Halfway

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Halfway, Texas, out in Hale County. Now, every good story needs a name that does the work for you, and Halfway earns its keep. This community got its name because it stood exactly halfway between Olton and Plainview.

Simple as that, and somehow just right for a place that became a crossroads for everybody passing through. Settlers came to this stretch of the High Plains seeking abundant grass, fertile soil, and water. The kind of promise that makes a person point a wagon west and trust the horizon.

The site itself was acquired by R. L. Hooper, born in 1872, and his wife Ada Mae, born 1880, back in the 1890s.

And the Hoopers, it turns out, were going to leave their mark on nearly every chapter of this town's story. In those early days Halfway made a fine rest stop for ranchers, with a windmill for water and room for overnight camping. Early pioneers raised enough grain for their stock, and for a while that was enough.

Then the railroad arrived in Plainview in 1906, and irrigation systems began reshaping the land, and a vast agricultural region started to take shape across that broad flat country. Two years after that, in 1908, R. L.

Hooper provided six acres and helped build a schoolhouse for his seven children and the neighbors' children. Think about that. You want a school, you give the land, and you help swing the hammer.

In 1910 Hooper donated land again, this time for a man named Edgar Howard to build the first store, where Howard ran a post office and a wagon yard. A gathering place, a supply point, a reason to linger. Methodist and Baptist congregations met in that school building until they got around to erecting their own sanctuaries.

The post office closed in 1914, but Halfway wasn't done prospering. A blacksmith shop. A cotton gin.

The kind of businesses that tell you people are working the land and intending to stay. Then in 1917 R. L.

Hooper gave one more acre, this one for a burial ground. Three times that man gave land to build something lasting, and the community grew up around those gifts like roots around good water. Now, R.

L. Hooper passed in 1952, and Ada Mae in 1955. That same year of 1952, the Halfway School consolidated with Plainview as population declined, which is the kind of thing that can feel like an ending.

But Halfway held on. The community is still prospering, and located there today is the High Plains Research Foundation, working to aid farmers across a surrounding nineteen-county area. Halfway between two towns, and somehow at the center of something that matters.

What the marker says

Settlers came to this area seeking abundant grass, fertile soil, and water. This site, acquired by R. L. Hooper (1872-1952) and his wife Ada Mae (Hughley) (1880-1955) in the 1890s, received its name because it stood "halfway" between Olton and Plainview. It made a good rest stop for ranchers, with a windmill for water and overnight camping. Early pioneers raised enough grain for their stock. Arrival of the railroad in Plainview in 1906 and use of irrigation systems developed a vast agricultural region. In 1908 Hooper provided six acres and helped build a schoolhouse for his seven and the neighbors' children. Hooper donated land in 1910 for Edgar Howard to build the first store where he ran a post office and wagon yard. Methodist and Baptist congregations met in the school building until they erected sanctuaries. The post office closed in 1914 but the settlement boasted a blacksmith shop and a cotton gin. In 1917 Hooper gave one acre for a burial ground. Although population decline caused the Halfway School to consolidate with Plainview in 1952, the community is still prospering. Located here is the High Plains Research Foundation to aid farmers in the surrounding 19-county area. 1979