Region: Big Bend Country
Spanish explorers crossed the area of present Ward County more than 400 years
ago, but it remained an undisturbed habitat of Native Americans until the
mid-1800s. The city was established in about 1881 as a stop on the Texas and
Pacific Railroad, which was building west from Fort Worth. It became the county
seat and, today, is a financial and marketing center for more than 800 square
miles of cattle and oil country.
Oil wells, drilled at a distance from the downtown area, are slanted to draw
oil from beneath city hall, courthouse, banks and business
houses.