New-York tribune., 1920-07-18
Southwest Builds
Town Between
Sunrise and Sunset
Great Wells in Texas, a PLAIN
in the Morning, Was Par.
celed Off and Bl.ildings
Erected Before NightfaIl|

Building a house in a day is zen.
orally considered a feat, but within n.
last few years entire towns have beer
erected between sunrise and. sunse.
Down in the southwest end of Texas 1,
town was born in a day. In the morn.
ing the grassy plains were being sod
off in building plots and that nigh.
most of the lots were improved. fsl
be sure, they had none of the Improve
ments of the houses that fill the sub
urbs of New York; they had no steani
heat nor electric lights nor other cor
veniences that seem, so necessary 10
the home. They were simple houses
without any frills or fashions, but they4
were homes, and there were enough q
them to make town.
This town is known as Great Wells
and is shown on ali the recent maps O
Texas. 1t is on the Uvalde & Crysa
City Railroad, about eighty ,uiles soutt
of San Antonio. The rough edges havs
since been rubbed off the town, and To-
day it is not fab behind the older com
munities in that part of the country.
Not since the days of the gold rush
to California in '49 or TO Pixies Peag
in the COS has any town been born IN
such quick time. The houses Of the
gold seekers, however. cannot be com
pared to those erected at Great Wells
in less than twenty-four hours.
Built to Help Railroad
The town was built by the railrosd
The yUvalde & Crystal City passed
through country that was still q
frontier. For miles and miles there
were no towns. AS the country was as
we'll suited to farming as any other IN
the great Southwest, and in many re-
spects was better, the railroad bit
upon the plan to increase the business
Of the road by town building.
Great Wells was selected because
the railroad owned the property. Eng
neers and surveyors were sent into inc
country to lay out the town. What
they met would have tickled the hear
Of any hunter in the country. 1t was
AS wild as il was centuries and cen
turies ago, and it was rich in game
big and little. The game was drive,
back toward the Rio Grande and the
thick chaparral and wild underground
cleared away Artesian wells were
then sunk to a depth of from l20 70
2,100 feet, and it is because Of thess
wells that the town is called Gress
Wells. After that surveyors laid oa'
the property into ten, twenty, thir''
and forty acre plots on farms. lrrga
t;on bitches and canals were built So
that it was possible for Il farmer y
begin. growing as soon as ne secured
plot, and as there is no winter deSp
that way it mattered little whetns,.,
1t was January or June-he eeuis
raise crops.
Auction Started in the Morning
When this was all done the rairssss
announced that on a certain day lns
property would be sold at public ape.
ton to the men and women Diaails
the highest prices. On the day W
pointed, or for several days prevoussi
farmers and homeseekers from ~
parts Of the West came into San Az
tonic. For those who wished to coz.
tinue on TO the property the raiifo.ss
provided Pullman cars on 4 side irss. ss'
IN the town for sleeping purposes. ias
sale began in the morning and gee
tinued until late in tne day. AS soss
as a man bought plot he immedia's,;
began its improvement. Swarms I"
carpent ters and masons and ether MT
ehanics in the building trades we's
brought TO the town, so that those wy 8,
wished to build could do so Sita0S'
delay. =.
In keeping with Western ideas 'os
first buildings to be built were :
hotel, restaurant and several stofss