[Transcribed from the 60th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of the Lea County Fair and Rodeo program for the event held August 5-12, 1995] Tatum, the crossroads on the high plains, began with the arrival of James Green Tatum August 9, 1909. Mr. Tatum along with his wife Mattie and daughter Martha James made the trip from … Continue reading Founding of Tatum
history
Beverly Thomas “Tootie” Schnaubert
"Tootie" Schnaubert was born January 29, 1917 to Stephen Arthur Schnaubert and Ella M. Adams Schnaubert in Rankin, Texas. Both parents died in December, 1918 when he was not quite two years old, their causes of death unstated. Tootie and his two siblings, Leon and Stephen, went to live with their grandparents, Arthur and Mentie … Continue reading Beverly Thomas “Tootie” Schnaubert
A Lightning Story
In the book, "Then and Now - Lea County Families, Vol. 1," Fred B. Cooper (1915-1996) relates a family story of a lightning strike to his family home on September 27, 1910. The family was sleeping in their home in the Panhandle of Texas when a big electrical storm came up. Fred writes, "The lightning … Continue reading A Lightning Story
The James B. Love Family
James Benjamin “Jim” Love was the younger brother of Robert Florence Love. Both were sons of John Dillard Love and Mary Jane Austin Love. Jim was born on September 25, 1873 in Palo Pinto, Stephens County, Texas. By the time he was about seventeen, he began working on ranches in West Texas and on into … Continue reading The James B. Love Family
Samuel Rose Cooper, Early Settler
Samuel R. Cooper was an early resident of Lea County. He was born near Salina, Kansas in 1874. When he was six years old, his family moved to Erring Springs, in the Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma Territory, now known as Oklahoma. As a young adult around the age of 21, Mr. Cooper left his family and … Continue reading Samuel Rose Cooper, Early Settler
Mescalero Ridge
Mescalero Ridge is a name given to the geological feature that is part of the larger Caprock Escarpment. It begins in eastern Chaves County in New Mexico and runs for fifty miles roughly parallel to the county line of Lea County. Its name comes from the Mescalero Apache tribe who once resided and hunted in … Continue reading Mescalero Ridge
Arkansas Junction
Arkansas Junction is a name given to the intersection of New Mexico highway 483 and US 62-180 (the Hobbs-Carlsbad highway). The location never really rose to the level of a settlement or community, like some others in the county, but most of the time has had businesses there, such as a gas station and a … Continue reading Arkansas Junction
The Joseph Hall Graham Family
Joseph Hall Graham was born May 18, 1848 to Spencer Corp Graham and Nancy Venters Graham in Denton County, Texas. Both of his parents died in the mid to late 1860s. Joseph married Marianne (or Marian) Elizabeth Johnson of Tarrant County, Texas in 1879. The census in 1880 shows them to be living in Young … Continue reading The Joseph Hall Graham Family
The Causey Brothers
The Causey brothers were formerly buffalo hunters. The big lumbering buffalo were hunted in the southwest to the point where they declined from a peak of over 100 million animals to near extinction in only a few decades during the late 1800s. Likely the best known Causey brother went by George Causey, though his given … Continue reading The Causey Brothers
William Rufus Shafter and the Monument
Colonel William R. Shafter (1835-1906) was a United States Army officer in command of so called Buffalo Soldiers of the 24th United States Infantry Regiment in West Texas and the New Mexico Territory. He led troops during the Civil War as a first lieutenant in the 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment and for his actions … Continue reading William Rufus Shafter and the Monument
Old Lea County, N.M. 