Whitharral

Whitharral, on U.S. Highway 385 ten miles north of Levelland in north central Hockley County, had its origin after Littlefield ranchlands were sold for farms in 1924. The town was named for early settler Dr. Whitfield Harral. The Rodgers family donated land for a school and a cemetery. Lee Crownover opened a store in 1925, and within a year a gin, a garage, and three churches were established. Pioneer families included those of Fred Newsom, Lee Crownover, Joe Woodruff, Bruce Wren, and Ed Langford. A school opened in 1925 with Lula Langford as the teacher. Carradine Edgar was the first postmistress when the post office opened in 1926. A high school was built two years later. A literary society was organized in 1928 and raised money for a library and baseball equipment. Tornadoes have hurt the community on two occasions, first on Easter Sunday, 1957, with some residential property damage, and again in 1970, when the school was heavily damaged. In 1946 the community had a population of 300 and fifteen businesses. By 1980 it had only 111 people, a store, a post office, a school, two gins, and churches. In 2003 the community had a population of 175, a store, a cotton gin, a post office, a school, and a church.