The S.P. Hamblen Family

Pioneered at this site, in dugout to the west. S.P. Hamblen (1846-1930) and wife Virginia Ann (1861-1950) settled in Lakeview area (9 mi. S of Claude) in 1889. Hamblen helped establish Lakeview School, 1890. He engaged in farming and stockraising, and also dealt in cedar posts cut in Palo Duro Canyon and sold in Amarillo at 3c each. Hauls over the old Indian trail were made with such great effort that W.H. Hamblen (oldest son, who helped his father) longed for good roads and later was designer of Hamblen Drive. Mrs. Hamblen, at home with her children, tended the ranch, courageously protecting family from the prevalent rattlesnakes, and repulsing vicious lobo wolves that attacked the young cattle. The Hamblens lived at this site, known as Mesquite Flat, in 1901-1902. The father and older sons, W.H., David and Claude, put up corrals and a barn, and then built the rockwalled 24 x 36-foot dugout. The tenth child of the family, Luther Ray Hamblen, was born in the Mesquite Flat dugout on March 3, 1902. Moving from this place, the Hamblens sought the best location for educating their children, who in the tradition of their parents became respected citizens of the West. (1970)

The S.P. Hamblen Family is a historical marker in Wayside, Armstrong County, dedicated in 1970. It is one of 22 historical markers documented in Armstrong County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 24 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 34.8615, -101.4000 near Wayside. The nearest cataloged historic site is Hamblen Drive (historical marker), about 4.8 miles away. Others within a short drive include Dugout of W.M. Dye, Carroll, William A., M.D., and First Baptist Church of Claude.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5011004401. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.