PDR Dents Hail Repair - WintersTexas
Winters, Texas
Large ranches and cattle grazing developed in the Winters area in the 1870-1880's. In the late 1880's, farmers began to settle on the fertile land. In 1889, a general store was established and a small school house was built on land donated by rancher and land agent, Mr. J. N. Winters. In 1890, townspeople agreed to name the town for Mr. Winters. The new town was chartered in 1894. The community continued to grow and in 1901 a brass band was organized. The band traveled on a bandwagon drawn by four white horses and became well known as they traveled over West Texas. The Abilene and Southern Railroad arrived in 1909 and a volunteer fire department was organized in 1911, with pick axes, a few buckets, and two ladders. Churches were organized, representing several denominations. The first bank--Winters State Bank--was established in 1906 by John Q. McAdams with a capital of $15,000. Local businesses began to flourish. The town newspaper, The Winters Enterprise, and Spill Brothers Furniture Store were both established in 1905, The Rock Hotel was built in 1909 to house the railroad passengers stopping in Winters. The Winters Chapter of the Future Farmers of America was the first chapter in Texas to receive a State Charter on April 10, 1932. The Chamber of Commerce was established in 1932. Agriculture has always been an important part of Winters' economy. In 1910, Winters was the largest cotton shipping point in the United States. At one time there were 12 cotton gins. Farmers brought wagons full of hand-picked cotton and waited for several hours to have the cotton ginned. The lint was then packed into 500 pound bales. At its peak in 1932, Runnels County produced 72,000 bales of cotton. Cotton became the main agricultural commodity, with wheat, grain sorghum, cattle, and sheep also being important to the area. The first oil well was located east of Winters, but was a poor producer. In 1949, a productive well was discovered northwest of town and since then oil has become a major industry in this part of Texas. During the last half of the 20th century, light metal manufacturing developed in Winters. Two major metal manufacturing companies--Selkirk-Airmate, which makes air conditioning vents and related products, and Contico, which produces aluminum and steel pickup tool boxes--contribute significantly to the the local economy. Alderman-Cave Feeds, with headquarters in Winters, supplies feed products over a four state area.