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Deaf
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Cities and Towns
| Also see "Ghost Towns of Deaf Smith County." |
Unnumbered County Road BIPPUS, TEXAS. Bippus is on an unnumbered graded country road eleven miles south of the Oldham county line and eleven miles east of the New Mexico state line in northwestern Deaf Smith County. About 1910 several families purchased and fenced small tracts on a former XIT Ranch pasture within a ten-mile radius of each other. In 1914 George Bippus, a Russian immigrant farmer, donated land for a school building. Over the next few years the school was enlarged and used as a church and for other community functions. After the Bippus school district was consolidated with that of Walcott in 1950, the building was converted into a private farm home. A small area church was utilized off and on until 1978, when regular services were discontinued. A community clubhouse, however, was still used for various functions in 1985. Source: www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/hvbbc.html |
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BOOTLEG, TEXAS. Bootleg (Bootleg Corner) is in southwestern Deaf Smith County. There are two stories about the origin of its name. One associates the name with Moonshine Sheep Camp, where a moonshine still was once located; the campground was for cowboys and others traveling from La Plata to Endee, New Mexico. Another story has it that the community was named for a "bootleg school"–a small school building that was moved to various locations by agents selling land for the Capitol Syndicate (see XIT RANCH) so that prospective customers would believe there was a school near the land they were buying. The first real school in the area was probably that at Messenger, begun in 1909 by J. N. Messenger, a local farmer. It was near an old XIT Ranch campsite four miles west of Bootleg Corner and south of Garcia Lake. For that reason, the farming community around it is often called Garcia. During the 1930s Bootleg Corner experienced a boom of sorts after Louis Woodford converted the abandoned "bootleg school" building into a general store, which became a trading center for the western part of the county. In 1942 Woodford bought a rival store across the road that had been erected in 1936 by Phineas Short. Although these buildings were later torn down and hauled away, the Precinct 3 County Barn retains the name Bootleg Corner. In 1914 the Walcott school was built thirteen miles northwest of Hereford in the middle of the Walcott, Piatt, Arnold, and O'Brien ranches. It changed locations several times before 1950, when the original Walcott, Bippus, and Messenger districts were consolidated as the Walcott district and a modern brick school building was erected north of Bootleg Corner. The school is also used for various community functions, as is the Garcia community building, which is on the site of the old Messenger school. Source: www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/hrb79.html |
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Highway 60 and FM 809 DAWN, TEXAS is an unincorporated community in eastern Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It lies along FM 809 northeast of the city of Hereford, the county seat of Deaf Smith County. Its elevation is 3,802 feet (1,159 m). Although Dawn is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 79025; the ZCTA for ZIP Code 79025 had a population of 138 at the 2000 census. Dawn was founded by local rancher Jim Moore in 1887; it was named by a shopkeeper who bought the land two years later, but the reason for calling it "Dawn" is disputed. The community flourished in the 1890s, when it received its first schools and railroad line. The community's schools were consolidated with the Hereford district in 1963. The Bluegrass musicians Smokey Mayfield (1924-2008) and Thomas Edd Mayfield (1926-1958) were born in Dawn. A third Mayfield brother, Herbert Mayfield (1920-2008), lived in Dawn as a young boy until his family moved to Dimmitt, the seat of Castro County in 1931 Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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FORD, TEXAS. Ford is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 385 and Farm Road 2587 in northeastern Deaf Smith County. It is named for J. W. (John) Ford, who brought his family to his homestead in November 1901 and later served as county assessor. Several more homesteaders followed, and by 1905 a school had been established there. The school building also served as an interdenominational church and as a community center. After the school district was consolidated with that of Hereford in 1940, the building was seldom used until the 1950s, when the county bought it and remodeled it as a shop for maintaining road equipment. The local 4-H Club and Extension Homemakers also use it, and elections are held there as well. The 1983 county highway map showed three businesses at Ford. In 2000 the population was fifteen. Source: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/hrf33.html |
Hwy 840 off I - 40 GLENRIO, TEXAS (also Rock Island) is an unincorporated community in both Deaf Smith County, Texas, and Quay County, New Mexico, in the United States. Located on Route 66, it sits on the Texas/New Mexico state line. It includes the Glenrio Historic District which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Glenrio was the site of the "First Motel in Texas" / "Last Motel in Texas" and a post office that, along with other businesses, straddled the state line on U.S. Route 66 for many years until Interstate 40 bypassed the community in September, 1973. The town consists of the remains of the courtyard motel and related Texas Longhorn Cafe and Phillips 66 service station, the post office, a few other buildings including an old diner and adjacent Texaco service station, the old Route 66 roadbed and the former roadbed of the Rock Island Railroad whose tracks were removed in the 1980s. A few homes still exist in Glenrio. It sits just a few yards to the south of Interstate 40 at Texas Exit 0 on Business I-40, a road which turns into a local gravel road at the state line, which was the original Route 66 alignment between Glenrio and San Jon until 1952 and paved for many years until Quay County removed the paving due to maintenance costs. Mail was formerly served by a post office on the New Mexico side of the town. The community was founded in 1903 as a railroad siding on the Rock Island Railroad. Its name comes from Scots "glen" + Spanish "rio" (meaning "river") Glenrio Historic District is a 31.7-acre (12.8 ha) historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. At the time of the listing, the district included 12 contributing buildings and 4 other contributing structures. Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Highway 385 and Hwy 60 HEREFORD, TEXAS is a city in Deaf Smith County.. The population was 14,597 at the 2000 census. It is the only incorporated Hereford in the country. It is the county seat of Deaf Smith County Hereford's local water supply contains an unusually high level of naturally-occurring fluorine. Since fluoride is used to protect against tooth decay, Hereford earned the title "The Town Without a Toothache". High levels consumed by longtime or young residents results in staining, though It is also known as the Beef Capital of the World because of the large number of cattle fed in the area (the city is named for the Hereford breed). The local economy is affected significantly by growth in the dairy industry and ethanol industry. The area is known for its semi-arid climate with heavy farming and ranching throughout the area sustained by irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer and the saltier Santa Rosa Aquifer beneath it. Hereford is home to the headquarters of the Deaf Smith Electric Cooperative, which serves Deaf Smith, Castro, Parmer and Oldham Counties. A rich Western heritage includes the Las Escarbadas ranch house of the XIT Ranch located southwest of Hereford in Deaf Smith County. The restored historic structure can now be seen at the Texas Tech Ranching Heritage Center. Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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Joel - No other information available. |
Highway 385 MILO CENTER, TEXAS. Milo Center, on U.S. Highway 385 north of Hereford in east central Deaf Smith County, was originally named Ward, after J. F. Ward, an XIT Ranch cowhand who bought four sections of land eleven miles north of Hereford for fifty dollars a section in 1899. Later he added two more sections. The Wards were instrumental in getting the old La Plata schoolhouse moved to their community. A severe winter in 1903–04 caused the Wards to sell out and move to Dumas, but the community named for them remained. In 1926 a new two-room schoolhouse replaced the original structure, and it was used until the district was consolidated with that of Hereford in 1939. This consolidation ended the Ward community. In 1959, however, Pioneer Fertilizer established a business at the townsite. This business soon became a central meeting place for area farmers. The 1962 construction of an elevator by the Pitman firm further enhanced the location, and at a Labor Day barbecue in 1963 the crowd voted to name the site Milo Center. During the 1980s the elevator bore the name in large black letters, and there was a Milo Center telephone exchange. In 2000 the population was five. Source: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/MM/hrm68.html |
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SIMMS, TEXAS (Deaf Smith County). Simms is at the intersection of Farm roads 290 and 1412, in north central Deaf Smith County. In 1915 a one-room school was built on land owned by A. P. Simms. It remained in operation until 1934, when the Simms school was consolidated with that of Adrian in Oldham County. During the Dust Bowl and World War II, active home demonstration and 4-H clubs helped maintain the community. In 1950 a community house was erected near the old school site. By 1990 paved roads and other conveniences brought new life to Simms, and community organizations included a local women's club, a Lion's Club chapter, a Study-Craft Club, and a rural fire department. A store and two grain elevators also served the area farms. In 2000 the population was ten. Source: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/hrs42.html |
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WALCOTT, TEXAS - No other information available. |
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WESTWAY, TEXAS. Westway, on Farm Road 1058 in Deaf Smith County, was named by Judge Slaton of Hereford in 1923 for its location five miles west of the county seat. The first white settlement in the vicinity had been the Tierra Blanca camp of the XIT Ranch in 1898. A former XIT hand named Lewis Arnold traded his horse for a house and moved it to his section of land at the site of Westway. The eastern boundary line of the XIT practically halved the new settlement. In 1919 Tierra Blanca School was built, and in 1923 it was moved to another location at Westway on land given by Judge Slaton. This school was used as a community church until the building of a Baptist church in 1930. Four years later a Methodist church was built; it merged with the one at Hereford in 1961. In 1927 Phineas Short started a store, which later became a hamburger stand and cafe. The Westway school district was consolidated with the Hereford schools in 1947, and the former school building was converted into a community center. In 1984 the Baptist church and parsonage, the cafe, a fertilizer plant, an elevator, a roping arena, and about eight families made up the community. Westway was still listed as a community in 1990. The population was fifteen in 2000. Source: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/WW/hrw15.html |
