Crossett Texas Upton County

"Crossett, seven miles northwest of McCamey in southwest Upton County, was established on October 10, 1925, by Mrs. Minnie Crossett, barely two weeks before major oil discoveries brought on a regional oil boom. For a brief time in the late 1920s the community had a post office (granted in 1926), three hotels, a barbershop, several cafes and beer halls, a nightclub, and a number of homes. Although the Crossett post office was discontinued in 1928, in 1929 the settlement's population was reported as 200. By the 1930s, however, competition from nearby McCamey caused the community to decline. It reported only two businesses and fifty people during the 1930s and 1940s. County maps in the 1980s gave no indication of the town other than the location of the Crossett oilfield south of U.S. Highway 385."

source: Nancy Ethie Eagleton, On the Last Frontier: A History of Upton County, Texas

According to other local records Crossett was a oil boom town co-founded by Will Manning, a cowboy who worked for the historic C Ranch when it was owned by Nelson Morris Interests. The other co-founder was J Wiley Taylor. Manning was a native of Coryell, Texas and moved to West Texas in 1895 He was a former postmaster of Crossett, Will .Manning died in Midland Texas On March 12, 1937 and is buried there.

The post office of Crossett was established March 23, 1926. Newspaper reports of the opening of Crossett state;

  "The new Crossett post office has been opened for business. Will Manning formerly of Midland, is the first postmaster of the new oil town. Crossett and her sister city McCamey, which also recently was granted a post office, though only a mile and a half from Crossett, are growing rapidly. New hotels are now being erected in both towns, to take care of the scores of oil men who are working in nearby oil fields."

On May 10, 1926 The headline read, (San Angelo)

"Crossett, Upton County Has Destructive Fire"

Fire of undetermined origin, early Monday destroyed  Sam Harrison's Cafe and George Caldwells Newsstand at Crossett new oil town in Upton County.  Jimmy Caldwell's confectionery, adjoining was saved by being moved away by trucks. Harrison's loss was $2,000 and Caldwell's $600."

June 3, 1926 Road to Crossett Assured

Special to the News, (Midland)

Money has been raised at Crossett to build a spur auto road from that new oil town to McCamey-Odessa road now under construction. This new road will connect with the McCamey Odessa route near the intersection of the Midland road with the Odessa road.

In another article written on July 25, 1926, (Midland)

"Crossett, new oil town south of Midland on the Orient Railway, is to get a new forty room hotel.  The new hostelry will be built by J Wiley Taylor, and associates. Taylor founded the oil boom town. The Texas company is building a loading rack for fifteen cars daily."

From the August 1 1926 San Antonio Newspaper amongst oil news

" J. Wiley Taylor and associates have started construction of a 30-room hotel, making the third large hotel in Crossett. Jimmy Wilson, widely known restaurant man, is building another large cafe which will be opened for business as soon as it can be rushed to completion. Other -new building is going forward in proportion, and only a temporary lack of sufficient building material to accommodate the demand can delay construction. Special shipments -of rig timbers and lumber from the mills are en route.. A temporary traffic jam on the Orient Is being taken care of by officials of the Orient, who are on the ground."

October 10, 1926  Crossett Business Men Elect

Special to the News: Crossett, Texas

W E Matthews was elected President of the Crossett Businessmen's Association at a recent annual meeting of the organization. George Caldwell was elected as Vice President and F S Fobee? was chosen secretary. the association chose A C Weyman to handle newspaper publicity and advertising.

SAN ANGELO, Tex., Jan. 15, 1927— Having obtained a switch by application to the State Railway Commission, Crossett is now asking the Orient Railroad for a depot Just what will be done should the application be refused is not known. Crossett is a post office and it has been suggested that if the movement to get a depot fails, then Incorporation might be sought, Will  Manning, who is the agent for the town site company, has bought the old bathhouse. He has also erected a water tank and will sell water. Formerly it was necessary to haul water from McCamey after it had been shipped there from Alpine. A test for water near Crossett reunited in a dry hole. A feature of Crossett in Ha latest stage of development in that there are now 103 families living there. The. town now has five filling stations seven rooming houses, two drug stores, two dry goods stores, grocery stores, a furniture store, lumber yard, good hotels, and across the tracks the Texas  Company is bonding two 55,000-barrel capacity storage tanks. There the Texas Company also has its loading racks and its pipe line station, as well as a number of bonuses for its employees. The pipe line is now operating and a boosting system is in the field a short  a  distance away. H. H. Wolfe of Odessa has just finished building the last of 15 rent houses. There are no vacant houses there. Manning says that Crossett will have its own school next year. This season the children are attending school at McCamey.

W E Sherrell was a manager of one of the lumber yards in 1926. He had a wreck driving to Fort Stockton in May of 1926. Minor Injuries.

On Jan 21, 1920  Newnie W Ellis was elected to replace J E Crossett as tax assessor in Midland County after the death of Crossett.