Four Santa Fe Depots Put Scurry County on a Longer Line

Scurry County had rail service in 1909, but not the reach it wanted. The Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific was the county's lone line, and it lacked connections to distant markets. Local residents backed C. W. Post of Garza County, who gave $50,000 to attract the Santa Fe. The railroad was planning a route between Lubbock and Coleman, so Scurry County had a chance to become part of a much longer connection.

By the end of 1911, Santa Fe tracks crossed the county. Passenger-and-freight depots stood at Dermott, Hermleigh, Pyron, and Snyder. The four names matter because the new route spread its reach beyond the county seat.

The line supported commercial and agricultural growth in its early years. Later, it hauled many tons of equipment for the oil industry. The same tracks therefore served two large chapters of county work: commerce and farming, then machinery for the petroleum years.

The historical marker sits on the 26th Street sidewalk at the southwest corner of the courthouse. From Snyder's square, it names a railroad network that once ran through four Scurry County communities rather than ending at one depot.