Wichita County Historical Commission

Post by Kell House Heritage Center

5/1/2023

It was a success! Thank you to the group of volunteers who came out to our Historical Marker Restoration Workshop today, who included members of the City of Wichita Falls Landmark Commission, Midwestern State University History Departments, and the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, Government (City of Wichita Falls Planning Department), who helped us organize this event. The marker at Ohio Street Bridge got a new lease on life. Thank you to the William G. Pomeroy Foundation who graciously sent us some books to aid in the marker restoration process. Thank you so much!

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Music Scene in Wichita Falls

4/29/2023

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Music Scene in Wichita Falls

Posted on Facebook on February 8, 2023.

Dating back to the1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s, Wichita Falls was a Hot Spot for Musicians. Those making music were able to perform, make a recording, or get a booking right here in the “City That Faith Built”.
One would think that with such a rich history in the music industry, we could have coined the title “Wichita Falls City Limits”.

The Miller Brothers Band was a western swing group from Wichita Falls. Surprisingly, the founding band member’s name was not Miller. Three brothers: Nat, Leon and Sam Gibbs started the band in the 1930’s and became nationally rated on the charts. They played under the guise of the Miller Brothers to protect their daytime jobs at the Times Record News.

Eventually Sam Gibbs gave up performing with the band and started a booking agency. He scheduled gigs for road musicians from Texas to California, from Mexico to Canada and to the Orient. Sam also started a music store in Wichita Falls that is still in operation.

On Sept 17, 1953 the Gibbs Brothers, still playing under the pseudo name of the Miller Brothers opened the M-B Coral at 3305 Sheppard Access Road. Many entertainers who later gained world-wide fame got their start at Wichita Falls’ own M-B Coral.
On alternating nights, the M-B Coral was open to black patrons & white patrons. White performers consisted mostly of country and western musicians like Bob Wills, Roger Miller, Lefty Frizzel, Conway Twitty, Hank Thompson, and even Jerry Lee Lewis performed there. Some of the black performers to play at the M-B were: Bo Diddley, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Ike & Tina Turner, and Little Richard.

Elvis Presley played at the M-B Coral before reaching stardom. Sam Gibbs remembers the night Elvis performed at the M-B, he was just a shy kid with a lot of talent. Elvis’ fee was only $125 for his one night performance. It wasn’t two months later that Elvis had become so popular that he was demanding $50,000 a night and getting it.

Wichita Falls was also home of a popular recording studio. Because he kept the most up-to-date recording equipment, Lewis Nesman attracted many big named musicians. Operating out of his home at 3108 York Street, Nesman received a panicked call from Buddy Holly needing a recording the next day. Holly ended up recording the songs “Down the Line” and “You and I are Through” as demos to be sent to Decca Records. Buddy called later and said they got a contract with Decca from those two recordings.

Lewis Nesman also made recording for a local rock duo, The Sprague Brothers pictured here in his studio. Many of the Sprague’s recordings were instrumental with macabre titles such as: “Skull & Cross Bones”, “Blood In The Moonlight” & “Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered”. Oddly enough, some of the Sprague Brothers recordings can be viewed on Youtube. And they started right here in little ole Wichita Falls !!!

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Hirschi High School Yearbooks

3/31/2023

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Posted on Facebook on March 28 2023

Cynthia Smith, librarian at Hirschi has donated 30 yearbooks to the Archives, making our collection almost complete. Hirschi Biology teacher, Delbert Todd donated his collection (1963-1991) about a year ago. Now we only need the year 2000 and the upcoming years of 2023 & 2024 to be complete. The Archives will be working to get a full set of yearbooks from all 3 high schools before they close. The Wichita County Archives is dedicated to preserving our local history.

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Reminiscing back to the 1920’s in Wichita County, Texas.

3/9/2023

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Posted on Facebook March 8 2023

Above left, the Auburn Speedster sitting near an oil well in Kemp City (later known as Kamay) in 1925 probably belonged to one of the wealthy oil men drilling there. The old saying “when you have money, you can buy stuff” surely applied to the owner of this car.

A 1926 aerial view of Wichita Falls. How many buildings do you recognize?

Producers Creamery at 1209 Indiana in 1926.

Aerial View of Iowa Park in 1921.

The Wichita Theatre and Opera House in 1929, before it was remodeled.

Spudder Park on September 19, 1929 during the best of five playoff games between the Dallas Steers and the Wichita Falls Spudders. The Spudders won this game, 5-2, but lost the series in the final games in Dallas.

The Texas Company operated in Electra during the first oil boom in Wichita County in 1911. The bank building in which the Texas Company operated in is still standing. The Texas Company later became Texaco.

The Olympic Theater was located at 908-910 Indiana Ave in 1926. Next to it at the corner of 9th & Indiana was the Perkins-Timberlake building.

Aerial view of Burkburnett in 1921. Notice the oil derricks from the 1918 oil boom are still in place.

The Barkley Building #3 at 6th & Scott was home to Lloyd Weaver Chrysler and Fox-Brown Chevrolet in 1926. During the 1970's, this building was known as the “Beco Building” for a business the never materialized. On December 1, 1976 it became the Wichita County Annex and is currently being remodeled to resemble its by-gone beauty.
Kudos to our County Commissioners for helping preserve our history

Mrs. Minnie Mae Addicks, Joseph Kemp’s little sister started dealing in real estate after her husband passed away in 1906. She became very successful and in 1908, built a home at 1319 Tenth Street (where 10th & Broad Church of Christ now stands at the corner of 10th & Broad). She also built the home of her brother-in-law, Frank Kell just around the corner on Bluff Avenue. The Kell House is almost an exact replica on Addicks’ home. William McGregor built a home at 1310 Tenth Street, across the street and down from Addicks and is still standing. This was the wealthy part of Wichita Falls at that time.

The Weeks Mansion near the intersection of Harrison & Kell West was built in 1924 by Attorney and Oilman Fred Weeks. Situated on 13 landscaped acres, this majestic mansion was a show place, even among the other rich oilmen.

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Post by Kell House Heritage Center

Music Scene in Wichita Falls

Hirschi High School Yearbooks

Reminiscing back to the 1920’s in Wichita County, Texas.

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