Vicinity of Early Public Library

The library served a county that was barely settled. The Texas and Pacific crossed the region in 1881 with stations at Sand Hills, Monahans, Aroya, Pyote, Quito, Quito Quarry and Barstow, yet only seventy-five people lived in Ward County in 1890. In 1900 the agricultural census found 167 farms and ranches covering 424,000 acres, only 5,500 of them described as improved. The county ran almost 13,000 cattle and about 4,400 sheep, but had just eighty-three acres in corn and 1,500 in cotton. The census counted 1,451 people that year.

What the plaque says

Vicinity of Early Public Library The Republic of Texas set a cultural example by legislation for a state library in 1839. In 1874 cities were authorized to establish public libraries, but most were privately financed. A library near here about 1890 was gift of Miss Anna Gould, a daughter of railroad magnate Jay Gould, when she was visiting the stone quarry 4.5 miles east. She established the library the first in Ward County, which was not organized until 1892 for families near the quarry. Most Texas counties now have free public libraries, since a 1919 law granted this privilege. (1967)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Roy Orbison Museum — 25 mi
  A volunteer-run room in the oil town where Roy Orbison spent his high school years, opened on request, with a guitar he played and his tinted prescription sunglasses.

More markers nearby

• Site of First Ward County Courthouse — steps away
• Emigrants' Crossing — 6.4 mi
• Mrs. Lillie W. Cole — 6.4 mi
• Spanish Explorers — 6.4 mi