Mccamey, Texas

McCamey, on U.S. Highway 67 five miles east of the Pecos River in southwestern Upton County, developed almost overnight as a result of the discovery of oil nearby. In September 1925 wildcatter George B. McCamey brought in Baker No. 1. A Corpus Christi real estate firm, Burleson and Johns, with Lon McKinney, a man named Brooks, Taylor Emerson, and A. W. Carruthers, organized the original townsite company the day after the well came in. The town grew from a siding established on the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway to supply the new field. George Port, land agent for the railroad, named the town. By 1926 seven major oil companies had leases in the surrounding area. A post office was established on March 5, 1926, and the town was incorporated on December 27 of that year. Within six months a dusty tent and frame city of 10,000 people had arisen, and the McCamey Tri-County Record , the town's first newspaper, had been founded by W. D. Riser. The early years in McCamey were filled with the typical boomtown problems of disorder and lawlessness associated with such rapid growth. The McCamey oilfield had two significant distinctions. One was the unsuccessful attempt in 1928 by the Shell Oil Company to build a mammoth storage reservoir to hold the surplus oil until pipelines to Houston refineries could be constructed. The huge earthen tank had concrete liners designed to hold a million barrels of oil, but the weight of the crude oil was too great for the underlying limestone. Cracks developed, and the tank began to leak. No solution could be found, and the project was abandoned in 1929. The McCamey field also had one of the first refineries in West Texas, operated by Humble Oil Company ( see EXXON COMPANY, U.S.A. ) from 1927 until 1932. The McCamey Independent School District was established in 1927. A high school and an elementary school building were completed by 1930. By 1932 the community had declined considerably in population due to a combination of the Great Depression , oil discoveries in East Texas, and production changes in the West Texas fields. By 1940 the population had shrunk to 2,600. McCamey has remained an oil-producing town, with several large pipelines and storage tank facilities in the area. Its businesses supply the surrounding oilfields and ranching territory. The 1980 census listed a population of 2,436. In 1984 McCamey had seventy businesses, several churches, a bank, a newspaper, a public library, and a museum. The Mendoza Trail Museum, named for Juan Domínguez de Mendoza , a Spanish explorer who passed through West Texas, opened in 1966. In 1990 the population was 2,493. The population dropped to 1,805 in 2000.

Danny Wayland Seals, pop and country star, was born in McCamey, Texas, on February 8, 1948. He was the son of Eugene Wayland and Susan Louella (Taylor) Seals. He grew up in a musical family and played in the family band as a small child. His father, an oil company pipe fitter and repairman and an accomplished musician, played with such Texas luminaries as Bob Wills , Ernest Tubb , and Jim Reeves . He taught Dan to play upright bass and guitar. Dan’s older brother, Jim, played saxophone with the Champs, who had a 1958 hit with “Tequila,” and Jim teamed up with Dash Crofts to form the pop duo Seals & Crofts in the 1970s. Dan’s brother Eddie was a country singer (half of the Eddie & Joe duo), while cousin Johnny Duncan had several country hits. Another two cousins, Troy and Chuck Seals, were successful award-winning songwriters, and a third cousin, Brady Seals, was a member of Little Texas. After his parents divorced, Dan Seals lived with his mother, and they settled in Dallas in 1958. In high school he played in a group called The Playboys Five. He then joined his high school friend John Ford Coley as members of the group Southwest F.O.B., which had a minor hit with “The Smell of Incense” (1968). In 1969 Seals and Coley went to California where they became England Dan (the “England” nickname was a childhood name given by Jim Seals and came from Dan’s occasional affectation of an English accent and his love of the Beatles) and John Ford Coley (his last name was actually Colley). They signed with A&M Records in 1970, and their early albums England Dan and John Ford Coley and Fables generated modest sales. They toured the U.K. with Elton John and later toured in America, opening for acts including Carole King, Chicago, and Three Dog Night. In 1972 A&M dropped the duo. They signed with Big Tree Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic, in 1976. England Dan and John Ford Coley scored a number of hits in the mid-to-late 1970s. Their recording of “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” reached Number 2 on the Billboard pop charts and earned them a gold record in 1976. They had Top 40 hits from 1976 to 1979—“Nights Are Forever Without You” (1976), “It’s Sad to Belong,” and “Gone Too Far” (1977), “We’ll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again” (1978), and “Love Is the Answer” (1979), written by Todd Rundgren. Their albums released during this period included Nights Are Forever (1976), which went gold, I Hear the Music (1976), Dowdy Ferry Road (1977), Some Things Don’t Come Easy and Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive (1978), and The Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley (1979). Their song “Part of Me, Part of You" was heard on the soundtrack of the movie Just Tell Me You Love Me (1980). In 1980 Seals and Coley disbanded. Initially, Dan Seals aimed for the pop market and as England Dan cut his first album Stones (1980). His first solo single “Late at Night” from the album made the US Hot 100, but the next couple of years were not good for Dan Seals. In 1981 he had tax problems, which resulted in the IRS seizing virtually all his assets, and in 1982 he cut an unsuccessful pop album, Harbinger . Singles released from that album failed to make the charts. Seals then looked to country music , adapting his performing style to suit the current direction and needs of country music radio. In 1983 he joined the Capitol Records roster of country recording artists. His first album for Capitol was Rebel Heart (1983), and this proved a more successful project than his two previous albums. His first single “Everybody’s Dream Girl” entered the country Top 20, reaching Number 18. This was followed by “After You” and "You Really Go for the Heart,” both of which made the Top 40. The fourth single from the album, “God Must Be a Cowboy” was his first Top 10 solo hit in 1984. The album was also his first to make the country charts. His follow-up album, San Antone (1984), also entered the country charts, and “(You Bring Out) the Wild Side of Me,” the first single from the album, reached Nu

The World's largest complex of oil wells in the 1920s was developed in this area. Key to success of this vast petroleum field lay in finding ways to convey oil to growing fuel markets. First efficient transportation came in 1925 with the laying of the Humble pipeline from Kemper Station, near Big Lake, to Comyn Station (a distance of about 500 miles), to connect with existing Comyn-Baytown system. Early camp for pipeline construction crews was built here 1926 when Humble extended its line west from Big Like Field. Camp's site led to growth of McCamey and building of a refinery. McCamey became important center of oil production and operation. A constant flow of oil went through Humble's pipeline on its long journey to the Gulf Coast. Even with use of pipeline and railroad tank cars, more oil was produced than could be marketed. New practices had to be used to prevent overproduction and waste. Thus Humble pipeline became involved in the first voluntary proration in Texas, when in 1928 producing capacity of local wells was reduced to a level consistent with transportation facilities. Today in Texas, Humble has 15,000 oil and gas wells; 9,545 miles of pipeline; and one refinery.

Castle Gap, famous early pass for southwestern trails, lies 14 miles northwest along the Upton-Crane County line. Through this mile-long gap between Castle and King mountains flowed the full panorama of Texas history-- Indian, Spaniard, Stage and Trail Herd Driver, Settler, '49er. In prehistoric time Castle Gap was a landmark for nomadic Indian tribes and later guided the Commanches on their war trail into Mexico. The first white man to discover the pass was probably the Spanish explorer Felipe Rabago y Teran in 1761. Then came the '49ers in their frenzied rush to the California gold fields, to be followed by other, more permanent settlers. From 1858 to 1861 the famed Butterfield Overland Mail coaches rumbled through the pass on their 24-day journey from St. Louis to San Francisco, pausing briefly at the adobe-walled Castle Gap station for fresh teams. Then they were off again, fording into the sunset. By 1866 the Goodnight-Loving cattle trail was firmly established at the gap, funneling tens of thousands of brawling longhorn cattle to the northern markets. During this same period, legend holds that a treasure-laden aide of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, fleeing the country when the regime collapsed, buried gold and jewels in the area. Dust of the pioneers settled long ago. Today Castle Gap slumbers peacefully, disturbed only by visitors, occasional treasure hunters and those who probe for ruins of the Butterfield station and the rapidly fading ruts of coach and wagon.

Route taken, 1683-1684, by the party of Lt. Gen. Juan Dominguez de Mendoza, whose purpose was to explore the Pecos Plains, obtain pearls from Texas rivers, and Christianize the Jumano Indians. Starting 12 miles below El Paso, the party of 35 traveled first southeast, then northeast into Texas, Crossing future Upton County. They found many pearls near present San Angelo; and at the confluence of the Concho and Colorado rivers, they founded San Clemente Mission. Two centuries later, part of Mendoza's route was taken by the Goodnight-Loving cattle trail. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967.

Upton County is in southwestern Texas. The center of the county lies at 31°22' north latitude and 102°02' west longitude. Rankin, the county's seat of government, is fifty air miles south of Midland. The area was named for Confederate generals John C. Upton and William F. Upton . Upton County covers 1,241 square miles of rocky land in the Edwards Plateau vegetation region; elevations range from 2,300 to 3,000 feet above sea level. While northern sections of the county are flat, the southern sections are rolling and hilly and are pierced by numerous small lakes. The county's exposed limestone surfaces and sandy loam soils are covered with scrub mesquite , greasewood, cacti, catclaw, and grasses. King Mountain in the southwest is the area's highest point; Castle Mountain is fifteen miles north and Moltke Hill is fifteen miles southeast of King Mountain. Numerous small lakes drain to the tributaries of the Middle Concho and Pecos rivers. Rainfall averages only 12.70 inches annually. Temperatures range from an average minimum of 33° F in January to an average maximum of 96° in July. The average growing season lasts 232 days. Mineral resources include caliche and limestone. The area's transportation network includes U.S. Highway 385, U.S. Highway 67, and State highways 329 and 349. The area that is now Upton County was traversed during the early nineteenth century by Comanches and Apaches, who competed for hunting grounds in the area. Both tribes were superior horsemen, capable hunters of buffalo and other game, and relentless raiders of their neighbors. Despite their considerable achievements in material culture and adaptation to their environment, the Indians lost their domination of the region to the United States Army and the advancing tide of White settlers in the 1870s and 1880s. In the 1860s the Chihuahua Trail from Mexico to Indianola, Texas, a significant trading route, crossed the region, as did the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail (1858-61), and the Goodnight-Loving Trail . Originally part of the Bexar Territory, the area was part of Tom Green County from 1874 until 1887, when Upton County was established. One of the earliest settlers was Dr. George W. Elliott, who moved into the area in 1881 and drilled the first well; he reached water at thirty feet. The area was part of the open range until the 1890s, when sheepmen crossed the Pecos River to compete with cattlemen for the range. The United States Census counted fifty-two people living in the county in 1890, and only forty-eight in 1900; most of these belonged to the families of Arthur F. Schnaubert, Frank Inghram, and Jim O'Bryan, or were hired cowboys and ranch hands. According to the agricultural census for 1900, there were eighteen ranches that year; almost 39,000 cattle were reported, but virtually no crops were grown. The area began to attract more settlers in the early twentieth century. In 1900 and 1901 open range cattlemen started selling their holdings, and the state encouraged the sale of school and railroad lands for settlement. Rancher Henry M. Halff tried to develop an irrigation area for cotton and vegetable raising and sold town lots at Upland for the price of a notary fee. Upland opened a public school in 1908. By 1910 there were 105 ranches or farms in the area, and the population had increased to 501; the county was organized that year, and Upland became the county seat. In the fall of 1911 the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway reached the townsite of Rankin, and by January 1912 most of the people living in Upland had moved to Rankin. The county's population soon was concentrated at or near Rankin, and after 1913 the town's school system served the entire county. Rankin became the county seat in 1921. Between 1911 and 1912 some farmers, discouraged by poor soil and droughts, abandoned their efforts to raise crops in the area. Remaining settlers who raised horses, cattle, and sheep did well during the high market price years