Lazbuddie
Lazbuddie, Parmer County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1902, Thomas Kelly bought 55,136 acres of the capitol syndicate’s Red Tower Camp (part of the original XIT Ranch). Kelly developed the Star Ranch with thirty windmills plus bunkhouses, corrals, outbuildings and a schoolhouse. The ranch was later subdivided to form smaller ranches and farms, and the Star Ranch School building moved here. In 1924, D. Luther (Laz) Green and Andrew (Buddie) Sherley opened the Lazbuddie commissary, which became the center of a rural community. In 1926-27, Lazbuddie gained a post office, Missionary Baptist Church, and new brick schoolhouse. A Methodist Church and community cemetery began in 1928, followed by businesses, gins and a grain elevator. Lazbuddie remains an active agricultural town on the Texas high plains.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1902 Thomas Kelly bought more than 55,000 acres of the legendary XIT Ranch and built the Star Ranch, dotting the high plains with thirty windmills, corrals, and a schoolhouse. As the great ranch was carved into smaller farms, a community took root: D. Luther 'Laz' Green and Andrew 'Buddie' Sherley opened the Lazbuddie commissary in 1924, giving the town both its heart and its whimsical name. Post office, churches, schools, and grain elevators soon followed.
Why it matters
Lazbuddie shows the transformation of the vast open-range XIT Ranch into the settled farm-and-ranch communities that define the modern Texas Panhandle.
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Related people
- · Thomas Kelly
- · D. Luther Green
- · Andrew Sherley
Themes & tags
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