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Cranes in mid-flight
near South Plains
Photo Courtesy Eric Blackwell, November 2006
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History in
a Pecan Shell
A
Moveable Post Office
In 1909 a post office was opened in the store of J.D. Childress five
miles east of present-day South Plains. Operating under the name of
Curlew the town had been a stagecoach stop. The post office
was reopened in the home of Mrs. J. W. Simms, which was about three
miles closer to the present South Plains and finally it moved to its
present location alongside the railroad when it arrived in the late
1920s.
Mr. Childress' original Curlew store moved to the railroad in 1929.
200 acres of land was subdivided into town lots in 1927 and about
this time South Plains opened its first hotel (burned in 1934).
South Plains became another casualty of the Great Depression and although
it had a population of 180 people as late as 1980, it had shrunk to
a mere 25 by 1990 - the same figure continues to be used on the official
state map for 2006. |
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Floyd
County 1907 postal map showing Curlew
N of Floydada
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
Floyd
County 1940s map showing South Plains
S of Silverton
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
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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