Ibex
Oil drilling in the 1920s transformed this area from cattle ranches to a boomtown. In 1919, the Ibex Oil Co. drilled a successful well into the Caddo Lime formation. Soon other drilling companies came and wooden derricks spread for miles. In 1921, Ibex sold their leases to the Landreth Co. Ed Landreth built a gasoline refinery, water-powered by a dam on Hubbard Creek. Lone Star Gas, Humble Oil and other companies built facilities and dozens of employee homes. Other families slept in tents or open pastures. In the 1920s, the Ibex community had a school, grocery, dry goods, hotels, cafes, and a central phone office. The post office operated from 1923-53 before the population fell. Today, foundations and smokestacks remain from the industrial past of Ibex. (2013).
In the late 19th century, Texas became known for its cattle drives, in which cowboys would move herds of cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas and other northern states. The cattle drives were dangerous and difficult work, but they played a key role in the development of the American cattle industry.