Ira
Ira, Scurry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Named for Ira Green, who had a crossroads store near this site. First homes and school were half-dugouts (cellars with windows set above ground level). Post office established 1896. On opening of block 97 to settlers, 1899, area became active farm and ranch community. Oil production since 1923. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Scurry County community of Ira took its name from Ira Green, who kept a crossroads store near this spot, and its first homes and school were half-dugouts—cellars with windows set just above the ground. A post office opened in 1896, and when Block 97 was opened to settlers in 1899 the area became a busy farm and ranch community. Oil production, beginning in 1923, added a new chapter to its economy.
Why it matters
Ira's dugout beginnings and later oil boom trace the two great forces that shaped West Texas—homestead settlement and the twentieth-century petroleum industry.
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Related people
- · Ira Green
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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