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Downtown
Olney mural depicting oil boom
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, 2007 |
| History in
a Pecan Shell
The community is said to be named after Grover Cleveland's
Secretary of State or some incident of local interest that occurred at Olney,
Illinois.
The town was settled around 1880 as a central location for
local ranchers who held their annual round-up. In 1889 two acres of land were
donated for a townsite, and soon after a post office was granted and a store was
built.
In 1891 the community established a school and the Wichita Falls
and Southern Railway arrived in 1909. The railroad caused the town to shift its
location one mile north. In 1910 Olney became a two railroad town with the arrival
of the Gulf, Texas and Western railroad.
Oil was discovered in 1923 and Olney became a boom town when huge reserves were
found in '24. Three refineries opened and the population of Olney swelled to 5,000
by 1930. Railroad service was cut off during WWII
and never reestablished. A tornado struck the community in 1951 causing extensive
damage, injuring 75 and killing two. |
| | Agricultural
Aircraft and Leland Snow
by Ken Rudine
In 1951 a Texan named Leland Snow began designing an airplane
for the purpose of aerial applications on crops... In 1958 he moved his company
to Olney, Texas. There he began building his aircraft models S-2A and S-2B...
. In 1977 the first turbine engine model Air Tractor was produced... In 2008 there
was a celebration honoring Leland Snow’s 50th year in Olney Texas. |
Olney
Bank architectural detail
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, 2007 |
Olney
Bank building
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, 2007 | |
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