History
Lone Wolf Community
(5 mi. N of Lone Wolf Mountain) Named for Kiowa chief whose tribe roamed area until 1870s. Community development when John Mahoney donated cemetery and school sites. A schoolhouse, erected 1901, was used also for church services. First teacher, W. F. Knowlton, had 35 pupils. Local post office was Winston (June 26, 1901-April 30, 1909). Mail later came by rural route. In 1906, D. C.
History
O. P. "Pack" Wolf
(1857-1927) Born in Burnet County. Served as city marshal of Snyder, 1906-1926. Brought organized law to railroad and land boom era. Also served as Special Texas Ranger. Donor of Wolf Park. Never backed down from fight; creed was "Law and Order". Recorded , 1968.
Transport
Old Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad Engine No. 5
A Baldwin locomotive of the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific--the railroad that reached here in 1908 with passenger and freight service, and contributed greatly to growth of city and area. This engine (a coal burner converted later to fuel oil) was built in 1920 in Philadelphia; placed in park in 1956. (1967)
History
Old Town of Camp Springs
Named for W. H. Camp, an early settler who built a dugout in 1878 at springs, one-half mile northwest of here. Petrified trees--one 300 feet tall--and bones of prehistoric animals have been found in area. Tools, pictographs in nearby cave indicate Indians camped here. Emigrant trail to California, blazed in 1849 by Army Captain R. B. Marcy, came through region. General Robert E.
History
Pyron, Texas
(Former Townsite .5 miles South) Once a thriving community. Named for Bob Pyron, a rancher who settled on nearby Buffalo Creek before 1890. School was first held in his cellar. In 1900 town was founded and in 1910 citizens moved 4 miles southeast to be on Santa Fe Railroad. Pyron grew to include 2-story hotel, Odd Fellows Hall, stores, and a cotton gin.
History
R. L. McMullan Home
Two-room house built in 1885 by Dr. A. O. Scarborough. Moved to present site in 1889; enlarged. Snyder's first telephone installed in house; first greenhouse (half-dugout with glass) built in yard. Bought by R. L. McMullan in 1902; preserved by family. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966
Transport
Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad Company
Established through efforts of Gen. F. W. James, Abilene banker and developer. Winfield S. James, a son, directed construction. While the James' were founders, H.O. Wooten, originally a Vice President and for decades owner of controlling interest, is credited with making the road a success. Daily services started in 1908 from Roscoe to Snyder and to Fluvanna in 1909.
Transport
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 residents backed C. W. Post of Garza County who gave $50,000 to attract the Santa Fe Railway, which was then planning a route between Lubbock and Coleman.
History
Scurry County
Formed from Young and Bexar territories; created August 21, 1876; organized June 28, 1884; named in honor of General William R. Scurry 1821-1864; member of the last Texas Congress; a distinguished officer in the Confederate Army; Snyder, the county seat. (1936)
History
Scurry County Courthouse Site and Building
Seat of justice for Scurry County, created 1876 and organized 1884. Local landholders--R. H. Allen, Fred Barnard, R. H. Looney, C. C. McGinnis, C. H. McGinnis, T. N. Nunn, W. H. Snyder and H. A. Travekes--donated lots in center of town for the courthouse square. Bonds for construction were purchased by local citizens.
History
Scurry County Jail of 1912
In 1911 the commissioners court of Scurry County presented plans for a new jail, since the two previous jail houses (built in 1884 and 1886) had proven insufficient for the county's needs. Land at this site was purchased with bond money, and the brick building was completed, using local labor, in 1912.
Industry & Science
Scurry County's Billionth Barrel of Oil
Petroleum discoveries in this county began in 1923, with recovery of oil in the San Andres Formation--eventually penetrated by over 2,000 shallow wells. In late 1948, rigs drilling deeper than 6,000 feet tapped the Canyon Reef Geological Formation. Four exploratory wells--Sun Oil Company's Schattel; Magnolia's Winston; Standard Oil Company of Texas Brown; Lion Oil Company's C. T.
Industry & Science
Scurry County's Canyon Reef Oil Field
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.
Civic & Local
Site of O.K. Wagon Yard
(Formerly on Jackass Avenue) Stopping place for travelers in early 1900s. Rented rooms and horse stalls for two bits (25 c) each. Provided blacksmithing and harness repair and kept a horse, Jersey Bull, and a "Missouri Jack" (donkey) as stud animals. With right contact here, a cowboy could also buy a jar of "White Lightning" (home-brewed whiskey).
History
Site of Sanitarium of Alonzo Orrin Scarborough (1860-1952) Pioneer Doctor
(1860-1952) Born in DeWitt County. Moved to Snyder in 1881 and worked on ranch as a horse trainer. Soon began "reading" medicine and started practice here in 1886. Received M.D. degree from the Kentucky School of Medicine in 1889. During his life-long career in Snyder, he made many calls on horseback, often traveling miles alone at night.
History
Site of Store of William Henry (Pete) Snyder
Adventurer, Civil War veteran, whose career included mining Colorado gold, building railroads in Kansas, hauling freight and buffalo hides in Texas; opened Snyder's first trading post, 1878. Built of lumber hauled from Ft. Worth in ox-wagons by Webb Brothers, Jim, Jeff and Ben. Store furnished supplies to buffalo hunters who infiltrated area, lived in dugouts on Deep Creek.
History
Site of The MacKenzie Trail
Following the Civil War, the Texas frontier pushed westward, giving rise to renewed hostilities as the white man once again invaded Indian lands. Foremost in the campaign to calm the frontier was Col. Ranald S. MacKenzie, who blazed trails from Ft. Griffin to the Plains and from Ft. Concho to Palo Duro Canyon in the Panhandle.
History
Snyder National Bank
In 1890 F. J. Grayum began the Snyder Bank, a private institution, in his drugstore on the south side of the square. Although Snyder had no railroad and goods were shipped on wagons from Colorado City (25 mi. S), W. A. Fuller, a wealthy rancher, saw the need for a national bank to encourage business growth. Fuller and his associates bought out Grayum's bank.
Architecture
Stanfield House, 1910
Occupied over 50 years by Mrs. W.B. Stanfield, who with her husband, a rancher, built the home along plans she suggested to a drifting architect from Ft. Worth. Fine features include oak woodwork, pine floors, leaded glass panels at entry. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1964.
History
T. J. Faught
(April 22, 1847-August 2, 1912) Settled in 1879 as a rancher in northeast Scurry County. In 1884, six months after county organization, the first sheriff resigned in disgust. Faught was appointed, serving remainder of that term plus three more. As sheriff, he never wore a gun. Faught was also a leading citizen of Snyder. He built a hall for the Masonic Lodge, of which he was a charter member.
History
The Block 97 Controversy
Notorious county land dispute arising from state practice of paying railroads in public land for trackage laid. Began in 1873 when Houston & Texas Central claimed, in error, some 300,000 acres of Block 97 which were in reserve for Texas & Pacific. Found in 1882, the error voided all deeds from H. & T.C. for lots in the reserve.
Nature
The Prairie Dog (Cynomys Ludovicianus)
Small burrowing rodent once symbolic of Old West. Estimates once placed Texas population in billions. Prairie dogs were so named because of their quick sharp barking and wagging tails. A vegetarian mammal related to the squirrel and ground hog, their homes are craftily built L-shaped burrows, 15 to 20 feet or more long; seldom connected with others in their "town".
History
The Press in Snyder
The "Scurry County Citizen", published by A. C. Wilmeth before 1887, was first of 8 different nameplates (under 39 owners) to print in Snyder. "Coming West", founded by Dick Lively, began publication in 1887, followed by the "News", "Western Light", "Signal", "Times", and "Times-Signal". All of these were county papers printed weekly, except for period in 1911 when "Signal" was published daily.
Architecture
Towle House
Dr. H. G. and Mary (Ruddick) Towle married in Colorado City in 1905, moving to Snyder to open a jewelry and optical store. The Towles bought this lot in 1908 and had this two-story brick house with full basement built in 1912. The house has colonial revival and craftsman influences, featuring brick walls, porch columns and railings, full-length porch, and dormer window.
History
Town of Knapp
Pioneers settling Bull Creek, 1888, where herds of bull buffalo grazed, called their community Bison. They founded the Baptist Church on the creek bank, the school in a nearby pasture. Bison was located on fringe of the ranch belonging to A. P. Bush and Benjamin Tillar, both prominent early Texas cattlemen. In 1890, name of town and post office (then housed in a dugout) became "Knapp" after the U.
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.
