na |
|
Marker Location: |
On US 82, .5 miles south of Ropesville. |
|
Marker Size: |
18" x 28" Subject |
|
Repairs Completed: |
Refinish |
|
Marker Text: |
First public school in Hockley County; named for a wild
prairie flower. In 1902 homesteaders had begun farming here. By 1909
their children needed education, so the parents hauled lumber by
wagon from Big Spring (about 100 mi. S), donated labor, and built a
one-room schoolhouse. Classes began Dec. 13, 1909, with pupils from
the Ardis, Baker, Blankenship, Brown, Carter, Cowan, Dixon, Perritt,
Rose, and Witherspoon families. The schoolhouse served as polling
place, church, and public meeting hall in 1917, when Ropesville was
established about a mile away, with better facilities. 1974 |
|
Marker Number: |
4345 |
|
Marker Title: |
Ropesville Resettlement Project |
|
Index Entry: |
Ropesville Resettlement Project |
|
Address: |
NE corner of Boyd and Main Streets |
|
City: |
Ropesville |
|
County: |
Hockley |
| UTM
Zone: |
13 |
| UTM
Easting: |
764788 |
| UTM
Northing: |
3700464 |
|
Subject Codes: |
AG; FM; FP |
| Year
Marker Erected: |
1985 |
|
Designations: |
na |
|
Marker Location: |
East Hockley Street, Ropesville; moved to Northeast corner of
Boyd and Main Streets, Ropesville. |
|
Marker Size: |
27" x 42" |
|
Repairs Completed: |
Faded. Refinish |
|
Marker Text: |
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was
enacted in 1933 as part of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's New
Deal Program to aid families during the country's Great Depression.
The Rural Rehabilitation Division of that agency began in 1934 to
work specifically with the problems of the nation's farm families.
The Ropesville Resettlement Program was one of 78 FERA- approved
projects to help farmers re- establish themselves. Initiated by a
committee out of Lubbock (20 mi. NE), this project was located on
land near the already- established town of Ropesville. Federal money
was used to construct homes, wells, and farm buildings. The first 33
families, chosen for their initiative and willingness to work,
settled into their new homes in 1936. By the end of 1939, a total of
77 families were working and living in the project. A community
manager, assisted by a home economist, provided guidance to
participants in the Ropesville program. The project ended officially
in 1943, when the Ropesville Farms came under individual ownership.
A community building, constructed for the people of the farms in
1939, was moved to this site in 1959. 1985 |
|
Marker Number: |
5430 |
|
Marker Title: |
The Spade Ranch |
|
Index Entry: |
Spade Ranch, The |
|
Address: |
2.4 mi. W on SH 114 |
|
City: |
Smyer |
|
County: |
Hockley |
| UTM
Zone: |
13 |
| UTM
Easting: |
759274 |
| UTM
Northing: |
3719793 |
|
Subject Codes: |
N; RN |
| Year
Marker Erected: |
1972 |
|
Designations: |
na |
|
Marker Location: |
SH 114, 2.4 miles west of Smyer |
|
Marker Size: |
18" x 28" |
|
Repairs Completed: |
None |
|
Marker Text: |
Founded by Isaac L. Ellwood (1833-1910), inventor who made a
fortune in barbed wire, and bought (1889) from veteran cattlemen D.
H. and J. W. Snyder an 8 x 25-mile range (128,000 acres) in Hale,
Hockley, Lamb and Lubbock counties. This range was used for
Spade-branded calves from Renderbrook Spring, his southmost ranch,
in Mitchell County. He continued buying South Plains land until
Spade Range was 54 miles long. Headquarters (originally in Lamb
County) was moved to South Camp (3/10 mi. N of here) after farm-land
sales in 1920s. Ellwood's descendants still own and operate the
Spade. 1972 |
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