County of city: Lipscomb County
Location of city: Far NW corner of county; crossroads of TX-15 & TX-23
County far NE corner of Panhandle and Texas
Location of city hall: Main St. & 3rd St., Booker
Elevation: 2,831 ft (863 m)
Population: 1,587 (2013)
History in a Pecan Shell
"Borders don't mean much to Booker. Having crossed a state line - Booker's population is now flowing over the Lipscomb county line into Ochiltree County.
"La Kemp was formed about the time of Oklahoma statehood - 1909. Ten years later when the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway built from Shattuck, Oklahoma, to Spearman, Texas - the entire town moved seven miles across the state line. Few people outside of the counties involved noticed. One has to assume that the post office people in Washington had to be let in on this move.
"The town was platted shortly before the move in 1917 by Thomas C. Spearman who had Spearman, Texas named after him. The town was named for railroad engineer B. F. Booker. Booker was a civil engineer - not the man who drove the train.
"An early aerial view of the town shows a simple heart shape - the main road running down through the center of town and then splitting at the top with both roads curving back to the bottom.
"The population was 600 in 1920 and the town's infrastructure was finished just before the Great Depression. 386 people called Booker home in 1940.
"In 1949 oil exploration helped boost the economy to 1,500 - and oil and gas has helped keep the population at about that level." ~ Texas Escapes
LaKemp Oklahoma was platted in 1908 and a post office was established July 26, 1909. The town was named for David L. Kemp, however, since there was already an established Kemp City, LA was added to Kemp to create the name "LaKemp". This town prospered, and progressed for a span of ten years before it disappeared literally overnight.
In 1919 when a branch of the Santa Fe Railroad was built westward from Shattuck through the northern Texas Panhandle, it drew to it the Oklahoma towns and villages including LaKemp. When the town was moved to the railroad, it became Booker, Texas. Booker had been platted August 2, 1917 by an official of the Santa Fe Railway, Thomas C. Spearman, of Cook County, Illinois. The outlots lying adjacent to the town were platted December 10, 1917. This new town of Booker was named for another official of the Santa Fe Railroad. The railroad construction from Shattuck, Oklahoma, reached Follett, Texas, that same year. But the entry of the United States into World War I brought construction to a halt until early in 1919. The first train reached Booker on July 4, 1919
Several houses and businesses firms were already on the town site. Dr. I. T. Smith's house was said to be the first one moved to the new town. The post office was moved in May 1919. J. W. Bell was the Postmaster in LaKemp. He and his brother O. C. Bell were eager to move to Booker to carry on their real estate business. J. W. Bell had written to Washington earlier in the year for approval to move the Post Office to the new location, but had received no reply. One Sunday morning in mass O. C. Bell hired Jim Cordon and his team of horses to load up the Post Office, lock stock and barrel. On Monday, Booker had a Post Office. here was not very much at Booker at this time, but LaKemp was moving as quickly as it could. (One year from the date O. C. Bell moved the Post Office, word came from Washington authorizing the move.)
Soon a new structure to the area, a grain elevator was built. Now the grain raised on the rich plains of the surrounding area could swiftly marketed instead of making the long haul to Higgins or Glazier. (The old wagon trail to Higgins is still visible south east of Booker) With the swift transportation of their products and supplies assured, the town along the railroad to prospered and expanded for the next decade. Not until the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Dust Bowl Days did Booker fail to register a steady growth year by year.
As the town grew, the prime need was for utilities and better streets. The first electric system operated by Sam Lee was located at the corner of Second and Azalea Streets. The generator was powered by a one cylinder diesel engine. The monthly rate was determined by the number of light bulbs the customer used, and the lights were blinked just before they were turned off. At midnight in 1928 the first twenty-four hour service power line was constructed from Perryton. It has been enlarged several times.
The original city waterworks was a windmill, located in the alley behind the present Post Office at Second and Austin Streets. Each family had to haul its own water or purchase it from Pete Slough for twenty-five cents a barrel. In 1928 Booker voted a bond issue to drill a well, erected the present water tower and installed a sewer system. Since that date three additional wells have been drilled and a new sewer plant was completed in 1966.
A fire truck was purchased on March 18, 1929 and other fire fighting equipment was added in 1950 and again in 1960.
A gas franchise for a natural gas system was issued to William Horwitz of Fort Worth in 1929. On June 5, 1920 the Booker Telephone Company purchased a lot from Thomas C. Spearman and began telephone service. Probably the most welcome improvement of all was the construction of four clocks of concrete paving on Main Street in 1930. Several streets were later paved in 1943 and in 1947. Booker came out of the mud in 1967 when the entire town was paved.
~ Lipscomb County Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce