- Southland, Texas
Southland is an unincorporated community in Garza County,
Texas ,United States . It lies onU.S. Route 84 , twenty miles northwest of Post, and as of the 2000 census had an estimated population of 157.History
Named for its location on the southern end of the V Ranch, Southland became a trade center between several area ranches with the organization of Garza County in 1907. When the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway was extended north through to Lubbock in 1910, railroad authorities chose to build through Southland rather than establish a new railroad town (which had tended to be a common occurrence). As a result, the community entered a period of limited prosperity and by 1911 had been granted a post office. Southland also saw benefit from
C.W. Post 's colonization of the area, providing a shipping point for his utopian project community and namesake town 20 miles to the southwest, Post.As with many small towns, however, the
Great Depression had dire effect on Southland and by 1940 the town's only bank had closed, and its population stood at 280 residents. By 1960, however, this had dropped to under 200 and half of its eleven businesses had closed their doors, as the demand for agricultural work had slowed and shifted elsewhere forcing many Southlanders to follow. Today, Southland remains a rural farming community with an estimated 2000 population of just under 160 residents.Education
Southland is served by the
Southland Independent School District .Notable residents
L. George Ellis (
June 3 ,1938 - June 3,2008 ), agovernment official in various agencies, was born in Southland toSouth Plains pioneers Sam and Ruby Ellis. He graduated from Southlandpublic school s andMcMurry College in Abilene. His career began with theOffice of Economic Opportunity underU.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson . He also was employed by theACTION program, theNew Mexico Department of Aging, the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas General Land Office, and as state director of the Farmers Home Administration of theUnited States Department of Agriculture . He maintainedranching interests in Garza, Blanco, and Hays counties. He was the former state president of theinterest group , theAmerican Association of Retired Persons . He resided in Johnson City at the time of his death on his seventieth birthday. He was survived by his wife, Barbara, a son, and a daughter. Memorial services were held in Slaton in Lubbock County. [ [http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/060708/obi_287818254.shtml L. George Ellis | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ] ]References
* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/hls65.html Handbook of Texas Online entry for Southland]
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