Site of John and Maggie Weatherly Half-Dugout Site
Borger, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This structure is a copy of a half-dugout erected in 1898 near this location by John (1865-1944) and Maggie Weatherly (1875-1968). The High Plains offered no native stone or timber for building materials. Instead, settlers lived in dugouts, built into the thick sod. Well-insulated, the dugouts were cool in summer and warm in winter. When building supplies became available, more elegant homes were erected. The Weatherlys were pioneer ranchers and civic leaders. Borger was founded on their original homestead after oil was discovered here. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This is a replica of the half-dugout that John and Maggie Weatherly built into the sod in 1898 on the treeless High Plains, where neither stone nor timber was at hand. Dug into the earth, such dwellings stayed cool in summer and warm in winter until settlers could afford proper houses. The Weatherlys became pioneer ranchers and civic leaders, and the oil-boom town of Borger later rose on their original homestead.
Why it matters
The humble dugout captures the ingenuity of High Plains pioneers who made homes from the very ground beneath them, on land that would later fuel a Texas oil boom.
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Related people
- · John Weatherly
- · Maggie Weatherly
Themes & tags
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