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CRANE, TEXASCrane County
Seat, West Texas
Hwys 385 and 329
32 miles South of Odessa
21 miles North of McCamey
Population: 3,191 (2000) 3,533 (1990)
Area
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Crane
street scene with watertower, 1940s
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
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Both
county and city were named after Wm. Carey Crane who was a
founder of the old Baylor University in Independence,
Texas.
Crane County
was formed in 1887 from land that had once been Tom Green County.
The county was finally organized in 1927. In 1890 there were a reported
15 people who had coffee with the census enumerator. |
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Patriotic mural in Crane
Photo courtesy James Rowland, 2004 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Even
as Crane entered the 20th Century, the cattle and sheep outnumbered
the people by a ratio of 420 to 1.
That meant 51 people and 21,400 animals in 1900.
They got a post office in 1908. By 1918 they started building roads
and by 1920 there were only 37 people left in the county.
The oil boom
changed that. The same regional boom that brought in the towns of
Wink, McCamey,
Iraan, and
Notrees added an overnight
population of thousands of land speculators, workers and camp followers.
Mr. Ollin Columbus Kinnison* platted
a townsite and named the streets after his children.
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The
need for a courthouse was addressed in 1927 - the year the county
was organized. Other city amenities came as the oil sold. At one point
- water was so scarce that women sent their laundry to El
Paso by train.
The population reached 1,400 in 1940. It should be remembered that
1941 was the year that Texas' rural population was outnumbered by
its urban population. In Crane's case, the urban population always
outnumbered the rural.
Oil continues to be Crane's main revenue source. Farming has never
been big in Crane County and Cattle is a distant second source of
revenue.
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Crane High School
Photo courtesy James Rowland, 2004 |
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Crane
Police Station
Photo courtesy James Rowland, 2004 |
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Crane
City Limit
Photo courtesy James Rowland |
"Horsehead
Crossing of the Pecos"
7 miles South of
Crane on US 385 is a marker signifing the "Horsehead Crossing of the
Pecos". Although the crossing could not be pin-pointed due to flooding
and conditions, this is thought to be the vicinity.
The name stems from an abundance of horse and mule skulls found there.
The animals died from drinking too much water too fast. The crossing
wasn't used after the coming of the railroad, but before that it was
the only logical low-water crossing for miles. It was a crossing for
Indians, stagecoaches and cattleherds.
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Odessa
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A street
scene of Crane
Photo Courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
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Fire
trucks in Crane
Photos Courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
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Forwarding
scan of a matchbook cover in my collection of Texas memorabilia.
Does anyone remember Pat's Place, know when this business opened
and closed, or have a photo? - Tom KC, April 14, 2006
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