Junction High School - Golden Eagle Yearbook (Junction, TX)

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survey of Texans’ occupations in 1860 reported 2,223 merchants, 1,471 doctors and 850 lawyers. There were 758 clergymen, but only eight architects. Four Texans described themselves as catchers of wild horses,” a conventional occupation in those days. Among the unexpected occupations reported were four toymakers, six photographers, three actors, five clockmakers and six dancing masters. But of the 43,000 Texans who listed occupations, about 25,000 called themselves farmers. The most important crop for the marketplace was cotton. The first large-scale cotton planter, Colonel Jared E. Groce, moved to Austin County from Alabama in late 1821. Except for years when pests destroyed the crops, production increased every year. Texas agriculture was ruled by cotton’s supremacy for many decades following the cotton boom of 1850. By 1925,Texas farmers harvested 36 percent of the nation's cotton and 20 percent of the cotton grown in the world. Farmers chose to produce sorghum and other varieties of livestock feed in lieu of cotton. Acreage devoted to livestock feed increased from 23,000 to 1,701,000 acres from 1879 to 1929. Cotton yields decreased in 1892 when the boll weevil destroyed crops after crossing the Rio Grande River and again in the 1930s because of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Although cotton was the cash crop in early Texas, corn was indispensable. To a large extent, corn sustained the people and livestock of Texas. Sweet potatoes ranked next to corn in importance. Other crops included Irish potatoes, wheat, beans, peas and melons. Whereas, livestock included poultry, hogs, horses, sheep, goats and cattle. Citrus fruits were a profitable commercial crop and, by 1929, 85 percent of Texas' five million citrus trees grew the delicious Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit. During the 1880s, sugar production increased on 5,000 acres and 45 plantations in Brazoria, Ft. Bend, Matagorda and Wharton counties. This area became known as the Sugar Bowl.” The sugar industry grew until weather caused its demise. Commercial farming decreased drastically in the 1930s. Since the Depression, farming patterns have changed. Between 1935 and 1980, the

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companies profited from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of crude extracted from the coastal area. If California produced a barrage of panhandlers in 1849 with gold fever, the discovery of oil recreated the scene in turn-of-the-century Texas Thar's oil in that thar ground! Almost too much oil? Maybe for W.T. Waggoner who, in 1910 while drilling a well on his North Texas ranch discovered oil, was quoted as saying, Damn the oil. I wanted water.” By 1920, the state was floating on a sea of oil. Petroleum production that year neared 100 million barrels valued at over $300 million, while natural gas production assumed a distinguished role and produced over $7 million in revenue. Corporations and independent oil companies were working to stabilize the industry, but spectacular booms and massive finds hampered any control. Between 1918 and 1926, the Panhandle opened what was to be the largest gas field in the world. By the mid-1950s the Panhandle fields attracted 43 plants that produced over 50 percent of the natural gas extracted in Texas. West Texas attracted attention with the discovery of the Permian Basin, and towns like Colorado City, Big Spring, Midland, Odessa and Pecos experienced a rapid population boom. Crane County organized a county government for the first time, significant because as late as 1918 there were only 14 citizens in the county. The Lone Star State has been the nation's leading oil-producing state since 1928. Growth of the oil industry led to activity in Texas banks, real estate and retail trade. Farmers began to look like ranchers, and the term Texas Millionaire was soon adopted. The story of the Texas petroleum industry before the Great Depression is one of spectacle and drama. On Oct. 3, 1930, the No. 3 Daisy Bradford oil well in East Texas created an explosion in oil discovery. The boom was on and independent oil men rushed to the sight. By the end of 1931, the fields in East Texas supported 5,652 wells. The situation led to massive overproduction. The price of oil tumbled. It was time for regulation, and through the efforts of the Texas Railroad Commission, the price of oil was stabilized by limiting production. The oil industry discovered a new growth in the production of oil products — perhaps the greatest impact petroleum has had on Texas. During World War II, the petroleum industry developed into the petrochemical industry. Thousands of variations of plastics, synthetic rubbers, dyes, fertilizers and chemicals were being produced in the Gulf Coast, Permian Basin and Panhandle areas. Production in these areas continues today. Petroleum-related businesses in 1982 employed roughly one out of every 12 non-farmers in the state. For every 10 jobs created in the oil industry, another 37 are created in other sectors of the economy. Government has also prospered from the petroleum industry in Texas, with the oil and gas business claiming the title of the state’s single largest taxpayer.

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number of farms declined from 501,014 to 186,000 as the rural population fell from 59 to 17 percent. Scientific irrigation methods and the need for modern farm equipment transformed the farming trade into a large, profitable industry. While there are fewer farmers today, the average size of a Texas farm between 1930 and 1980 grew from 275 to 744 acres. Cotton remains king and today nets the Texas economy more than $1 billion annually. Texas continues to grow more cotton than any other state in the nation. Cotton was spun and woven into cloth. Within a year, one Texan wrote in his diary he made a wheel, a coffin, a churn, a cradle, a pump auger, an ox yoke and a pair of shoes. By the turn-of-the- century, ready-made goods were rapidly replacing homemade materials and life on the early Texas farm slowly evolved into a sophisticated, late 20th century industry. LIFE ON THE FARMS: A PIONEER LEGEND Agrarian efforts of the Spaniards in the 18th century laid the foundation for the formal organization of farming and ranching in Texas. Missionaries adopted a life of farming for their own survival. The first settlers, those who followed Stephen F. Austin, were lured by cheap land. In 1821, for only a filing fee, a family would be granted a labor of land (177 acres) for farming and a league of land (4,428 acres) for grazing. The farm population boom occurred with the passage of the Homestead Act of 1854. This act gave 160 acres of land to anyone who resided on the land for more than three years. Homestead life was austere. The double log cabin was the most popular form of housing. It consisted of two rooms under a continuous roof. Usually, a front porch extended the length of the cabin. Chimneys were commonly made of sticks covered with mud. Floors were optional. Spaces between the logs were filled with clay or mortar. The Germans in Texas built better houses than other settlers, frequently using stone, but most Texas frontier homes were best described by the future President of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes. He said settlers' homes had walls you could throw a cat through at random. For a state that could have produced fruits, vegetables and cereals and one where cattle were abundant, the diet of most early Texans was strangely monotonous. The most common vegetable was the sweet potato. People rarely ate meat, and many didn’t have milk and butter. The early Texas farm was almost self-sufficient. Candles or lard-burning lamps provided light. Below: Texas cotton production reaps tl billion annually. More cotton is grown in Texas than any other state. Far Below: A taste for freedom and a thirst for land to call their own led pioneer farmers to Texas.