DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, right out here on the Rolling Plains. Now, you might drive through Spur, Texas and think, well, this is just a quiet stretch of Dickens County. But pull over a minute, because something happened out here that reached a whole lot farther than the county line — farther, really, than Texas itself.
Back in 1909, the Texas Legislature authorized seven agricultural experiment stations across the state. Seven. The idea was to give agricultural scientists a place to work — real facilities, real land — so they could dig into the specific problems that plagued farmers and ranchers in their particular corner of Texas.
And one of those seven stations landed right here. It was called the Rolling Plains Experiment Station, officially Substation No. 7, and it opened at this very site in December of 1909. Now, the land it sat on?
That came from the S. M. Swenson and Sons Land and Cattle Company.
Big outfit. They provided the ground, and the scientists got to work. And work they did.
One of the things they developed out here was a soil and water conservation program built around a system of terracing they called — and I love this — "syrup pan." You heard me right. Syrup pan terracing. The system was designed to make full use of rainfall and diverted water, and the results weren't modest about it.
Vastly improved crop yields. On dry Rolling Plains soil. That's not a small thing.
But they weren't done. The researchers here also drafted legislation — right here at this station — that ultimately resulted in the establishment of the United States Soil Conservation Service. Let that land for a second.
A substation in Dickens County, Texas, shaped a federal agency. They also ran programs in brush control using chemical, mechanical, and biological methods, and conducted livestock breeding and nutrition experiments on top of all that. Now, the station did officially close in 1986.
The doors shut, the scientists moved on. But here's the thing the marker makes clear, and it's the kind of thing that deserves a slow nod: the results of the research conducted here are still influencing agricultural programs worldwide. Worldwide.
Not regionally. Not statewide. Worldwide.
Syrup pan terracing born in Dickens County. Federal conservation policy shaped on the Rolling Plains. Some places punch way above their weight, and Substation No. 7 was quietly one of them.
What the marker says
Authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1909, seven agricultural experiment stations were established in the state. Providing facilities for agricultural scientists to develop information and procedures and solutions to regional agricultural problems, the stations and their programs ultimately affected agricultural methodology far beyond regional boundaries. Known as the Rolling Plains Experiment Station or Substation No. 7, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at Spur opened at this site in December 1909. Land was provided by the S. M. Swenson and Sons Land and Cattle Company. Soil and water conservation programs were developed, including a system of terracing called "syrup pan." Providing full use of rainfall and diverted water, the system resulted in vastly improved crop yields. Other programs at this station included the drafting of legislation which resulted in the establishment of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service; brush control using chemical, mechanical, and biological methods; and livestock breeding and nutrition experiments. Although this station was officially closed in 1986, results of the research conducted here are still influencing agricultural programs worldwide. (1989)