Page 18 - Senior Link Magazine Summer 2026 - Online Magazine

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE,

the More They Stay the Same

by Beth Walls

uring our centennial season, 1926, a petition, signed by at least today. It required proof of growth,
if you ask around town, you 10% of the qualified voters, was filed confidence in the community’s
Dmight hear more than one with the Hockley County Judge who future, and the willingness of citizens
answer to the question: “When was verified the population and ordered to step forward and serve. The tools
Levelland founded?” Some say 1921. an election to be held on April 20, may have changed over the past
Others point to 1926. Both dates are 1926. 145 votes were cast—116 in century, but the foundation of local
important—but only one marks the favor and 29 opposed. Levelland government—people, participation,
true beginning of Levelland as a city. became an official municipality and purpose—remains the same.
under Texas law. With that act, the
The confusion is understandable. community gained the authority When Levelland’s first city leaders
In 1921, Hockley County was to govern itself—electing its own began their work in 1926, they
officially organized, transforming leaders, passing ordinances, and didn’t start with grand visions or
a wide stretch of open land into providing services to its citizens. sweeping projects. They started with
a functioning county with a ordinances—practical, necessary
courthouse, elected officials, and a 1921 gave Levelland a place on the rules that shaped daily life.
designated county seat. That county map. But 1926 gave it a voice.
seat would become Levelland. But If we look closely at those first
at that time, it was not yet a city, That distinction matters because ordinances, something remarkable
just a growing community on the incorporation wasn’t just a becomes clear: they are not relics of
plains, serving as the center of county technicality—it was a turning point. the past. They are the foundation
government. It marked the moment when the of what city government still does
people of Levelland took ownership today.
It wasn’t until 1926 that Levelland of their future, to organize, to lead,
truly came into its own. and to build something lasting Ordinance #1, passed on May 8, 1926,
together. approved a franchise agreement with
That year, after reaching the required Texas Utilities Company to provide
population, residents took the formal In many ways, the process they electric lights, heat, and power to the
steps to incorporate. On March 18, followed in 1926 is strikingly familiar public in the City of Levelland. That

18 Lubbock Senior Link