Texana Thursday: Celebrating Turkey (Texas)

Turkey, Texas, is in West Texas, at the edge of the Panhandle. (Wikimedia Commons image)

Texas, as I’ve written elsewhere, has its share of cities named for heroic and historic figures. (Texas tends to outdo itself there.) But on Thanksgiving, perhaps it’s fitting to celebrate a town named for the main course at many households on this family holiday.

Turkey, Texas, is in southwestern Hall County, in West Texas. It is approximately 100 miles east of Lubbock, 100 miles southeast of Amarillo, and 78 miles west of Hollis, Oklahoma, the nearest out-of-state town. Turkey’s population is approximately 500.

An article by John Leffler in the Handbook of Texas Online (published by the Texas State Historical Association) says that Turkey was probably first settled in the early 1890s. The town was first called Turkey Roost, for the wild turkey roosts once found on nearby Turkey Creek. Later the town became known as Turkey.

Thanks in part to a railroad connection, Turkey became an important shipping point for the farmers and ranchers of the region. Its population grew to approximately 1,000 people when the Great Depression came along in the 1930s. It rebounded following the World War II years, but the population eventually began to decline again.

Today, Turkey is known for being near the Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway. Campers, hikers, horseback riding enthusiasts, among others, enjoy the park, which is just west of town.

Turkey is probably best known as the hometown of the country singer Bob Wills. The city celebrates Bob Wills Day each year, and is home to the Bob Wills Museum.

Whether you’re enjoying turkey or some other delicacy today, here’s wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!