Monterey

The brief history of Monterey began in the summer of 1890, when the town was established by W. A. Rayner, a cattleman and town promoter. Rayner had previously organized the town of Rayner to be the county seat of Stonewall County, and he hoped to repeat his success on the South Plains. By July 1890 he and three associates, W. D. Crump, H. M. Bandy, and D. F. Goss, had found a suitable site for a town on the north side of Yellow House Canyon in Lubbock County. But Rayner soon insisted on building on the south side of the canyon, assuming that trade routes and a possible railroad line could more readily reach that side. The group split over the issue, and Rayner alone established Monterey, sometimes called South Town or Ray Town, on August 6, 1890. The northern contingent, aided by Rollie Burns, Frank Wheelock, and others, established the town of Lubbock by August 12, 1890. Although a rivalry soon developed over which town would become the county seat, representatives from the two factions met that winter to effect a compromise. In an accord voted on December 19 they agreed to retain the name Lubbock, select a new townsite, consolidate the two towns, move buildings and houses to the new location, and organize a government. At the time of the merger Monterey had a population of fifty and thirty-two buildings. The original site of Monterey was north of the present campus of Texas Tech University.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.