1901

On Feb. 3, 1901, the Baptist church held a meeting to address local social evils. The minutes from this session contain the following report: "A motion was made and carried that the church declare herself against dancing in all forms and it having been reported that some of our members have been dancing a motion was made and carried that the moderator appoint a committee of three sisters to see the offending ones and try to get them to come and make acknowledgments to the church for their wrongs and Sisters Blakenship, Annie Henderson and Emma McGee were appointed as a committee. A motion was made and carried that the church declare herself against profane language and intoxicating drinks as a beverage. Also against gambling in all its various forms, and against all ungodly conduct."

Odessa Pioneers: Pioneer rancher W.A. Massey and his family arrived in Odessa on June 1, 1901 from Fisher County. Massey’s daughter, Elizabeth, then a young girl, remembered making the journey across Texas on horseback with a small herd of cattle. She remembered few buildings in the young town, including the four-room brick schoolhouse, used until about 1910, and a small post office. In 1908, Elizabeth married Bernard Hendricks, a businessman who over the years owned a livery stable, a freight drayage, a hardware store and an undertaking firm. They lived in the same house on the corner of

-- Koehler Hotel built in Fort Stockton. In 1955 it became the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum, named in honor of the hotel’s long-time owner.

-- Texas Legislature prohibits the practice of issuing free railroad passes to public officials after more than 270,000 were issued during the year.

-- On Jan. 10, a gusher brought in the Spindletop Field near Beaumont, the first great oil strike in Texas.

-- During visit to Pan-American Exhibition, President William McKinley assassinated in Buffalo on Sept. 6 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley dies Sept. 14 and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

-- Henry Ford organizes the Ford Motor Company.

-- Southerners protest when President Roosevelt invites black educator Booker T. Washington to visit the White House in October.

-- The United States Steel Corp. is created in March, becoming the first billion-dollar corporation.

-- Willie Anderson won the U.S. Open golf tournament in June, and in the fall the U.S. successfully defended the America’s Cup when the yacht Columbia defeated the British challenger Shamrock II.

20th Century Countdown. The Odessa American's daily countdown of the last 100 years, from 1900 through 1999, with a short summary of some news and newsmakers affecting residents of Odessa.