Architecture
Davis House
Built in 1916 by Walter Wright Davis (1879-1933) and his wife Florence Weathers Davis (1880-1968), this house represents a transition from a craftsman style bungalow to a Colonial Revival style structure. The exposed rafter ends, knee braces, and divided light upper window sashes illustrate typical 1920's domestic architecture.
History
Herefords in Sweetwater
Organized 1922, the Sweetwater Hereford Breeders Association and Auction Sale (now Sweetwater Area Hereford Association) is considered Texas' third oldest group formed to promote this fine beef breed. First Officers: Walter L. Boothe, president; G.E. Bradford and J.D. Dulaney, vice presidents; E.P. Neblett, secretary. The Texas Hereford Association assisted local breeders in early sales.
Architecture
I.M. (Mose) and Margaret Newman House
Ira Mose Newman, born in 1887 to a prominent Nolan County ranching family, was a leading area businessman, with interests including real estate and banking. He was an active civic leader, an award-winning trapshooter and a Texas Tech University regent. His wife, Margaret (Hamner), was also active in civic affairs.
History
Nolan County
Nomadic Indians crossed this region before Anglo-American pioneers arrived here in the 1870's. The first settlers were buffalo hunters such as I.S. (Tuck) Focht, who later became a rancher and businessman, and cattlemen such as confederate veteran John R. Lewis. Created in 1876, Nolan County was one of 54 countries carved from Bexar Territory.
Architecture
R.A. Ragland House
In 1882 R.A. Ragland (1858-1938) came to Sweetwater as one of the town's first lawyers. He served as city commissioner, school board member and county attorney. In partnership with R.C. Crane he set up a law office and abstract firm. In 1906 he had this house built for his wife Luella Maddox Ragland. The home is an example of the Classical Revival style.
Architecture
Ragland Building
Community leader R.A. Ragland (1858-1938) had this structure erected in 1901 as a one-story building with a random pattern of hand-hewed limestone. He added a second floor in 1906. Charles McFarland bought the building in 1909. The first floor has housed a blacksmith shop and hardware store. The second floor has held the law office and abstract company of Ragland and R.C.
History
S.D. Myres
Samuel Dale Myres began his career as an apprentice saddle-maker in Cleburne. He moved to Sweetwater in 1898. A highly skilled craftsman, Myres was soon know for his superior workmanship. He served as mayor of Sweetwater from 1908 to 1911, and was instrumental in many city improvements. His saddlery business was relocated to this building in 1919 after a fire destroyed his first shop.
Architecture
Simmons House
Robert Mosby Simmons (1887-1955), noted civic leader and president of the Sweetwater Cotton Oil Company for many years, originally built this house as a one-story structure in 1919. In 1934-35 he hired architect Anton Korn of Dallas to remodel it into its present two-story configuration.
Military
Site of U. S. Army Air Corps Plane Crash
(0.6 miles east) At 6:05 a.m. on Friday, April 20, 1945, twenty-five Army Air Corps officers and enlisted men left Midland Army Air Field in a C-47 transport plane en route to Berry Army Air Field in Nashville, Tennessee. The flight crew consisted of the pilot, First Lieutenant James A. Bailey; the co-pilot, Captain John R. Rawls; and the flight engineer, Sergeant William H. Edwards.
History
Sweetwater Cemetery
The oldest marked grave in this public burial ground is that of an infant, Purl Ray Scott, who died in 1880. It predates the founding of the town of Sweetwater of the Texas and Pacific Railroad by one year. Handcrafted tombstones and wrought iron fences are prominent features of the graveyard.
Architecture
Sweetwater Municipal Auditorium
Designed by the Page Brothers architectural firm of Austin, this auditorium was constructed for the City of Sweetwater in 1926-27. The building's Spanish Colonial Revival style is reflected in the use of arches, ornate balconies and elaborate detailing.
History
Sweetwater Reporter
C.E. Gilbert, who founded the "Abilene Reporter", established the "Sweetwater Advance" in 1881, the year Nolan County was organized. Later published as the "Nolan County Review", it was purchased in 1906 by John W. Millsapps, who modernized the operation. In 1911 Millsapps, and his partner W.A. Perry, with the assistance of managing editor C.A.
Transport
Texas & Pacific Railway
Construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway began in East Texas in the early 1870's. By 1880 the line was expanding westward. It reached Sweetwater in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year. Sweetwater became a railroad town, with business and homes built along the rail line.
Architecture
Trammell House
Rancher and banker Thomas Trammell (1848-1919) was called the "Father of Sweetwater." He hired noted California architect John Young to design this house. Trammell, who helped bring railroads to Sweetwater, knew of Young's design work for the Santa Fe Railway. Built in 1911-13, this house reflects the Mission Revival-Prairie School style of architecture and features a unique atrium.
Military
W.A.S.P. (Women's Airforce Service Pilots) Training Base: Avenger Field
Site of World War II drama. Here girls, like male cadets, learned to fly United States Army Air Forces planes. WASPs had civil service status rather than military. Of the 25,000 applicants, 1,830 were accepted; 1,074 won wings and flew 60 million miles for the U.S. Army Air Forces, receiving high praise for their record. At the request of the Air Forces' Commanding General H.H.
Military
W.A.S.P. Training Base: Avenger Field
Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) trained here in military aircraft during World War II, from February 21, 1943, through final graduation day, December 7, 1944. Avenger Field first served as a training base for British Royal Air Force Cadets in 1942, then for U.S. Army Air Forces Cadets August 1942 - April 1943. The WASP program was started under General H.H.
Military
Women Airforce Service Pilots
Jacqueline Cochran, one to the most famous women pilots of the Twentieth Century, persistently lobbied U.S. Army Airforce General Henry "Hap" Arnold to establish a flight training program for women during World War II. Hard-pressed for pilots by mid-summer of 1942, General Arnold requested that Cochran return from England and put her women airforce pilots (WASP) plan into action.
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.
