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SUNRAY, TEXAS
Moore County, Texas
Panhandle
36°1'9"N 101°49'26"W (36.019280, -101.823860)
FM 119 and FM 281
14 miles NE of Dumas the county seat
10 miles E of Cactus
64 miles N of Amarillo
via I-27
ZIP code 79086
Area code 806
Population: 1,812 Est. (2019)
1,926 (2010) 1,950 (2000) 1,729 (1990)
Book Hotel › Dumas
Hotels |
History in
a Pecan Shell
By Texas standards,
Sunray arrived late; materializing with the oil boom of 1929.
Named after the Sunray Oil Company in 1931, the town had previously
been known as Altman.
The town had a post office in 1930 and incorporated in 1937.
School students were bussed to Dumas
after their numbers overwhelmed the local school. The population has
remained between 1,500 and 2,000 from the 1950s until the present. |
Dumas-Sunray
Disaster - See Forum
Sunray Memorial Plaza
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Lewis A. Broxson
Grave Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
Durwood C. Lilley
Grave Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
Claude L. Emmett
Grave Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, August 2009 |
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The
Fireman's Monument on the Capitol
Grounds in Austin is inscribed
with Sunray's name from the July 29, 1956 fire.
See Forum
TE photo 10-04 |
Sunray Texas
Forum
Subject:
July 29, 1956. Sunray/Shamrock Refinery fire
I would like to add to my brother's, Randy Foshee, comments from
2006. I spent time with my Dad, Darce Foshee, a couple of years
ago talking about the fire. In my brother's comments he mentions
the men running when they realized the tank had blown. I asked Dad
what went through his mind at that moment. He had said the flames
were over their heads and coming down, and he thought, "Let's get
it over with." I've never felt more proud of my Dad than at that
moment. I thank God that I got to have that conversation with him.
The family of Ray Biles, one of Dad's best friends, wasn't afforded
that opportunity, and I grieve for them after all these years. Ray
lives in my memory because of the good times Dad has shared about
him. I just thought people should know more of the personal story
involved in "the moment". - Jamey Foshee, May 03, 2012
Subject:
Refinery Fire
I will never forget July 29, 1956. I was five years old. The fire
siren in Sunray blew and we could see the smoke from the refinery
north of Dumas. My mother was very
scared because my Dad was a volunteer fireman in Sunray. When the
phone rang later my mother started crying... Dad had been badly
burned when one of the tanks exploded. Later, Dad said he could
tell the tank was about to go and he and the men with him began
to run. There was a small berm nearby and Dad was able to get to
it. The flames went over Dad and burned the back of his head and
severely burned his arms... but he survived as did other men from
the Sunray volunteer fire department. Sadly, others from the small
community fire department did not. Even though I was very young
at the time, I remember some of the men who died that day and how
the whole town of Sunray mourned. Yes, they are heros.... from a
time and place where heroism really meant something. - Randy Foshee,
Canon City, Colorado, September 01, 2006
Subject:
Fire at Diamond Shamrock July 29, 1956 - 50 Year Memorial
There were 19 men killed by fire and explosion with 33 people injured.
Four men who were fatally injured were employees of the refinery,
and thus not included as members of either Dumas or Sunray Volunteer
Fire Departments.
At least one man (D.C. Lilley) had his name misspelled [on the monument].
His correctly spelled name is D.C. Lilley. As his son I have quite
a lot of info on this incident. There are monuments in Sunray and
Dumas and a 50 year memorial is planned for 2006 in Dumas.
The NYC firefighters were all headed upward on 9-11-01. They are
among heroes anywhere. Out of over 5 million people, 343 firefighters
died that day. On July 29, 1956, nine men ( 8 firefighters and 1
refinery employee) died among a town with a population of 1,240.
I consider them all heroes as well as the men who found them and
carried them to medical services. (We don't know who most of them
were.) They have my eternal thanks. The burial of most of these
men was at Lane Memorial Cemetery
located one mile N. of Sunray and approx 1/4 mile east on a (now
paved) FM road.
Four of these men were members of the First Baptist Church of Sunray.They
were Broxson, Emmett, D.C. Lilley, and Weir. Funerals were held
on July 30 and 31, 1956 with mourners lining both sides of the road
from the church to Lane Memorial Cemetery.
I lived northwest across from the church and watched these funerals.
My father's being the last. All funerals were closed casket from
this refinery fire and explosion.
My biggest regrets are my family not meeting my father.
Thanks for the article and time you've spent setting up this website.
May God Bless. - Larry Lilley, Retired Fire Dist. Chief of the Lubbock
Fire Department, Active duty: 27 years, 2 months, Lubbock,
Texas, March 19, 2006
Subject:
Firefighters of Sunray and Dumas
In 1957 the Shamrock Oil refinery just south of Sunray exploded
and burned. While fighting the fire, the ENTIRE voluteer fire departments
of Sunray and Dumas were killed in
the fire and subsequent explosions. The fire burned for days and
many area firefighters valliantly fought the inferno. The firefighters
from Amarillo Airforce Base arrived with their foam trucks and turned
the tide. My cousin Donald Thompson was a young volunteer fireman
from Dumas and he died at the nozzle that day. - Doug Thompson,
Garland, Texas - February 18, 2004
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