“To put things in perspective, Denver had its own symphony before this region was a permanently inhabited settlement,” says Lea Ann Lust, our guide at the National Ranching Heritage Center. The 12-hectare museum and outdoor historical park in Lubbock, West Texas, houses close to 50 ranch buildings dating between the late 18th to the mid-20th century.
Structures like frontier homesteads, a barn, a blacksmith shop, a church and railway depot, are so authentic that you can still see the bullet holes in chimney pipes, which cowhands used for target practice. Back then this was still the wild west and life was rugged. You’ll still see a cowboy hat or two being worn around these parts.
A working windmill on-site at the Center is an important reminder that this technology was a major necessity for the survival and population growth on the High Plains where Lubbock is located; a flat semi-arid grassland with an average rainfall of 25-50 centimetres per year.
Formerly declared to be uninhabitable – there was no water (when they were digging wells, they kept hitting black sticky liquid, but no water) and no trees – it was the last region of the US to be permanently settled. The West Texas area still has one of the lowest population densities in the country. With a population of around 300,000, Lubbock is the “hub city” for the region.
Founded in 1890, Lubbock didn’t experience significant growth until windmills boomed and supplied water and a livelihood of crops and cattle to the dusty plains. Ranching and agriculture are still mainstays, and the region is one of the biggest producers of cotton in the US. Peanuts are another major crop.
LUBBOCK WINERY SCENE
The newcomer to the agricultural scene in Lubbock is the vineyards and, just a short drive out of town, you can see hectares of the flat landscape blanketed in rows of grapevines. In fact, more than 90 per cent of the state’s wine crop, including for wineries in Fredericksburg, Texas’ wine country epicentre, is grown here.
Although now the Lone Star State is one of the top wine producing states in the country, (#5 behind California, Washington, New York and Oregon), it’s a relatively new industry. West Texas didn’t have much of a wine scene until local Lubbock university professors planted an experimental vineyard in 1966.
The fact that prohibition was in place in Lubbock city until 2009, also slowed local wine industry growth. Before that, wineries like Llano Estacado, which was established in 1976 by the aforementioned university professors, were located just outside the city limits, and Lubbock residents had to drive if they wanted to pick up a bottle of wine to drink at home.
Matt Bostick, Llano’s event manager, tells the story of making this drive during his university days, saying the state police would often pull them over for any excuse and then confiscate their wine purchase.
Despite the late start, Lubbock region now has upwards of six wineries with tasting rooms, where you can sample top-notch vintages. If you’re a wine lover like me, it’s worth a day’s drive around the dusty countryside to visit each.
Also due to the late prohibition, Lubbock craft breweries are about 10 years behind other parts of the country. Local craft brewers are closing that gap with a vengeance, like Good Line Beer Co. which opened in June of 2022. Good Line (a nod to the local music scene) is already winning awards, bringing locals “beer from the Dust Coast” (the wind blows here a lot and there is a phenomenon called a “haboob,” an intense dust storm that drastically reduces visibility. I just missed a haboob the Sunday before I arrived in March, and every townsperson I met excitedly asked me if I experienced it). Five other breweries are thriving in the city, with one more due to open soon.
LUBBOCK ART SCENE
Just as important as the windmill was to the settlement of Lubbock is Texas Tech University, which opened its doors in 1925 with 1,379 students. Today, the university has 40,000 students and is a driving force for the local economy.
The campus certainly has some distinctions and has been named one of the US’s most beautiful, with buildings largely adhering to the Spanish Renaissance style. It occupies 769 hectares, the second largest contiguous campus in the country. But what attracted me to the campus is their public art collection funded by an initiative started in 1998 whereby the university allocates one per cent of the estimated cost of each new capital project to commission high-end works of art.
This collection is mostly outdoor sculptures, which you can see via a self-guided walking or driving tour (there are extensive guide maps on-line), or like I did by booking in advance a guided tour on the “art cart.” There are 253 art pieces strewn over the huge campus, so if you’re wanting to see the entire exhibit, you could approach it over a couple of days.
The art scene in downtown Lubbock is also alive and well. The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts is a non-profit art and entertainment district initiative for downtown revitalization and to stimulate the visual and performing arts.
If you can, visit Lubbock on the first Friday of the month to catch the First Friday Art Trail, a free public event where artists and musicians highlight their talents in the Center’s venues and on the street from 6-9 pm.
LUBBOCK MUSIC SCENE
I knew when I checked into my room at the Cotton Court and the front desk staff encouraged me to come back and take a guitar to my room that music was a big part of the Lubbock landscape. Even if you’ve never heard of Lubbock before, it’s likely that you’ve heard of their most famous musician, Buddy Holly.
The Buddy Holly Center is filled with paraphernalia including his motorcycle and his iconic glasses, recovered from the fatal 1959 plane crash. But really, there are Buddy Holly references all about town, and you can do a self-guided tour to see his schools, homes, church and the roller rink where he performed on weekends.
J.I. Allison’s childhood home (the drummer for Holly’s band, the Crickets) has been moved on-site at the Center and is well worth a walk-through to see the bedroom where practices took place and be amazed at how small homes used to be.
Cowboy culture, wineries, breweries, art and music – and the hauntingly barren and beautiful West Texas high, dry plains – make Lubbock a really unique destination.
IF YOU GO:
Accommodation: Cotton Court Hotel, a boutique hotel with a lot of fun touches, but affordably priced. If you play guitar, you can borrow one from the front lobby, to play in your room.
Dining: I didn’t mention the Lubbock food scene, but it was really amazing. Here are some recommendations: Dirk’s (next level chicken fried steak); The Nicolett (High Plains fine dining, James Beard award winner); La Diosa Cellars (lovely eclectic ambiance and tasty tapas); Cast Iron Grill (pie, and more, for breakfast); The West Table (fresh local ingredients).
Activities: Buddy Holly Center; National Ranching Heritage Center; Texas Tech Public Art Collection; LHUCA Center for the Arts
A few Wineries/Breweries: McPherson Cellars; Llano Estacado Winery; Burklee Hills Vineyards; Good Line Beer Co.
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