Bovina

Bull Town earned its name from spilled feed. When the Pecos and Northern Texas built through the XIT in 1898, a switch here let cowboys unload cottonseed shipped in as cattle feed; some of it always spilled along the unfenced right-of-way, XIT cattle gathered and lay on the tracks, and train crews had to climb down and prod them off. Bovina replaced the nickname when the post office opened on January 31, 1899. The town incorporated in 1948, voting bonds for a water system; until then its water came from tanks rented from the Santa Fe.

What the plaque says

Bovina (Elevation: 4070 feet) Early in the 20th century, this was one of largest cattle shipping points in the United States. Originated as the Hay Hook Line Camp of the XIT -- famed ranch that received over 3,000,000 acres of land in payment for building Texas State Capitol, 1882-1888. One of the earliest structures in Parmer County, division number eight headquarters of XIT, stood 400 yards northeast of site of this marker. The shipping pasture, 640 acres in area, was 1 mile east. The Pecos & Northern Texas Railroad built to this point in 1898, and cattle for eastern markets were loaded here. Train crews called the place "Bull Town", but the community chose the name "Bovina" when establishing the post office in 1899. This was the first post office in Parmer County, created 1876, named for Martin Parmer (1778-1850), patriot and signer of Texas Declaration of Independence. Although known to explorers early as 18th century, county had few inhabitants before 1907, when it was organized, with Bovina one of its leading towns. By 1915, Bovina had 200 people, 2 churches, a bank, a school, and a hotel for prospective settlers. It is now market and supply center for rich area of irrigated farms, and still produces fine cattle. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Blackwater Draw — 30 mi
  The site between Clovis and Portales that gave the Clovis culture its name, found by a nineteen-year-old in 1929 and dug for decades inside a working gravel pit.

More markers nearby

• Bovina United Methodist Church — 0.4 mi
• Site of Parmerton — 6.4 mi
• Site of First Church in City of Friona — 12 mi
• Friona's First Barber Shop — 12 mi