WHAT DO YOU KNOW

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WHAT DO YOU KNOW about Borger, Texas ? The town of Borger was a significant oil boomtown in the twentieth century but greed got it off to a very wrong start. It is located in the panhandle of Texas which became a leading area for the production of oil. In 1920, Amarillo was the largest panhandle town with a population of 15,494. Borger had more four footed inhabitants than two footed, but this did not deter two brothers from Missouri buying 2140 acres of land for $12,000. They posted sensational advertisements for finding black gold in the new town on the plains suddenly making it the 6th largest town in Texas. Forty five thousand men and women had arrived._____________________ Asa Phillip Borger, one of the brothers had his vision for the Borger Townsite Company. “Ace” brought a lawyer to be his trouble shooter. “Two Gun” Dick Herwig, a convicted murderer, bought his way out of prison to become Borger’s Marshall. Illegal distilleries supplied rot gut whiskey for Ace’s saloons, open 24 hours a day and called RattleSnake Inn and the Bloody Bucket. Ma and Pa Murphy brought their prostitutes to keep the rough necks (1) entertained and broke. Famous and romanticized criminals Bonnie and Clyde came for a time. Ace Borger profited from all the criminal activities, while publicly distancing himself from these characters to cultivate the illusion of respectability.______________ Governor Moody sent Texas Rangers to drive out the gamblers, bootleggers, pimps and prostitutes. “Two Gun” Herwig, with ill-gotten gains, established a roadhouse in New Mexico with a sign above the door that read: Eight Miles from the Texas Rangers.________________________________________________ However after the Rangers left, vice and violence returned. So a new judicial district was created by the Texas Legislature and a squeaky clean District Attorney arrived. He was fearless, turning down all bribes. A year after arriving, he was assassinated.________________________ By 1929, Borger had deteriorated so much that martial law was declared.(2) Eighteen officers and 80 enlisted men in the National Guard arrived by rail early one morning. By midmorning, they had control of City Hall, Police Headquarters and the Jail. All city officials were locked out of their offices and all Policemen stripped of their badges and firearms and told to clear out of town. Forty five saloons, speakeasies and houses of ill repute were shut down._____________________ By 1934, one hundred persons had been charged. Resignations were accepted provided the persons left town. The mayor and sheriff did not go quietly. “Ace” Borger acted as if nothing had happened and came out smelling like a rose because, “How do you run a man out of town when he owns most of it?” Carole Sikes 9/22 (1) Roughnecks are workers on oil rigs. (2) Martial Law is the imposition of the military. Ref. Texas Boomtowns, a History of Blood and Oil. Article by Bartee Haile

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