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STANTON,
TEXAS
Martin County Seat,
Texas Panhandle
I-20 and Hwy 137
100 miles S of Lubbock
18 miles NE of Midland
21 miles SW of Big Spring
Population: 2,556 (2000)
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The
Catholic Cemetery
Photo courtesy Jason Penney |
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Downtown
Stanton
Photo
courtesy of Jason Penney |
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History
in a Pecan Shell
Originally called Grelton, Stanton was just a spot next to
the Texas and Pacific Railroad tracks when it came through
in 1881.
German Catholics
from Kansas and Arkansas were the first settlers. They imported
the lumber which was nailed together to form the first buildings.
The town was
renamed Marienfeld in 1885.
The First Catholic Church in West Texas was built in 1881 and the
next year the first school in West Texas was opened.
A monastery and a convent were built and while the nuns opened
schools and hospitals in Pecos
and Fort
Stockton, the priests would take the train to Big
Spring and Midland
to say Mass.
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The Sisters
of Mercy Convent
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The
Convent
Photo courtesy Jason Penney |
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The
Convent, back
Photo courtesy Jason Penney |
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The
historical marker
Photo courtesy Jason Penney |
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After severe
droughts, the agricultural dreams of the Germans were dashed
and they were forced to move to greener pastures (in this case Louisiana
pastures).
As the population that named the town Marienfeld
dwindled, the town was renamed again (1890) by the schoolchildren
of the town who chose (presumably with some help from faculty)
Stanton after Lincoln's Secretary of War and Supreme Court Justice
Edwin McMasters Stanton.
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The Jail
The old jail has served a variety of jobs, including museum and
library. Originally part of the old courthouse, the holding
cells were kept after the courthouse was razed and the (then new)
jail built around them
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The
Stanton Jail
Photo courtesy Jason Penney |
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A 1938 tornado
hit the town and closed the Catholic academy, which had already
been suffering low enrollment. A 1950 flood did considerable,
but not catastrophic damage. Shortly thereafter oil was discovered
and the economy recovered.
In 1977, the Texas
and Pacific Railroad discontinued service 96 years after arriving
in Grelton.
Martin County
Courthouse >
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Midland
Hotels |
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Stanton's
Texas Theater
Photo
courtesy Jason Penney |
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Stanton
Texas Forum
Anyone
wishing to share history, stories or photos of Stanton, please contact
us.
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Your Hotel Here & Save
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Spring Hotels
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©
John Troesser
Our thanks again to West Texas Photographer
Jason Penney for these Christmas, 2000 photos of Stanton. Information
for the Stanton Town Page comes from the Handbook of Texas Online
and Courthouses of Texas by Mavis P. Kelsey and Donald H. Dyal, Texas
A & M University Press. |
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