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Historical Markers, Buildings & Sites
Historical &
Memorial Marker Photos
Marker Title: Elm Tree Inn
Marker Location: 200 West Broadway
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1962
Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Marker Size: Medallion Only |
Marker Title: First Baptist Church of Claytonville
Marker Location: SH 146, about .4 mi. W of Claytonville
City: Claytonville
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1975
Marker Text: Organized as New Hope Baptist Church of Christ
in 1891, this congregation changed its name in 1912 to Whitfield
Baptist Church. It acquired a good church plant, a parsonage,
and a cabin site at Plains Baptist Assembly Grounds. Steps
began in 1960 to relocate on the paved highway in this new
business community growing up around the cotton gin built
in the 1950s by M. C. Clayton (1899-1963). The new church
building -- first in the town -- was erected in 1962-63.
The present name was adopted in 1964. Peak membership for
the congregation has been 206. (1975) |
Marker Title: First Methodist Church of Tulia
Marker Location: 119 N. Briscoe St.
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1991
Marker Text: The Reverend R. M. Morris, area presiding elder
Jerome Harelson, and seventeen charter members organized
this congregation in 1891. Early worship services, held
on alternate Sundays in conjunction with the local Baptist
and Presbyterian congregations, were conducted in the town's
one-room schoolhouse. With financial and labor assistance
from the entire community, the Methodists built the town's
first church building in 1897 with lumber hauled from Amarillo.
The tradition of shared services continued, and the
Baptist and Presbyterian congregations also worshiped in
the Methodist church building until their own facilities
were built. Church membership grew steadily, closely paralleling
Tulia's population growth. A new sanctuary was completed
in 1929, and by the early 1960s additional facilities were
required to meet the congregation's needs. After a denominational
name change in 1968, it became known as First United Methodist
Church. In 1979, the congregation welcomed the membership
of Trinity United Methodist Church in a merger of the two
congregations. First United Church continues to serve the
citizens of Tulia with a variety of worship, educational,
and outreach programs. (1991) |
Marker Title: First United Methodist Church of Happy
Marker Location: 114 N. Floyd Ave.
City: Happy
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Marker Text: Meetings held in early settlers' homes led
to the formation of a Methodist fellowship in Happy in 1905.
Services were first held in a schoolhouse and then in a
small, frame church constructed by carpenter J. F. White.
The structure stood on land donated by Tom Gilliland about
4 miles northeast of the present site of Happy. The Methodists
shared their building with other congregations, including
the Baptists, Christians, and Presbyterians. A Union Sunday
School was organized with P. J. Neff as the
first superintendent. In 1906, Happy moved to its present
location along the Santa Fe line. The Methodist
church building was hauled to the new townsite by wagon
in 1909. The Rev. B. F. Sharp, a circuit rider,
reorganized the 15-member church at its new location. Happy
remained on a circuit with 4 other congregations until 1919.
The original church building was remodeled in 1920, during
the pastorate of the Rev. C. W. McNeely. The present
sanctuary was constructed in 1930-31, under the direction
of the Rev. H. C. Smith. Two years later, a fire gutted
the interior, forcing services to be held in the basement.
After repairs, the structure was dedicated on October 18,
1942. Recent renovation occurred in 1974, when the Rev.
Carl Oglesby was pastor. (1976) |
Marker Text: Flynt Building
Marker Location: 136 S. Maxwell
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1969
Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Marker Text: Built 1909 of red brick with frosted glass
above wood awning. First housed a confectionary. Has
ornate marble counter and back bar. Exterior remodeled 1950.
Is oldest retail firm in town at original location. First
owner was E. W. Flynt (1888-1968). Recorded Texas Historical
Landmark-1969 |
Marker Title: Happy Cemetery
Year Marker Erected: 1991
Marker Location: from Happy, take SH 1075 west about .5
mile to cemetery; marker located in center of cemetery
County: Swisher
Marker Text: The Happy Cemetery Association, organized on
March 18, 1912. Purchased five acres of land for two adjacent
cemeteries (one specifically for Catholics) from local businessman
James F. White. The oldest recorded grave is that of William
T. King (1871-1913). The association built a small
frame house which was used as a gathering place for annual
decoration day activities from 1915 to 1985 when it was
razed to make more room for plots. Numerous local pioneers
and veterans are buried here, including both Confederate
and Union Civil War veterans. (1991) |
Marker Text: Harmon-Toles Elevator
Marker Location: on US 87 at county line, Happy marker is
attached to a small windmill on the west side of the road
City: Happy
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1974
Marker Text: Holland E. Toles (1894-1941) opened a grain
elevator in this area in 1926, and was joined by Vernon Harman in 1938.
After Toles' death, Harman formed a new partnership with John F. and
Holl Ed Toles. World War II, increased irrigation, and a federal grain
program created a need for larger storage facilities. On March 1, 1945,
construction was begun on this six-unit concrete elevator. Labor was
provided by the U.S. government, utilizing 50 Italian prisoners of war
from a camp near Hereford, under Geneva Convention provisions. The
project was completed on July 10, 1945. (1974) |
Marker Title: JA Ranch Cabin
Address: 127 SW Main St.
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1969
Marker Location: 127 S.W. Main Street at Swisher County
Museum
Marker Text: Built about 1883, near a natural watering hole,
as one of many line camps on the huge JA Ranch. Cowboys
lived in these cabins year-round to ride range and keep
100 miles of fence in repair. A floor and new roof have
been added. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1969
Palo Duro Canyon |
Marker Title: Mackenzie Horse Kill
Site Date: 1874
County: Swisher
Files at the THC: Topo maps, sketch maps, site data forms,
field trip notes, copy of historical marker
inscription
Photographs: Slides
Site Description: Site where Mackenzie's troops slaughtered
Indian horses during so-called Red River War. |
Marker Title: Ozark Trails Association
Marker Location: Maxwell and Broadway streets
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 2001
Marker Text: Founded in 1913 to mark and promote an automobile
route across several states, the Ozark Trails Association
was the brainchild of William Hope Harvey of Arkansas, who
wanted to improve roads to his Ozark mountain retreat. Thousands
of members from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas
and Missouri attended annual meetings of the association,
which also
sought to promote tourism and educate the public to the
need for better highways and roads. The southern route of
the Ozark Trail extended across the Texas panhandle through
Collingsworth, Childress, Hall, Briscoe, Swisher, Castro
and Parmer counties. In 1920, members from these Texas counties
and two New Mexico counties met and voted to follow the
lead of the national group in placing reinforced concrete
signposts along the route in their counties. James E. Swepston
of Tulia led this effort and was elected president of the
national association at its 1920 annual meeting. The concrete
obelisk placed in Tulia (85 feet northwest) originally denoted
the distance from Tulia to various towns on the trail. It
retains its identity as a local landmark, and in 2000, the
Texas Historical Commission designated the Ozark Trail marker
as a State Archeological Landmark. The obelisk also
is a reminder of the Ozark Trails Assoc. (disbanded in 1924),
one of many private highway associations to sponsor automobile
routes before the federal government began numbering and
marking such highways after World War I. (2001) |
Marker Title: Palo Duro Canyon
Address: 17 mi. E on SH 86
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: from Tulia, take SH 86 east about 17 miles
to marker site near county line on south side of highway
Marker Text: Two miles north of here General Ranald S. Mackenzie,
41st U.S. Cavalry, ordered shot the 1450 horses captured
from Indians in battle in Palo Duro Canyon, September 28,
1874, to prevent their possible recovery by the Indians
to return to their reservations on foot.
Swisher County |
Index Entry: Rose Hill Cemetery
Marker Location: from Tulia, follow east service road of
US 87 south about one mile to cemetery
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1994
Marker Size: 27" x 42"
Marker Text: The history of this community cemetery dates
to October 1890, just three months after
Swisher County was organized and Tulia was named county
seat. The first recorded burial here is that
of 18-year old Louis H. Harral, who died on October 17,
1890. His parents, L. J. & N. J. Harral, obtained permission
from landowner T. W. Adams to bury their son on this hillside
south of the Middle Tule Creek. Twelve days later, 4-year
old Robert Alonzo Hutchinson, son of W.B. & Virginia
Hutchinson, died and was buried on the hill near Louis.
In 1906 five acres of land surrounding the graves were officially
set aside for a community cemetery. A cemetery association
was formed in 1916 under the leadership of Lula B. Tomlinson,
who named the cemetery Rose Hill. The association was officially
chartered by the state in 1937, and continues to maintain
the site. Among those interred here are
numerous city and county elected officials, including two
law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty: John
Mosley (d. 1933) and Robert (Bob) Potter (d. Christmas Day,
1960). Also buried here are veterans of the Civil War, the
Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea and
Vietnam. (1994) |
Marker Title:
Swisher
County
Address: Austin & 2nd St.
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: S.E. corner of Courthouse Square, Austin
& 2nd Street, Tulia.
Marker Text: Formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created:
August 21, 1876. Organized: July 17, 1890. Named in honor
of James Gibson Swisher, 1794-1864. Conspicuous for gallantry
at the storming of Bexar, 1835. Signer of the Texas Declaration
of Independence, 1836. County seat, Tulia.
Swisher County Archives and Museum |
Marker Title: Swisher County Hospital
Marker Location: 105 Hospital Street, Tulia
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1981
Marker Text: The earliest medical care for Swisher County
residents was provided by local doctors or in
Amarillo hospitals (49 miles north). As the area population
increased during the 1920s, it became
necessary to build a general health care facility here.
Approved by the voters in a 1926 bond election, this
hospital was completed two years later. The original section
was comprised of two floors and a basement area, providing
beds for 12 patients. Enlarged by a major addition in 1946,
the structure served as the county hospital until 1969 when
a new facility was built. (1981) |
Marker Title: Tulia First National Bank
Marker Location: at intersection of West Broadway &
Briscoe, Tulia
City: Tulia
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Marker Size: Medallion Only
Marker Text: Application: The Texas Historical Building |
| Tulia Railroad Depot - Historical
Building Survey |
Marker Title: United Methodist Church
Marker Location: 201 East 2nd Street
City: Kress
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1975
Marker Size: 18" x 28"
Marker Text: Organized 1906 at Wright (4 miles NE), the
church was relocated in 1907 when the Santa Fe Railway bypassed
Wright, founding Kress. With their own hands, members built
the first section of this sanctuary (1908), sharing its
use with other faiths. The bell on the lawn originally
hung in a steeple, and rang for special events as well as
worship. The church structure -- remodeled, greatly enlarged,
and enhanced by memorial windows -- now forms a local landmark.
Lay leaders and four ministers have come from this congregation.
(1977) |
Marker Title: Vigo Park Methodist Church
Marker Location: from Tulia, take SH 146 north, then continue
on SH 146 after road turns east; about 24 miles total to
Vigo Park; church located on north side of road
County: Swisher
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Marker Size: 27" x 42"
Marker Text: The Indiana-Texas Land Company planted a town
at this site in 1906, naming it for adjoining counties in
western Indiana. It was to be a shipping point on a new
railroad line. C. R. Gardner and J. C. Stitt of Terre Haute,
Indiana, built a 2-story hotel and store for the firm, and
then decided to settle here. Other settlers soon arrived
to join them. Methodist minister G. R. Fort crossed Tule
Canyon and drove 22 miles to welcome the settlers. In June,
1907, he held a revival in a tent and organized this church.
Charter members included the Crawley, Derr, Doughty, Gardner,
Hay, Hedges, Hunt, Hyatt, Montgomery, Merrill, Pietzscht,
Webster, and Welker families. Gardner, John Welker, and
the minister visited the neighboring ranches and secured
donations of money and labor to erect a church building.
Trustees W. B. Doughty, Joe Hastings, and Jim Montgomery
bought two lots at this site and hauled building materials
from Tulia, while volunteers helped Gardner and Stitt with
the construction. The church was the town's second building.
For many years it was the only church in a 20-mile radius.
It helped sustain Vigo Park when the railroad failed to
materialize, and is still important in the life of the community.
(1976) |
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