History
Butterfield Overland Stage Line
One of the longest stage routes ever established, the Southern Overland Mail Line (Butterfield Route) which provided semi-weekly service St. Louis to San Francisco, 1858-1861. Followed substantially the route of this highway through Ward County.
History
Christ The King Catholic Church_Sands Art Center
Area Catholics held religious services in their homes beginning in the mid-1920s until a donation of money and two lots here in 1938 enabled the congregation to construct this modestly detailed structure known as Christ the King Catholic Church. Although the building was expanded in 1954 the congregation relocated in 1961.
History
Holman House
Built about 1910 by Mr. and Mrs. Jas. R. Holman, 1898 settlers in Monahans. "Dad" Holman had a lumber and coal business, dray, and livery stable; he met daily trains and took home seekers of salesmen to the family hotel.
Industry & Science
Million Barrel Tank
A project of the Shell Oil Company, the construction of this oil storage tank in 1928 was the result of an oil boom in the area. Built to accommodate crude oil until it could be shipped to refineries, the tank was constructed by crews working on a 24-hour schedule using hand operated and horse-drawn equipment. Covering eight acres of land, the tank was able to hold over one million barrels of oil.
Nature
Monahans Sandhills State Park and Museum
In these shifting seas of sand, rich in stone evidences of primitive men, today's visitors find flint points, sandstone metates and manos of peoples who were here as early as 10,000 years ago and late as the 1870s. Bones of great mammoths and gigantic bison prove that this desert was in post-glacial times a land of lakes and tall grasses.
History
Old Ward County Bank
C. E. Pierce, an early advocate of irrigated agricultural lands for the Pecos River valley, had this building constructed in 1901 to house Ward County's first bank. Never incorporated, the bank lost money due to area crop failures and closed in 1907.
Military
Rattlesnake Bomber Base
Nicknamed for the numerous rattlesnake dens that were uncovered during its construction, Pyote Army Air Base was established in 1942 to train replacement crews for bombers during World War II. Located on 2,700 acres of University of Texas land, the base consisted of two 8,400-foot runways, five large hangars, and hundreds of buildings used to house 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers an 2,000 civilians.
Transport
Sand Hills Section House
Built 1903 by Texas & Pacific Rwy., for one of its track foremen who were stationed every 20 miles along road. Section houses in Permian Basin had water and human aid for men sand-bogged or stranded in storms. (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965.)
History
Site of First Ward County Courthouse
A Three-story red sandstone courthouse with a domed cupola was constructed here in 1893, one year after Barstow was elected first Ward County seat. The first elected officials to serve in the courthouse were R. D. Gage, co. judge; S. D. McWhorter, co. & dist. clerk; W. M. Ware, sheriff & tax collector; John W. Phillips, co. attorney; S. H. Parker, tax assessor; J. B. Carson, surveyor; J. J.
History
Vicinity of Early Public Library
The Republic of Texas set a cultural example by legislation for a state library in 1839. In 1874 cities were authorized to establish public libraries, but most were privately financed. A library near here about 1890 was gift of Miss Anna Gould, a daughter of railroad magnate Jay Gould, when she was visiting the stone quarry 4.5 miles east.
History
Ward County
Formed from Tom Green County; created February 26, 1887, organized March 29, 1892. Named in honor of Thomas William Ward, 1807-1872, at the storming of Bexar, December, 1835; Commissioner of the General Land Office, 1841-1848; United States consul at Panama, 1853-1856. Barstow, County Seat.
History
Water Improvement District No. 2 Office
Water Improvement District No. 2 office. Built 1896 by promoters of irrigated farming. Community Center. (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966.)
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.
