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Plains High
School
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, August 2005 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Originally settled
by a family named Miller, it wasn't until 1905 when W. J. Luna moved
his family to what is now Plains.
Mr. Luna was the founder of the town and took responsibility for naming
it. He donated land for both the Yoakum County Cemetery and the Plains
City Cemetery. Mary Luna, W.J.'s wife was the first interment. In
1906 Luna established a store and applied for a post office which
was soon granted.
With the organization of Yoakum
County in 1907, Plains was the overwhelming choice for county
seat.
A newspaper with the no-nonsense name of Yoakum County News
appeared in 1910 and twenty one years later a second newspaper arrived.
Mrs. Dovie Moreland was the editor publisher of the Yoakum County
Review. The paper later merged with the Plains Record in
the early 1960s.
Mrs. Marion McGinty and other bibliophiles collected a mobile "bookshelf"
for the citizens - moving the location to various homes to insure
circulation. The was the germ that evolved into a county library system.
Although the Sulphur Springs are now pumped dry, the creek which they
fed has been turned into a public park.
Without a railroad,
Plains was operating at a disadvantage, but when oil was discovered
in the mid 930s, it insured the town's survival.
From a meager population of 150 in the late 1930s, Plains tripled
its population in less than ten years. By 1980 it was around 1,500
- a figure that the town seems comfortable with.
A historical oddity in town is a 1903 "bonus shack" now operating
as a museum. Early settlers used similar buildings to establish their
claim to the land. |
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Plains welcome
sign
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, August 2005 |
Watermelon Round-Up
- Labor Day celebration, all the free melon you can eat.
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, August 2005 |
Plains' old
water tower
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, August 2005 |
| Native
Son
Bulldog
Turner by Clay Coppedge
Legendary pioneer football player Bulldog Turner, officially listed
as Clyde Douglas Turner... was born in Plains, Texas in 1919...
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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