History in a
Pecan Shell
The community gets its name for a landmark feature on
the old Mackenzie Trail, established during an 1871 scouting and surveying expedition.
The landmark itself was actually a white mesa.
In the late 1870s near the
mesa a two story stone house was built – the first permanent homestead in the
South Plains.
Henry Clay Smith, the contractor, had built the house
for Lord Jamison of Ireland and Charles Tasker of Philadelphia. The two men were
hoping to become cattle barons, but when Tasker went bankrupt, the house became
Smith’s property.
Smith brought his family to the desolate location in 1877 and did his best to
encourage neighbors. The Mount Blanco post office opened in September 1879, with
Smith’s wife Elizabeth as postmistress.
Thanks to Smith’s efforts, the area was more or less thriving in the 1880s and
by 1890 the community had their own school.
Cattle
raising was replaced by farming but by 1916 the post office had closed its doors.
The stone house burned in the early 1950s. Mount Blanco’s store closed in the
mid 1950s and today only the cotton gin remains.
Visitors to Mount Blanco
should take precautions for aggressive bees in the region.
A
Visit to Mount Blanco Community: | 
