Deaf Smith County, Texas
Hereford is home to 13 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created August 21, 1876. Organized October 3, 1890. Named in honor of Erastus "Deaf" Smith, 1787-1837. Came to Texas in 1821. Rendered valuable service as a scout and spy during…
View on map ↗Brick with marble veneer and interior. Second marble courthouse built in U.S. Cost was $125,000. After hotly-contested bond issue election, Judge John Slaton and winners paraded Main Street behind the band. Recorded…
View on map ↗Hereford College opened 1902 as co-educational public school in newly-built three-story main building. By 1903, college was transferred to Christian Church for needed financial support. Renamed Add-Ran College. The next…
View on map ↗Hereford's "miracle water" was brought to national fame in 1941 when Dr. Edward Taylor, State Dental Officer, told the American Dental Association that tooth decay was almost unknown here. This ideal situation had been…
View on map ↗Hereford's mid-1913 equipment to fight fires. Hand-propelled, or (at a $5 bonus) hauled by the auto or horses of a bystander. Reel cost only $133, but in two months was discarded: a motor truck with ladders was bought.…
View on map ↗Here as in many Texas counties, ghost towns and ghost post offices outnumber living ones. La Plata (formerly Grenada) thrived as county seat and was a major stop on New Mexico-Amarillo Road, 1880s and 90s. Its 28 houses…
View on map ↗Established by the Mothers' Club, founded in 1909. Site, a 1910 gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Thomas, was improved with walks and shade trees. In 1934 the sponsor group changed its name to "The Pioneer Study Club." With…
View on map ↗A wind-driven machine for pumping water. Its use made gardening easier and led to irrigated farming on arid High Plains. With barbed wire, it enabled settlers and stockmen to penetrate region in 1870s. Town had name…
View on map ↗In 1901 Alabama-born E. B. Black (1866-1945) brought his family to Hereford from Cleburne, Texas. He opened a furniture store and became a prosperous merchant and rancher. In 1909 Black hired contractor Emmett…
View on map ↗Land developer S. S. Evants built this home in 1906. The following year Alex Thompson (1883-1956) bought the house and then sold it to his mother Jennie Thompson in 1908. Thompson, his wife Audrey (Argo), and their two…
View on map ↗(3.5 mi. S) A prisoner of war camp, used primarily for Italian soldiers, was in operation near this site during World War II. Known as the Hereford Military Reservation and Reception Center, it was first used in 1943…
View on map ↗Since its establishment in 1914 Saint Anthony's Catholic School has played a prominent role in preparing young students for advanced classwork. Initial classes were held in a former Deaf Smith County courthouse…
View on map ↗In 1898, a relocated frame schoolhouse served students of Hereford. New buildings came as attendance increased, and in 1916 the school board converted the former Hereford Christian College building into a high school.…
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