Earth

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the town of Earth, out in Lamb County. Now before anybody laid a fence line or broke a furrow out on the High Plains, this land belonged to movement. Nomadic Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians followed the buffalo from water hole to water hole across this region — and a favorite camp of theirs sat right at a spring, five miles to the west of where you're standin' now.

That spring wasn't just a good place to rest. In the 1890s, it was also home to the Springlake Headquarters of the XIT Ranch, one of the great cattle empires of the era. Then came William Electious Halsell — born 1850, died 1934 — who purchased the Springlake Division in 1901.

The very next year, he and his son Ewing Halsell, born 1877, died 1965, established the Mashed O Ranch. Three hundred thousand acres. Say that number out loud sometime when the land is flat and the sky is wide and you'll start to understand what it meant.

But the High Plains don't stay still. The economic base began shiftin' from ranching to farming, and large ranches all around were being sold for the plow. The Halsells saw the tide turning, and in 1923 they offered a portion of their land for sale to new settlers.

Word traveled. Fertile rangeland at reasonable prices drew farmers from the Midwest, where land prices were soaring, and folks came. By August 1924, the Halsell family had selected this very site for a new settlement.

They built a hotel, a cotton gin, and a school, and they gave the place a name — Fairlawn. Tidy name. Optimistic.

The kind of name a family picks when they're proud of what they've built. Then the post office opened in 1925, and that's where things got interesting. The names Fairlawn and Tulsa were both rejected.

Just like that, gone. And what came back in their place? Earth.

Marshall Kelley was appointed the first postmaster of a town called Earth, Texas, which — you have to admit — is a name that plants its boots firmly on the ground. Churches went up. Business enterprises followed.

Earth was incorporated in 1946, and it's been servin' an area rich in agricultural diversification ever since. From a buffalo trail to a spring camp, from an XIT headquarters to three hundred thousand acres of cattle country, from Fairlawn to Earth — this piece of the High Plains has been through some naming, some growing, and some changing. And it's still here, holdin' its ground.

What the marker says

Before white men entered this region in late 19th century, nomadic Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians followed the buffalo from water hole to water hole. A favorite Indian camp was at a spring (5 miles W), near which the Springlake Headquarters of the XIT Ranch were located in the 1890s. William Electious Halsell (1850-1934) purchased Springlake Division in 1901. Halsell and his son, Ewing Halsell (1877-1965), established the 300,000-acre Mashed O Ranch in 1902. When the economic base of the High Plains began to shift from ranching to farming, and other large ranches were being sold for the plow, the Halsells, in 1923, offered a portion of their land for sale to new settlers. Sale of fertile rangelands attracted many farmers from the Midwest, where land prices were soaring. The Halsell family selected this site for a new settlement in August 1924, built a hotel, cotton gin, and school, and named it "Fairlawn". When the post office opened in 1925, the names "Fairlawn" and "Tulsa" were rejected, and "Earth" chosen. Marshall Kelley was appointed first postmaster. Earth soon had several churches and business enterprises. Earth was incorporated in 1946, and continues to serve an area rich in agricultural diversification. (1973)