Old Watering Trough
Sudan, Lamb County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of Sudan's oldest structures. Built 1916, when Santa Fe Railway terminus here shipped out cattle of early ranches. Here ranchers watered herds and horses, traded, told yarns, hired hands. Trough also served mule teams, after the farming era began in the 1920's. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the Santa Fe Railway pushed its terminus onto the high plains of Lamb County in 1916, Sudan became a shipping point where ranchers drove herds to the rails. This stone watering trough stood at the heart of that brief cattle-town era, slaking the thirst of horses, herds, and later the mule teams that broke the sod once dryland farming took hold in the 1920s. It doubled as a gathering spot where hands were hired and tall tales traded.
Why it matters
The trough marks the pivot from open-range ranching to settled farming that the railroads set in motion across the West Texas plains.
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