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Big Spring, Texas

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Big Spring, Texas, USA
Big Spring's Municipal Auditorium and Statue of Liberty, with the old Settles Hotel in the background.
Big Spring's Municipal Auditorium and Statue of Liberty, with the old Settles Hotel in the background.
Nickname: 
The Spring City
Location within the state of Texas
Location within the state of Texas
CountyHoward County
Government
 • MayorRuss McEwen
Area
 • Total
49.7 km2 (19.2 sq mi)
 • Land49.5 km2 (19.1 sq mi)
 • Water0.2 km2 (0.08 sq mi)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total
25,233
 • Density509.8/km2 (1,320/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (CDT)
Websitehttp://www.ci.big-spring.tx.us/

Big Spring is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20; its population of 25,233 (2000 census) makes it the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo to the south. Big Spring was established as the county seat of Howard County in 1882 and is also the largest city in that county.

The city got its name from the single, large spring that issued into a small gorge between the base of Scenic Mountain and a neighboring hill in the southwestern part of the city limits.

The spring, now dry, was of major importance to all life in the surrounding area. In the early 1840s, it was the center of a territorial dispute between Comanche and Pawnee tribes, and has been a major watering hole for wildlife and prehistoric man in this semi-arid area (G. Brune, 'Springs of Texas', 1981). Early military scouting reports and pioneer accounts describe the water as cold, clear, and dependable; the spring pool was approximately 15' deep, with the overflow going only a short distance down the draw before it sank beneath the surface. The spring has mistakenly been described in other writings as being located in Sulphur Draw. It is actually located to the south, near the top of a small, rugged, unnamed draw running eastward from the spring, and is itself a tributary to Beal's Creek, the name given to Sulphur Draw as it flows into, through, and past the city of Big Spring.

Long used by regional inhabitants, both permanent and nomadic, with a large number of locally-collected artifacts testifying to its heavy occupation, the spring sat astride the several branches of the later-developed Comanche War Trail as they converged on this important water hole from beyond Texas, coming south across the Northern Plains and the Llano Estacado. From the Big Spring, the war trail continued south via three branches, one to the southeast through the western part of the Concho country; one going almost due south, heading for Castle Gap and Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River; and one heading west to Willow Springs in the sand country southwest of present Midland, before turning south down the Pecos, all headed ultimately for Mexico. As whites began to settle the western territories, the spring continued to serve as a major watering place on the southern route of the Gold Rush Trail of the early 1850s and continued in use well beyond that time, as the cross-continental trail turned into a major road for later pioneers coming into the area.

Brune also reports that the spring was sourced from a relatively small aquifer situated on the northern end of the Edwards Plateau and the southern end of the High Plains, being, structurally, a collecting sink of lower Cretaceous (Fredericksburg) limestones and sands. The spring aquifer held a large quantity of water due to the great number of fractures, solution channels, and interstices in the rocks and underlying sands, although the aeral extent of the Big Spring sink is estimated to be only 1 mile in diameter, with the main area only 3000' in width and almost circular, with some ellipticity trending towards the west. The Cretaceous beds subsided about 280' below their normal position, centered around the SE quarter of Section 12, Block 33 T1S; T&P RR Co survey, and the entire strata appears to be preserved within the sink, the surface topography roughly following the subsurface subsidence. (US Department of the Interior publication, 'Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 913', 1944). This writing identifies the sink as one of a number of similar subsurface geologic features in the surrounding area, differing from the Big Spring sink only in the fact that the surface topography above the others, while showing some decline, does not dip low enough to intersect the top of the water tables; hence, no springs could form from the other aquifers. In a passing comment, enigmatic in its content and disappointing in its brevity, the report states that no other comparable deep sinks formed elsewhere on the Edwards Plateau.

The same publication suggests that the spring's discharge volume was in excess of 100,000 gallons/day at the time of the railroad's arrival in the area in the late 1880s. The water was heavily mined by wells built by both the railroad and the early city of Big Spring greatly in excess of its modest recharge rate, until the water table first dropped below the level of the spring outlet, and, finally, was completely depleted by the mid-1920s. The city now artificially fills the spring from its current source of water as a means of allowing residents and visitors to maintain some idea of how it appeared in times past.

Geography

Big Spring is located at 32°14′36″N 101°28′31″W / 32.24333°N 101.47528°W / 32.24333; -101.47528Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (32.243198, -101.475231)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.7 km² (19.2 mi²). 49.5 km² (19.1 mi²) of it is land, and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.42%) is water.

History

Although the area had long been a popular watering hole for Native Americans and other prehistoric residents and nomads, including members of the more recently established Jumano, Apache, and Comanche tribes, the first European to view the site now known as Big Spring was probably a member of a Spanish expedition, possibly that of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, although the record of his travels cannot confirm his visit.

United States Army Captain Randolph B. Marcy's expedition was the first United States expedition to explore and map the area in 1849. Marcy marked the spring as a campsite on the Overland Trail to California. The site began to collect inhabitants and by the late 1870s, a settlement had sprung up to support buffalo hunters that frequented the area. The original settlement consisted largely of hide huts and saloons. Ranching quickly became a major industry in the area; early ranchers included F.G. Oxsheer, C.C. Slaughter, and B.F. Wolcott..[1]

One notable early rancher was Briton Joseph Heneage Finch, the Seventh Earl of Aylesford. Finch purchased 37,000 acres (150 km²) of ranch land in the area in 1883 and is credited with building Big Spring's first permanent structure, a butcher shop.[2]

The completion of the Texas and Pacific Railroad led to the founding in the early 1880s of Abilene, Colorado City, and Big Spring, three railroading and ranching towns where saloons, gambling dens, and prostitutes flourished. These establishments attracted cowboys and later oilfield workers from throughout the region. Prostitution continued to flourish in Big Spring well into the 1950s. The Settles Hotel was well known as a center for prostitution in Big Spring, with some saying the large sign on the roof was used to signal the presence of prostitutes in the hotel — although it simply said "HOTEL SETTLES" in large, red letters and was lit for years..

In 1957 anti-prostitution groups gained an influential advocate in Texas Attorney General Will Wilson, whose office led the way in disrupting prostitution in the state, including Galveston racketeers. Church, legal, and news media pressure forced many brothels to close and set the prostitution business on a downward course that continued into the 1960s. Wilson was influential in pressing local law-enforcement officials into curbing prostitution in Big Spring.

More important in the town's history was the discovery of oil in the region during the 1920s. The early discoveries in the area marked the beginning of the oil industry in the Permian Basin area of West Texas, and the oil industry has continued to be a dominant part of the area's economy. The oil industry in Big Spring reached its peak during the oil boom of the 1950s.

Another major part of Big Spring's economy and life during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s was Webb Air Force Base. It initially opened during World War II as the Big Spring Bombardier School, a training base for bombardier pilots. Following the war, it was converted to a U.S. Air Force Training Base and was named for James Webb, a Big Spring native who died in action during World War II. Webb Air Force Base was active until its closing in 1977, when the base facilities were deeded to the city.

Big Spring was also featured in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, which starred Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight and received the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1969. The opening scenes featuring Voight, then a relatively unknown actor, playing the character Joe Buck were filmed in Big Spring and the neighboring town of Stanton.

The FAI World Hang Gliding Championship was hosted by Big Spring in August 2007.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 25,233 people, 8,155 households, and 5,463 families residing in the city. The population density was 509.8/km² (1,320.4/mi²). There were 9,865 housing units, at an average density of 199.3/km² (516.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.69% White, 5.31% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 14.41% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44.64% of the population.

There were 8,155 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51, and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 125.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 132.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,257, and the median income for a family was $35,448. Males had a median income of $27,636 versus $21,863 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,119. About 17.1% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.0% of those under age 18 and 18.3% of those age 65 or over.

Culture and economics

Big Spring's economy is primarily based on agriculture (with cotton as the primary crop) and petroleum production and refining. Public-sector institutions such as Howard College, a federal prison, and a VA hospital are also major employers in the area.

Big Spring's population and economy have seen steady declines since the closure of Webb Air Force Base, a training site for Air Force bombardiers and pilots, in 1977.

In recent years, Big Spring has been the site of several major hang gliding championship tournaments, including the U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals. The city was also the site for the filming of parts of Hangar 18.

Notable residents, past and present

Points of interest

Landmarks

Organizations

Media

Education

Prisons

  • Big Spring FCI
  • Big Spring Federal Prison Camp
  • Big Spring Correctional Center (Cornell Companies)

References

  1. ^ Big Spring History Page on The Handbook of Texas Online,
  2. ^ Howard County page on The Handbook of Texas Online,
  3. ^ Daniel "Bubba" Franks bio (2000 NFL draft preview) on packers.com, the official website of the Green Bay Packers

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