Friona

The weather that legend says named Frio tested the colony early. Blizzards in 1910-11 and again in 1918-19, along with droughts, discouraged the farmers and interrupted Friona's growth, though it had about 200 people by 1915. The first grain elevator rose in 1916 and the first cotton gin in 1927, and a new land-sale program in the early 1920s brought another wave of settlers. By the 1980s Friona was the county's largest town, with a beef-packing plant able to slaughter 10,000 cattle a week and a wheat growers' elevator holding more than three million bushels.

What the plaque says

Friona When established by the XIT Ranch in 1898, this community was originally called Frio, after Frio (Cold) Draw, and it served as a shipping point on the recently built Pecos & Northern Railroad. In 1906, the George G. Wright Land Co. 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. The company erected a hotel, livery stable and a bank. The town's name changed to Friona when the post office opened March 16, 1907. Sarah D. Olson served as the community's first postmaster. That same year, Parmer County organized, and the Union Congregational Church became Friona's first church. A school opened the following year. A controversy between Friona and Farwell over the location of the county seat led to an election in 1913. Voters chose Farwell and Friona residents contested the results, but a court ruled in 1916 in favor of Farwell. That year, S.A. Harris began publishing a local newspaper, the Friona Sentinel; it became the Friona Star in 1925. Residents voted to incorporate the city in 1928, electing John W. White as mayor. In the latter part of the 20th century, Friona served as a regional marketing center for agricultural and beef products, and claimed the distinction of "Grain Sorghum Capital of the World." A June 1995 tornado destroyed the original historical marker for the community, and during the town's centennial year, 2006, citizens dedicated this replacement marker in City Park, across the street from the old Syndicate Hotel. (2006)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Deaf Smith County Historical Museum — 22 mi
  Hereford's county museum in an early Catholic school: the Windmill City's pioneers, a half-dugout and caboose outside, and work by the Italian prisoners held south of town in the war.

More markers nearby

• Friona's First Barber Shop — steps away
• Friona Schools — steps away
• Site of First Church in City of Friona — steps away
• Friona Women's Clubs — steps away