FIRST -- Company Town in the Permian Basin, US 67 at FM 1675, Texon TX
N 31° 13.884 W 101° 41.336
14R E 243876 N 3458364
All that remains of the Town of Texon is a historic oil well and this historic marker
Waymark Code: WMV0BE
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/01/2017
Views: 0
The state historic marker for the town of Texon along US 67, where there are no signs of the town of Texon, just the derrick of the Santa Rita No. 1 towering in the distance.
The marker is located along the US 67 at its intersection with FM 1675, about 14 miles west of Big Lake. The marker reads as follows:
"TOWN OF TEXON
Early travelers along many historic trails in this area found the region arid and inhospitable. Given (1876) to the University of Texas, the lands around this marker were leased to cattlemen. The Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad built its line here in 1911, but did little local hauling. Development came after Frank Pickrell and Haymon Krupp of Texon Oil and Land Company drilled for oil. Their driller, Carl Cromwell, brought in Santa Rita No. 1, the first gusher in the Permian Basin, on May 28, 1923.
Texon, first company town in the Permian Basin, was founded in 1924 by Big Lake Oil Company. Levi Smith, president of the firm, planned and supervised building of the town, and Ted Williams served as city manager for the company. Texon had stores, shops, a school, a physician, a dentist, a hospital, a theater, a park, a well-known baseball team, and many facilities for recreation. The post office opened in 1926. As many as 2,000 people lived here -- boosters claimed up to 10,000 -- manning the drilling, a gasoline plant, an oil treating plant, and other operations. Plymouth Oil Company absorbed Big Lake Oil Company, then sold out to Marathon Oil Company. The company town was closed in 1962. (1977)"
FIRST - Classification Variable: Place or Location
Date of FIRST: 05/28/1923
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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