Historical Marker

Tahoka

Tahoka, Lynn County · Texas
Erected 1974

The lake that gave the town its name lies about three miles northeast of town, a natural spring-fed body of water whose normal level stands 2,982 feet above sea level; its bed is sometimes dry, and its steep banks carry grass on sandy clay loam. The town grew steadily on cattle and cotton even as Lynn County as a whole lost people after the 1930s, from 786 residents in 1920 to 2,129 in 1940 and 3,262 in 1980. From the 1940s cotton dominated, and Tahoka built a comparatively large ginning industry to serve the farmers around it.

What the plaque says

Tahoka In Dec. 1902, over 100 people met around a bonfire in a ravine to the southwest of Tahoka Lake and voted to petition for county organization and to select a townsite for a county seat to be named "Tahoka," an Indian word meaning "fresh water," Early in 1903, B. G. Sweet, Jack Alley, and W. T. "Bill" Petty organized the Tahoka Townsite Company. Sweet surveyed and platted the town, and he and L. E. King established the first mercantile store opposite the southwest corner of the public square. County elections were held on April 7, 1903, and the Tahoka Post Office opened on April 30, with Fannie N. Henderson as postmaster. Tahoka soon boasted a 2-story frame courthouse, school, two churches, a hotel, and several businesses, including a newspaper, "The Lynn County News," first published on Oct. 9, 1903, by Otis and Inez Lilly. In 1906, a bank and a cotton gin were built. The Santa Fe Railroad was extended from Slaton to Tahoka in 1910, and for several years Tahoka was one of the largest cattle shipping points in the nation. The community was incorporated on June 13, 1915, and J. E. Stokes elected mayor. Tahoka serves as a trade center for Lynn County farmers and ranchers. (1974)

Where it stands

33.16658, -101.79783 · Directions

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