Shallowater, Texas

Everything Shallowater is known for

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B
Brad Miles
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History of Shallowater

Shallowater, TX RoadyGoat

Shallowater, a town where the air's thin and dry at over three thousand feet, might seem like just another dot on the West Texas map. But if you listen close, you can hear echoes of Friday night lights and the roar of a crowd cheering on the Mustangs. Football’s always been big here, a source of pride for the whole community. Agriculture built this place, cotton especially, and you can still see it in the fields stretching out towards the horizon. The railroad's what really got things moving around 1900, bringing people and opportunity. But Shallowater's more than just farms and football. It's also the starting point for stories that reach far beyond these plains.

Shallowater, TX RoadyGoat

In the early 1900s, Shallowater's history was shaped by the efforts of J.C. Bowles and Bob Crump, who formed a townsite company to attract a railroad. Land was purchased on May 18, 1909, and a school was built. After receiving a bonus from rancher George W. Littlefield, Santa Fe railroad officials completed negotiations. The Ripley Townsite Company was incorporated on May 22, 1909, and named the new town Shallowater to attract settlers. On June 26, 1913, a celebration marked the town's founding and the completion of the railroad. As the ranching industry waned, cotton became an important cash crop, and Shallowater grew rapidly during the 1920s with various businesses and institutions being established.

Shallowater, TX RoadyGoat

Cotton became an important cash crop in Shallowater during its early years. In the 1960s, the town had a bank, a library, and a newspaper, indicating a growing economy. By 1970, Shallowater had 30 businesses, including one of the largest hatcheries in the county. In the late 1980s, the town was a farm marketing center with processing and storing facilities.

Cora Vance and Vance Hatchery

1905

Born in Center, Shelby County, on October 26, 1905, hatchery industry pioneer Cora Lee Stapleton was the daughter of Sidney Clay and Kathleen (Gathwright) Stapleton. Growing up on the family farm, she was fascinated by the baby chicks and egg production. Cora met Clinton “Turk” Vance in the Hardy community, ten miles north of Shallowater. They married on October 19, 1929. A month later, Cora and her brother-in-law were involved in a significant car accident in Lubbock, leaving her paralyzed on the right side of her body. Cora slowly regained use of her limbs. Two years later, Cora heard about a farm for sale, and one day when Turk left for work, Cora used her good arm to drive to Lubbock and purchase the property. Turk oversaw their new farm’s cotton crop and Cora began a hatchery, selling eggs locally. In 1938, she entered the commercial hatchery business with 400 chickens and one incubator. Two years later, Cora enlarged and relocated the hatchery to the highway. By 1953, Vance Hatchery produced 180 to 200 dozen eggs a day. 
 Cora raised white leghorn chickens in-house and hatched only her own eggs, a rarity at the time. She insisted on the highest standards of cleanliness and health for her chickens. She was a member of the Texas Poultry Improvement Association and the American Hatchery and Poultry Federation. She was often the only woman at industry events. Other farmers sought her advice, leading to a radio show and expansion into poultry farm implement sales. By 1965, she was scaling down her business because hatcheries were moving away from West Texas and being undersold by larger enterprises. Cora died on March 25, 1967. The Vance family ran the hatchery until all remaining eggs and assets were sold. The story of Cora Vance is one of independence and determination.
(2023)


Historical Marker →

West, Joe Bob [Sonny]

1956

Although not as well-known as others in the first generation of West Texas rockabilly and rock-and-roll trailblazers such as Buddy Holly , Roy Orbison , and Buddy Knox , Sonny West left an indelible mark on the nascent sounds. Joe Bob "Sonny" West was born to Joseph William West and Alberta (Grimes) West on July 30, 1937, on a farm near Shallowater, Texas, in northwest Lubbock County. His father worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, but the elder West was primarily an itinerant farmer, who kept the family on the move from Texas to New Mexico to California and back again. West later remarked that it took him "about twenty-two schools to get through the 12th grade." Music was also a traveling companion; he bought a mandolin when he was fourteen before switching over to guitar. In 1956, after an unsuccessful attempt to secure a recording contract in Memphis with Sam Phillips and Sun Records, West lived in Hockley County, Texas, with an older sister and her husband in Levelland and worked odd jobs and performed in a band with Buddy Smith (lead guitar), Jimmy Metz (doghouse bass), and Doc McKay (drums). The group made an appearance on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas and cruised over to Lubbock for regular gigs at the Bamboo Club and radio station KDAV's Sunday Party , where West met Buddy Holly, another up-and-comer. West cut some demos in Levelland at KLVT prior to the band traveling to Clovis, New Mexico, in July-August 1956 to record two original songs, "Sweet Rockin' Baby" and "Rock-Ola Ruby," for release on producer Norman Petty 's Nor-Va-Jak label as Sonee West. He was again in Clovis in February 1957 to record another self-penned original, "All My Love," with seventeen-year-old Glen D. Hardin handling the keyboard duties. Petty, now overseeing Holly's studio activities, shared West's demo with the Crickets , who were looking for a follow-up to their Number 1 hit "That'll Be the Day." In July the Lubbock boys recorded their own version of "All My Love" as "Oh Boy!" which debuted on the Billboard charts in November 1957 and reached as high as Number 10. In Levelland, West crossed paths with Bill Tilghman, an emerging tunesmith. Among their earliest collaborations were "Rave On!" and "Call On Cupid," which West recorded in November 1957 in the Petty studio with accompaniment by Trini Lopez and the Big Beats. Petty then sold the masters to Atlantic Records. The disc did not sell well; furthermore, Petty passed "Rave On" along to Holly, and it was his version that made a splash on the charts in May 1958. After a parting of ways with Norman Petty, West, now based out of Grants, New Mexico, recorded one more single-"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" backed with "Maybe You're the One"-in 1961 on the Band Box label. The Denver-based company provided scant promotion and limited distribution. West then chose to forego a career in music, except for writing and occasionally sending off a few demos. He married twice and raised two daughters, while working in a variety of occupations, including as a jukebox technician and silversmith. He worked in the jukebox business throughout the 1960s and was based mostly in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Other than a self-released cassette in 1990, he would not take up professional music again for another forty-one years. West moved back to the Lone Star State in 2000 and made his home in Abilene, where in 2002 he returned to music with a flourish. He began laying down tracks for a series of EPs and albums on his own SW label. He had already been inducted in 1997 into the inaugural class of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Record collectors and aficionados of the music often rank West's "Sweet Rockin' Baby" and "Rock-Ola Ruby" as the finest double-sided rockabilly record of all time. The Nor-Va-Jak single had also been rediscovered in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan. Rollercoaster Records in England released Sweet Rockin' Rock-Ola Ruby , a career defining retrospective, in 2002. During the next decade, West perform

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Reese Air Force Base

1941

Ten years of concentrated efforts by city officials led to the establishment of a U. S. Army Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Lubbock in the summer of 1941. Built ten miles west of the city, where barracks, runways and other military facilities replaced cotton fields and grassland, the base officially opened in January 1942. Renamed Lubbock Army Flying School the next month as the first class of cadets arrived, the base provided training to more than 7,000 World War II pilots by the time of its deactivation in 1945. During the post-war years reserve units used the facilities here, and barracks were converted into housing for returning veterans and their families. By 1949 the base was reactivated and renamed in honor of First Lt. Augustus F. Reese, Jr., a Shallowater, Texas, native killed in action during World War II. Designated a permanent installation by 1950, Reese Air Force Base was transferred to Air Training Command in 1958. Thousands of pilots were trained here in the following decades, but by the 1990s the base was slated for permanent closure, leaving a 56-year legacy of excellence. More than 25,000 men and women earned their wings at Reese, including more than 600 international students from 40 allied countries. (1997)

Historical Marker → · 7.1 mi away

South Plains Army Air Field

1942

During World War II, nine preliminary and advanced military glider pilot training fields operated in Texas; one of the most prominent sites was located here. The U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) leased Lubbock Municipal Airport, and with help from the City of Lubbock expanded it for glider training. Opened in October 1942, the site was initially named South Plains Army Flying School, and later renamed South Plains Army Air Field (SPAAF). The mission of SPAAF was ground and advanced flight training for glider pilots who flew the “Waco CG-4A” glider––the USAAF's primary glider during the war. During its tenure, SPAAF trained nearly 80% of America’s combat glider pilots who served in major operations, such as Market Garden (Invasion of the Netherlands), Varsity (Invasion of Germany) and overlord (the “D-day” Allied Invasion of Normandy, France). SPAAF closed on April 1, 1945, more than a month before victory in Europe was declared. Designated surplus, the site was transferred to the War Assets Administration in December 1947. In 1949 the airfield returned to the City of Lubbock for municipal use, and in 1950 the city built a modern air terminal. Regional combat glider training facilities –– located in the Texas panhandle and South Plains –– were vital components of U.S. Military force projection capability during the war. In addition, the creation and maintenance of these bases contributed significantly to local economies during the war. In 1971, former glider pilots formed the National World War II Glider Pilots Association, Inc., providing the framework for the preservation of the history of the U.S. Combat Glider Program. Today, a key element in telling this story is the Silent Wings Museum, moved to this site and opened in October 2002.

Historical Marker → · 9.8 mi away

Lubbock Christian - 2025 Texas TAPPS Division III state football champion

2025

Lubbock Christian defeated Dallas Christian School 36-30 for the 2025 Texas TAPPS Division III state football championship.

Sports News → · 9.1 mi away

Things to Do in Shallowater

historical 11.2 mi away
Buddy Holly Center

Lubbock was a dusty cotton town when a skinny kid named Charles Hardin Holley picked up a guitar in the nineteen fifties and figured out how to make rock and…
historical 11.7 mi away
Buddy Holly Center

Museum dedicated to Lubbock's most famous son. The day the music died.
quirky 16.6 mi away
Ozymandias On The Plains

A pair of giant legs — and nothing else — standing in a Lubbock field. Shelley's poem made real.

Sports in Shallowater

🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 3A · Girls Basketball · 2020–2024

Shallowater — UIL 3A Girls Basketball State Champions — 2 titles

Most recent: 2024 3A

Shallowater High School, a familiar name in Class 3A girls' basketball, has established itself as a formidable presence in the Texas high school sports landscape. The Shallowater Fillies have twice reached the pinnacle of their division, securing UIL State Championships in 2020 and most recently in 2024. These titles reflect a consistent level of play and dedication within the program, bringing state-level recognition to the community.

The Fillies' success on the court is a point of pride for Shallowater. While no specific alumni have gone on to professional or major-college careers from the listed information, the team's repeated trips to the state championship game underscore a strong tradition in a town that deeply values its high school athletics.

State titles
2 (2020–2024)
Most recent
2024
Class
3A
The moment

The 2024 Class 3A UIL State Championship stands as the most recent crowning achievement for the Shallowater Fillies.

Sources: UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Shallowater

192 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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