Andrews

Andrews, Texas

Andrews, Texas

Andrews is located in the Permian Basin of West Texas and serves as the seat of Andrews County. Photograph by Billy Hathorn.
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Map of Andrews County

Andrews, the seat of Andrews County and the only incorporated town in the county, is on U.S. Highway 385 thirty-four miles north of Odessa. The town, like the county, was named for Richard Andrews, the first man to die in the war for Texas independence in 1835. The town began around 1908 with a general store and a schoolhouse. There were only eighty-seven people living in the county, most of them ranchers. A post office was established in 1909, and Andrews became the county seat in 1910 after a spirited contest against Shafter Lake; in 1911 residents built their first courthouse. In 1903 the Means Memorial Methodist Church became the first Andrews church to organize officially, followed soon after by the Andrews Baptist Church.

Development in Andrews proceeded slowly until 1929, when the Deep Rock Oil Company made the first major strike in the county. As a result of the national economic depression and the slow flow of the oil, Deep Rock eventually sold its holdings to J. W. Tripplehorn, for $7,500. Tripplehorn brought in the wells J. S. Means No. 1 and R. M. Means No. 1 in 1934, and the pace of development quickened. In 1937 Andrews was incorporated. The town's population, 611 by 1940, did not reflect the increasing importance of the region, for most of the oilmen and their families lived outside of town in company camps. The same year that Tripplehorn's first wells came in, the Andrews County News began publication. A library, established in one room in the county courthouse in 1947, was moved to its own new building in 1967.

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Tracey L. Compton | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Andrews is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Andrews is classified as a Town

Location

Latitude: 32.32145410
Longitude: -102.55017000

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

13,370