The 1928 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide Page: 344

                                
344                  THE TEXAS ALMANAC.

connecting  Del Rio and    San  Angelo.
There are 28 miles of paved road, 19 miles
of asphalt and about 32 miles of other
improved  highway   within  the  county
limits.
SCURRY-*Created,     1876;  organized,
1884, area, 887 sq mi; Pop., 1920, 9,003;
*1927,  15,000;  Alt.,  2,300  ft.;  *rainfall,  20
in. Situated in West Texas.
This county lies on the rolling plains
of West Texas at the foot of the cap rock.
There are some broken sections, but most
of the area is good tillable land. The
southwestern half of the county drains
into the Colorado, the northeastern half
into the Double Mountain Fork of the
Brazos. A variety of soils are found-
usually dark loams, but with some sandy
land and red lands. There is a scant
growth of mesquite.
Cotton growing is the chief industry,
and the county customarily produces from
25,000 to 40,000 bales annually. There is
also a large production of grain sorghums,
corn, oats and forage crops. The acreage
of cultivated land has increased i apidly
during recent years. There is some ranch-
ing and a good deal of stock farming.
The county, with its excellent drainage
and relatively high altitude, lends itself
to live stock and poultry raising. There
are some large land tracts stocked with
fine HeIefords.
Snyder is the county seat. It is a city
of about 4,000 or 5,000 population as
against 2.174 in 1920. It does a large
business with the well developed farming
territory surrounding it. It is on the main
line of the transcontinental Santa Fe and
is also served by the Roscoe, Snyder &
Pacific, which operates between Roscoe
in Nolan County and Fluvanna in the
northwestern part of Scurry County.
SHACKELFORD-*Created, 1858, organ-
ized,  1874;  area,  88-7  sq. ml.;  Pop.,  1920,
4.960, *1927, 7,500; Alt., 1,300 to 1,600 ft.;
*rainfall, 25 in. Situated in North Texas
The county lies on the divide between
the Clear Fork of the Brazos, which flows
through the western part, and Hubbard's
Creek, which flows through the eastern
part  The county is rolling, with some
hills, but with wide fertile valleys along
the streams. The soils vary from sandy
in the southeast to rich black and brown
loam in the central, northern and western
portions
There is not much cotton production,
but there is an appreciable production of
kafirs, sorghums, hay, oats and wheat.
Fruits and vegetables grow well but are
not produced for outside market In any
great quantity. There are many native
pecan trees along the streams and these
nuts form a valuable crop. There is a
reservoir project on the Clear Fork of the
Brazos to irrigate some thousands of
acres
Beef cattle raising is the chief industry.
Shackelford has long been known for its
fine Hereford cattle. Dairying is gaining
in importance. There are several oil and
gas fields in the county with large pro-
duction.
Albany, the county seat, is situated on
the Texas Central branch of the Misiouri-
Kansas-Texas and is a live stock market
and shipping point. It had a population
of 1,469 in 1920, but has grown to about
2,500 or 3,000. There is considerable ac-
tivity here in connection with the petro-

leum Industry. It lies at the intersection
of improved roads leading to east, north,
west, southwest and southeast. All the
highways are improved and there are
about seventy-five miles of pavement.
Moran is a trade center to a farming, live
stock raising and oil producing territory.
Fort Griffin, situated in the northeast
part of the county on the Clear Fork of
the Brazes, was an Indian outpost and
much of historic interest centers around it.
SHELBY-*Created and organized, 1837;
area, 833 sq mi.; Pop., 1920, 27,464; *1927,
30,000. Situated in extreme East Texas.
The surface is rolling and soil ranges
from sandy soil to rich bottom land. There
is much level land in the county which is
naturally drained, making ideal farm land.
The mean elevation above sea level is
about 350 feet and the rainfall averages
about forty-five inches.
The chief crops are cotton, corn and
sugar cane. Watermelons are extensive-
ly raised and several thousand truckloads
are sold to the markets at Shrevepolt,
Houston and Beaumont. The county also
raises much ribbon cane. In the northern
portion of the county peaches and straw-
berries ale grown and shipped in car lots.
Also many cars of tomatoes are shipped.
Thousands of head of cattle are to be
found on the free range in this county.
The climate being mild, very little feed is
necessary in winter.
The county is heavily timbered with
pine and hardwood, about 70 per cent be-
ing timbered lands   The most common
timber in the county is long and short-
leaf pine, while in the bottoms there is
hardwood, such as sweet gum, hickory,
ash and oak.
There yet remains in this county some
virgin timber. Most of the virgin growth
is found in the eastern and southern parts.
There are practically 75,000 acres of cut-
over land. Lumbering is one of the chief
industries  There are about thirty saw-
mills in the county ranging from 5,000 to
250,000 board-feet capacity.
There are deposits of iron ore, coal and
limestone, but these deposits remain un-
developed. There are traces of oil and
gas and considerable prospecting    has
been done  A small amount of oil is pro-
duced.
The county is served by the Santa Fe
and Southern Pacific and has a well im-
proved highway system. Center, the coun-
ty seat, has a population of about 2,500.
Haslam is a sawmill town. Timpson,
Teneha, Joaquin and Shelbyville are other
trade centers.
SHERMAN-*Created, 1876; organized,
1899; area, 935 sq. ml.; Pop., 1920, 1,473;
*1927, 2,500; AlLt, 3,500 to 4,000 ft.; *rain-
fall, 21 in. Situated in Northern Pan-
handle.
The surface is generally level, cut by
several deep creek valleys and many lake
basins. It is drained by Beaver, Frisco,
Coldwater and Palo Duro Creeks.      An
abundant supply of water is found at a
depth of 175 feet. Very little natural tim-
ber is found in the county, but most every
home has a yard of growing trees, pop-
lars, black locusts, elms, cottonwoods, box
alders, ash and others. Fruit growing has
gained in prominence as the county has
grown older. Cherries, peaches, plums,
*See page 358 for explanatory notes and references
to additional information on counties and cities.