Lubbock

For 12 millennia, natural resources attracted humans to the region that Spanish conquistadors named the Llano Estacado (the Staked Plains). Nineteenth-century westward expansion brought many Americans to the plains, and small towns began to develop. On December 19, 1890, two communities on the Llano Estacado joined forces to create Lubbock. The sights and sounds of families moving their homes, farms, and businesses to the fledgling community exemplified the spirit of commitment, sacrifice, and cooperation that citizens of Lubbock continue to display. Today, 250,000 people call Lubbock home, and it remains the socioeconomic center of the Llano Estacado.