Roscoe, Nolan County
The Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railway was one of the country’s most successful short-line railroads. Chartered on Oct. 1, 1906, by General F. W. James and a group of Abilene businessmen, it ran from Roscoe to Snyder and Fluvanna, though in 1941 the Fluvanna line was discontinued. Once it was completed, Ed S. Hughes and H.O. Wooten took over the operation. Wooten saved it from a financial crisis by making deals with California produce shippers and with the Santa Fe and Texas & Pacific railroads to use the line as a link between them. In 1967, the company was sold to the Murchison brothers of Dallas and Roger Mize of Snyder. The deregulation of railroads in 1980 resulted in its closing in 1984. Nevertheless, it was a major factor in Roscoe’s settlement and growth. (2012)