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History in a Pecan
ShellRancher C.C.
Slaughter named a pasture on his huge ranch after the white faced cattle he grazed
there.
The community didn’t get started until the mid 1920s when it was
platted just a few miles from the present town of Pettit
(in neighboring Hockley County). The town-builder was Ira DeLoach, who lured potential
land buyers with a huge barbeque. Initial businesses included a hotel and grocery
and the community built a school.
In 1925 with the arrival of the South
Plains and Santa Fe Railway, the fledgling town moved to be alongside the tracks.
The new site had been the headquarters of the J.C. Whaley ranch. Whaley donated
land for the town while the railroad
built a depot and provided housing for selected employees.
Whaley also
was responsible for the community’s first school (also 1925). A post office opened
in the final days of 1925 and three years later a hard surface road was completed
– connecting Whiteface to Levelland.
The town reached its zenith in the early 1940s with 600 residents.
After
WWII a new brick high school
was constructed and a few years later Girlstown, U.S.A. moved to Whiteface from
its former home in Buffalo Gap, Texas.
The population declined through 1950s and 1960s, reaching 463 by 1980, increasing
slightly to 512 for the 1990 census and then declining to 465 by 2000.
(See
1940s Cochran County Vintage Map) |
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1940s
Cochran County map showing Whitefave
(Near Hockley County line)
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office | |
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