Welcome To KEY TO THE CITY's Page For
Spur
Dickens County, Texas
ZipCodes
79370
Page Contents for Spur, Texas
History & History-related items
Chamber of Commerce.
Community news
Statistics & Facts
The Texas state capital is Austin.
The population of Spur is approximately 1318 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 714 (1990), 437 (2010).
The amount of land area in Spur is 2.929 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers.
The distance from Spur to Washington DC is 1440 miles.
The distance to the Texas state capital is 287 miles. (as the crow flies)
Spur is positioned 33.47 degrees north of the equator and 100.85 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Location
on State Highway 70 sixty miles east of Lubbock in southern Dickens CountyReturn to Index
History & History Related Items
The name is from the Spur Ranch, which formerly included the townsite. E. P. Swenson and his associates purchased the Spur Ranch in 1907 and begansubdividing the land for sale to settlers. Charles Adam Jones, thenmanager of the Spur interest, played the leading role in persuadingDaniel Willard, head of the Burlington Railroad, to route a proposedrailway line northwest from Stamford through the future site of Spur.
On November 1, 1909, the first train of the Stamford andNorthwestern passed through the new depot at Spur as the townwas opened. Over 600 lots had been sold. The first businesses intown were the W. S. Campbell Mortuary and Furniture Store, whichstarted operation ten days after the town opened, and the SpurHardware and Furniture Company, managed by N. A. Baker. Otherearly business concerns included the Spur Inn, the furniture store ofC. Hogan and Company, the Love Dry Goods Store owned by C.L. Love, the Brazelton-Pryor Lumber Company managed by F. W.Jennings, and the first newspaper, the Texas Spur, published byOran McClure. The town was incorporated in 1911. The Spurschool district grew from a one-room schoolhouse, which started in1909. Professor St. John was the only teacher until the arrival ofMiss Reavis from Haskell. By the mid-1980s the school districtcomprised nearly half the county. Despite the fact that Spur has beensteadily losing businesses since reporting a high of 110 businesses in1940, the town remains the central shipping point in Dickens Countyfor cotton, wheat, and cattle. In 1980 Spur had forty-sevenbusinesses, including a bank, a newspaper, and a library. In addition,Texas A&M University operated an agricultural experimental stationjust outside of town. Spur had a population of 1,747 in 1970, 1,690in 1980, and 1,300 in 1990. It is the largest town in the county.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Fred Arrington, A History of Dickens County:Ranches and Rolling Plains (Quanah, Texas: Nortex, 1971). WilliamCurry Holden, The Espuela Land and Cattle Company: A Studyof a Foreign-Owned Ranch in Texas (Austin: Texas StateHistorical Association, 1970).
Edloe A. Jenkins
"SPUR, TX." The Handbook of Texas Online.
Return to Index
The founding of Spur
1909
The incorporation of Spur
1911
Spur Chamber
Spur Area Chamber of Commerce
601 W. Harris
Spur, Texas 79370
Phone: (806) 271-4149
Spur Community News
This Dickens County, Texas GenWeb Project website has information on Spur, Texas and other Texas communities, as well as much genealogical information on the area.
Spur Organizations
Spur Area Chamber of Commerce
601 W. Harris
Spur, Texas 79370
Phone: (806) 271-4149
Spur Libraries
Spur Public Library
402 N. Burlington Ave.
P.O. Box 282
Spur, Texas 79370
Phone: (806) 271-3714
Spur Schools
Spur Independent School District
Box 550
Spur, Texas 79370
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