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G.W. Smith House
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, July 2009 |
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 the cotton gin remains.
Visitors to Mount Blanco should take precautions for aggressive
bees in the region.
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Mount Blanco
Community
Landmarks & Attractions
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G.W. Smith
Home
Built 1914 for
eldest son of Hank Smith, the first settler of South Plains of West
Texas. Constructed of shiplap with three rooms on each side of hall.
Veneered with rock from nearby canyon in 1936.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967. |
G.W. Smith Home
historical marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, July 2009 |
Historical Marker
The Mount Blanco
Community
Named for tall
white mesa that was a landmark on Mackenzie
Trail, surveyed in 1871 by U.S. Cavalry scouting for Indians on
the frontier. Near the mesa in 1877, frontiersman Henry Clay Smith
(1836-1912) built a two-story stone house for speculators Charles
Tasker of Philadelphia and Lord Jamison of Ireland. This was the first
permanent homestead in South Plains Region. Smith also brought in
cattle for Tasker, and had to accept house as his compensation when
Tasker failed in business. In the fall of 1877, Smith moved his family
here; nearest neighbor was 50 miles east. The home became a way-station
for prospectors, and Smith encouraged many settlers such as Paris
Cox, the Quaker founder of Estacado
(22 miles West).
Mount Blanco Post Office opened in September 1879, with Mrs. Smith
(Elizabeth Boyle, 1848-1925) as postmaster. In 1886, Smith led in
organizing Crosby County.
This area prospered, and by 1890 had a school. Farming largely replaced
ranching after 1900. Post office closed in 1916. School consolidated
with Crosbyton in 1949. Smith's stone
house (1 mile North) burned in 1952. Village of Mount Blanco (4 miles
northeast) lost its last store about 1956, its church in 1965. Only
a cotton gin and clubhouse now (1975) remain as public buildings in
Mount Blanco.
1975 |
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Mount Blanco
Community historical marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, July 2009 |
The 1936 Centennial
Monument
In Memory of Henry Clay Smith
On the Pioneer
Museum grounds in Crosbyton |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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