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OLNEY, TEXAS
Young
County, Texas Panhandle
/ Central
Texas North
33°22'5"N 98°45'29"W (33.368181, -98.758012)
Highways 132, 114, 251, 79
FMs 210 and 3329
13 Miles N of Newcastle
26 Miles NW of Graham the county seat
18 Miles S of Archer
City
45 Miles S of Wichita
Falls
ZIP code 76374
Area code 940
Population: 3,007 (2020)
3,285 (2010) 3,396 (2000) 3,519 (1990)
Book Hotel Here › Graham
Hotels |
Downtown Olney
mural depicting oil boom
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, 2007 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The community is
said to be named after Grover Cleveland's Secretary of State or some
incident of local interest that occurred at Olney, Illinois.
The town was settled around 1880 as a central location for local ranchers
who held their annual round-up. In 1889 two acres of land were donated
for a townsite, and soon after a post office was granted and a store
was built.
In 1891 the community established a school and the Wichita Falls and
Southern Railway arrived in 1909. The railroad caused the town to
shift its location one mile north. In 1910 Olney became a two railroad
town with the arrival of the Gulf, Texas and Western railroad.
Oil was discovered in 1923 and Olney became a boom town when huge
reserves were found in '24. Three refineries opened and the population
of Olney swelled to 5,000 by 1930. Railroad service was cut off during
WWII and never
reestablished. A
tornado struck the community in 1951 causing extensive damage,
injuring 75 and killing two. |
Olney, Texas
Landmarks
Photo Gallery |
Olney Bank architectural
detail
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, 2007 |
"Ruth Oran
Smith Moser front row 3rd, big bow in her hair."
Click on image to enlarge
Photo courtesy Martha Moser-Seddon |
Old Olney School
Class Photos
"I'm sending
a couple of my grandma's school pictures. She was born 1907 in Chico
but I believe they were schooled in Olney.
Photos Circa 1913-1916. Guessing from date of birth of Martha Moser-Seddon"
- Martha Moser-Seddon, , January 24, 2018 |
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Agricultural
Aircraft and Leland Snow by Ken Rudine
In 1951 a Texan named Leland Snow began designing an airplane for
the purpose of aerial applications on crops... In 1958 he moved
his company to Olney, Texas. There he began building his aircraft
models S-2A and S-2B... . In 1977 the first turbine engine model
Air Tractor was produced... In 2008 there was a celebration honoring
Leland Snow’s 50th year in Olney Texas.
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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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