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High
School in Iowa Park
1900s photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
History
in a Pecan Shell
The town, originally named Daggett Switch
was founded in 1888 alongside the tracks of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway
by D. C. and A. J. Kolp. When the Texas Panhandle Company brought in prospective
buyers from Iowa around 1888, it seemed that a change of name was in order. It
occured with the opening of the post office that year.
The town was officially
launched on a disasterous note. Shortly after incorporation, a good portion of
the town burned. It soon became a shipping point for cotton
and wheat. Hard times came in the early 1890s when a drought hit, but by the time
1900 arrived the town had a respectible population of nearly 800.
The
population fell during the mid teens but an oil discovery in 1918 righted the
dip. By 1926 the population was just over 2,000. A cement highway connecting Iowa
Park with Wichita Falls
was built in 1927. In the mid 30s Iowa Park managed to keep its populatiuon near
2,000 while most other towns declined.
Sheppard Air Force Base provided
a shot in the arm in the 1950s but by the end of the decade the population was
still hovering around the 2,100 mark. By the late 60s the population had swelled
to nearly 5,000 and increased further to 6,200 in the 70s. |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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