Plainview, Texas: The City Without a View

I love a town that can make fun of itself. Plainview was the perfect name for this place. Nothing but plains all the way around.

Back in 1886, this guy named Z.T. Maxwell moved his family and 2000 sheep out to what would become Plainview. Shortly after, another guy named Edwin Lowe moved his family from Tennessee. The two men got together and decided to form a town. In 1887, Plainview was established. The next year, Hale county (named for John Hale, hero of the Battle of San Jacinto) was created and Plainview was named the county seat.

In 1906, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad came to town and that's when things really got going. By 1910, there were 3,000 people here and Seth Ward College opened giving the town the "Athens of West Texas". This lovely train depot was built in 1910 to replace the wooden structure that was there before. It doesn't appear to be used for anything at this time which is a shame as it's in great shape.

The Fair Theater opened in 1925 showing silent movies and live vaudeville shows. Like most small town theaters, it closed in the 1980s. Then in the late 1990s, the city bought the structure and restored it. Today you can still see movies there. I would love to do that!

In 1890, the first Hale County Courthouse was built. Sadly by 1910, they'd outgrown it. So, the county sold the building to a doctor who used it as a pharmacy! That's so cool. It's too bad that this building is no longer there.

In 1910, this courthouse was built. I like it. It still has character and charm.

This building on the corner of the Courthouse lawn was built in 1925 as the Hale County Jail. I don't know if the Sheriff actually lived there or just had an office there but the whole group moved to a new facility in the 1980s. The signage says that it's an Indigent Veteran Health Services facility. 

This is the Hilton Hotel in Plainview Texas. That's right, Conrad Hilton built this hotel in 1928. At 8-stories, it was the tallest building in town at the time. The hotel closed in the 1980s and the building has supposedly been turned into lofts.

The US Post Office was built in Plainview in 1933 and is still a functioning post office. It's a gorgeous building!

This is the Ware Hotel built in 1910. In 1925, they added a floor bringing the room county to an even hundred. Some of them had private bathrooms. In 1966, the hotel closed. It became Levine's Department Store until 1973. Now it is office space for Hale County. I'd love to have seen then inside back in it's heyday.

One of the things we didn't get to see was the Jimmy Dean Museum. It's on the campus of the Wayland Baptist College. Back in 1969, country singer Jimmy Dean opened a meat packing plant out here. Apparently, Jimmy Dean was born and raised here and wanted to give back to his community. Unfortunately, the plant closed in the 1990s. It was bought by another company and it moved. That had a devasting effect on the economy.

In 1971, the Missouri Beef Packers opened a plant. At some point it was bought out by a company called Cargill only to be shut down in 2013. Yet another hit to the Plainview economy. The plant had too much processing capacity compared to the available beef. I'm not sure why that mean you had to shut it down but what do I know.

There are about 20K people that live here, which surprised me. They have a United Supermarket and a Walmart for their grocery needs. For chain fast food I only saw a McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Their Whataburger was closed. Hmm...I was also surprised to see they had a Chili's. 

Plainview was a breath of fresh air after the last town we went through.  The biggest employers are the Plainview ISD and Wayland Baptist College, though you'd certainly be close enough to Lubbock to commute. I would like to have visited the Jimmy Dean Museum and if I'm back out this way, I will. Meanwhile, if you're out this way, check it out!