Nature
Old Buffalo Wallow
The nearby depression survives from an epoch when great buffalo herds migrated through west Texas, many moving between present Canada and Mexico over two major trails in the Odessa area. Wallows began with individual buffalo rolling in the dirt to rid themselves of pests or shed their heavy winter coats in springtime.
History
Penwell
Birthplace of Ector County's Oil boom. First civic development here was wide-open town, "Derrick City", platted March 1927, after Dec. 28, 1926, oil discovery by driller Josh Cosden on land of W. E. Connell, near the old farming and cattle station, Judkins. However, when Connell well began pumping only 20 barrels a day, the boom crowd moved away. The city was abandoned.
Industry & Science
Permian Basin
One of the two richest oil fields in the world. Discovery began in 1920 at a Mitchell County Well. Next came the 1923 big lake strike, then the wild 1925 boom in Upton County, followed by production in Andrews, Crane, Ector, Martin, Midland, Pecos, Ward, Winkler and 24 other counties. In some years new wells averaged 38 a week. Fortunes were Mae, lost, then regained--all within months.
History
Site of Blackshear High School
In early 1890, Inez Rathbun earned money teaching area students at the Ector County Courthouse. About the same time, Ector County organized a public school system. Over the next decades, the number of students in the area steadily increased. In 1921, the Texas Legislature officially established the Ector County Independent School District (ECISD).
History
Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett
Born 1835 in Alabama. Moved to north Texas before the Civil War, in which he served as a Confederate. After his wife died in 1874, he went to the Texas frontier to hunt Buffalo, taking his three young children with him. In 1881-1882 he supplied game to Texas & Pacific Railroad construction crews.
History
Site of Old Livery Stable and Wagon Yard
Established 1897 as Odessa's first livery stable and wagon yard by Francis M. Tallant. Cowmen stabled their horses, then headed for ranch saloon located across from stable. Sold 1906 to C. A. Beardsley, who advertised "good rigs, dray line and prompt attention." Livery stable had saddle horses and animal-drawn vehicles for hire. Wagon yard offered shelter for travelers and their teams.
History
Site of The Dawson Saloon
Frontier business of S.T. (TOL) and E.F. (LISH) Dawson, brothers. Lish Dawson, 1891-92 Sheriff of Ector County, had a barber chair in the Saloon, and helped tend bar. Liquor was in 40-gallon barrels. Ice for drinks was hauled from great lakes by Texas & Pacific Railroad. To avoid township restriction on liquor sales, Dawson moved saloon to the street; Tol was brought to trial for this.
History
Site of The Odessa Sanitarium
Established in 1886 by Odessa Townsite Company, the Odessa medical and surgical sanitarium was directed by Dr. R.E. Haughton, a former railroad physician from Indiana. It was located in a two-story wooden structure of twenty rooms. By March 1890 the project had failed. Dr. Haughton moved to Midland. The building became a have for migrant families. A portion was used as a church.
Industry & Science
The Cable Tool Rig
Equipment that replaced the spring pole drilling method used in America's earlier oil fields. The Cable Tool Rig used a bit suspended on a steel drilling cable. The bit is dropped in the hole and the impact breaks up the formation. The broken pieces are removed by a bail. This method made possible the deeper penetration so necessary in the southwest.
Quirky
The Jackrabbit
True plains Rabbit. Lives only in the west. Burro-like ears gave him his name. color is protective, blending with sand and dry grass. Very long legs make him a swift runner, clocked at speeds to 45 miles and hour. Object of hunts with Greyhounds. Was prized by plains Indians for food and fur. to white man a reminder of desert-hard life. In drouth and depression, meat source for thousands.
Civic & Local
W.T. Barrett Stadium
As the focal point of the city of Odessa for over 30 years, W.T. Barrett Stadium was built in 1948. The stadium, built of steel and wood and nicknamed 'W.T.,' witnessed thousands of west Texans compete for the win as football players, members of track teams and marching band participants. Prior to 1948 when 'W.T.' was built, games and events were held at Fly Field, adjacent to Odessa High School.
Quirky
Waddell Pecan Tree
A few years after Odessa was founded in 1881, a squirrel stole a pecan from a neighbor's porch, and buried it in the yard of W. T. Malone, planting this tree. A rarity in the downtown area, it became a well-known landmark. When R. T.
History
Well's Point
Texas & Pacific Railroad Wells. In 1879 railroad headed west out of Fort Worth. Preceding construction - on land later in town of Odessa - water wells were dug in July, 1881. Town section was thereafter called "Well's Point". One well was unusable because of alkali; other two wells supplied construction men, train crews.
History
White-Pool House
Charles White (1824-1905) moved his family here from Indiana seeking new business opportunities and a drier climate for his wife's health. With the aid of his sons Wilfred Walton White and Herbert Haughton White, he constructed this two-story brick residence in 1887, four years before the organization of Ector County.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
