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Plainview, Texas

Everything Plainview is known for

16 songs mention this city 2 artists from here

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Music in Plainview

Songs About Plainview

Plainview
Kin Faux
80%
"Song about Plainview"
Plainview
Bernie Nelson
80%
"Song about Plainview"
Plainview
Galcher Lustwerk
80%
"Song about Plainview"
Am I Amarillo
Aaron Watson
54%
"head towards Plainview"
West Texas Town
George Strait
53%
"all the way to Plainview"
Amarillo Highway (For Dave Hickey)
Terry Allen
52%
"I'm a high straight in Plainview, side bet in Idalou"
Caprockin'
The Panhandlers
52%
"An angel from Plainview that's bound to be my wife"
Amarillo Highway
Emily Nenni
51%
"I'm a high straight in Plainview"
Smile
Curtis Grimes
49%
"I’ve counted stars in Plainview"
west texas town
george strait & dean dillon
45%
amarillo highway
terry allen
29%
high cotton
blue water highway
24%
Amarillo Highway
Robert Earl Keen
6%
"I'm a high straight in Plainview"
That’s Country Bro
Toby Keith
3%
"Jimmy Dean and Big John and ol' Hank Snow"
West Tx
Cole Phillips
3%
"Made a stop in Plainview"
I’ve Been Everywhere...In Texas
Brian Burns
1%
"Plainview"

Artists From Plainview

T
Tanya Godsey
christian
R
Red Beard Wall
metal

History of Plainview

Plainview, TX RoadyGoat

Plainview's history began when Z. T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe established a post office on March 18, 1887. The town was named for the vast treeless plain surrounding it. On July 3, 1888, Plainview received a charter and became the county seat in August of the same year when Hale County was organized. The arrival of the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway in 1906 initiated an agricultural boom, leading to the city's incorporation in 1907. By 1910, Plainview had almost 3,000 residents and earned the nickname 'Athens of West Texas'. The city's history includes the founding of Central Plains College and Conservatory of Music in 1907, later renamed Seth Ward College, and Wayland Baptist College in 1909, now Wayland Baptist University.

Plainview, TX RoadyGoat

The Museum of the Llano Estacado, now the Mabee Regional Heritage Center, opened in 1976 and is located on the grounds of Wayland Baptist University. The museum is home to a permanent exhibit featuring artifacts from the Plainview Site, and fossilized remains of a Columbian mammoth known as the 'Imperial Mammoth'.

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Why the Dryline Parks at the Caprock RoadyGoat

1900

There is a reason the dryline so often sets up shop right around here. Run your eye along the western edge of these plains and you hit the Caprock, a long rocky step in the land that can drop the better part of a thousand feet and runs some two hundred miles south from the eastern Texas Panhandle. Forecasters have noticed that the dryline likes to park near this escarpment, right around the hundred-and-first meridian, far more often than chance alone would explain. The terrain itself seems to give the boundary something to lean against, helping the dry western air and the humid eastern air settle into a standoff along the cliff line. So the same dramatic landform that gives this country its big-sky views is quietly steering one of the most important triggers for violent weather on the continent.

Dean, Jimmy Ray

1928

Jimmy Ray Dean, singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, television host, and businessman, was born on August 10, 1928, in Olton, Lamb County, Texas. His family soon moved to the community of Seth Ward just outside of Plainview, Texas. He was the son of George Otto Dean and Ruth (Taylor) Dean. Dean is best-known as a country music artist and as the face and voice of the Jimmy Dean Meat Company, which he started in 1969. Some of Dean’s major contributions include his variety series, The Jimmy Dean Show , and his award-winning single “Big Bad John.” Born and raised in the Panhandle of Texas, Dean was influenced by music from an early age. His absentee father, George Otto Dean, was a singer and songwriter, but it was his mother who taught him to play an instrument. Dean’s mother, Ruth, ran a barbershop to help support her family while learning to play the piano by correspondence, then went on to teach Dean how to play when he was ten years old. Dean used his knowledge of music to teach himself to play the guitar, harmonica, and accordion. Dean dropped out of high school after ninth grade and tried irrigation farming when he was just sixteen. By the time he was seventeen, he had joined the Merchant Marine. His one-year term included service aboard the S. S. Heigara that sailed to Lima, Peru. At the age of eighteen, Dean joined the United States Army Air Forces and took his training at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, and in San Antonio (at what became Lackland Air Force Base ). While stationed at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Dean stepped in playing the accordion for a band known as the Tennessee Haymakers after their fiddle player fell ill, and when the fiddle player returned, the band kept Dean instead. In 1949 Dean left the Air Force. He married Mary Sue Wittauer on July 11, 1950. Eventually they had three children. Changes in band personnel led him to form Jimmy Dean and the Texas Wildcats, which he fronted. In 1952, while performing with the band, Dean was discovered by disc jockey Connie B. Gay, who asked to represent him. Dean and the Texas Wildcats signed their first professional recording contract, and in 1953 the band had its first national hit on the 4 Star label with the single “Bumming Around,” Dean’s first recorded song. He made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry on May 16, 1953. In January 1955 Dean and the Wildcats began a daily half-hour afternoon program called Town and Country Time on WMAL-TV in Washington, D.C. Later a Saturday night program, Town and Country Jamboree , was added. Dean’s show provided important early exposure to budding country legends such as Patsy Cline (a regular on the program) and Roy Clark (Dean’s guitarist in the Texas Wildcats until he was fired for habitual tardiness). The regional success of the program led the CBS network to carry a national program called The Morning Show and hosted by Jimmy Dean beginning in April 1957. The success of that show bested rival NBC’s Today and eventually led to Dean’s move from Washington, D.C. to New York City for his own Jimmy Dean Show , broadcast on weekdays and Saturdays. Unfortunately the move spelled the end for the Texas Wildcats. That same year, Dean signed with Columbia Records. His television program was cancelled in 1959. He bounced back with the enormously successful single “Big Bad John,” which debuted at Number 1 on Billboard on November 6, 1961, and remained in that spot for five weeks. Written in an hour-and-a-half while on a plane ride to Nashville, Tennessee, “Big Bad John” told the story of a heroic miner who sacrificed his life in order to save the lives of his fellow workers. Dean’s song reached Number 1 on both the country and pop charts and helped to launch a public craze for saga songs—songs which typically told ballads of larger-than-life characters that performed heroic deeds. In 1962 Dean won a Grammy for “Big Bad John” for Best Country and Western Performance Recording. Dean went on

Tsha Handbook →

Slaughter, Colonel C. C.

1856

First native-born cattle king of Texas. Eldest of several rancher brothers. At age 12 "made a hand" on East Texas ranch of father, Rev. Geo. W. Slaughter. By 17 made his own trades in lumber, wheat, cattle. In 1856 moved his cattle to Palo Pinto County, on his first West Texas ranch. During the Civil War, he supplied beef to Confederacy and served in frontier regiment, to prevent Indian attacks. After the war he led cattlemen in aiding economy of bankrupt Texas by securing cattle markets. A fat steer bought for $6-8 in Texas by middleman was sold for $30-40 at shipping point. In 1867 he sold 300 head at record $35 and led the way to rancher marketing. Kept his love for trailing, even after he became millionaire. He also pioneered improvement of Texas Longhorns by use of champion Shorthorn and Hereford bulls. In Eastern speeches, he advocated beef on daily diet. To curb rustlers and establish efficient roundups, he helped organize first cattle raisers association. His 89,000-acre "Running Water" spread in Hale and Lamb counties was part of 1,000,000 acres ranched. He was a banker, active churchman, philanthropist. His descendants have erected a memorial center bearing his name on the campus of Wayland College here. 1965

Historical Marker →

Plainview Point, Discovery Site of the

1941

The first of this distinctive type of early man dart point was found by 15-year-old Val Keene Whitacre in 1941, in a caliche quarry on Running Water Draw. In 1944, quarry workers uncovered a fossil bone deposit, which was noted by scientists surveying the geology of the Plains. The next year a team of archeologists from the University of Texas, including Dr. E. H. Sellards and Dr. Alex D. Krieger, excavated the site and found 26 man-made artifacts, including several of the points, in association with the remains of about 100 extinct bison (Bison Taylori), about twice the size of modern species. The long flint point was then named for this site. The bone bed probably resulted from the primitive hunting method of stampeding bison over a cliff, and butchering of the dead and crippled animals for food. The cliff eroded away and covered the bones with 12 to 14 feet of silt. When exposed, the bone bed was 62 feet long, up to 10 feet wide, and 1.5 feet thick. Radiocarbon dating indicates that this site is 8,000 to 9,000 years old. The Plainview point is found most commonly in the Great Plains region of North America, but has been located also in Alaska and Mexico. 1973

Historical Marker →

Meharg, Emma Grigsby

1925

Born in Lynnville, Tenn.; moved to Texas with parents, Jasper N. and Mary A. (Calvert) Grigsby, 1883. Graduated from college, became a teacher, married Samuel W. Meharg. Came to Plainview (1902), where she and husband were educators. She helped organize clubs, First Presbyterian Church, U.S.A, civic endeavors. Had daughter and son. Won international renown, 1925, as Texas' first woman Secretary of State, by appointment of first woman Governor, Miriam A. Ferguson. Erected - 1972

Historical Marker →

Hale County

1883

Hale County is on the Llano Estacado in northwest Texas, bounded on the east by Floyd County, on the south by Lubbock County, on the west by Lamb County, and on the north by Swisher and Castro counties. Its center point is at 34°05' north latitude and 101°50' west longitude, about forty miles north of Lubbock. The county was named for John C. Hale , who died at the battle of San Jacinto . Hale County covers 979 square miles of flat terrain, with fertile sandy and loamy soils and many playas; the elevation ranges from 3,200 to 3,600 feet above sea level. There is a considerable supply of underground water from the vast Ogallala Aquifer. Running Water Draw cuts southeastward across the county through Plainview, and Black Water Draw touches the southwestern part of the county. Hale County's average annual rainfall is 19.34 inches. The average minimum temperature in January is 26° F, and the average maximum in July is 93°; the growing season lasts 211 days. Hale County produces an average annual agricultural income of $160 million, 80 percent of which comes from cotton, corn, soybeans, sorghums, wheat, and vegetables; the remainder derives from beef cattle, swine, and sheep. In 1982 the county had 468,000 acres of irrigated land. Petroleum production in 1990 was more than 1,941,000 barrels; by January 1991 more than 148,177,000 barrels of oil had been pumped from Hale County lands since its discovery in 1946. Food processing and the manufacture of farm equipment generated $46,700,000 in 1991. The county's road network includes U.S. Highway 87 (Interstate 27), which runs north to south, and U.S. Highway 70, which runs west to east. The Santa Fe and the Fort Worth and Denver rail lines cross the county. Important evidence of early man was discovered in 1941 within the city limits of Plainview, where a fossil bed yielded the skeletons of a hundred bison and more than two dozen flint tools, including a distinctive projectile point used with a spear or atlatl; this type of point has been called the Plainview point since its discovery. Radiocarbon dating of articles found in the excavation demonstrated that human beings lived in the area about 9,000 years ago. Comanches hunted in the area from the early eighteenth century to the 1870s, preying on the large herds of buffalo that roamed the plains. By 1876, when Hale County was marked off from Bexar County, both the Comanches and the buffalo had disappeared. The wealth of the isolated country was not immediately obvious, although there was some money to be made from the bone business and from taming mustangs . The first cattle were brought into the area in 1881, when Illinois brothers named Morrison established the Cross L Ranch, which covered twenty square miles at the corners of Hale, Lamb, Castro, and Swisher counties (the Morrisons later sold the spread to C. C. Slaughter ). The first permanent settler in the county was Horatio Graves, a Methodist minister and farmer, who purchased four sections and moved into the area in 1883; he experimented with farming by growing garden and feed crops. Within the next two years other settlers, including A. E. Adams, A. N. Jones, D. L. Shepley, and F. M. and L. T. Lester, moved into the county with their families. Once a month Graves carried the mail for local ranchers and other settlers from Estacado to a post office he established in 1884. His home became the center of the community during the early years of settlement; church services and school classes were held there. In 1886 another early settler, Z. T. Maxwell, located his homestead at the site of two hackberry groves on the old military trail established by Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie . The town of Plainview later grew around Maxwell's settlement. After establishing Hale County in 1876 the Texas legislature attached it successively to Baylor, Donley, and Crosby counties for administrative purposes. The county was organized in 1888, with Plainview as county seat. In 1890 the census counted 721

Tsha Handbook →

Lake Plainview

1913

Lake Plainview was constructed in 1913 within the city limits of Plainview in Hale County by the Texas Land and Development Company to promote the sale of irrigated farms developed by the company. The idea, which originated with Harry J. Miller, company president from 1912 to 1916, called for the installation of an irrigation well within sight of the Santa Fe railroad depot. As rail passengers arrived, they would be able to view the well in operation. The company purchased a thirty-acre tract adjacent to the depot to hold the pumped water. Construction began on March 20, 1913. Workers built a concrete levee around the site and ringed it with a gravel road, installed concrete walks and outdoor lights, and planted grass, shrubs, trees, and flowers along the walks. The pump began filling the lake in May 1913, and on July 1 the lake reached its capacity. When full it was five to six feet deep and was the largest body of water in Texas supplied by a well. To make the lake a more interesting attraction, the company imported several types of exotic birds, including Indian cranes, white and black swans, peacocks, and sheldrakes, and stocked the lake with catfish and bass. In addition to its promotional features, Lake Plainview provided residents of the area with a number of diversions, including boating, swimming, picnicking, sightseeing, and occasionally ice skating. Concerts were provided from a bandstand placed in the middle of the lake. The costs of fuel, equipment, and maintenance soon outweighed the benefits. A fire on June 17, 1917, destroyed the wellhouse and ended the venture.

Tsha Handbook →

Sports in Plainview

⭐ HOMETOWN LEGENDS Class 5A · Football

Plainview Bulldogs — Plainview — a college & pro athletic pipeline

3 alumni who reached major-college or pro sports

Plainview High School in Plainview, Texas, has a history of athletes moving on to higher levels of competition. The school's athletic programs have helped prepare a number of students for careers in major college and professional sports. These former Bulldogs have represented their hometown on national and international stages, showcasing the talent developed within the Plainview community.

Among the notable alumni who have gone on to professional sports are Michael Egnew, who played in the National Football League; Jerry Sisemore, also a National Football League player; and Jamar Wall, who played in both the National Football League and the Canadian Football League. Their achievements reflect the dedication and skill nurtured during their time at Plainview High School.

Pro/D1 alumni
3
Class
5A
Key Players
  • Michael Egnew — , National Football League player
  • Jerry Sisemore — , National Football League player
  • Jamar Wall — , National Football League and Canadian Football League player
The moment

Jerry Sisemore went on to play in the National Football League.

Sources: Wikipedia · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Plainview

90 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • Plainview, TX

    Plainview's history began when Z. T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe established a post office on March 18, 1887. The town was named for the vast treeless plain surrounding it. On July 3, 1888, Plainview received a…

  • Why the Dryline Parks at the Caprock

    There is a reason the dryline so often sets up shop right around here. Run your eye along the western edge of these plains and you hit the Caprock, a long rocky step in the land that can drop the better part of a…

  • Slaughter, Colonel C. C. · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    First native-born cattle king of Texas. Eldest of several rancher brothers. At age 12 "made a hand" on East Texas ranch of father, Rev. Geo. W. Slaughter. By 17 made his own trades in lumber, wheat, cattle. In 1856…

  • Mackenzie, Gen. Ranald Slidell & The Old McKenzie Trail · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through West Texas, and the marker you're passing tells the story of the Old MacKenzie Trail. Imagine this route stretching out before you, a path carved by General Ranald Slidell MacKenzie and his 4th…

  • Montgomery Ward Building · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, and right here is the old Montgomery Ward building, built in 1929. For nearly 40 years, this was the place for Plainview shoppers to get everything from work clothes to home goods.…

  • Texas Land & Development Company, Former Office Site of · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, and you're passing the former office site of the Texas Land & Development Company. This was a massive agricultural operation, founded back in 1912 by J.W. Grant and M.D. Henderson. They…

  • Schick Opera House · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, and just ahead is the site of the Schick Opera House. Opened on October 11th, 1909, this building was the cultural heart of the area for over a decade. Imagine a traveling opera company…

  • Seth Ward College, Site of · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Seth Ward College, Plainview's first institution of higher learning. Opened in 1907 as Central Plains College, it was purchased by the Methodist Church in 1910 and renamed for Texas'…

  • Plainview Point, Discovery Site of the · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    The first of this distinctive type of early man dart point was found by 15-year-old Val Keene Whitacre in 1941, in a caliche quarry on Running Water Draw. In 1944, quarry workers uncovered a fossil bone deposit, which…

  • Meharg, Emma Grigsby · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    Born in Lynnville, Tenn.; moved to Texas with parents, Jasper N. and Mary A. (Calvert) Grigsby, 1883. Graduated from college, became a teacher, married Samuel W. Meharg. Came to Plainview (1902), where she and husband…

  • Lowe, Edwin Lowden · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, Texas, a town co-founded by Edwin Lowden Lowe. Born in Mississippi, Lowe studied law and served in the Arkansas Legislature in the late 1870s. He came to Texas in the 1880s, but tragedy…

  • Williams, W. J. "Jeff" · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, heading into the heart of the South Plains. Keep an eye out for the marker honoring W. J. "Jeff" Williams, a man who literally drew the map for this region. Arriving in Hale County in…

Show all 90 nearby places
  • Hackberry Groves · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Plainview, but this spot once held the most significant trees on the South Plains: twin hackberry groves. Back in the 1870s, this was a landmark on trails used by buffalo hunters, surveyors, and…

  • Lamar School · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Plainview's first school, a half-dugout sod building that opened its doors in 1887, the same year the town was founded. Imagine that! It wasn't just for lessons; it doubled as a community…

  • Blasingame Home · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Blasingame Home in Plainview, a place that saw over sixty years of local history unfold within its walls. Built in 1910 by J.W. Pipkin during a boom time for the railroad town, this Colonial…

  • Plainview Daily Herald · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Plainview, and right here is the birthplace of a Texas news giant! Originally the Hale County Hesperian, this paper was born in the late 1880s. It became the Shafer family's operation in 1891,…

  • First Baptist Church of Plainview · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving by the First Baptist Church of Plainview. It was organized on November 23, 1890, with eleven charter members. The congregation erected their first building soon after, and this Classical Revival sanctuary…

  • Plainview Cemetery and Memorial Park · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Plainview Cemetery and Memorial Park. It was established around 1909 and was recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2011.

  • Santa Fe Railroad in Plainview · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, and right here, you're passing the site of a major turning point for this town. For years, the Santa Fe Railroad was pushing into the Panhandle, and around 1900, they eyed the fertile…

  • Lake Plainview · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Lake Plainview, a testament to early 20th-century agricultural ambition. Plainview leaders wanted to be the agricultural capital of Texas, and in 1911, they bored the first deep water…

  • Dean, Jimmy Ray · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Jimmy Ray Dean, singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, television host, and businessman, was born on August 10, 1928, in Olton, Lamb County, Texas. His family soon moved to the community of Seth Ward just outside of…

  • Green Machinery Co., Inc. · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, home to a true Texas innovator! George Emmett Green arrived here in 1909, a mechanically gifted man who would soon revolutionize South Plains agriculture. For years, fertile land here…

  • Hale County · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Hale County is on the Llano Estacado in northwest Texas, bounded on the east by Floyd County, on the south by Lubbock County, on the west by Lamb County, and on the north by Swisher and Castro counties. Its center point…

  • Lake Plainview · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Lake Plainview was constructed in 1913 within the city limits of Plainview in Hale County by the Texas Land and Development Company to promote the sale of irrigated farms developed by the company. The idea, which…

  • Wayland Baptist University · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Plainview, home to Wayland Baptist University. Founded in 1908, this school made a significant mark on Texas history in 1951. That year, Wayland became the first college in Texas to voluntarily…

  • Plainview, TX (Hale County) · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Plainview, Texas, the county seat of Hale County. This town owes its very existence to a simple desire: to give a place a name. Back in 1886, Z.T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe settled in this…

  • Llano Estacado Institute · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Plainview, Texas, where the very first schoolhouse wasn't a schoolhouse at all, but a dugout cellar! Back in 1887, twenty-seven kids needed a place to learn, so the whole community pitched in to…

  • Texas Land and Development Company · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the South Plains, and right here near Plainview, you're passing through land that was once part of a grand experiment. In 1912, Milton Day Henderson had a vision: to turn this dry land into a…

  • Mathes, William Carey · 1.0 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hale County, Texas, where William Carey Mathes lived and worked. He was an attorney, a judge, a teacher, and a banker, but his life ended in a dramatic moment. On December 22, 1917, right here in…

  • Dr. James Henry Wayland · 1.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Plainview, where Dr. James Henry Wayland arrived in 1891 and quickly became the go-to physician for a hundred miles around. He was a man of incredible dedication, sometimes using homing pigeons to…

  • Gates Hall · 1.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, and right here is the site of Gates Hall. This was the original administration building for Wayland Baptist College, named for Dr. I.E. Gates, the school's first president. The building…

  • The Flying Queens of Wayland Baptist · 1.3 mi

    In the 1950s, long before the WNBA, the biggest name in women's basketball came from right here in Plainview. They were the 'Flying Queens' of Wayland Baptist University. Coached by Harley Redin, this team didn't just…

  • Tapping the Hidden Ocean · 1.3 mi

    As you look out at the circles of green corn and cotton stretching across the flat land, you might wonder how it's possible in this semi-arid climate. The answer lies not on the land, but deep beneath it. Plainview sits…

  • 11,000 Years at Running Water Draw · 1.3 mi

    The history of Plainview doesn't start with pioneers in covered wagons. It starts in a caliche quarry on the Running Water Draw, where in 1941 a fifteen-year-old named Val Keene Whitacre picked up a stone spear point…

  • Hale County · 1.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hale County, formed in 1876 from vast territories and organized in 1888. It's named for John C. Hale, a lieutenant who gave his life fighting for Texas independence at the Battle of San Jacinto.…

  • Seth Ward, TX · 2.1 mi

    Seth Ward, a small community in Hale County, Texas, carries a name with a rich history. It was named after Seth Ward College, established in 1910 by Methodist bishop Seth Ward. He took over Central Plains College and…

  • Slaton Well · 4.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Plainview, and just up ahead is a marker for the Slaton Well. Back in 1910, the Plainview Commercial Club saw how irrigation was working in New Mexico. Local banker J. H. Slaton agreed to pay for…

  • Snyder Community · 5.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the site of the Snyder Community, a Mennonite colony that bloomed and faded in Hale County. Peter B. Snyder, a minister and farmer from Minnesota, bought land here in 1906, dreaming of a new home…

  • Liberty Community and Finney Switch · 5.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hale County, where the Liberty community got its start thanks to the Leach brothers, who immigrated from Kentucky in 1887. They built a sod house and hauled freight, and soon enough, there were…

  • Finney Field · 6.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Finney Field, a crucial part of America's World War II effort right here in Plainview. From 1942 to 1943, this field trained pre-glider pilots, teaching them to land powered aircraft with…

  • Bellview Community and School · 7.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be Bellview, a rural community in Hale County. For decades, the schoolhouse was the heart of this place. The first one went up in 1903, just a year after the district formed. Named…

  • Happy Union · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be Happy Union, a settlement that started around 1890. Families were drawn here by cheap land and a healthy climate, ranching and growing feed for their stock. They got their supplies…

  • Norfleet, James Franklin · 10.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hale County, Texas, where a rancher named J. Frank Norfleet became a legendary detective. In 1919, Norfleet was swindled out of $45,000 in Fort Worth. Instead of giving up, he launched a one-man…

  • Cotton Center, TX (Hale County) · 10.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Cotton Center is in a cotton-growing area twelve miles southwest of Hale Center in western Hale County. The area was developed in the late 1800s, primarily by ranchers. In 1907 the Plainview line, built through Hale…

  • Stant Rhea Stage Stand · 10.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hale County, and right here, about seven miles south of Hale Center, was once the Stant Rhea Stage Stand. This wasn't just any stop; it was a vital link for early settlers getting their mail.…

  • County Line, TX [Hale and Lubbock Counties] · 10.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through West Texas, right on the line between Hale and Lubbock counties. This spot, County Line, owes its existence to a schoolhouse that sprang up in the early 1900s. First called Murray, then Harold…

  • Happy Union, TX · 10.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Happy Union is at the intersection of Farm roads 400 and 784, twelve miles south of Plainview in eastern Hale County. The site was settled around 1897 by the families of J. V. Neal, L. B. Darden, and S. M. Price, and…

  • Runningwater, TX · 10.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Runningwater (Running Water) is on Farm Road 1424 and Runningwater Draw twelve miles northwest of Plainview in north central Hale County. The settlement was first named Wadsworth until the post office, established in…

  • Trinity Lutheran Church · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    Lutherans in the Providence community requested a missionary, and Pastor F.A. Bracher began services in June 1911. The Evangelical Trinity Lutheran Church was organized shortly after, and the congregation built a new…

  • Hale Center, TX · 11.4 mi

    In 1893, the city was born from the merger of two rival communities, Hale City and Epworth, both founded in 1891. Residents moved buildings to the new site, symbolizing a fresh start. A devastating tornado in 1965…

  • J. Frank Norfleet · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past J. Frank Norfleet. (1865 - 1967) Son of a rancher and Texas Ranger, J. Frank Norfleet was born in Lampasas County. With little schooling, he grew up working on ranches. He served as foreman for 20…

  • Site of Epworth · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hale County, and right here is the site of Epworth, the very first settlement in the county. Established in 1883 by Methodist minister Horatio Graves, it was intended as a religious colony and…

  • Hale Center, TX · 11.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hale Center, a town that knows the power of nature. It started back in 1893, a merger of two rival communities. But it was on June 2, 1965, when a powerful tornado ripped through the heart of…

  • Mathes, Burke William · 11.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hale County, and right here in Hale Center, Burke William Mathes was born. He wasn't just an attorney and a state representative; he was a key player in bringing Texas Tech University to Lubbock.…

  • Mathes, William Carey, Jr. · 11.4 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in Hale Center, Texas, William Carey Mathes, Jr. was born in 1899. His father was a pioneer attorney and judge in Hale County. Mathes himself went on to graduate from the University of Texas and Harvard Law.…

  • Nils Akeson · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hale Center, and right here is where a Swedish immigrant named Nils Akeson helped build this town from the ground up. He arrived in the late 1880s, fresh from Iowa, and immediately got involved…

  • First Baptist Church of Hale Center · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Hale Center. Twelve people gathered in 1891 to form the Hale City Missionary Baptist Church, calling Rev. I.B. Kimbrough as their first pastor. Early services…

  • Running Water Community · 11.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hale County, and right here is the story of Running Water, a town that almost was. It all started in 1881 when the Morrison brothers set up a ranch, drawn by the abundant water in Running Water…

  • Kress Cemetery · 12.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Kress Cemetery, serving this community since 1907. F.T. Skipworth deeded the land for this purpose, and the oldest marked grave dates to 1910. The Kress Cemetery Association has maintained this…

  • Two Rivals Merged by Drought · 12.5 mi

    Imagine having to move your entire town. That's not a metaphor — though it didn't happen quite the way the story usually gets told. In 1891 two rival settlements went up about two miles apart out on this prairie: Hale…

  • Tapping the Hidden Ocean · 12.5 mi

    The landscape around Hale Center seems arid, so how did it become a capital of farming? The answer lies in a technological revolution that unlocked a hidden ocean. Beneath your car is the Ogallala Aquifer, a massive…

  • Hale Center, TX · 12.5 mi

    A significant event in Hale Center's history was the tornado that struck downtown on June 2, 1965. The disaster resulted in five deaths, 60 injuries, and approximately $8 million in property damage, affecting many…

  • The Center of the World · 12.5 mi

    As you pass through Hale Center, understand that the name isn't decoration, it's the whole story. In the early 1890s there were two rival settlements out here on the flat, Hale City and Epworth, close enough to fight…

  • The Hospital on the High Plains · 12.5 mi

    For more than half a century, one of the proudest things in Hale Center was its hospital. After World War II a group of civic leaders decided their town, and the farm families spread out around it, deserved modern…

  • Ranching and Farming in Hale County · 12.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hale County, a land that transformed from wide-open range to fertile farmland. Back in the early 1880s, pioneers carved out a life here, often in simple dugouts, waiting for supplies from Colorado…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Kress (Kress) · 12.6 mi

    Kress (Kress, TX) placed on the 2A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Drew Morphis (3 HR); Jayden Galvan (0.485 avg).

  • Edmonson, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hale County, near where the Morrison ranch was established way back in 1881, the very first in the county. The area was originally called Running Water, named after the draw nearby, and was home…

  • Kress, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Swisher County, and right here is Kress. It started life in 1890 as Wright, named for a local preacher and rancher. Back then, it was just a post office, a store, and a school on the stagecoach…

  • A Town Built by a Corporation · 12.9 mi

    Edmonson wasn't settled by pioneers crossing the prairie - it was assembled at a railroad switch, and the older town came to it. Three miles south of here was a community called Running Water, sitting on railroad land…

  • The Day the School Closed · 12.9 mi

    Edmonson is a town that packed up and walked. It started out as Running Water, a Hale County community named for the draw that runs through here. Then the railroad came and missed it. In 1928 the businesses of Running…

  • United Methodist Church · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the United Methodist Church in Kress. Organized in 1906 near Wright, the congregation moved here in 1907 when the railroad founded Kress. Members built the first section of this sanctuary themselves…

  • The Town the Train Built · 13.2 mi

    If you're driving through Kress on US-87, look for the railroad tracks running parallel to the road. Those tracks are the reason the town sits where it sits. But Kress didn't start here. It started in 1890, two miles…

  • Water From Below · 13.2 mi

    As you drive around Kress, you’re traveling over a hidden ocean: the Ogallala Aquifer, a massive underground reservoir of water trapped in layers of sand and gravel. For the first half of the 20th century, farmers here…

  • Black Blizzards Over Kress · 13.2 mi

    Imagine looking out your window and seeing a solid wall of black, a thousand feet high, rolling toward you. That was the reality for the people of Kress during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. After years of drought and…

  • The Highway Commissioner's Interstate · 13.7 mi

    Interstate Twenty Seven between Lubbock and Amarillo is the Marshall Formby Memorial Highway, named for a man who once chaired the Texas Highway Commission. Marshall Formby was born in nineteen eleven and moved with his…

  • Halfway · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the historic site of Halfway, a settlement named for its location exactly between Olton and Plainview. <break time="400ms"/> In the 1890s, R. L. Hooper and his wife Ada Mae settled here, drawn by the…

  • First Baptist Church of Claytonville · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Claytonville. The First Baptist Church here began in 1891 as New Hope Baptist Church of Christ. It changed names twice and relocated in the early 1960s to this growing community.

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Lockney (Lockney) · 15.5 mi

    Lockney (Lockney, TX) placed on the 2A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Bo Alvis (0.519 avg); Aatrayu Leal (2 HR).

  • Ewing, William Maurice · 15.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Lockney, Texas, the birthplace of William Maurice Ewing, a man who fundamentally changed our understanding of the oceans. Born here in 1906, Ewing went on to become a pioneering oceanographer and…

  • The J.A. Baker Store · 15.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the J.A. Baker Store, a mercantile that was a lifeline for the early Texas South Plains. Opened in 1894 by James Artemas Baker, this wasn't just a place to buy hardware, dry goods, and…

  • Lockney Christian College · 15.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Lockney, Texas, a town that owes its start to faith and education. Back in 1894, evangelists Charles and St. Clair Smith established Lockney Christian College right here. It began in a small frame…

  • Smith, Charles Walker · 15.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Floyd County, and right here, in places like Lockney, Charles Walker Smith left his mark. He arrived in West Texas in 1889, bringing about a hundred cattle and a deep commitment to his faith.…

  • Lockney, TX · 15.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Lockney, at the junction of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroads, U.S. Highway 70, and Farm roads 97 and 378, in west central Floyd County, was founded in 1889 by settlers from Della Plain seeking a better…

  • First Methodist Church of Lockney · 15.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the First Methodist Church of Lockney. Organized in 1890 with about twenty-five members, they first met in the local schoolhouse. The congregation completed a frame sanctuary in 1908,…

  • John Ellison Burns · 16.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Lockney, Texas, where a skilled craftsman named John Ellison Burns set up shop. <break time="400ms"/> Burns learned blacksmithing from his father in Alabama and brought his tools to Texas in 1874.…

  • Engineering Water from Stone · 16.3 mi

    The green, productive fields around Lockney seem impossible in this semi-arid climate. The secret is an engineering job happening right under your wheels. The town sits on the Ogallala Aquifer, a vast underground…

  • The Hospital That Community Built · 16.3 mi

    In a small town, a hospital is more than just a place to get medical care; it's a lifeline and a cornerstone of the community. As you pass through Lockney, it's worth noting the W.J. Mangold Memorial Hospital, named for…

  • The Stant Rhea Stage Stand · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the South Plains, an area that once depended on a tough stagecoach line. Back in the late 1800s, Stant Rhea, a small, red-haired man, drove a buckboard pulled by wild Spanish mules, hauling mail…

  • Site of Holt School · 18.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Briscoe County, near the site of the old Holt School. Organized in 1920 and commissioned with two acres, a one-room schoolhouse opened in 1921 for grades 1 through 7. The school closed in 1933 due…

  • Center Plains Community · 18.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be the heart of the Center Plains community. Early settlers called this area home, west of Hale Center. In 1890, William S. Bolivar homesteaded here, and by 1902, a post office…

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