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New Moore History
by Regina Crutcher
This information concerning New Moore was taken from interviews with
John Saleh, Ben Moore, Jr., John Crutcher, and the book "New Moore,
Texas, A Collection of Memories and Accounts" by Tom Hoskins and Margaret
McCullough.
In 1892, Samuel F. Singleton and Marion Virgil "Pap" Brownfield filed
on 16 sections of land along the present-day Lynn
and Terry County
lines for future cattle, railroad and township purposes. In 1896,
Singleton sent his son, Willie and a cook to the area to set up camp.
As with many business propositions, the men had different ideas about
the use of the land. The men decided to part ways and divided the
land. Singleton ended up with the Lynn
County territory and Brownfield,
the Terry County
land.
Singleton then purchased the nearby Slash L Ranch, consisting of 30
sections, in 1898. He put more than 5,000 head of cattle on the land.
However, the problem of drought and poor watering holes forced the
rancher to spend $19,000 to dig wells. The most successful and least
tainted water came from present day New Moore.
After Singleton's death in 1922, the family decided to sell the ranch.
W.McCarty Moore from Dallas
purchased approximately 17,000 acres and commissioned G.O. Newman
of Newman Bros. Land Development Co. in Fort
Worth to market his purchase. To prove the worth of the land the
company broke and planted 3,000 acres in cotton in 1924. Within the
year, the company sold inexpensive land of 13,240 acres to about 50
farmers who came largely from the Nolan
County area.
As families with the names of Rogers, Bevel, Crutcher, Strasner, Light,
Pharr, Parker, Fails, and Isreal came to western Lynn
County, the company dubbed the settled area New Moore in
honor of Newman and Moore.
In 1924, Moore built the Slash L School on the west side of the land
that later came to be known as the Marshall place, about five miles
southwest of New Moore. The school was to take care of the many children
of the new farmers. The school building was a crude, one-room structure,
without water or electricity. It had many windows to let in light,
according to Hoskins' New Moore, Texas account.
"Mesquite wood was used in the stove to warm the building. The room
held from five to seven grades with one teacher for all students.
Mrs. Ella Walker from Wolfe City was an early teacher there. Moore
personally paid her salary, as well as the salaries of other teachers
out of his own pocket as long as the school existed," according to
Hoskins.
Another school was authorized by Lynn County Commissioners later in
1924, a wooden structure built at New Moore, across from the Frank
Rogers home, which was the old Singleton Ranch headquarters. Both
the Slash L school and the New Moore school operated until they were
consolidated in 1928.
In the fall of 1928, another school was started one mile north of
New Moore. In 1929, the modern four-room brick building was opened
and the two other schools were closed and consolidated into the new
larger school.
Unfortunately this was also the first year of the depression so families
began to move to towns to seek employment. The population continued
to dwindle in subsequent years.
The New Moore school closed in 1953. The last business to close in
New Moore was the cotton gin, which ginned its last bale in 1986.
I hope I have been of some help. Thank you for considering my information.
- Regina Crutcher, June 22, 2003 |
Forum:
Subject: New Moore, Texas
I started first grade in the New Moore school and spent most of my
first 8 years in that school. I would like to make a correction to
your statement that it is in the panhandle of Texas. It is in fact
in the South Plains of Texas and people who live there would
be a little upset with you panhandle statement. I knew many people
there who were Rogers and and Crutcher. Thank you for publishing Regina
Crutcher's "New Moore History". I hope I have been of help. Thanks,
Joe Cooley, September 20, 2010 |
Lynn
County 1940s map
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
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