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Friona |
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US 60, E of Friona, Friona,
TX,
USA
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Texas State
Historical Marker |
Originally called Frio, after Frio (cold) Draw, when established by XIT Ranch, in 1898, as a shipping point on recently built Pecos & Northern Texas Railroad. In 1906, the George G. Wright Land Company took options on area lands and initiated a colonization project, promising fertile land and a healthful climate to attract prospective settlers from Ohio to Kansas, and erecting a hotel, livery stable, and bank. Name was changed to Friona when the post office opened, March 16, 1907, with Sarah D. Olson, postmaster. The first organized church was Union Congregational Church, June 1907. School opened in 1908, and was one of first districts in Texas to use buses, in 1917. A controversy between Friona and Farwell over location of the county seat led to and election in 1913, won by Farwell, contested by Friona, and settled in 1916, by a court ruling favoring Farwell. By this time, S. A. Harris was publishing a newspaper, the Friona Sentinel. The city was incorporated in 1928, and John W. White elected mayor. Now a regional marketing center for agricultural and beef products, Friona claims the distinction of Grain Sorghum Capital of the World. 1973
This page last updated: 7/15/2008 |
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