Agricultural Landscape Development Along US 77
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Environmental Affairs Division, Historical Studies Branch Historical Studies Report No. 2003-02 Agricultural Landscape Development Along US 277 By Martha Doty Freeman Agricultural Landscape Development Along US 277 A Case Study of the Cotton Industry in Haskell, Texas May 2003 Prepared For Environmental Affairs Division Historical Studies Report No. 2003-02 Prepared by Martha Doty Freeman as a sub-contractor for Prewitt and Associates, Inc. 2105 Donley Drive, Suite 400 Austin, Texas 78758 i Agricultural Landscape Development Along US 277 A Case Study of the Cotton Industry in Haskell, Texas Copyright © 2003 by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) All rights reserved. TxDOT owns all rights, title, and interest in and to all data and other information developed for this project. Brief passages from this publication may be reproduced without permission provided that credit is given to TxDOT and the author. Permission to reprint an entire chapter or section, photographs, illustrations, and maps must be obtained in advance from the Supervisor of the Historical Studies Branch, Environmental Affairs Division, Texas Department of Transportation, 118 East Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas, 78704. Copies of this publication have been deposited with the Texas State Library in compliance with the State Depository requirements. For further information on this and other TxDOT historical publications, please contact: Texas Department of Transportation Environmental Affairs Division Historical Studies Branch Bruce Jensen, Supervisor Historical Studies Report No. 2003-02 By Martha Doty Freeman ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................. vii INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................. 1 SETTING .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2 Geology, Climate, and Weather ........................................................................................... 4 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF A PORTION OF THE U.S. HIGHWAY 277 CORRIDOR .............. 6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 6 Historical Context ............................................................................................................... 7 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 43 A HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COTTON INDUSTRY AND COTTON-RELATED PROPERTIES IN HASKELL, HASKELL COUNTY, TEXAS ..................... 46 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................................. 73 APPENDIX: Population, Crop, and Livestock Data from Agricultural and Population Censuses for Wichita, Archer, Baylor, Knox, Haskell, Jones, and Taylor Counties .................................................. 87 INDEX .............................................................................................................................................. 103 COVER IMAGE: Sanborn Map, Haskell Oil Company Cotton Gin on block 15, Haskell (1908). iii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Routes of the Wichita Valley Railway (1890), Wichita Valley Railroad (1905–1906), and Abilene & Northern Railroad (1906) .............................................................................. 3 2. Natural regions of Texas ....................................................................................................... 5 3. Population in the project area, 1880–1960 ............................................................................ 13 4. Wheat production, 1879–1959 ................................................................................................ 14 5. Cotton production, 1879–1959 ............................................................................................... 15 6. Cattle production, 1879–1959 ................................................................................................ 16 7. Rainfall and cotton production record for the Haskell County region ................................. 20 8. Sanborn maps of portions of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, 1908 .................................... 21 9. Sanborn maps of portions of Haskell, Haskell County, Texas, 1908 .................................... 22 10. Sanborn maps of portions of Stamford, Jones County, Texas, 1908 ..................................... 23 11. Sanborn map of portion of Anson, Jones County, Texas, 1908 ............................................. 24 12. Sanborn maps of portions of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, 1916 .................................... 27 13. Sanborn maps of portions of Haskell, Haskell County, Texas, 1913 .................................... 29 14. Sanborn maps of portions of Stamford, Jones County, Texas, 1913 ..................................... 30 15. Sanborn map of portion of Anson, Jones County, Texas, 1914 ............................................. 31 16. Numbers of farms and acres in farms in the project area, 1880–1960 ................................ 32 17. Sanborn maps of portions of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, 1925 .................................... 33 18. Sanborn maps of portions of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, 1925 .................................... 34 19. Sanborn maps of portions of Munday, Knox County, Texas, 1925 ........................................ 35 20. Sanborn maps of portions of Haskell, Haskell County, Texas, 1921 .................................... 36 21. Sanborn map of portion of Anson, Jones County, Texas, 1922 ............................................. 37 22. Sanborn maps of portions of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, 1930 .................................... 38 23. Sanborn maps of portions of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, 1940 .................................... 39 24. Sanborn maps of portions of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, 1940 .................................... 40 25. Sanborn maps of portions of Munday, Knox County, Texas, 1942 ........................................ 41 26. Sanborn maps of portions of Munday, Knox County, Texas, 1942 ........................................ 42 27. Sanborn maps of portions of Haskell, Haskell County, Texas, 1931 .................................... 43 28. Sanborn maps of portions of Haskell, Haskell County, Texas, 1941 .................................... 44 29. Sanborn map of portion of Anson, Jones County, Texas, 1930 ............................................. 45 30. Sanborn map of portion of Anson, Jones County, Texas, 1939 ............................................. 45 31. Cotton-processing facilities in Haskell, Haskell County, Texas, ca. 1889–2002 ................. 56 32. Sanborn maps of the Haskell Oil Company Cotton Gin and W. T. McDaniel Cotton Gin ... 58 33. Sanborn maps of the Farmers Union Cotton Warehouse and McDaniel-Sanders Gin ........ 60 iv 34. Sanborn map of the Electric Gin Company on block 66 ....................................................... 62 35. Sanborn maps of the Farmer’s Co-Operative Society Gin No. 2 and The Farmers Gin Company and Haskell Electric Company Cotton Gins ......................................................... 65 36. Sanborn maps of the Harrison & Herrin [Herren] Gin and Wair & Dulaney Gin .............. 66 37. Sanborn maps of cotton processing facilities in Haskell, 1949 ............................................. 68 LIST OF TABLES 1. Population, crop, and livestock data from the 1879 agricultural and 1880 population censuses ............................................................................................................... 9 2. Population, crop, and livestock data from the 1889 agricultural and 1890 population censuses ............................................................................................................... 12 3. Cotton processing facilities in Haskell, Haskell County, Texas, ca. 1889–2002 ................. 49 4. Population, crop, and livestock data from the Agricultural and Population Censuses for Wichita, Archer, Baylor, Knox, Haskell, Jones, and Taylor Counties .......... 89 v ABSTRACT In February 2002, Prewitt and Associates, Inc., contracted with the Texas Department of Transportation, Environmental Affairs Division, to complete tasks describing the history and architectural resources of the U.S. Highway 277 Wichita Falls, to Abilene, Texas, corridor. Task 1 involved producing a broad overview of the corridor focusing on railroad construction and development of an agricultural landscape. The overview, constituting the first part of this report, provides a history of agriculture, transportation, and community development along the corridor, and identifies the forces at play in the development of the corridor that resulted in construction of specific properties. Task 2 involved