Friona—the Biggest Small Town in Texas—Still Seeking Newcomers 100 years later
by Darla Bracken
1923 view of town
Ever since the very beginning, promoters have sought to adequately describe our fair city. In a 1907-08 brochure, Friona was described as “a beautiful little town on the main line of the Sante Fe Railroad...located on gently rolling prairie, with an abundance of the purest water...with a fine hotel, livery stable, two general stores, mail, telegraph and express facilities...and a new bank...and a climate absolutely unsurpassed for healthfulness.”
In a map and prospectus of the George G. Wright Land Company, the main attraction was Land For Sale. Land that had been bought by the Syndicate for $1.50 per acre was now being sold for $22.50 per acre. Wright, a Kansas City Missouri real estate developer and agent, sponsored Home Seekers Excursion Trains twice monthly to the area.
Prospective settlers were greeted at the Depot and whisked off in touring cars to see the land. The Depot, at first just a box car, served until the building as we know it was built in 1908. The “Merry Widow”, a two- coach train, ran twice daily between Amarillo and Clovis, New Mexico.
In fact, Friona has never been without this public relations promotion. In 1914 the ‘publicity department’, a forerunner of the chamber of commerce although it was not called that, still was actively seeking more settlers to add to its 150 residents.
One of our early settlers, Floyd White Reeve, recalled being met in 1908 by “Daddy” Foster, who operated a coal shed and unofficially met and welcomed newcomers to the town. He gave them directions and assistance as they made their way to their new homes.
By 1909 Friona had two grocery stores—Crawford’s and one run by R. Overfelt, Mrs. Karr’s Boarding House, “Doc” Seamonds Livery Stable [& blacksmith?], a bank—First State Bank (& later Friona State Bank), a post office and a lumberyard—Rockwell Bros. A Pharmacy, owned by Friona’s first doctor E.E. Rohrabaugh, occupied the building which had been Parmer County’s first courthouse at Parmerton. The Union Congregational Church, a two-room wooden frame school house, a newspaper office—the Sentinel, the Flanders Photograph Gallery and the Friona Hotel with 21 rooms and modern, completed the town along with 10 to 12 residences. Andy Wentworth’s home was the highest structure in Friona at the time and had a privately owned water supply tower.
“Wonderful feed crops in the shock and golden wheat waving with the breeze on wide expanses of lush prairie in the future heart of America...” were terms use to help ‘settle up’ the sparsely populated Texas Panhandle. As land seekers arrived the first sight they would have seen was the home of John Saxine who operated the land company’s fleet of buggies, and later cars, to take the potential buyers to see the land for themselves. This was indeed a showplace with gardens and trees there at the end of Main, being perhaps the oldest structure left in Friona today.
Once the decision and purchase was made, the settlers set about moving to Friona. One of our early settlers and founding families was the Floyd White Reeve family who moved to Friona in 1909. With them they brought a train car load consisting of: “a registered Percheron stallion, a blue bull, “Topsy—a high bred racing trotter, 8 other horses, a dog, white Wyndotte chickens, household items including a leather davenport, both canned and dried fruits, a buggy and a complete set of farm tools suitable for Indiana, but [totally] unsuitable for farming in Texas.” Their piano, a prized possession of Ethel’s, was left behind in Indiana—but later replaced.
Friona voted to incorporate in 1928 in a 65 to 34 vote. John W. White, another early settler who said he had no use for the automobile and had never driven one, was elected Friona’s first mayor along with two city commissioners: J. A. Blackwell and Jesse M. Osborn. White also served as secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and as the first editor of the Friona Star in July 1925. Soon after the governing body was established, city economic development flourished with public water works, electricity, fire department, telephone and gas services soon following. At the time they even campaigned to move the county seat from Farwell to Friona, because they could envision the growth potential.
Indeed, we owe a debt of gratitude to these early settlers and merchants for their persistence and determination to succeed as do we also to our local businesses today, who are called upon so often to continue to support the local growth and development of our fair city. We still need our Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Committee, as vital components of a successful community. They have earned and deserve our support.
John Saxine Home at end of Main
Box Car Depot