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SEMINOLE,
TEXASGaines County
Seat, Texas Panhandle
Hwy 385
40 miles S of Brownfield
63 miles N of Odessa
25 miles E of the New Mexico state line on Hwy 180
Population: about 7,000 |
"My
Grandfather, W.H. Brennand had a general Store in Seminole in 1909.
This is
a photo of main street Seminole at that time."
(Cick on photo for larger
image) Photo courtesy Ann Brennand Martin Williams |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Named after local Indian watering holes.
County named after signer of
the Texas Declaration of Independence James Gaines.
Seminole was made
the County Seat of Gaines County when it was organized in 1905. However Seagraves
was the county's most populated town until 1950.
The first bank was opened
in 1906. Bank robbers didn't find out about it until 1912. As soon as they did
they robbed it. In 1914 the population was about 300 people.
For five
years Seminole enjoyed a rail connection to Midland.
This proved unprofitable in 1923 and the railroad (The Midland and Northwestern)
suspended operations. The same year, Seminole had their worst fire, destroying
a good portion of downtown.
Several of our sources point out the size
of the Seminole School District. The Handbook of Texas says that
it served 370 students over an area of 753 square miles. The Texas State Travel
Guide says that it's 1,149 square miles, but has no figures on the number
of students.
Seminole Historical
Marker
Seminole Vintage Photos
Gaines
County Courthouse - next page |
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Main street Seminole.
"The Victorian House near the center of the picture was the Brennand Home."
- Ann Brennand Martin Williams |
| Brennand
Home
Photo courtesy Ann Brennand Martin Williams |
| "This
is a photo of my Aunt, Annie Lou Brennand in a car with the Ramsey Family. Taken
in front of the Stark Store about 1910" - Ann Brennand Martin Williams |
| "My
Grandfather, W. H. Brennand who had the store." - Ann Brennand Martin Williams
|
Seminole
Attractions
The Gaines County Museum is located at 700 Hobbs Highway which is the same
as US 180. Hours: Monday through Friday 8 to 5 with 12 to 1 reserved for lunch. |
Historical
Marker (Location: US 180 and Hwy 214)SEMINOLEFounded
and designated county seat in 1905, same year county was organized. Took name
from Seminole wells, Indian watering places to south and west. First store and
post office were established in 1905 by W. B. Austin of nearby Caput. The courthouse
was built in 1906. Seminole grew slowly, being chiefly important as a trading
center. Arrival of the Midland and Northwestern Railroad (1918) and development
of highways and oil resources all helped seed the town's later expansion. Today
it is a business center for farming and petroleum industry.
1970 |
1907
Gaines County postal map showing Seminole
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
The Razed Tower Theater
Photo
courtesy Billy Smith, July 1988 |
Seminole
Texas ForumSubject:
Seminole, Texas 1911: "...drovs of antilops and perriary chickens and heaps
of wolves and perriary dogs."
I live in Mayfield, Kentucky, but was raised in Northwest Tennessee not too
far from Reelfoot Lake. Recently I had to put my Dad in a nursing home and I have
been going through his possessions and I found two letters that were written to
my Great Grandmother, Hallie Carpenter Posey, in 1910 and 1911 from a friend in
Seminole, Texas. Evidently the friend had once lived in the area and had moved
to Seminole.
However, my Great Grandmother was from Scottsville, Ky and
it could have been that they were friends there. My Great Grandmother's folks
got burned out in the Scottsville area during the Civil War and I have records
showing her being in Northwest Tennessee around 1871. She was born in 1850 and
passed away at the age of 99 in 1949 there in Northwest Tennessee. Her friend,
Mrs. Lettie Abshure wrote some very long letters to her during this time and described
Seminole in detail. Please find [the following]
excerpts from the letters and let me know if anyone may know of her.
The excerpts are copied exactly as
written and provide some insight into the language, spelling and history of the
times. If I can be of further service, do not hesitate to contact me. -
Kenneth M. Smith, Mayfield, Kentucky, November 15, 2006. See excerpts
from the letters. | |
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