Site of O.K. Wagon Yard
Snyder, Scurry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Formerly on Jackass Avenue) Stopping place for travelers in early 1900s. Rented rooms and horse stalls for two bits (25 c) each. Provided blacksmithing and harness repair and kept a horse, Jersey Bull, and a "Missouri Jack" (donkey) as stud animals. With right contact here, a cowboy could also buy a jar of "White Lightning" (home-brewed whiskey). On Saturdays citizens "passed the hat" to finance a rodeo at the yard. In later years "first Mondays" were held here, where farmers, ranchers, mule skinners, and the curious met to swap or exchange produce, livestock, and other goods. Yard closed in 1930s. (1971)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the early 1900s the O.K. Wagon Yard on Snyder's old Jackass Avenue offered travelers rooms and horse stalls for two bits apiece, along with blacksmithing, harness repair, and stud animals — and, with the right introduction, a jar of homemade "White Lightning." Saturdays brought passed-hat rodeos, and "first Mondays" drew farmers, ranchers, and mule skinners to swap livestock and goods. The yard closed in the 1930s.
Why it matters
The wagon yard was the frontier equivalent of a truck stop and trading post rolled into one, a vivid reminder of everyday commerce and sociability in a West Texas town before the automobile.
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Themes & tags
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