Texas Historical Marker #13217
Friona Women's Clubs. By 1898, Friona and several other area townsites had been laid out as switches on the Pecos Valley & Northern Texas Railroad. Settlers soon began arriving in Friona, which incorporated in 1906. Twenty Friona women organized a club in September 1909, meeting in various places for many years while raising money for a meeting house constructed here in 1941. The group, which became part of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs in 1922, generated three other clubs. Each group performed a variety of services, including tree planting, medical aid and founding of the Friona Public Library. The clubhouse has served as a meeting place for the Women's Clubs, as well as for the larger community. (2005) #13217
?, Friona, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #13615
Friona Schools. Friona has the distinction of being the first town in Texas to integrate its schools. The first school opened on this site in 1908 in a one-room frame building, with Roxie Witherspoon teaching 18 pupils. A two-story brick school finished in 1911 burned after being struck by lightning in 1922. A new two-story brick high school opened in 1924. Attendance grew in the 1940s, when rural schools at Lakeview, Messenger, Black and Rhea consolidated with Friona. The school achieved its greatest fame in 1954. Racial segregation of schoolchildren was considered legal in the 20th century, reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896 in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. On May 17, 1954, the court overturned the decision, declaring segregation unconsitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, "we conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place." Federal and state government moved slowly to implement change, but in Friona, progress would not wait. The Robert Walker, Jr. family came to town in September 1954. When Superintendent Dalton Caffey chose to enroll Walker's three African American sons in Friona's only school, he quietly achieved the first integrated public school in Texas. Caffey then informed the school board of his decision, and things generally went smoothly for the school and new students. The Walkers moved away during the school year, and in the spring of 1955 three more African American students attended school here. Since that watershed year, Friona schools have continued to uphold Caffey's wish for equal educational opportunity. (2006) #13615
?, Friona, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #15970
Black Community. #15970
Six miles east of Friona on Highway 60 then south on E 2600 Road, Friona, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02067
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) #2067
700 Main Street, Friona, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04784
Site of First Church in City of Friona. The city of Friona was founded in 1906 by George G. Wright Land Company of Kansas City, an agency employed by the XIT Ranch owners to sell their range lands in small tracts. Religious-minded settlers in 1908 organized the Union Congregational Church. Charter members included Mr. & Mrs. C. L. Fergus, Charles Karr, Mr. & Mrs. J. W. Karr, Walter Kell, William McCandlish, Mr. & Mrs. D. W. McMillen, Mr. & Mrs. Ross V. McWilliams, Mr. & Mrs. C. B. Oleson, Mr. & Mrs. John Orbaugh, Mr. & Mrs. Seth Roush, Bert Shattuck, Mrs. Nellie Shattuck, and A. N. Wentworth. George G. Wright donated six lots at this site and the Congregational Church Building Society of New York made a $770.00 construction grant. Friona's first church building, a frame structure with hand-painted, arched windows and a belfry, was completed and dedicated n May 23, 1909. The basement added in 1916 served as center for social activities. After that meetinghouse burned in 1921, this adobe chapel was built. It was used until the congregationalists in 1969 erected a sanctuary on a new site. In 1973, this building was given to the Girl Scouts to be used for their meeting hall and activities and for a "Pioneer Heritage Chapel & Museum". (1975) #4784
220 W 6th St., Friona, TX, United States