A Half-Mile South of this marker Stood Town of Gomez
Brownfield, Terry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1903, owners of land here in center of then-unorganized Terry County platted this town, secured a post office named for Spanish-American patriot Maximo Gomez, drilled a public water well, and induced merchants and citizens to move here. This was the first inhabited townsite in the county. Its promoters hoped it would be the county seat, but that honor went to Brownfield (4.4 mi. E) in 1904 when the county was organized. Gomez had a post office until 1926, school until 1941. A church, some businesses (.75 mi. NW), and the old cemetery retain the name. (1974)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1903, landowners platted Gomez in the center of then-unorganized Terry County, secured a post office named for Cuban independence patriot Máximo Gómez, dug a public well, and lured settlers and merchants. It was the county's first inhabited townsite and hoped to become the county seat—an honor that went instead to nearby Brownfield in 1904. The post office closed in 1926 and the school in 1941, leaving a church, a few businesses, and the old cemetery to carry the name.
Why it matters
Gomez is a classic West Texas near-miss, a would-be county seat that faded into a ghost town when the seat and railroad went elsewhere.
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Related people
- · Máximo Gómez
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Gomez Baptist Church
Brownfield, TX
On August 3, 1903, nine worshippers gathered under a wagon-sheet tent to organize this Baptist church, led by the Rev. J. R. Miller and meeting monthly in the Gomez schoolhouse. A one-room sanctuary built in 1909 was later moved when the town of Gomez itself was relocated for highway construction, and a larger church rose in 1936. The congregation gained its first full-time pastor by 1942 but was disbanded in 1992, its fortunes tied to the fading town of Gomez.
Gomez Cemetery
Brownfield, TX
Established in 1902, this cemetery served Gomez, the first settlement in Terry County, which then stood a half-mile to the west. Pioneer settler H. F. Adams deeded the original four-acre tract to the Gomez School trustees in 1906, and some of the area's earliest homesteaders were buried here. When the county seat shifted, many graves were moved to Brownfield in 1918.
Brownfield Cemetery
Brownfield, TX
Brownfield's first public burial ground began in 1904 with the death of 19-year-old Jessie Hill, on land that soon belonged to M. V. Brownfield. Through two world wars and the Great Depression the cemetery fell into neglect, then reflected a new chapter as Hispanic farm workers settled the area in the 1940s and 1950s. A 1980 reorganization revived it, and by 1999 it held more than 2,000 graves.
City of Brownfield
Brownfield, TX
Brownfield began in 1903 as a promoter's gamble on the open plains of Terry County, laid out by developers W. G. Hardin and A. F. Small—famously using only a hundred feet of wire to measure a townsite out of raw pasture. To draw settlers they offered a free lot to every voter in the county, and a store, hotel, and school quickly followed. In 1904 the fledgling town narrowly beat neighboring Gomez for the county seat, securing its future.