Smyer, Texas

Smyer was founded in 1917, when William L. Ellwood began selling portions of the Spade Ranch to farmers. The town was constructed in 1924 and deemed platted in 1925, which soon opened up the rail service to begin in Smyer. The town had many things to offer as a small town such as a school, a gin, two stores, a railway Depot, and a lumberyard. The school district was created in 1924 and organized in 1927 as the old school board and new board consolidated to form the present-day school board. In 1929, the town was hit by a heavy tornado and it destroyed many things in Smyer, but the farmers managed to get back up and rebuilt from the ground up and made it better. In 1951, a new elementary school was built and in 1957, newer additions of the buildings were made to improve the student's time in school. In 1980, the population was 455, and in 2000, the population was 480, the largest peak population ever in Smyer. In 2020, Smyer has remodeled, rebuilt, and sold different areas and certain criteria around the town's functions. The town is predicted to grow in the coming years as western Lubbock continues to grow and impact other areas such as Ropesville.

Robert Turney (1869 - 1945) was born to Arnold C. Turney (1834 - 1906) and Carol Weatherford (1840 - 1898) in Colorado Springs, CO. He moved out to Houston, Texas in 1888 and worked as a sales contractor for different companies until moving out to the South Plains, where he purchased a ranch 5 miles south of present day Lubbock. In 1890, He travelled to Kaufman County to sell cattle when he met his wife, Alice Bell (1873 - 1951) and married her a month after meeting her. The two moved out of the old ranch and purchased a 15 acre lot of land near the Spade Ranch in 1903 and began ranching business in 1905. In 1917, Ropesville was founded as a town and hosted the beginning of the railway services there, which allowed the Turneys to be able to ship cattle and cotton. In 1922, The Turneys moved there ranch to the present-day area of Smyer and constructed a small wooden house on a 4 acre lot and began doing other sorts of work in the newly formed town of Levelland so they could pay off the home they built. In 1925, Smyer was deemed platted and the railway service began, which gave the town a chance for pit stops for travelers to rest. Mr and Mrs Turney began working as teachers for the school in 1926 and also served on the first school board of Smyer in 1927, which gave them a reputation of doing things accurately. The Turney home was used as a meeting place for school activities and church gatherings, which made it more fun for the other people since it was a bigger household then others. The Turneys home was a Queen Anne Style house that was soon remodeling with a newer roof and a gray color on the interior, which gave it a more detailed feel so people were attracted to it. In 1927, The Turneys would help with mail service in the Woolam store and buy food from the Augustus Mann store so they could continue making meals for the church and school, as well as getting some for the daily week. In 1929, a tornado struck Smyer and damaged the house, but thankfully, Mr. Turney was able to get the house refixed and refurbished into it's normal state. When the 1930s hit, Robert Turney retired from teacher and moved the house 2 miles north of Smyer and began operating ranch lands until the age of 70. In 1945, Robert Turney passed away and left Alice alone with the home, in which she decided to move it to the Lubbock County line in 1951, where she then burned the home and herself with it due to her mental health issues being severe after her husband's death.

Smyer is located on the high plains of the Llano Estacado at 33°35′03″N 102°09′48″W (33.5842563, –102.1632291),[5] in eastern Hockley County. Texas State Highway 114 passes through the southern side of the town, leading west 16 miles (26 km) to Levelland, the county seat, and east 17 miles (27 km) to Lubbock.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Smyer has a total area of 0.81 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.[4]

As of the census[7] of 2020, 481 people, 187 households, and 152 families resided in the town. The population density was 617.3 people per square mile (237.6/km²). The 215 housing units averaged 276.5 per square mile (106.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.88% White, 2.08% African American, 1.25% Native American, 13.12% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 29.17% of the population.

Of the 187 households, 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.7% were not families. About 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town, the population was distributed as 32.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,667, and for a family was $32,000. Males had a median income of $23,594 versus $20,313 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,784. About 16.4% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

The town is served by the Smyer Independent School District. The Principal of the Elementary School is Mr. Pond. The Principal of the High School is Mr. Schaap, and the Superintendent of Smyer is Mr. Chris Wade

• Spade Ranch (Texas)
• Llano Estacado
• Caprock Escarpment

• Handbook of Texas: Smyer, TX
• Photos of the Llano Estacado