Historical Markers of Texas
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Hale County
Browse historical markers in Hale County.
Hale County Map
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B
363
Bellview Community and School
from Plainview, take FM 789 southeast about 9 miles
Much of this rural community's early social and religious history is closely associated with its schoolhouses. Area residents built their first schoolhouse ...
433
Blasingame Home
909 El Paso
When J.W. Pipkin constructed this Colonial Revival residence in 1910, Plainview was experiencing a period of dramatic economic development as a railroad ...
C
784
Center Plains Community
from Cotton Center, take FM 179 North four miles.
Early settlers to Hale County referred to the territory west of Hale Center (9 mi. E) as the Center Plains community. A cemetery and a schoolhouse, ...
959
Colonel C. C. Slaughter
Columbia Street and US 70, Courthouse Square, Plainview
First native-born cattle king of Texas. Eldest of several rancher brothers. At age 12 "made a hand" on East Texas ranch of father, Rev. Geo. W. Slaughter. ...
D
1228
Discovery Site of the Plainview Point
5th Street and Joliet Street, City Park, Plainview
The first of this distinctive type of early man dart point was found by 15-year-old Val Keene Whitacre in 1941, in a caliche quarry on Running Water ...
1270
Dr. James Henry Wayland
Wayland College, 7th and Quincy Street, Plainview.
James H. Wayland, born in Missouri, decided to be a physician after he almost lost a foot at 16 in an accident. He studied at Kentucky School of ...
E
1403
Edwin Lowden Lowe
Plainview Cemetery - 100 South Joliet Street, Plainview
One of co-founders, City of Plainview. Born in Mississippi. In Louisiana, married Virginia Archer. Studied law, joined Bar in Arkansas, served 1879-81 ...
1477
Emma Grigsby Meharg
100 South Joliet Street, Plainview Cemetery
Born in Lynnville, Tenn.; moved to Texas with parents, Jasper N. and Mary A. (Calvert) Grigsby, 1883. Graduated from college, became a teacher, married ...
F
23358
Finney Field
IH-27 southbound access road, W side 0.4 mi. S of FM 788
In the late 1930s, area aviation enthusiasts organized Plainview Flying Club, acquiring a two-seat Aeronca Chief with a 65-horsepower engine. Their ...
1637
First Baptist Church of Hale Center
First Baptist Church Hale Center, S side W. 6th St. between Ave. H and Ave. I
Organized religion in Hale County can be traced to 1883, when Methodist minister Horatio Graves and his family became the first permanent settlers ...
1664
First Baptist Church of Plainview
725 Austin St
Organized on November 23, 1890, Plainview Baptist Church began with eleven charter members. The new congregation called the Rev. I.B. Kimbrough as ...
1949
Former Office Site of Texas Land & Development Company
7th and Broadway
Unique agricultural pioneer. Founded in 1912 by J.W. Grant and M.D. Henderson, who obtained Eastern and European capital to develop 65,000 acres ...
G
2112
Gates Hall
Wayland Baptist University, Gates Hall, at E entrance facing Quincy St. (SH 194)
Original administration building of Wayland Baptist College. Site (in town founded in 1887) given by J.H. Wayland, a physician settling here 1891. ...
2269
Green Machinery Co., Inc.
1201 E 5th St
Founded by George Emmett Green (1875-1960), whose work revolutionized Texas agriculture. Mechanically-gifted, Green mastered water well development, ...
H
2327
Hackberry Groves
2nd Street and FM 400, City Park, Plainview
At this site in early days stood the South Plains' most significant trees-- twin hackberry groves, on 1870s trail used by buffalo hunters, surveyors, ...
2331
Hale County
1 mile south on U.S. 87 Business Route at city limits in roadside park
Formed from Young and Bexar territories; created August 21, 1876. Organized August 13, 1888. Named in Honor of John C. Hale, a lieutenant who fell ...
2334
Halfway
from Plainview, take US 70 West about 14 miles, near intersection of US 70 and FM 179
Settlers came to this area seeking abundant grass, fertile soil, and water. This site, acquired by R. L. Hooper (1872-1952) and his wife Ada Mae ...
2369
Happy Union
from Plainview, take FM 400 about 10 miles south
Attracted by the availability of inexpensive land and a healthful climate, the families of J. T. Matsler, S. M. Pearson, W. P. Long, J. H. Calvert, ...
J
2663
J. Frank Norfleet
Hale Center City Park, NE corner Main and E. Cleveland streets
(1865 - 1967) Son of a rancher and Texas Ranger, J. Frank Norfleet was born in Lampasas County. With little schooling, he grew up working on ranches. ...
L
3014
Lakeview School and Community
FM 54, N side, 8 mi. W of Petersburg, 0.1 mi. W of CR V. Marker missing as of Jan. 2007. Map dot approximate.
The Lakeview School traces its roots to two area pioneer schools. Ivey School (approximately 5.5 mi. NE) opened in 1892. Classes were held in a three-room ...
3017
Lamar School
located at intersection of FM 400 with Date Street and 5th Street, Plainview
The first Plainview schoolhouse was built in 1887, the year the town was founded. Located northwest of this site, it was a half-dugout sod building ...
3081
Liberty Community and Finney Switch
US 87, 4 mi. N of Plainview
In 1887 Joseph B. Leach and his brothers, John and Dee, immigrated to this area from Liberty, Kentucky. Joseph filed on a 160-acre homestead and ...
M
3445
Montgomery Ward Building
building burned; marker in storage
This commercial structure was built in 1929 for the Plainview Montgomery Ward store. Located on land owned by J.H. Slaton, Guy Jacob and others, ...
N
3597
Nils Akeson
W. 6th St., N side between Ave. G and Ave. H
(1866 - 1944) In the late 1880s Swedish born Nils Akeson moved from Iowa to this sparsely populated area of north Texas. As an officer of the Hale ...
P
3960
Pearce Chapel-Strip Cemetery
from Abernathy, take US 87 North about 2 miles, then take FM 54 East about 4.25 miles, then follow local road south, about .25 miles, veer west then, south again .5 miles
The only landmark of the Strip Community, named for its location on a 1.5 by 15-mile strip of land opened to homesteaders in the 1890s. William Houston ...
4000
Petersburg
intersection of FM 54 and Spur 789, West City Limits, Petersburg
First established, Sept. 9, 1891, as a rural post office about 5 miles northeast, at the home of Capt. Zack Peters, whose wife, Margaret, was postmaster. ...
17175
Plainview Cemetery and Memorial Park
100 South Joliet St.
PLAINVIEW CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL PARK ESTABLISHED c. 1909 HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2011
4043
Plainview Daily Herald
820 Broadway
Originally known as the "Hale County Hesperian," this newspaper was established in the late 1880s by D.B. Hill and John Davidson. In 1891 John Minor ...
4112
Prairieview Community
FM 1612, 1 mi. N of FM 788. Marker missing as of Jan. 2007. Map dot approximate.
The Prairieview Community traces its history to a rural settlement which began in the late 19th century. Miss Alice Rosser opened a school in a brush ...
R
4179
Ranching and Farming in Hale County
from Hale Center, take I-27 South about .5 miles to road side marker
Pioneer ranchers began to settle Hale County in the early 1880s. Land was plentiful and cheap, but life was hard. Many settlers lived in dugouts. ...
4206
Rawleigh Porteus Smyth
Plainview Cemetery
(August 4, 1855 - February 2, 1941) An Austin native and graduate of the Texas Military Institute, R.P. Smyth became a Brigadier General after Spanish ...
4393
Running Water Community
from Plainview, take Highway 194 about 7.5 miles northwest to junction of Highway 194, FM 788 and FM 1424
Attracted by abundant water from Running Water Draw, J. W. and T. W. Morrison established a ranch in 1881 with headquarters about ten miles west ...
S
4598
Schick Opera House
Weksler Building, at intersection of Ash Street and Seventh Street, Plainview
Businessman Levi Schick (1855-1936) launched the Schick Opera House in this building on Oct. 11, 1909. A traveling opera company opened the facility ...
24349
Seth Ward Cemetery
marker pending
marker pending
4778
Site of Epworth
Hale Center City Park, NE corner Main and E. Cleveland streets
(1883 - 1892) (1 1/4 miles southwest) First settlement in county. Established as a post office in 1884 by Horatio Graves of New York, a Methodist ...
4821
Site of Lake Plainview
1200 North Broadway, Plainview
The City of Plainview, founded in the 1880s, sought agricultural supremacy for its trade area. Civic leaders pioneered irrigated farming in 1911 ...
5429
Slaton Well
US 70 (Olton Road), north side between Ebeling Road and Sun Road. Marker reported missing Oct. 2018.
The Plainview Commercial Club, led by President J. O. Wyckoff, saw the potential of irrigation during a 1910 visit to wells in New Mexico. Local ...
4970
Snyder Commnuity
from Plainview, take FM 400 south about 5 mi.
Born in Illinois, Mennonite minister and farmer Peter B. Snyder (1864-1948) was living in Minnesota when a search for inexpensive land led him to ...
5142
Struve Family Businesses
318 Main St
Fritz W. Struve (1877-1959) came here from Burnet County in 1912, 3 years after city was founded, started a grocery store; was joined by brother ...
T
5389
The Old MacKenzie Trail
Courthouse Grounds, Columbia Street and US 70, Plainview
General Ranald Slidell MacKenzie The Old MacKenzie Trail by "Larry" Chittendon Stretching onward toward the sunset, o'er prairie, hill and vale, ...
5424
The Santa Fe Railroad in Plainview
1200 N Broadway
Operating in the Texas Panhandle since 1886, the Santa Fe Railroad about 1900 laid plans to extend its line into the rich agricultural domain of ...
5431
The Stant Rhea Stage Stand
From Hale Center, 6.5 mi. S on I-27, E side, northbound access road between CR 245 and FM 37
(6 miles east, on private property) Early settlers in this area kept in touch with the world by picking up their mail at railheads. Federal mail ...
5480
Three Miles Northeast to Site of Seth Ward College
1001 W 7th
Original buildings erected in 1906-07. The school opened September 18, 1907, as Central Plains College and Conservatory of Music, with Dr. L.L. Gladney ...
5518
Town of Abernathy
City Hall, US 87, Abernathy
Founded when Santa Fe Railroad was extended from Plainview to Lubbock, 1909. Named for Monroe G. Abernathy (1868-1962), treasurer of South Plains ...
W
5674
W. J. "Jeff" Williams
Plainview Cemetery, 100 South Joliet Street, Plainview
Born in Johnson County, Texas, Jeff Williams came to Hale County in 1896. Largely self-taught, he began surveying in 1902 and worked on the XIT Ranch ...