City of Brownfield

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Brownfield, Texas. County seat of Terry County.

And if you've ever wondered what it takes to build a town from scratch, well, pull up a little closer to the fire, because this one starts with a pasture and a hundred feet of wire. That's right. When developers W.

G. Hardin and A. F.

Small showed up in 1903, they didn't have a surveyor's team or a fancy set of instruments. What they had was exactly one hundred feet of wire and, apparently, more nerve than most men are issued at birth. They stretched that wire across what was then open pasture and laid out a whole town on this site.

Streets, lots, the whole picture. And those streets? Named for the first settlers.

So if your family came early enough, you might have ended up with a street to your name. The town itself carries the name of the Brownfield family, prominent property owners and ranchers in the area. Founded, named, and measured all in the same year.

Then came 1904, and things got interesting. Brownfield wasn't alone out on that prairie. A rival town called Gomez had its eye on the same prize: the county seat.

The two towns went head to head, and Brownfield won, but only by a slim margin. Close enough to make some folks sweat through their hatbands, I'd imagine. By then the town had a general store, a hotel, and a school.

The bones of a real place. Today Brownfield's economy rests on farming and oil. Two things that'll keep a West Texas town standing long after the wire is gone.

What the marker says

County seat of Terry County. Founded in 1903 by developers W. G. Hardin and A. F. Small. Named for Brownfield family, prominent property owners and ranchers in the area. Measuring with only 100 feet of wire, Hardin and Small laid out a town on this site (then a pasture) and offered a lot to each voter in county. Streets (named for first settlers) were designated and a general store, hotel, and school were built. In 1904 the town vied with Gomez for county seat, winning by slim margin. Present economy is based on farming and oil. (1971)