Whiteface, Texas
Located on State Highway 114 approximately 45 miles west of Lubbock in east-central Cochran County, Texas. The city's east boundary sits on the Cochran-Hockley county line. Whiteface is named after the Whiteface Farms located several miles to the northeast in Hockley County, near the location of the town that originally used the name in this area. Some people, however, have 
erroneously attributed the city's name to whiteface hereford cattle. The town itself wasn't relocated, just the name was transferred in 1925 to the owners of a site just inside Cochran County alongside the newly-completed South Plains & Santa Fe Railway line. The city was incorporated in April 1945.
In 1925, two events converged that led to the development of the present townsite. First, early settlers who had located in western Hockley County wanted to establish a new school district on the county's western edge. A local rancher, J.C. Whaley, offered to donate a parcel of western Hockley County land for the school. But the settlers were rebuffed in their efforts by county officials who claimed the county couldn't support another school district. Second, the South Plains & Santa Fe Railway was constructing an east-west branch line through the area, and the townsite happened to be the location of a water well owned by Whaley capable of providing fresh water to replenish the steam locomotives that would be moving up and down the line.
Whaley had significant land holdings in Hockley and Cochran counties. Along with other landownwers in the two counties, he offered land and monetary incentives to the SP&SF in order to secure construction of the rail line. Whaley sold most of the townsite property to Nelson W. Willard, a land speculator who had purchased other townsites along the rail line. At the same time, Whaley donated property in the town for a new school that would be located in Cochran County close enough to the county line to serve the needs of the western Hockley County settlers. The town of Whiteface was now positioned to take flight. A new school, a new railroad, plenty of new residents, and a new beginning. The American Dream was unfolding. The year was 1925.
In 1925 C. W. Word brought his family to the settlement, where they lived in a tent and furnished meals for the railroad workers. Whaley built a one-room schoolhouse that was ready in time for the fall semester in 1925. Later in the year the Whiteface-Lehman Common School District voted a $60,000 bond to build a brick school building in each community. Word established a post office on December 15, 1925, with Mrs. Word as postmistress. A paved road from Levelland to Whiteface, completed in 1928, contributed to the prosperity of the community. In 1937 oil was discovered in the Slaughter fields south of the town.
Whiteface reached its peak population in 1941, with an estimated 600 residents. The town was incorporated in 1945, and the following year a road was paved from the town to the Mid-Continent Petroleum Corporation fields, nine miles south. In 1947 a brick high school was built. In July 1949 Miss Amelia Anthony moved the nine girls of Girlstown, U.S.A., a home for unfortunate girls, from Buffalo Gap, Texas, to Whiteface. Both oil and farming contribute to the Whiteface economy. In addition, several large ranches lie outside the city limits.
.The town's population declined during the 1950s and 1960s, and by 1978 it was estimated at 365 residents. In 1980 it had increased to 463. The Santa Fe Railroad line between Whiteface and Bledsoe was abandoned late in 1983. In 1990 the population was 512. The population dropped to 465 in 2000.
Links to more about Whiteface:
Read about the South Plains & Santa Fe Railroad.
