Town of Amherst

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the town of Amherst, out there in Lamb County. Now, every town on the High Plains has got an origin story, and Amherst's is a good one. It starts in 1913, when this stretch of West Texas was still very much cattle country.

That's when a shipping point went in on the Pecos and Northern Texas Railroad, sitting right at the edge of the 300,000-acre Springlake Ranch. Three hundred thousand acres. Let that number roll around in your head for a minute.

Springlake Ranch had been established back in 1902 by a man named W.E. Halsell, known around these parts as Colonel Bill, born in 1850. He ran the operation alongside his son Ewing Halsell, born in 1877.

Together, the Halsells had built something enormous out here on the plains. Now, according to local tradition, that shipping point got its name from Amherst College, up in Massachusetts, the alma mater of one of the railway officials. A New England college lending its name to a West Texas cattle stop.

The High Plains have always had a flair for the unexpected. For a decade, the railroad point just served the ranch. Then 1923 came along, and the whole economy of the High Plains began to shift.

Ranching was giving way to farming, and new settlers were pourin in. The Halsells read the moment. They divided much of their land and started selling it off to the newcomers at twenty-five dollars an acre.

They set aside land right at the railroad depot for a town, and they donated lots for a school and for churches. The first permanent building to go up was the Amherst Hotel, built by the Halsell Land Company for prospective buyers and visitors. It wasn't just a place to sleep.

It had space for a bank, a general store, and an office all under one roof. For years, that hotel was the most popular stopping point between Clovis, New Mexico, and Lubbock, Texas. A long stretch of lonesome road, and right in the middle of it, the Amherst Hotel.

The town got moving fast after that. The first general store opened in 1923. A post office followed in 1924.

The First National Bank opened its doors in 1925. And somewhere in there the town got its first newspaper, called the Argus. By 1930, Amherst had 964 people calling it home.

By the time this marker was put together in 1972, that number had settled to 835, and the economy had long since found its footing in cotton and grain, hog raising and cattle feeding. Not bad for a place that started out as a cattle-shipping point on a railroad line, named, if tradition holds, after a college in Massachusetts that most of its residents have probably never visited. Some towns are built on vision.

Some are built on timing. Amherst, out on the Lamb County plains, seems to have had a healthy dose of both.

What the marker says

Began in 1913 as a cattle-shipping point on Pecos & Northern Texas Railroad. Served the 300,000-acre Springlake Ranch, which was established in 1902 by W.E. "Colonel Bill" Halsell (1850-1934) and his son Ewing Halsell (1877-1965). According to local tradition the shipping point was named for Amherst College, Mass., alma mater of one of the railway officials. When, in 1923, the economy of the High Plains began to switch from ranching to farming, the Halsells divided much of their land to sell to the influx of new settlers. Farms could be bought for $25 an acre. They set aside land at the railroad depot for a town and donated lots for a school and churches. First permanent building was the Amherst Hotel, built by Halsell Land Company for prospective buyers and visitors. It also had space for a bank, general store, and office. For years it was the most popular hotel between Clovis, N.M., and Lubbock, Tex. The first general store was opened in 1923, a post office in 1924, and the First National Bank in 1925. The town's first newspaper was the "Argus". By 1930 Amherst had a population of 964. Today (1972) citizens number 835 and the economy is based on cotton and grain, hog raising and cattle feeding. (1972)