Lazbuddie, Parmer County
In 1902, Thomas Kelly bought 55,136 acres of the capitol syndicate’s Red Tower Camp (part of the original XIT Ranch). Kelly developed the Star Ranch with thirty windmills plus bunkhouses, corrals, outbuildings and a schoolhouse. The ranch was later subdivided to form smaller ranches and farms, and the Star Ranch School building moved here. In 1924, D. Luther (Laz) Green and Andrew (Buddie) Sherley opened the Lazbuddie commissary, which became the center of a rural community. In 1926-27, Lazbuddie gained a post office, Missionary Baptist Church, and new brick schoolhouse. A Methodist Church and community cemetery began in 1928, followed by businesses, gins and a grain elevator. Lazbuddie remains an active agricultural town on the Texas high plains.