Rankin

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The town of Rankin, out in Upton County, Texas. Let's talk about how a place gets a heartbeat.

It starts, often as not, with a name and a piece of ground. A man named F. E.

Rankin gave the site for a railway station, and from that gift, a community grew up around it. The town took his name. Now, when Upton County needed a county seat, in 1921, Rankin got the call.

That's the kind of town this was shaping up to be. But here's what I love about this marker. It doesn't just give you the civic facts and move on.

It tells you what that railway station actually was. It was the center of community life, over and above its business dealings. Think about that phrase for a second.

Over and above its business dealings. Because on Saturday nights, that place was the scene of cowboy dances. And come Sunday morning, folks gathered there for church services.

Same spot. Same building. Different kind of praying, depending on the night.

Now Rankin is home to the Rankin Museum, which is worth knowing. But the names that might make you sit up a little straighter around a campfire are these two: Toots Mansfield and Allen Holder. World champion rodeo stars, both of them, and both claimed by this town.

Rankin, Texas. County seat since 1921, built on a gift of land, a railway station that doubled as a dance hall and a sanctuary, and home to champions. That, friend, is a town that earned its marker.

What the marker says

Made Upton County Seat in 1921. Named for F. E. Rankin, who gave site for railway station-- the center of community life over and above its business dealings; was scene of cowboy dances on Saturday nights, church services on Sundays. Home of Rankin Museum and of world champion rodeo stars Toots Mansfield and Allen Holder. Erected by Upton County Historical Survey Committee.