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Tulia in Swisher County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Ozark Trails Association

 
 
Ozark Trails Association Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 17, 2015
1. Ozark Trails Association Marker
Inscription. Founded in 1913 to mark and promote an automobile route across several states, the Ozark Trails Association was the brainchild of William Hope Harvey of Arkansas, who wanted to improve roads to his Ozark mountain retreat. Thousands of members from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri attended annual meetings of the association, which also sought to promote tourism and educate the public to the need for better highways and roads.

The southern route of the Ozark Trail extended across the Texas panhandle through Collingsworth, Childress, Hall, Briscoe, Swisher, Castro and Parmer counties. In 1920, members from these Texas counties and two New Mexico counties met and voted to follow the lead of the national group in placing reinforced concrete signposts along the route in their counties. James E. Swepston of Tulia led this effort and was elected president of the national association at its 1920 annual meeting.

The concrete obelisk placed in Tulia (85 feet northwest) originally denoted the distance from Tulia to various towns on the trail. It retains its identity as a local landmark, and in 2000, the Texas Historical Commission designated the Ozark Trail marker as a State Archeological Landmark. The obelisk also is a reminder of the Ozark Trails Association (disbanded in 1924), one of many private
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highway associations to sponsor automobile routes before the federal government began numbering and marking such highways after World War I.
 
Erected 2001 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 12570.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1920.
 
Location. 34° 32.217′ N, 101° 45.855′ W. Marker is in Tulia, Texas, in Swisher County. Marker is at the intersection of South Maxwell Avenue and East Broadway Avenue, on the right when traveling north on South Maxwell Avenue. Marker is on the southeast corner. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tulia TX 79088, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Flynt Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Swisher County (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Swisher County (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); JA Ranch Cabin (approx. 0.2 miles away); First Methodist Church of Tulia (approx. 0.2 miles away); J.O. Bass Blacksmith Shop (approx. 0.2 miles away); Quanah Parker Trail (approx. 0.4 miles away); Tulia Depot (approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tulia.
 
Ozark Trails Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 17, 2015
2. Ozark Trails Marker
Ozark Trails Association Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 17, 2015
3. Ozark Trails Association Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on December 1, 2015, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 399 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on December 1, 2015, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona.

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Mar. 29, 2024