Buffalo Courts
Canyon, Randall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A unique community venture at West Texas State Teachers College during the Great Depression produced an architectural landmark. The project began in 1933 and used student labor, community donations, and state and federal funding. Limestone, petrified wood and other rock was quarried in Texas and New Mexico. The complex included a fieldhouse, athletic dormitories, an outdoor swimming pool, stone walls and stadium bleachers. Much of the facility was later razed; only the two-story recreation hall completed in 1941 remains standing. The facility has a petrified wood exterior, large stone fireplaces and staircase, and a second-story hardwood dance floor. In the 1980s, the alumni association moved its headquarters here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2007
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
During the Great Depression, students, townspeople, and government funding combined to build a striking recreation complex at West Texas State Teachers College. Begun in 1933 using student labor and stone quarried in Texas and New Mexico—including limestone and petrified wood—the project produced a fieldhouse, dormitories, an outdoor pool, and stadium bleachers. Most was later razed, but the two-story recreation hall of 1941 survives, with a petrified-wood exterior, great stone fireplaces, and a second-story dance floor.
Why it matters
Buffalo Courts shows how Depression-era communities and New Deal funding turned local stone and student muscle into lasting public architecture.
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Related events
- · Great Depression
Themes & tags
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