Texas Tech University. Southwest Collection

This is an artificial collection of photographs of Burkburnett, Texas. It is located in northeastern Wichita County, Burkburnett, Texas, was founded in 1867. Originally known as Nesterville, then Gilbert, the town was finally named for rancher Samuel Burk Burnett in 1907. The first oil well began production in 1912. By 1918, the town was a major oil producer and became one of the boomtowns of the 1920s.

From the guide to the Burkburnett, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 26 E1., 1900-1936, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Eagle Pass Army Camp, ten miles north of Eagle Pass in Maverick County, Texas, was an advanced single-engine flying school during World War II. It was activated in 1942 and discontinued in 1945.

From the guide to the Eagle Pass Army Camp Photograph Collection, SWCPC 131., 1881-1918, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Breckenridge, Texas, is the county seat of Stephens County. Established in 1885, Breckenridge was the center for an oil boom from 1918 to 1921. Presently, its industry centers around machine shops and cotton gins.

From the guide to the Breckenridge, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 13 E1-E4., 1898-1925, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Thurber, Texas, was a coal mining town owned and operated by the Texas & Pacific Coal Company to provide fuel for the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, which had no affiliation to the coal company. Approximately twenty nationalities were represented among the immigrant laborers whose "old county" customs contrasted sharply with the native Texas culture.

From the guide to the Thurber, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 209., 1889-1940 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Cloudcroft, New Mexico, is a small resort town east of Alamogordo, New Mexico. It is surrounded by the Sacramento Mountain and Capitan Mountain ranges.

From the guide to the Cloudcroft, New Mexico, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 126., 1922 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

John Getz and his family were residents of Farwell, Texas. He collected early promotional materials on the development of Parmer County, Texas.

From the guide to the Farwell-Parmer County, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 360., 1910-1911, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Brewster County is the largest county in Texas. Its mountains and canyons have a distinctive geology, plant and animal life. It was organized in 1887. The economic base is Sul Ross University, ranching, tourism, government services, retirement developments, and hunting leases.

From the guide to the Brewster County, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 41., 1888-1967, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Electra, Texas, originally known as Beaver, was established in western Wichita County as a trading post for the Comanches under Quanah Parker in 1889. In 1900, W.T. Waggoner convinced the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad to build a switch in Beaver, and the town was renamed to honor his daughter, Electra. Testing for oil in 1911 set off a boom that peaked at 8,288,000 barrels in 1914. The Electra wells turned out over a million barrels per year into the 1950s.

From the guide to the Electra, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 47 E1., 1900-1930, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Brownwood, Texas, is the county seat of Brown County. Their economy is based on varied industries, distribution centers, and retail trade centers.

From the guide to the Brownwood, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 22 E13., 1980-1990, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

John A. Kay came to Wichita Falls in 1911 as a geologist for Continental Oil Company to work in the recently discovered fields in Wichita County. In 1930, he opened his own business as a consulting geologist for the area.

From the guide to the John Kay Photograph Collection, SWCPC 145., 1918, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Bennett Freeman served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. He also worked for surveying and drilling companies near Ranger, Texas during the oil boom of the 1920s.

From the guide to the Bennett Freeman Photograph Collection, SWCPC 353 E1-E3., 1919-1920s, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Fort Davis, Texas, is the county seat of Jeff Davis County. The precursor of the town was a rough-and-tumble settlement formed just southwest of the military post of Fort Davis. Fort Davis, at the eastern base of the Davis Mountains, was founded 1854. The army post guarded the Trans-Pecos segment of the southern route to California, as the main fort in a line of forts stretching from San Antonio to El Paso. It played a significant role in the defense and development of West Texas. By the early 1890s the army abandoned the fort and the town, which had been a crossroads for travelers and hunters declined in population. Because of its mild climate and location, the town has become a resort during the twentieth century.

From the guide to the Fort Davis, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 159 E1., 1920, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

After the opening of Texas Technological College, the library started gathering manuscript material. As the potential of the collection became obvious, it was separated into an entity of its own. The archives, named the Southwest Collection, had its first official location in the basement of what was then the West Texas Museum (now called Holden Hall). Over the years, the collection grew in size and reputation. In 1963, the collection was moved from its home of 8 years and placed in the basement of the library (now the Math building). Once again the archives outgrew its location. In 1997, the Southwest Collection moved into its new building, located just north of the main Library. The archives was renamed the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library.

From the guide to the Southwest Collection Records, U 165. 1., 1952-1997, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

From the guide to the Southwest Collection Records, U 165. 2., 1947-1981 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

From the guide to the Southwest Collection Records, U 165. 9., 1928-2002, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Burkburnett is located in north central Wichita County. In 1912, oil was discovered west of town. Large strikes drew thousands of people to the area until the boom died out in the late 1920s. In 1941, Sheppard Air Force Base was established nearby. By 1989 the population had grown to over 11,000 and the economy was based on the production of chemical products, plastics, and machinery.

From the guide to the Burkburnett, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 26., 1910-1940, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Founded in 1903, Artesia, New Mexico, boasted a system of water works based on clear artesian wells. In the 1920s, extensive oil fields developed east of Artesia. Today, oil production and refining, agriculture, and ranching support the community.

From the guide to the Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 93 E2., 1900-1930, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Cherokee County, named for the Cherokee Indians, is located in central East Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas Online, Cherokee County is "bordered on the north by Smith County, on the east by Rusk and Nacogdoches counties, on the south by Angelina County, and on the west by Anderson and Houston counties." The area is rich in natural resources such as oil, abundant water, natural gas and timber.

From the guide to the Colliton Discovery Well Photograph Collection, SWCPC 270-E1(A-B)., 1923-1925, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Texas Tech University has an active agricultural academic and field program in the South Plains region of Texas.

From the guide to the Farming Miscellaneous Photograph Collection, SWCPC 340 E1-E5., 1910-1962, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

This is an artificial collection of photographs of Brown County, Texas. Organized in 1856, Brown County covers the Pecan Bayou valley in central Texas. Brownwood, the largest city, became the county seat in 1857. For many years, Brownwood was a cotton buying center. Today, local industry depends on livestock and agriculture.

From the guide to the Brown County, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 22 E1-E13., 1880-1938 and 1956-1972, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Located in southwest Texas, Crockett County was organized in 1891 and named for Alamo hero, Davy Crockett. Ozona is the county seat. The economy is based on ranching, petroleum, and hunting leases.

From the guide to the Crockett County, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 75., 1892-1967, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

John D. Alexander grew up on the Screw Bean Ranch near Orla, Texas. In 1918, he went to work in the oil fields following the oil boom as a pipeliner, roughneck and, finally, drilling superintendent. He retired to Carlsbad, New Mexico in 1961.

From the guide to the John D. Alexander Photograph Collection, SWCPC 384., 1908-1978, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Named for H. K. Thurber, a friend of the founders of the Texas and Pacific Coal Company, Thurber, Texas was a company town. Coal was discovered by W. W. Johnson (1886) who sold out to the Texas and Pacific Coal Company (1888) who, in turn, sold the coal to the Texas and Pacific Railroad. The coal company also produced a high quality paving brick. At its peak, Thurber had a population of 10,000, including immigrant workers of at least 13 different nationalities. Every structure within the city limits was company owned. The stores, schools, churches and all medical care were provided to the workers by the company as a part of their salary. The advancement of oil burning locomotives cut the demand for coal, and the last coal mine in the area closed in 1931. Only four structures remain in the city today.

From the guide to the Thurber, Texas Collection, S 1076. 1., 1897-1986 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Fort Concho, in San Angelo, Texas, was one of a number of military posts built to establish law and order in West Texas as settlers began to arrive after the Civil War. It was located at the juncture of the Main and North Concho rivers and named after the rivers which converge in San Angelo to form the Concho. Soldiers from Fort Concho scouted and mapped large portions of West Texas. As the town of San Angelo began to form across the river from Fort Concho, civilian law enforcement improved and the army abandoned the fort on June 20, 1889. In the fort was designated a National Historic Landmark. Besides museum exhibits and living history programs, Fort Concho hosts a variety of community activities.

From the guide to the Fort Concho, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 144., 1868-1972, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Located ten miles west of Stephenville, Texas in west central Erath County, Lingleville developed following the establishment of a nearby grocery store by R. P. Campbell in 1884. Alliance College was established by the Farmer's Alliance. Now a ghost town, Thurber, Texas, once boasted a population of maybe 10,000, and was the principal bituminous coal mining town in Texas. The townsite is seventy-five miles west of Fort Worth, Texas, in Erath County. Coal deposits were discovered by William Whipple Johnson, an engineer for the Texas and Pacific Railway in the mid-1880s.

From the guide to the Erath County, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 209., 1888-1998, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

In 1881, Cisco, Texas, was established at the junction of the Texas and Pacific railroad and the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas in northwestern Eastland county. After suffering several setbacks, such as the cyclone that struck the town in 1893, Cisco became part of the oil boom at Ranger in 1917. The town remains a shipping point for petroleum.

From the guide to the Cisco, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 156., 1918-1920, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

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From the guide to the Abilene, Texas, 1918 Oil Boom Days Photograph Collection, SWCPC 9(B) E2., 1918-1919, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Located in southeastern Eastland County, Texas, Desdemona was originally settled in 1860. In September 1918, the Joe Duke discovery well created an oil boom that saw Desdemona covered with a sea of oil rigs. The Desdemona field was drilled by numerous small operators. Crowded conditions led to increased lawlessness and by 1920, the Texas Rangers had to intervene to reestablish order. Oil production quickly peaked at 7,375,825 barrels in 1919.

From the guide to the Desdemona, Texas, Photograph Collection, SWCPC 43 E1-E8., 1917-1966, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)