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Andrews County | Early Settlers of Andrews County | Original Townsite of Andrews | "C" Ranch House | Shafter Lake Cemetery | Shafter's Trail
Andrews County
Marker Title: Andrews County
Address: 12 mi. W on FM 87 in roadside park
City: Andrews
County: Andrews
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: From Andrews, take FM 87 West about 12 miles to roadside park.
Marker Text: Created August 21, 1876, organized May 11, 1910. Named for Richard Andrews killed at the Battle of Concepcion, October 28, 1835, the first man to fall in the Texas revolution. County seat, Andrews.
Early Settlers of Andrews County
Marker Title: Early Settlers of Andrews County
Address: 700 W. Broadway (SH 176)
City: Andrews
County: Andrews
Year Marker Erected: 1970
Marker Location: 700 W. Hwy 176 or Hwy. 87, (original town square), Andrews (at Chamber of Commerce)
Marker Text: One of last frontiers of Texas. Anglo settlement here lagged 60 years behind rest of state due to Indians and scarcity of water. In 1886 O. B. Holt became first man to file for county land. First settlers included the Cowden brothers and Peter Von Holebeke. In 1900 county had 87 people; it was finally organized in 1910. With windmill pumps and drift fences, ranching became feasible, although soil was so dry that a grazing cow crashed through a dugout roof into a bed one day. In 1930 the discovery of oil brought wealth and rewarded the tenacity of first pioneers. (1970)
Original Townsite of Andrews
Marker Title: Original Townsite of Andrews
Address: 700 W. Broadway (SH 176)
City: Andrews
County: Andrews
Year Marker Erected: 1970
Marker Location: 700 W. Broadway, Andrews (at Chamber of Commerce)
Marker Text: Founded when Andrews County was organized in 1910, on land owned by Robert Madison Means (b. 1878). With his father, J. S. Means, "Bob" Means began homesteading here in 1899 and organized an abstract company in 1909. When Andrews battled Shafter City to acquire county seat, Means donated lots to local cowboys so they could vote; helped win election. Married Atwood Wilder, 1910; was county clerk, 1918-1922; civic leader throughout life. Town has grown through many gifts of real estate and funds from Means, who retired after finding oil on his land in 1934. (1970)
"C" Ranch House
Marker Title: "C" Ranch House
Address: 10 mi. from SH 158/FM 1788 intersection; private access
City: Andrews
County: Andrews
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Location: From Andrews, 10 mi. from SH 158/FM 1788 intersection; private access.
Marker Text: First privately owned land in Midland area, purchased in 1883 by Nelson Morris of Chicago. Then known as the Chicago Ranch, it had the first wire fence and windmill in West Texas and world's largest herd of Black Angus cattle. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966.
Shafter Lake Cemetery
Marker Title: Shafter Lake Cemetery
Address: 7 mi. N on SH 385; 3.2 mi. W on FM 1967; 1.6 mi. S on CR NW 2001
City: Andrews
County: Andrews
Year Marker Erected: 1973
Marker Location: From Andrews, take SH 385 north 7 miles, then go west on FM 1967 about 3.2 miles. Go south on CR NW 2001 about 1.6 mile.
Marker Text: (1.5 miles West) Established just after turn of the century, on the south bank of Shafter Lake, and two miles south of the extinct settlement of Shafter Lake. Named for Colonel William R. Shafter (1835-1906), who led military expedition through region in 1875. It became the resting place for residents of remote ranches and travelers. Oldest legible gravestones are dated 1909; those of Joseph Snively and Mrs. Lucy Woolsey. Several remains have been removed by relatives; site now contains 12 known graves. The once neglected cemetery is cared for by Andrews County. (1973)
Shafter's Trail
Marker Title: Shafter's Trail
Address: On median at intersection of SW 1st and S. Main Sts.
City: Andrews
County: Andrews
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Marker Location: On median at corners of S. Main and 300 SW 1st St., Andrews
Marker Text: In 1875, Col. Wm. R. Shafter and a company of soldiers traveled from Fort Concho (where San Angelo is today) to Monument Springs, New Mexico, charting the arid plains, mapping all the vital watering places. This marker is in the only town of today through which Shafter's Trail passes. Here Col. Shafter, defending his party, chased Indians who ran 12 miles to the northwest. Thus he found the salt lake known ever after by his name. His expedition's maps of this formerly unknown land opened the Permian Basin to settlement. (1965).