George Wolffarth
| George Clarence "Tildy" Wolffarth (Cattleman, farmer, businessman, | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | October 6, 1866 Jacksboro, Jack County, Texas | ||
| Died | November 13, 1950 (aged 84) Lubbock, Texas Resting place: | ||
| Spouse | Charlotte "Lottie" Hunt Wolffarth, (married 1898-1950, his death) Children: Bernice Wolffarth Myrick | ||
George Clarence Wolffarth, known also as Tildy Wolffarth (October 6, 1866 – November 13, 1950), was one of the earliest and most prominent settlers of Lubbock County, Texas.[1]
Contents
Background
Wolffarth (pronounced WUF ERT) was born in Jacksboro in Jack County, Texas, to Edward Wolffarth (1824 – 1896), a native of Newark, New Jersey, and the former Charity Elizabeth Sanders (1838-1927), who was born in Arkansas. The parents are interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Jacksboro.[1] In the 1880s, Wolffarth was a young cowboy who worked for the 22 Ranch off the Caprock, a region in the Texas Panhandle. He herded cattle from below the Caprock, to feed on the grasslands of the South Plains.[2]
Wolffarth's earliest recollection in 1884 of what became downtown Lubbock were antelope and mustangs grazing in the seas of grass. He brought his own cattle into the county and settled there permanently. In 1891, he was elected as the first clerk of Lubbock County Clerk, a position that he filled for eight years. He resided at the historic Nicolett Hotel on the courthouse square. In 1898, he acquired 160 acres of land on Blackwater Draw north of Lubbock in order to increase his growing cattle business.[2]
Life and career
In 1898 at the age of thirty-one, he wed the former Charlotte "Lottie" Hunt (1879 – 1952). the daughter of Quaker pioneers George and Lina Hunt, who originally settled in Estacado. He and Lottie resided for a few weeks in the Nicolett Hotel while their farmhouse was constructed. Horse-drawn wagons from Amarillo delivered lumber, and at a cost of $600, he completed construction of the four-room frame structure, where four of the couple’s nine children were born. The house had a milk room in which water from a windmill was piped into the room, where it flowed through a trough in which jars of milk were placed. This cooling system was common on the Great Plains, as there was no ice available in the Lubbock area until about 1909. Visitors were welcomed at the Wolffarth farmstead for long stays. One visitor, Q. Bone, was a bachelor cattleman from Scotland. Bone enjoyed Lottie’s biscuits and fresh butter brought from the milk room and reciprocated for their hospitality by giving the Wolffarths a silver English tea service. Bone also taught George his vast knowledge of potato farming. In addition to his potato patch, Wolffarth planted a plum and peach orchard in the draw. He also grew corn, sorghum, rye, and other grains. He established a locust tree nursery that provided hundreds of the tall, fast-growing trees to area settlers in need of shade. Duck and plover, a species of wading birds, were plentiful on the farm; Wolffarth organized large expeditions for plover hunts.[2]
Wolffarth dammed Blackwater Draw which streamed through the farm, and fish thrived in the pond. In minutes, Wolffarth would catch enough fish for the evening meal. He was the first person in Lubbock County to produce successful alfalfa hay for livestock feed. For moe than two decades, Wolffarth reaped his hay harvest without the need to re-seed. Beginning about 1900, he was among the first to raise registered Hereford cattle on the South Plains; in 1902, he conducted the first public auction of registered Herefords in Lubbock.[2]
Wolffarth was for a time a Lubbock city commissioner and the guiding force of Citizens National Bank, which became Texas Commerce Bank. The Lubbock County City of Wolfforth, though mistakenly spelled, is named in his. The correct spelling is reserved for Lubbock’s Wolffarth Elementary School. In 1909, Wolffarth brought the railroad to Lubbock, which at the time had a tiny population but became the hub of the South Plains over the next century. In 1921, Wolffarth sold his 160-acre farm to the fledgling Lubbock Country Club, which developed the property into one of the finest golf courses and country clubs of the Texas Plains region.[2]
Death
Wolffarth died in Lubbock at the age of eighty-four; he and Lottie and all of their children are interred at the Lubbock City Cemetery. His grandson, George Neely Wolffarth (1938-2014), was a cement contractor for more than forty years who was involved in the construction of many of Lubbock's largest well-l known buildings. Neely Wolffarth's father, Dwight, died less than three months before the passing of the family patriarch.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 George Clarence “Tildy” Wolffarth (1866-1950) - Find a Grave Memorial, accessed February 27, 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Caprock Chronicles: George C. Wolffarth and his remarkable farm (lubbockonline.com), accessed February 27, 2023.
- ↑ George Neely Wolffarth (1939-2014) - Find a Grave Memorial, accessed February 27, 2023.
