| |
"Early
Newspaper
The Live Wire 1894-1896"
by Ray freeman, 2002
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
| Hale Center Physician
Ray Freeman and wife Marjorie were instrumental in starting the Hale Center Mural
Project. |
Early
automobile - "Downtown" mural detail
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
Locomitive - "Whistle Stop" mural detail
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
"Whistle Stop" mural signatures
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
 |
 |
 |
Historical
Marker Text ( I-27 about .5 miles South of Hale
Center)Ranching
and Farming in Hale CountyPioneer
ranchers began to settle Hale County in the early 1880s. Land was plentiful and
cheap, but life was hard. Many settlers lived in dugouts. Supplies were freighted
from Colorado City
until the railroad reached Amarillo.
Cattle roamed the free grazing
land until round-up time, when they were separated according to brands. Ranchers
earned extra income by selling buffalo bones for fertilizer, working on the railroad,
or hiring out to larger ranches. Many worked at the Circle Ranch of Col. C. C.
Slaughter, which covered land in four counties. Other significant ranches included
the Callahan, Barton, and Norfleet ranches. When the public land was gone and
free grazing ended, the larger ranches were divided into smaller tracts.
The
transition from ranching to
farming was difficult. By the early 20th century, wheat farming and dairy production
began to replace ranching operations.
The Dust Bowl and Depression of the 1930s brought new hardships. Soon after World
War II, however, a high percentage of the cultivated acreage in Hale County
was under irrigation. This allowed for crop diversification with high yields of
grain sorghum, corn,
soybeans, wheat, vegetables, and livestock production. Cotton
has become the leading cash crop.
(1985) |
 |
Wagon
- "Western Cuisine" mural detail
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
"Coronado
On The High Plains"
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 | |
|
