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When it was first published in 1939, oil historian James A. Clark called this book, "the most valuable collection of historical, biographical, and statistical data on Texas oil ever assembled." That is still true today.

Found inside: "Proof of its existence was furnished on May 5, 1921, when the Gulf Production Company completed its S. B. Burnett well in Carson County for an initial production of 165 barrels per day from a total depth of . . . " Read more Look inside

A postcard craze gripped the nation from 1905 to 1920, as the rise of outdoor photography coincided with a wave of settlement and prosperity in Texas. Hundreds of people took up cameras, and photographers of note chose some of their best work for duplication as photo postcards—sold for a nickel and mailed for a penny to distant friends and relatives.

Found Inside: L. M. Cobbs Groom Texas ... who could guess that one of Cobbs' greatest photos would also signal the beginning of the end for the photographer's career. Born about 1889 in Texas, L. M. Cobbs was an aspiring photographer when he came . . . Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "On US 60, heading northeast from Amarillo, just before the town of Panhandle, sitting behind a protective fence, is Thomas Cree's "Little Tree," the first tree planted in the entire Texas Panhandle. This area was once a sea of grass. In 1888, a pioneer settler by the name of Thomas Cree lugged a sapling bois'darc from beyond the Cap Rock country and planted it by his dugout home ... " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "... when Thomas S. Bugbee established a ranch in the Panhandle in 1876, the buffalo could be shot from the font door of the Bugbee ranch house. For two years Bugbee had to hire men to drive the buffalo from his range in order to protect the grass for his cattle. ... By January 1888, in Carson County, the buffalo were gone, and "the sole occupants of the great plains were thousands of antelope, scattered " . . . Read more Look inside

An amazing life story filled with overwhelming adventure and powerful but real tales of stunning survival.

Found Inside: "Soon we came upon the tiny town of Groom, Texas about fifty miles east of Amarillo. We asked around for a physician explaining that all we needed was to get some stitches removed. Apparently there wasn't any people doctors available in Groom but there was a veterinarian. We found his office and . . . " Read more Look inside

Found inside: "... about the same time, the 106,000 acre Dixon Creek pasture in Carson County was added to the Burnett's range to make the position of the 6666 brand secure in the cattle world. The day of open free range had gone and extensive grass leases were about to be a thing of the past. The time had come when a man who wished to stay in the cattle business must . . . " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: It was a wide-open country and he didn't know what was ahead. When he heard a car coming toward him he put out his hand and caught a ride as far as Panhandle, Texas in Carson County, which he thought was a pretty sorry looking place . . . Read more

Found Inside: I worked and traveled all over the world, but I grew up in White Deer, Texas, up by Amarillo. When I was in high school, we traveled to Fort Worth to a track meet. The most interesting thing we did was ride the escalators in the department stores ... " Read more

C.C. Slaughter: Rancher, Banker, Baptist

Born during the infant years of the Texas Republic, C. C. Slaughter (1837–1919) participated in the development of the southwestern cattle industry from its pioneer stages to the modern era. Trail driver, Texas Ranger, banker, philanthropist, and cattleman, he was one of America’s most famous ranchers.

Found inside: "In April he persuaded Ferrel to sell the Carson County tract . . . Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "THE WHITE DEER POLISH COLONY by T. Lindsay Baker "The Polish community at White Deer is the only identifiable Polish settlement in the Texas Panhandle. The community was founded in the years immediately preceding World War I ..."  Learn more

Found Inside: "In 1899 the Reverend G. E. Morrison was the pastor of a church in the little village of Panhandle, Texas . His wife, who had been in good health, suddenly got sick and died . Shortly before her death she had complained of stomach cramps, but the cause of death was unknown. The congregation extended its sympathy to the pastor. Still the preacher's actions just before, and just after her death seemed too strange to some of his wife's close friend ... " Read more Look inside . . . for more like this please see Texas Church History

Found Inside: "... has not even yet surveyed its Carson County Lands, nor other wise spent money on them during the sixteen months of it ownership. The Subtown Company spends nothing to improve the towns. It merely takes advantage of or stimulates an existing town. Its every dollar of receipts goes to Kansas. Not a penny to develop or demonstrate values. It is not so very wild to compare their business to a bunko game and them to its steerers . . . " Read more Look inside

An exciting story of a Texas Ranger, adventurer, and immigration officer who became a symbol of his age while gambling with death in the wild frontier regions of Texas, Arizona, and Old and New Mexico.

Found inside: "will form a junction . . . in Carson County in Sept. ... In the midst of hard negotiations with him, Goodnight was contending with litigation brought by the State of Texas over leases and alleged illegal fencing; he was trying to lobby measures . . . Read more Look inside

Found inside: "Then in the spring of 1921 Gulf-Burnett #2 well, located a few miles north of the town of Panhandle on the 6666 Ranch in northern Carson County, was brought in. Although the well produced only 175 barrels of oil per day, its existence confirmed the general feeling that oil existed in the Panhandle. The story of that first oil discovery is also the story of local businessmen getting involved in the oil business  . . ." Read more Look inside

by Veva Vonter

Texas movies are as vast as the Lone Star State. This book offers readers the chance to visit Texas vicariously by viewing movies filmed in and about the state that reflect Texas history, cultures, and landscapes. Found inside: "Leap of Faith's (1992) revival tent was fabricated in Groom, a few miles east of Amarillo, where other scenes were shot, including the appearance of school buses labeled "Groom ISD   . . . " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "... best that we had.... I was a lot different player from Jim. Jim was a big guy. I was short and stocky.” Weatherall, 6'4", 230 pounds, lived on a ranch in West Texas and played football at White Deer High School after previously living in Norman ... " Read more Look inside

Always the groomsman, never the groom… It’s 1914, and Jake O’Farrell has gained an unusual reputation among the locals: He’s played the roles of groomsman and best man in all four of his older brothers’ weddings, but he’s never been able to find the woman to capture his heart. And now with the upcoming wedding of his best friend, Jake will become the last single man in the town of Groom. Anne Denning has made the difficult decision to move with her sisters to Texas, but a train derailment forces them to seek shelter in Groom, near Amarillo . . . Read more Look inside

Mr. James (known as Jimmy Wayne to his country music fans) is walking halfway across America to raise awareness for the thousands of foster children who desperately need our help. Ruby realizes that she’s not so very different from these kids: she’s scared and alone

Found Inside: "The small farming community just outside of White Deer, Texas, was under attack. Violent, whirling winds roared as rain slammed against the window in the dark office across the hallway. A bazillion bright bolts of lightning lit up the greenish-yellow sky. I could see flashes of the fat funnel spinning in my direction. The employees at the animal shelter had already escaped. They had run for cover in a nearby underground cellar ... " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "This one-story concrete calaboose is located in downtown White Deer, Texas. The date it was constructed is not known but the technique of poured-in-place concrete began in the early part of the twentieth century and was still until at least the 1940. This particular one-room calaboose is unique in that its 216-square-foot size is atypical of those with only a single room or cell ... " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: Golden Spread Motel, 1953

Pete Ford was a restless man, always looking for a new way to make a buck. He had a restaurant, a produce business, and a meat market. He was in farming, ranching and oil. Then in 1953, he discovered real estate and motels. He bought all the vacant property in Groom and hired an architect in Amarillo to design a motel with twenty-two attached rooms and the parking court . . ." Read more Look inside

by Carson County Square House Museum

Found Inside: "The story of the "mud and delays" at Groom Texas, spread up and down the old highway. The stretch of highway at Groom gained such notoriety that tourists were known to stop in town even in fair weather and ask, "When do we hit the terrible Jericho Gap?" To their chagrin, the response was, "You're in it right now!"  Finally, during the 1930s, Route 66 was recapped with loads of new chat and the surface was paved. ... " Read more Look inside

Resources:

West Texas History & Memories

Early Life in Texas County by County

Books about Texas People and Places

Amazing People from Texas County by County