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Odessa in Ector County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett

 
 
Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 12, 2017
1. Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett Marker
Inscription. Born 1835 in Alabama. Moved to north Texas before the Civil War, in which he served as a Confederate.

After his wife died in 1874, he went to the Texas frontier to hunt Buffalo, taking his three young children with him. In 1881-1882 he supplied game to Texas & Pacific Railroad construction crews. (such hunting was important to development of west Texas and to transcontinental railroad construction).

Settling later in Odessa, Sublett built near this site a dugout-and-tent home, and homesteaded a 160 acre claim. To support his family, he hauled wood and "water-witched" to locate wells for settlers.

In the 1880's he attracted notice by using gold nuggets to trade for supplies. In explanation, he said an Apache Indian had directed him to a mine in the Guadalupe Mountains, about 150 miles west of here. Periodically he disappeared and returned with gold, but efforts to follow him to the mine always failed. He once took his young son there, but the boy could not find the way later. In 1889, Sublett sold his Ector County property. He died Jan. 6, 1892, in Barstow, without disclosing the location of his mine. However, stories of his treasure still lure explorers into the Guadalupe Mountains.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 1967
 
Erected
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1967 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 4813.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ExplorationIndustry & CommerceSettlements & SettlersWar, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is January 6, 1892.
 
Location. 31° 51.436′ N, 102° 20.655′ W. Marker is in Odessa, Texas, in Ector County. Marker is on North Grandview Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 222 North Grandview Avenue, Odessa TX 79761, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Ector County's First Dry Hole (approx. 0.4 miles away); Sewell Ford (approx. 0.6 miles away); Temple Beth El (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Parker Family (approx. one mile away); Site of Blackshear High School (approx. 1.1 miles away); Ector County Newspapers (approx. 1˝ miles away); The White-Pool House (approx. 1.6 miles away); Ector County Land Rush (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Odessa.
 
Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 12, 2017
2. Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett Marker
Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 12, 2017
3. Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 21, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2018, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 256 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on July 22, 2018, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona.

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Mar. 28, 2024