Garden City, Texas
Encyclopedia
Garden City is a Census Designated Place in Glasscock County, Texas
, United States
. It lies near the center of the county, approximately 27 miles south of Big Spring
. Garden City serves as the Glasscock County seat
, and at the 2010 Census, had a population of 334. The ZIP code
is 79739.
was established in a general store, and a settlement began to develop in the area around the business. The post office was to be named after the store proprietor, a man by the name of Gardner. However, after a clerical error by officials in Washington, the postal franchise was granted under the name Garden City.
Garden City was the first Texas community platted by renowned surveyor
W. D. Twichell
, a Minnesota
native.
In 1893, Glasscock County was organized, and Garden City vied for the county seat
along with two other area communities, New California and Dixie. New California was ultimately chosen as the county seat; it was located in a less flood prone region and had a readily accessible water supply. However, at the time of the county's organization, New California consisted of a mere two dwellings and an equally sparse population, whereas Garden City boasted a school, the general store/post office, and several homes. In a unique compromise, most of Garden City's structures were placed on wheels and relocated to the New California site, and on April 5, 1893 the settlement was re-named Garden City. A two story stone courthouse was constructed later that same year, followed by a new, larger courthouse in 1910 (with the former building remaining in use as the Glasscock County Jail).
Between 1927 and 1943, Garden City's population fluctuated between 100 and 250, and several business and a newspaper (the Garden City Gazette), had come and gone. By 1945, Garden City had eight businesses and a population of 200. In the 1950s, oil was discovered nearby, creating a bit of a boom for the area. While Garden City's population did not experience the spike that other West Texas oil boom towns had seen (the population peaked at 300 in 1968, many years after the boom had ended), it did increase the community's commerce, with the number of operating businesses almost doubling from 1947 to 1968. By 1980 the population had fallen to 293, a figure maintained until 2010, when that year's census counted 334 residents.
The area, as is much of West Texas
, is conducive to wind power
generation, and several windmill farms have been proposed for the area.
Limestone
from the quarry
of TexaStone in Garden City was donated in 2004 for establishment of the Stonehenge replica
in Odessa
, Texas.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It lies near the center of the county, approximately 27 miles south of Big Spring
Big Spring, Texas
Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 25,233 at the 2000 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo...
. Garden City serves as the Glasscock County seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, and at the 2010 Census, had a population of 334. The ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
is 79739.
History
Garden City's history begins in 1886, when what became the town's post officePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was established in a general store, and a settlement began to develop in the area around the business. The post office was to be named after the store proprietor, a man by the name of Gardner. However, after a clerical error by officials in Washington, the postal franchise was granted under the name Garden City.
Garden City was the first Texas community platted by renowned surveyor
Surveyor
Surveyor may refer to:Professions and their activities* Surveying, the process of determining accurate positions on, or near the Earth's surface** Cadastral surveying, the process of establishing boundary locations and land parcel corners...
W. D. Twichell
W. D. Twichell
Willis Day Twichell was a Texas surveyor and civil engineer, based primarily in Amarillo and later Austin, who surveyed 165 of the state's 254 counties.-Background:...
, a Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
native.
In 1893, Glasscock County was organized, and Garden City vied for the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
along with two other area communities, New California and Dixie. New California was ultimately chosen as the county seat; it was located in a less flood prone region and had a readily accessible water supply. However, at the time of the county's organization, New California consisted of a mere two dwellings and an equally sparse population, whereas Garden City boasted a school, the general store/post office, and several homes. In a unique compromise, most of Garden City's structures were placed on wheels and relocated to the New California site, and on April 5, 1893 the settlement was re-named Garden City. A two story stone courthouse was constructed later that same year, followed by a new, larger courthouse in 1910 (with the former building remaining in use as the Glasscock County Jail).
Between 1927 and 1943, Garden City's population fluctuated between 100 and 250, and several business and a newspaper (the Garden City Gazette), had come and gone. By 1945, Garden City had eight businesses and a population of 200. In the 1950s, oil was discovered nearby, creating a bit of a boom for the area. While Garden City's population did not experience the spike that other West Texas oil boom towns had seen (the population peaked at 300 in 1968, many years after the boom had ended), it did increase the community's commerce, with the number of operating businesses almost doubling from 1947 to 1968. By 1980 the population had fallen to 293, a figure maintained until 2010, when that year's census counted 334 residents.
The area, as is much of West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
, is conducive to wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
generation, and several windmill farms have been proposed for the area.
Limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from the quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
of TexaStone in Garden City was donated in 2004 for establishment of the Stonehenge replica
Stonehenge replica (Odessa, Texas)
The Stonehenge replica is located on the campus of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa in Ector County, Texas. About twenty stone blocks, similar in size, shape, and appearance to the ancient Stonehenge in southwestern England, were unveiled in the summer of 2004...
in Odessa
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
, Texas.