Sudan, Texas, Lamb County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Sudan was once a part of the 77 Ranch. The town itself dates to 1917 and was located on a branch line of the Santa Fe Railroad.

The town's name is credited to the first postmaster, P. E. Boesen, but his reason for naming it remains a mystery. The post office was granted in 1918 when the town had fewer than 1920 inhabitants.

The population ballooned to 600 in 1925 - the year the town incorporated and the first newspaper (The Sudan News) was published. The population high-water mark was 1,336 in 1950.

Sudan name origin

"I have made an almost life-long study of Texas post offices, and I absolutely love your prose (sometimes delightfully humorous) and photos of Texas' many small towns. Thank you!!! I did want to take a moment to share that although the article on Sudan states that the town's name origin is a mystery, its namesake is apparently sudan grass which has been grown as a commercial feed crop in the area." - Cheers. John J. Germann, April 15, 2014

Sudan, Texas Landmarks

Photographer's Note: A special little town with lots of personality but yet still definitely West Texas. - Barclay Gibson, August 2009

Old Watering Trough
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2009

Historical Marker: US 84, south side between Main and Hornet streets

Old Watering Trough

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

Old Watering Trough Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2009

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