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Snyder, Texas

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Music in Snyder

Songs About Snyder

I'm a Tool Pusher from Snyder
Slim Willet
81%
"I'm a Tool Pusher from Snyder"

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Snyder

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Snyder.

Texas Colorado River 6 songs Interstate 20 13 songs

History of Snyder

The Boom That Changed Everything RoadyGoat

Imagine standing on the courthouse square here in 1948. Snyder is a quiet ranching town of about 4,000 people. Then, that July, the major oil companies hit it big, a massive discovery in the Canyon Reef formation just north of town. Within months, Snyder becomes a scene of pure chaos. Within a year the population triples, climbing from about 4,000 to more than 12,000, and by 1951 it swells to nearly 16,000. Fortune-seekers pour in, living in tents, shacks, and cars. The phone company reported having 1,000 applications for just 200 available lines. Schools ran in three shifts to handle all the new children. There was a waiting list to get a post office box. It was a classic boomtown, full of mud, money, and frantic energy. The discovery of the Canyon Reef Field completely remade Snyder from a small agricultural town into a roaring oil town, and the wealth from that boom built the modern city you're driving through. But the name folks around here are proudest of is older than the oil. Back in 1876, buffalo hunter J. Wright Mooar shot a rare white buffalo near Deep Creek, and Snyder has been the Home of the White Buffalo ever since, a story the town still celebrates every October during White Buffalo Days.

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Engineering an Oil Boom RoadyGoat

Snyder's famous oil boom wasn't just luck; it was a feat of geology and engineering. For years, companies drilled in Scurry County with modest success. The big prize remained hidden. Geologists suspected the existence of a massive, ancient limestone reef deep underground—part of the 'Horseshoe Atoll.' Think of it not as solid rock, but as a porous, 300-million-year-old structure like a giant, buried sponge. The challenge was finding the right spot to tap into it. In July 1948, Sun Oil and Humble's No. 1 Emil Schattel found the reef at 6,891 feet. That November, Magnolia's No. 1 Winston Brothers opened the Kelly field, and Standard of Texas' No. 1 Jessie Brown 2 came in at 6,414 feet making 532 barrels a day, opening North Snyder. The Railroad Commission later ruled they were all drinking from the same reservoir and combined them as Kelly-Snyder. That discovery triggered a technological race to understand the reef's complex structure and to use advanced drilling and production techniques to get the oil out. It was a triumph of applying scientific theory to unlock one of the richest petroleum deposits in North America.

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The Legend of the White Buffalo RoadyGoat

In October 1876, on Deep Creek -- the stream that still runs through Snyder -- a buffalo hunter named J. Wright Mooar spotted something almost nobody ever saw: a white buffalo. White buffalo were exceptionally rare and held sacred by many Plains tribes, including the Comanche and Kiowa who had just been pushed off this land. Mooar was a commercial hunter who shipped hides by the thousand, but he kept this one. Theodore Roosevelt is said to have offered him five thousand dollars for it, and Mooar turned him down. The hide traveled -- it was shown at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair -- but it never left the family, and Mooar's descendants have it still. Snyder keeps the story anyway. A white buffalo stands in statue form on the Scurry County courthouse lawn, and the Scurry County Museum tells the tale and displays Mooar's .50-90 Sharps rifle, a direct link to the final days of the great herds.

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McLaughlin, Clarence Thurston

1919

Clarence Thurston McLaughlin, oilman, rancher, and philanthropist, was born on January 31, 1897, in Arthurs, Pennsylvania, one of five children of John Mark and Cora (Griffith) McLaughlin. His father was an oil producer in the fields of western Pennsylvania, and the children attended the public schools in Shippenville, located near the world's first oil town, Titusville. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, McLaughlin served with the 503rd Aero Squadron. Following twenty-five months of military service, he bought a train ticket to Texas with his discharge money to try his hand in the oil industry there. In 1919 he became a partner in a drilling company based in Wichita Falls. Within two years the company was operating several rigs, and McLaughlin introduced the Diamond M logo. On August 6, 1921, he married Evelyn Claire Littleton, a schoolteacher from Knoxville, Tennessee, who had come to Wichita Falls as an employee of Miller Pipeline Company. The couple had three daughters and a son. During the 1920s and 1930s McLaughlin drilled in the Permian Basin around Big Spring. In 1935 he purchased a ranch in Scurry County twelve miles southwest of Snyder and named it the Diamond M. He added acreage to the original purchase until the ranch at one time totaled 5,200 acres. McLaughlin experimented with new seed varieties and methods. He stocked his ranch with Hereford cattle and, initially, with sheep. He also raised show horses. The discovery of the Canyon Reef field near Snyder in 1948 brought even more wealth to the McLaughlin family, especially after the Lion County Company's No. 2 McLaughlin was completed on Diamond M land in December at 650 barrels a day. Within the next year drilling crews were bringing in a new producing well on the ranch at an average of every five days. In 1950 McLaughlin built an office building in Snyder. He also purchased the 6,000-acre Kuteman Ranch in southern Parker County in 1950, the 2,300-acre Shamrock Ranch near Colorado Springs in 1953, the 31,000-acre Circle Ranch hear Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1958, and the 1,459-acre Young Ranch in western Fisher County in 1965. Later, as the oil boom leveled off, the McLaughlins sold several of these holdings, but they kept the Young and Shamrock properties; the latter, in Colorado, was expanded to about 5,000 acres and became a second home for the family. As early as Beauford Jester 's 1946 campaign for governor, McLaughlin became interested in state politics and served on the Texas Democratic Executive Committee. In 1956 he was the party's director of finance. He often hosted parties at the Diamond M Ranch for state and national Democratic party leaders, numbering among his guests such luminaries as Coke Stevenson and Lyndon B. Johnson . McLaughlin served on the Texas Hospital Board (1944–48), the Texas Technological College Board of Regents (1948–54), the Texas Public Safety Commission (1960–66), and for fifteen years the advisory board for the Southwest Legal Foundation. In 1949 he established the Diamond M Foundation, financed by royalties from his ranch, for the support of various education and philanthropic undertakings. Through this foundation the Diamond M Museum , featuring the art treasures he and his wife had collected since 1921, was opened at his Diamond M office building in 1964. Because of his interest in western art, McLaughlin was named to the art committee of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City. He also was on the first board of directors of the Petroleum Museum, Library, and Hall of Fame, near Midland. He died on July 29, 1975, and was interred beside his wife in Hillside Memorial Gardens near Snyder.

Tsha Handbook →

Snyder, TX (Scurry County)

1878

Snyder, the county seat of Scurry County, is at the junction of U.S. highways 84 and 180, eighty-seven miles southeast of Lubbock in the central part of the county. It had its beginnings in 1878, when a buffalo hunter and trader, William Henry (Pete) Snyder , a native of Pennsylvania, built a trading post on the banks of Deep Creek. Other hunters were attracted to the post, and a colony of buffalo-hide dwellings grew up around it. These dwellings, as well as the occasionally dubious character of their inhabitants, gave the town its first names, "Hide Town," and "Robber's Roost." In 1882 Snyder drew up a town plan and invited immigration. The first public school was established sometime that year. In 1884, when Scurry County was organized, Synder's settlement was chosen as the county seat. By 1892 Snyder had a population of 600, two churches, two banks, a steam gin, a gristmill, and two weekly newspapers, the Scurry County Citizen and the Coming West . Construction began on the Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway in 1907, the same year that Snyder's city charter was granted. In 1911 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway laid tracks through Snyder. By 1910, the first year census figures were recorded for Snyder, the town had a population of 2,514. A women's literary circle, the Altrurian Club, was formed in 1908, and eventually spawned eight more study clubs. While the public school system was still developing, these clubs performed significant educational functions; later their focus changed to public service. Snyder remained a farming and ranching community until 1948, when oil was discovered on the Canyon Reef formation north of town. Within a year the population jumped from around 4,000 to over 12,000, a tent and trailer city sprang up on the town's northern edge. The boom was over by late 1951, and the population, which had peaked at around 16,000, stabilized at 11,000. Snyder was left an ugly city with many vacant or half-completed buildings. During the 1960s city officials began refurbishing, and in 1964 a long-range planning committee improved opportunities for low-income citizens. By 1968 in a contest cosponsored by the National Municipal League and Look Magazine , the city was named one of only eleven All-American cities in the United States. Large industries located in Snyder during the late 1960s and the early 1970s, and its population began to rise again. By 1960 Snyder had seven elementary schools, two junior highs, and a high school. Until 1965 black children were forced to attend a separate facility, the Abraham Lincoln School, which had only eight grades. If they wished to attend high school, they were told to go to San Antonio. In 1969 a long string of failed attempts finally culminated in the approval of a proposal for a junior college, and in the fall of 1971 the new Western Texas College opened with 649 students. In 1986 enrollment was over 1,000. The Diamond M Foundation was established in 1950 by oilman and rancher Clarence T. McLaughlin to collect works of American artists. The Diamond M Museum opened in 1964 and five years later doubled in size. In 1990 it housed over eighty bronzes and 200 paintings, including works by Andrew Wyeth and Peter Hurd , and is considered among the best collections in Texas. In 1980 Snyder had a population of 12,705. The Snyder Daily News has been published since 1950. Oil has remained important to the city's economy. In the late 1960s Scurry County became the leading oil-producing county in Texas as the result of a locally developed method of injecting carbon dioxide into the formation to increase the pressure and thereby increase the yield. In 1973 Scurry oil companies recovered their billionth barrel of oil. In 1987 ranching and cotton farming also continued to employ a large part of the population. In 1990 the population was 12,195. The population dropped to 10,783 in 2000.

Tsha Handbook →

Snyder, William Henry [Pete]

1878

William Henry (Pete) Snyder (Snider), West Texas merchant, was born on November 29, 1836, in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, one of seven brothers. None of his records shows the names of his mother and father, but he had brothers named Charles and Tom. Pete and Charles were both in the Union Army during the Civil War , and Tom fought with the Confederates. Snyder moved to Manhattan, Kansas, in 1857 to homestead. He stayed about a year and moved to Central City, Colorado, to mine gold. He joined Company D, Second Colorado Cavalry, at Spanish Bar, Colorado, on September 25, 1862. He was called to active duty on November 17 of that year and began service at Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory. In the spring of 1863 he was sent to Council Grove, Kansas, to help protect New Mexico-bound trains from William C. Quantrill and his raiders. Private Snyder fought in the battles of Big Blue, Little Blue, Mill Creek, and Westport. He was discharged at Fort Riley, Kansas, on June 20, 1865, and went back to Colorado. There he discovered that others had taken his mining claims, and he returned shortly to Kansas, where he worked on the Kansas-Pacific Railroad, a project for which Buffalo Bill Cody was supplying meat at this time. Another famous hunter, Josiah Wright Mooar , also worked there. From 1869 to 1876 Snyder traveled around Texas earning his living as a freighter and supplier for buffalo hunters and settlers. When Mooar and his hunting party came into West Texas in 1876, Snyder went with them to haul their hides. He set up a trading post on Sand Creek, but in 1878, tired of the remote location, he bought a trading post at Deep Creek, where a small community had begun to develop. The settlement, known earlier as Robber's Roost, Hide Town, Scab Town, and Deep Creek, came to be called Snyder's Place as the store prospered. Snyder operated the store until 1881, when he moved to Colorado (now Colorado City), Mitchell County, Texas, where the Texas and Pacific Railway lowered his shipping costs and opened a more profitable market. The trading-post settlement kept the name Snyder, which became official on July 2, 1907. In 1883 Snyder heard that Scurry County would soon be officially organized as a county and that Snyder would be the county seat. He hired W. W. Marshall to survey the 640 acres surrounding the site of his old trading post, filed a claim for his town on September 4, 1883, and began plans to sell lots. A bitter battle erupted in the courts when a local rancher, Tommy Nunn, also claimed the land. Nunn offered to divide the land, but Snyder refused to compromise. The Texas Supreme Court awarded all the land to Nunn on June 7, 1886, and Snyder left town, rarely to return. In 1899 he bought several sections of land near Dunn, Texas. He lived on the ranch, which was about fifteen miles from Colorado City, for about five years and in 1904 moved back to Colorado City. Snyder was married to Maria Louise (Nellie) Fairclough in Colorado, Texas, on February 7, 1883, by Rev. O. F. Rogers, a Presbyterian minister. The Snyders had no children. Nellie Snyder died on June 7, 1913, in Colorado City, and Pete Snyder died there on October 4, 1916. They are buried in the Colorado City Cemetery, on a part of their ranchland that they had donated for the cemetery. Their land was divided and sold for taxes after their deaths. Although Snyder was not a member of any religious group, he donated two stained-glass windows to the local Methodist church, from which he was buried.

Tsha Handbook →

Scurry County's Canyon Reef Oil Field

1948

Attracted international attention by size and engineering achievements. During 1948 four widely dispersed wells penetrated the Canyon Reef Formation at depth of 6,500 feet. Soon more than 2,000 wells defined gigantic fields which contained an estimated four billion barrels of oil. This rapid drilling involved thousands of people--contractors, drillers, engineers, geologists, lawyers, office workers, roughnecks, roustabouts, suppliers. Oil companies poured $300,000,000 into the operations. By 1951 engineers saw that only 20% of Canyon Reef oil could be produced in competitive operations, but recovery could be doubled by pressure maintenance in unitization. Successful formation of Diamond "M", Sacroc, Sharon Ridge Canyon, and Cogdell Units and initiation of fluid injection were events of immense significance. The programs showed by 1955 that free American enterprise can work out voluntarily the most modern and efficient conservation procedures. Thus Scurry County--with a petroleum industry dating from shallow wells in 1923--has become a pioneer in oil history, and is assured a high level, stable economy for many future decades. (1967)

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Scurry, William R. (County Named For Texas Confederate)

1861

Member Secession Convention. As Lt. Colonel 4th Texas Cavalry Regiment, ably commanded forces at Val Verde and Glorieta Canyon battles in Arizona-New Mexico Campaign 1861-62. Promoted Brigadier General. Commanded immediate land attack recapture of Galveston 1863. In Red River Campaign to prevent Texas invasion, led brigade Battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, La. and Jenkins Ferry, Ark. where he bravely met death. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963

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Home County of Famous Frontiersman J. Wright Mooar

1870

(Aug. 10, 1851-May 1, 1940) Champion hunter of buffalo--largest game animal in North America. Born in Vermont; came west at 19. Began hunting in 1870 to supply hides for market. In partnership with his brother, John W. Mooar, in 1873 established first buffalo hunting camp in the Texas Panhandle. On Oct. 7, 1876, at his first hunting camp in Scurry County, killed a rare albino buffalo--one of two known to have been killed in Texas. The hide of that albino, afterward shown in 1904 St. Louis Fair and many other occasions, is now preserved here in Scurry County by Mooar's descendants. Hunted regularly until 1879; in 1881 helped furnish game and hay to feed construction men and animals building Texas & Pacific Railroad in West Texas. During his career, he shot about 22,000 buffalo--a record probably unsurpassed. His ability to hit a vital spot at a distance of 1,000 feet or farther won the respect of such Indians as Comanche Chief Quanah Parker, who became his friend in later life. Began ranching with his brother in 1877. Also had a business in Colorado City, 1881-1905. Highly esteemed. Site of killing of white buffalo (10 mi. NW of here) is near the Old Mooar Ranch headquarters, where his hand-hug water well is now surrounded by oil wells. (1967)

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Things to Do in Snyder

day trip
How to Grill Up Tasty Lamb - Defaid Livestock, Snyder, TX

Featured on The Daytripper — a full-episode local travel guide.

Sports in Snyder

⭐ HOMETOWN LEGENDS Class 4A · Football

Snyder Tigers — Snyder — a college & pro athletic pipeline

4 alumni who reached major-college or pro sports

Snyder High School, a proud Class 4A institution, has a notable history of producing athletes who have gone on to achieve at the major-college and professional levels. The Bulldog tradition of excellence is reflected in the careers of several alumni who have made their mark in the world of sports. These individuals represent the dedication and talent cultivated within the Snyder athletic programs.

Among the distinguished alumni are Sonny Cumbie, a football coach, and Hayward Clay, a former NFL player. Tony Degrate, also a former NFL player, and Jack Spikes, another former NFL player, further highlight the school's impact on professional football. Their journeys from Snyder High School to higher levels of competition are a source of pride for the community.

Pro/D1 alumni
4
Class
4A
Key Players
  • Sonny Cumbie — , football coach{{cite web|publisher=The Snyder News|last=Graff|first=Reed|url=https://www
  • Hayward Clay — , former NFL player
  • Tony Degrate — , former NFL player
  • Jack Spikes — , former NFL player
The moment

Sonny Cumbie became a football coach.

Sources: Wikipedia · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Snyder

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

  • McLaughlin, Clarence Thurston · Tsha Handbook

    Clarence Thurston McLaughlin, oilman, rancher, and philanthropist, was born on January 31, 1897, in Arthurs, Pennsylvania, one of five children of John Mark and Cora (Griffith) McLaughlin. His father was an oil producer…

  • Snyder, TX (Scurry County) · Tsha Handbook

    Snyder, the county seat of Scurry County, is at the junction of U.S. highways 84 and 180, eighty-seven miles southeast of Lubbock in the central part of the county. It had its beginnings in 1878, when a buffalo hunter…

  • Snyder, William Henry [Pete] · Tsha Handbook

    William Henry (Pete) Snyder (Snider), West Texas merchant, was born on November 29, 1836, in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, one of seven brothers. None of his records shows the names of his mother and father, but he had…

  • Jones, Richard Percy, Jr. [Dickie] · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in Snyder, Texas, you're driving past the birthplace of a voice that became legendary! Dickie Jones, born in 1927, was a child actor discovered at the Dallas State Fair at just five years old. He became known…

  • Lechner, Walter William · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through West Texas, possibly near Snyder, and right here in Scurry County, Walter Lechner struck oil in 1923. It wasn't just any oil well, though. His J. J. Moore No. 1 was the very first producing well…

  • Mennonites · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through West Texas, and right here, the town of Snyder owes its name to a Mennonite minister. Back in 1906, Peter B. Snyder arrived in Hale County, buying up land. The very next year, 1907, families…

  • Scurry County · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Scurry County, a land that saw explorers and fierce Comanche warriors long before it was settled. In 1849, U.S. Army Captain Randolph Marcy mapped this very region, looking for fort sites and a…

  • Diamond M Museum · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Snyder, and right here is where the Diamond M Museum used to stand. It started as the private art collection of Claire and Clarence McLaughlin, who began gathering treasures in the 1920s. By 1949,…

  • Western Texas College · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Snyder, the home of Western Texas College. Opened in the fall of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1971</say-as>, this community college was designed with a unique campus layout. Its…

  • The Boom That Changed Everything · 0.3 mi

    Imagine standing on the courthouse square here in 1948. Snyder is a quiet ranching town of about 4,000 people. Then, that July, the major oil companies hit it big, a massive discovery in the Canyon Reef formation just…

  • Engineering an Oil Boom · 0.3 mi

    Snyder's famous oil boom wasn't just luck; it was a feat of geology and engineering. For years, companies drilled in Scurry County with modest success. The big prize remained hidden. Geologists suspected the existence…

  • The Legend of the White Buffalo · 0.3 mi

    In October 1876, on Deep Creek -- the stream that still runs through Snyder -- a buffalo hunter named J. Wright Mooar spotted something almost nobody ever saw: a white buffalo. White buffalo were exceptionally rare and…

Show all 93 nearby places
  • Snyder, TX · 0.3 mi

    Snyder's history began with a trading post built by William Henry Snyder in 1878, which attracted hunters and settlers, leading to the community's first name, 'Hide Town'. The town plan was drawn up in 1882, two years…

  • An Oilman's Art Collection · 0.3 mi

    The oil boom didn't just bring roughnecks and rigs; it brought money, and some of it went into something beautiful. In Snyder that something was the Diamond M. C. T. McLaughlin, a rancher and oilman who made his fortune…

  • Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad Company · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and you're passing the story of a railroad that helped build this part of Texas: the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific. Founded by General F. W. James and built by his son, Winfield, this 50-mile…

  • First Methodist Church · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, home to the First Methodist Church. Organized in 1883 at a brush arbor revival, the congregation built its first one-room church in 1889 on land donated by the Nunn family. The current…

  • First Presbyterian Church · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the First Presbyterian Church in Snyder. Organized in 1892 as the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church with seven members, the congregation eventually joined the Abilene Presbytery. The…

  • First Baptist Church of Snyder · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past First Baptist Church of Snyder. Founded in May, 1883, one year before Scurry County was organized, this pioneer institution helped pave the way for modern Baptist worship in the area. It was…

  • Scurry County's Canyon Reef Oil Field · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    Attracted international attention by size and engineering achievements. During 1948 four widely dispersed wells penetrated the Canyon Reef Formation at depth of 6,500 feet. Soon more than 2,000 wells defined gigantic…

  • Scurry, William R. (County Named For Texas Confederate) · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    Member Secession Convention. As Lt. Colonel 4th Texas Cavalry Regiment, ably commanded forces at Val Verde and Glorieta Canyon battles in Arizona-New Mexico Campaign 1861-62. Promoted Brigadier General. Commanded…

  • Home County of Famous Frontiersman J. Wright Mooar · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    (Aug. 10, 1851-May 1, 1940) Champion hunter of buffalo--largest game animal in North America. Born in Vermont; came west at 19. Began hunting in 1870 to supply hides for market. In partnership with his brother, John W.…

  • Scarborough, Alonzo Orrin; Site of Sanitarium of · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and just ahead is the site of a pioneering medical facility. Alonzo Orrin Scarborough wasn't just a doctor; he was a true frontier physician. Born in 1860, he came to Snyder in 1881,…

  • Site of Store of William Henry (Pete) Snyder · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Snyder, Texas, a town that owes its beginning to a man named William Henry Snyder, better known as Pete. After adventuring and fighting in the Civil War, Pete tried his hand at gold…

  • Snyder National Bank · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and right here is the site of the Snyder National Bank. It opened in 1905, but its real test came in the 1930s. When other banks were failing, President M.A. Fuller famously flew in a…

  • Company G · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, home of Company G. This unit of Scurry County National Guardsmen first fought in France during World War I. Reorganized in the 1920s, they were part of the celebrated 36th Division in…

  • Site of O.K. Wagon Yard · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and you might have just passed the old O.K. Wagon Yard site. Back in the early 1900s, this was a bustling stop for travelers, offering rooms and horse stalls for just twenty-five cents.…

  • Site of The Mackenzie Trail · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, near where the legendary Mackenzie Trail once ran. After the Civil War, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie blazed routes across the Texas frontier to quell hostilities. This trail was…

  • R. L. McMullan Home · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and right here is the R. L. McMullan Home. This two-room house was built way back in 1885 by Dr. A. O. Scarborough. It was moved to this spot in 1889 and later enlarged. Imagine this:…

  • Scurry County Jail of 1912 · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and right here is the site of the Scurry County Jail of 1912. The county's first two jails, built in the 1880s, just couldn't keep up with the growing population. So, in 1911, the…

  • Scurry County Courthouse Site and Building · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the original Scurry County Courthouse, built right here in 1886. It was a two-story red brick building, with a jail connected by a corridor. Imagine board sidewalks and a hitching rail…

  • County's First Law Men · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, the site of Scurry County's first lawmen. Sheriff W. W. "Uncle Billy" Nelson was elected in 1884 and authorized the county's first jail, a tiny 8x10 foot structure. He resigned after just…

  • Scurry County · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, formed in 1876 from older territories. It was officially organized in 1884 and named for General William R. Scurry, a Confederate officer and member of the last Texas Congress. The…

  • Santa Fe Railway in Scurry County · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Santa Fe Railway in Scurry County. In 1909, when rail service was vital to economic growth, Scurry County had one line (The Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific) but lacked connections to distant markets. Local…

  • The Press in Snyder · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, the birthplace of eight different newspapers since the late 1800s. The "Scurry County Citizen" was the first, published before 1887. Over the years, papers like the "News," "Western…

  • City of Snyder · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past City of Snyder. Originally established as a trading post on Deep Creek for buffalo hunters and called "Hide Town," because of many hide tents and dugouts, the city of Snyder takes it name from W. H.…

  • Snyder - The White Buffalo · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    In October 1876, buffalo hunter J. Wright Mooar spotted something in a herd on the plains near present-day Snyder that stopped him cold. A white buffalo. Among the Plains Indians, a white buffalo was the most sacred…

  • First State Bank Building · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the First State Bank Building, erected in 1907. This Ionic Greek columned structure was built for the First State Bank & Trust Co., a key financial institution for early ranchers. The bank closed…

  • Channel of Deep Creek · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where Deep Creek once flowed, a vital artery for early Scurry County. Back in the 1870s, this spring-fed tributary of the Colorado River was the lifeblood for buffalo hunters. They lived in…

  • Towle House · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and you might just pass the home of a man who shaped this town for decades. Dr. H. G. Towle and his wife Mary moved here in 1905, opening a jewelry store. They built this impressive…

  • Marked with an X in 1881 · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a historic witness tree, a hackberry used in early Texas land surveys. On May 29, <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1873</say-as>, surveyors for the Houston & Great Northern Railroad…

  • Witness Tree · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    Across the street, 100 feet north of this site, is the stump of a hackberry used in early land surveys as a "witness" tree. By Texas custom (based on Spanish law), at least 2 objects were used to witness land…

  • Old Snyder Graveyard · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Old Snyder Graveyard. This place started as state land, but by the 1880s, it was already being used as a cemetery. Legend says the very first burial here was an Indian. In those early days,…

  • Witness Tree · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and you might not even notice it, but you're passing a silent witness to Texas's westward expansion. This humble tree, known as the Witness Tree, played a crucial role in shaping the very…

  • F. J. Grayum Home · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the F. J. Grayum Home, built in 1909 by the town's early druggist. This Classical Revival mansion boasts Ionic-pillared porches and balconies, double masonry walls, and floors two inches thick.…

  • E. W. Clark House, 1908 · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Snyder, and right here is the E.W. Clark House, built way back in 1908. This wasn't just any house; it was a rancher's town home and a real social hub. Imagine stepping inside to find solid brass…

  • Stanfield House, 1910 · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Stanfield House in Snyder, a home built in 1910 with a unique story. Mrs. W.B. Stanfield, wife of a local rancher, had a hand in its design, suggesting plans to a traveling architect from Fort…

  • First Christian Church · 1.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and right here is the site of the First Christian Church. Organized in 1898 with just eight families, they first met in a unique, octagonal building known as the 'Little Round Church.'…

  • Dodson House · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Dodson House, built way back in 1883. Imagine hauling lumber for this place by mule train all the way from Colorado City! It was built by J. C. Cornelius, a Confederate veteran and pioneer…

  • Old Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad Engine No. 5 · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Old Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad Engine No. 5. This Baldwin locomotive, built in Philadelphia in 1920, was the workhorse that helped build Snyder. The Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific…

  • The Prairie Dog (Cynomys Ludovicianus) · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and you might just miss this little guy. The Prairie Dog, once numbering in the billions across Texas, was a symbol of the Old West. These vegetarian mammals, related to squirrels, earned…

  • O. P. "Pack" Wolf · 1.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and right about now, you're passing the stomping grounds of a legendary lawman: O. P. "Pack" Wolf. For twenty years, from 1906 to 1926, Wolf served as Snyder's city marshal, bringing…

  • T. J. Faught · 1.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, and just ahead is a marker for T. J. Faught. He settled here in 1879 as a rancher, but his real impact came when he was appointed Scurry County's second sheriff in 1884. He served out that…

  • Kelly-Snyder Oilfield · 2.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Scurry County, the heart of one of Texas's most incredible oil discoveries. Right here is the Kelly-Snyder field, a giant tapped into the Horseshoe Atoll – a massive underground limestone reef.…

  • Scurry, William Read · 2.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Scurry County, named for a Confederate general who met a dramatic end. William Read Scurry was a decorated officer in the Civil War, distinguishing himself in battles across the…

  • Arah, TX · 2.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Arah was ten miles west of Snyder in western Scurry County. The settlement developed to serve the needs of surrounding ranches and was named for Arah Gray, daughter of E. W. Gray, a rancher in the area in the early…

  • Home County of Famous Frontiersman J. Wright Mooar · 2.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, home of a true Texas frontiersman, J. Wright Mooar. Back in 1873, he and his brother John set up the very first buffalo hunting camp in the Texas Panhandle. Mooar was legendary,…

  • Von Roeder Cotton Breeding Farms · 3.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former home of the Von Roeder Cotton Breeding Farms, a place that helped shape the world's fiber market. Back in 1923, Clemens Von Roeder, born right here in Texas, started experimenting with…

  • The Block 97 Controversy · 5.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, right where a massive land dispute, known as the Block 97 Controversy, played out. It all kicked off in 1873 when the Houston & Texas Central railroad mistakenly claimed nearly…

  • Scurry County's Billionth Barrel of Oil · 6.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, the heart of Texas oil country. Back in 1923, they started pulling oil from shallow wells, but the real boom hit in 1948 when drillers tapped the deep Canyon Reef Formation. This…

  • Scurry County, TX · 6.7 mi

    Scurry County's founding is closely tied to the efforts of W.H. Snyder, after whom the county seat, Snyder, is named. In 1877, Snyder opened a trading camp in the county, hauling lumber and goods from Dallas to build…

  • Site of Stamps School · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Diana, in Upshur County, where the Stamps School once stood. Established way back in 1906 and named for settler William O. Stamps, this building was more than just a schoolhouse. It was a community…

  • Home County of Famous Frontiersman J. Wright Mooar · 9.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Snyder, home county of J. Wright Mooar, a legendary buffalo hunter. Born in Vermont, Mooar came west at just 19 and by 1870 was supplying buffalo hides to market. He and his brother set up the…

  • Johnson House, 1910 · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Snyder, and look over to your right. You're passing the Johnson House, built in 1910. What makes this place special? W.A. Johnson didn't just build this house; he built it with his own hands,…

  • Hermleigh · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Hermleigh, a town born from the railroad in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1907</say-as>. It was surveyed by H. W. Harlin and R. C. Herm, and quickly became a bustling trade center for local…

  • Dunn · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Dunn, a town that owes its start to the boom days of Texas railroads. Back in 1881, the T&P Railway reached Colorado City, and suddenly, teams hauling goods north needed a place to stop. This…

  • Camp Springs, TX · 10.4 mi · Local history

    Camp Springs sits in Scurry County, a part of the Southwestern Tablelands of West Texas. Early settlers were drawn to this area by the promise of open range, ideal for cattle ranching on the level plains. The town's…

  • J. J. Moore No. 1 Oil Well · 10.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, and just south of here is a well that changed everything. This is the J. J. Moore No. 1, the very first producing oil well in this county. Drilled by Loutex Corp. between February…

  • Ira · 10.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Ira, Texas, a town named for Ira Green, who ran a crossroads store right around here. The very first homes and the school were half-dugouts – basically cellars with windows peeking out of the…

  • Former Townsite of Wheat · 10.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former townsite of Wheat, a farming community that sprouted up in the late 1880s. It got its name in 1890, the year the U.S. Post Office opened, thanks to a truly bumper wheat crop. A schoolhouse…

  • St. John's Catholic Church · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hermleigh, where farm families settled in the early 1900s. Catholic services began in settlers' homes, and the Church of Francis Xavier was built in 1908 on land donated by Robert Herm. In 1936,…

  • Dermott · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Snyder, Texas, and the story of how this area grew is tied to a town that *moved* – twice! It started as a community called Dark, but by 1909, it relocated to follow the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific…

  • Greene Springs and Site of Archeological Discoveries (1.5 miles southwest) · 12.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, and just southwest of here lies Greene Springs. These aren't just any springs; they're the first living water to flow into the Brazos River's South Fork. For centuries, Native…

  • Town of Knapp · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of what was once the town of Knapp, but it started life as Bison. Back in 1888, pioneers settling near Bull Creek, where buffalo herds roamed, called their community Bison. They even started…

  • Camp Springs · 13.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Snyder, and this area has a history stretching back millennia! Long before settlers arrived, native peoples camped here, leaving behind tools and pictographs. Then, in 1849, Captain R.B. Marcy blazed…

  • Hobbs, TX · 14.1 mi

    The school in Hobbs has been a central landmark and gathering place for the community. Initially, a combination school and church building was erected in 1888 after Robert Martin, a Baptist preacher, held camp meetings…

  • Pyron, Texas · 14.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Pyron, Texas, a town that once thrived before the highway rerouted life away from it. Bob Pyron, a rancher, settled here on Buffalo Creek before 1890, and his cellar even hosted the first…

  • Campsite of the Marcy Expedition · 14.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, heading west on what was once a vital path across America. Right around here, on October 7th, 1849, Captain R. B. Marcy’s expedition camped for the night. They were blazing the…

  • Scurry County, TX · 15.7 mi · Local history

    The Southwestern Tablelands stretch across Scurry County, a landscape of mesas and prairies where the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River carves its path. For centuries, nomadic groups traversed this land, their…

  • Hobbs, TX · 16.0 mi · Local history

    Hobbs, Texas, sits nestled within the rolling plains of Fisher County, a landscape typical of the Central Great Plains ecoregion. Early settlers were drawn to this part of West Texas by the promise of ranching. The…

  • Lone Wolf Community · 16.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Scurry County, passing the site of what used to be the Lone Wolf community. This area was once home to Kiowa tribes, including the band of Chief Lone Wolf, until the 1870s. The community itself…

  • Coleman Ranch Field Discovery Well · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the P.C. Coleman No. 1 Well, a key player in unlocking the Permian Basin's oil riches. Drilled in 1923 on land owned by Dr. Preston Coleman, this well was a slow starter. After a blast of…

  • Valley View School, Site of · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Valley View School. Back in 1905, nine men in the Lone Wolf Valley decided they needed a school for their community. They named it Valley View, and surprisingly, their first teacher…

  • Site of Town of Cuthbert · 17.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Cuthbert, a town that sprang up in 1890 thanks to D.T. Bozeman, a teacher and merchant. It was named for his neighbor, T.T. Cuthbertson. Cuthbert wasn't just any stop; a well by Bozeman's…

  • Light, Former Townsite of · 17.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be the town of Light, established in 1899 when it got its own post office. It started with a schoolhouse moved from a nearby ranch, and it even got a new two-room school in 1905. But…

  • Fluvanna · 17.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Fluvanna, a town that sprang to life in 1907, founded by a realty firm looking to build a future. It was named by its surveyor, who hailed from Fluvanna County, Virginia. The real boom came in…

  • Fluvanna Mercantile Company · 17.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Fluvanna Mercantile Company, a pioneer store that opened its doors in 1915. It stocked everything from clothing and groceries to patent medicines and seeds, all freighted in by the…

  • McKanna, Edith Whatley · 17.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through West Texas, and right here is the territory of Edith Whatley McKanna, a woman who defied expectations in the oil patch and the skies. She wasn't just an oil producer; she was a pioneer aviator,…

  • Fluvanna Mercantile Company · 17.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Scurry County, and right here in Fluvanna, you're passing the site of a store that was the heart of this community for decades. The Fluvanna Mercantile Company opened its doors in 1915, selling…

  • Site of First Presbyterian Church of Fluvanna · 17.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the first Presbyterian Church of Fluvanna. Originally founded as Deep Creek Congregation in 1893, the congregation eventually became First Presbyterian Church of Fluvanna in 1909. The…

  • Hobbs Independent School District · 19.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the historic territory of the Hobbs Independent School District. It began as a single tent school in 1887 and grew to encompass over 240 square miles, serving dozens of small communities. After…

  • Handley Cemetery · 19.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Handley Cemetery. Site given by John J. Handley (1842-1935), Confederate veteran who settled here in 1892, after living earlier in Georgia and in Smith and Comanche Counties, Texas. A farmer, he…

  • Scotts Corner, TX · 19.2 mi

    Scotts Corner, nestled in Fisher County, is a small West Texas town where the horizon stretches wide and the land rolls gently toward the Central Great Plains. Though quiet now, its history echoes with the stories of…

  • Hobbs Cemetery · 19.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Fisher County, where settlers started arriving in the early 1880s. This area became known as Hobbs, named after Vachel Hobbs Anderson, the Roby postmaster. In the early 1900s, Robert and Ann…

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