The Jackrabbit
Odessa, Ector County, Texas
Marker Inscription
True plains Rabbit. Lives only in the west. Burro-like ears gave him his name. color is protective, blending with sand and dry grass. Very long legs make him a swift runner, clocked at speeds to 45 miles and hour. Object of hunts with Greyhounds. Was prized by plains Indians for food and fur. to white man a reminder of desert-hard life. In drouth and depression, meat source for thousands. Subject of tall tales. Actual hero of world's only Jackrabbit Rodeo, in Odessa, May 1932.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
With its burro-like ears and sand-colored coat, the jackrabbit was long a fixture of West Texas life, prized by Plains Indians for food and fur and, to settlers, a symbol of the hard desert country. In drought and Depression its meat fed thousands, and it starred in countless tall tales. In May 1932 Odessa staged what it billed as the world's only Jackrabbit Rodeo.
Why it matters
This offbeat marker preserves the folk culture of the West Texas plains, where survival, humor, and local pride gathered around an unlikely regional emblem.
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Related events
- · Jackrabbit Rodeo (1932)
Themes & tags
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