Zachary Taylor Brown (known by most folks as Z. T.) and his family were tired of living in the small four room "shotgun" house on the lot they owned on Weatherford Street. As the second largest rancher in Midland County, Brown could certainly afford something far better. So, in 1899, he ordered a kit home for $2800 with ornate exterior oak trim, and a solid oak front door with detailed design. There was even one Gothic Arch window with blue, yellow, green and rose colored art glass around the edge for an extra touch of class.
Brown hired T. B. Wadley to assemble the house for him while the family lived on their 76 section Railway Ranch southwest of Midland until it was completed.
The structure Wadley assembled over 115 years ago still stands, but the community and world of 1899 in which it was built has long since passed into history. So what was that world like? 1899 Midland, and Texas, and the larger world beyond?
Republican William McKinley was President of the United States, elected in 1896. McKinley, campaigning on a "Sound Money" platform (based on a gold standard for U. S. currency) defeated challenger William Jennings Bryan in 1896. McKinley would be the last American President to have served in the American Civil War, where he rose in the Union Army from enlisted man to brevet major.
There were 45 stars in the flag that flew over the White House. It gained that number in 1896 when Utah became a state.
McKinley had led the country through a brief and successful war with Spain which left the United States with possessions around the globe. Before the year ended, he would have another war on his hands--a bloody, guerrilla conflict in the Philippines.
The Governor of Texas was also a war veteran, but for the other side. Former Confederate Joseph Draper Sayers took office as Governor of Texas in January, 1899. His distinguished war record helped him earn election to the Texas legislature, then to the U. S. Congress before winning the governorship. Sayers' term would include increased spending on education, prisons, and social service institutions. Under his leadership the creation of school districts began. His first year, however, would be notable for the disasters faced by the state.(1)
Midland in 1899 was still a raw frontier community, built mostly of wood, with a population of around 1,000, except on weekends and holidays when ranchers, farmers, and cowboys came to town for shopping, worship, and recreation.
Once off the railroad, transportation was by horse, buggy, or wagon. In January, the word "automobile" appeared in the New York Times, the first known use of the term in print. But it would be several years before Fred Cowden would bring the first car to Midland. (2)
The young community had a respectable number of businesses. The First National Bank occupied one of the few brick building on Abilene Street. Frank Cowley and J. H. Baron operated a dry goods store selling the latest fashions (Z. T. had been a partner in the business from 1890 to 1894). There was a general store that sold anything from a yard of calico to saddles, groceries, and hardware. Midland also had two drug stores, Herman Klapproth's boot and saddle shop, the Western Windmill store, and a couple of saloons ("the ladies never walked in front of them"). (3)
If the local merchants had it in stock or could order it for you, a dollar bought quite a bit more in 1899. You could purchase a pair of baby shoes, two crockery slop pails, a six-volume set of Arthur Conan Doyle's works, fourteen bars of Sapolio soap, a bottle of Dr. William's Pink Pills for Pale People, or a three-piece set of toy instruments (fiddle, horn, and drum). It also bought a month of phone service in many cities, but Midland had few phone lines back then. (4)
Wadley could have done very little construction of the Brown home in February as Texas and a large portion of the nation were struck with an outbreak of frigid weather that became known as the Great Blizzard or the Great Arctic Outbreak of 1899.
A series of multiple storms within the first week of the month left a very deep snow pack over most of the Great Plains and Midwest, which kept the cold air from warming up as it moved out of Canada and toward the southern states.
The Great Arctic Outbreak didn’t just bring cold to the nation. It also brought snow and ice and lots of it, deeply blanketing the eastern states and Midwest. Huge Ice chunks floated down the Mississippi River, past New Orleans, and into the Gulf of Mexico, forming an inch-thick layer of ice at the mouth of the Mississippi.
Over 100 people were estimated to have lost their lives during the Great Blizzard. Across much of the country numerous livestock perished, millions of dollars of crops and fruit were destroyed, and buildings and infrastructure heavily damaged by the cold, snow, and ice. (5)
Many all-time minimum temperature records were set during this event. While there are no official records for Midland, other Texas cities provide some idea of how cold it got. Weatherford had a record low of nine degrees below zero, Dallas reached a -10 degrees and, on February 12, the temperature in Tulia dropped to -23 degrees below zero, making it the coldest day on record for Texas. The average temperature for the month was 11 degrees below normal. The national weather map for February shows Midland's average temperature as zero degrees.(6)
Despite the snowfall, Texas suffered with severe drought conditions, making times especially tough for a community like Midland, with its heavy reliance on an agriculturally-based economy. When rain did come, it often fell hard and fast. In June, the Brazos River flooded 12 miles wide, causing $10 million in damages. Finally, making matters worse, boll weevils caused widespread destruction of the cotton crops. 1899 was not a great year for West Texas farmers and ranchers like Z. T.(7)
The international news was filled with war stories. Fighting broke out between American and Philippine revolutionary forces on Feb 4, just two days before the Senate ratified the peace treaty ending the Spanish-American War. In October, the Boers of South Africa launched their own war against Great Britain's rule.(8)
Midlanders could read about local, national, and international events in their own newspaper. The city had had several local newspapers, beginning in 1884, though most were short-lived. In July of 1899, C. C. Watson took over publication of The Livestock Reporter. In early November, he changed the name to The Midland Livestock Reporter. (9)
Far-off wars might make interesting reading, but they had little impact on the small West Texas community. Cattle prices and the next rain were the primary conversation items. Progress on Z. T.'s new home probably also received its share of attention.
As the year drew to a close and the Brown family prepared to move into their new home, they, along with most Midlanders, looked to the new century with optimism. The Austin Daily Statesman captured the spirit of century's end with its December 23 report that "Hog killing and Christmas parties are the order of the day." (10)
Taylor's Drug displayed its annual array of Christmas gifts, Dresden china, Bisque, cut glass, and of course toys! Every church in Midland erected a huge Christmas tree for the children, hidden until Christmas Eve. When it was brought out, there were dolls and toys hung on or placed around the tree with a child's name on each one. Santa called out the names and church members passed out the gifts. (11)
A week later, on New Year's Eve, the Brown children might have been among those who used their dollar to purchase five dozen bottle rockets to welcome the new century.
On a chilly January day, Z. T., Sarah, and their five children moved into their new two-story home on Weatherford Street.
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_D._Sayers, accessed August 14, 2017.
(2) James Collett and Doug Page, Midland: Postcard History Series, p. 10.
(3) The Pioneer History of Midland County, Texas, 1880-1926, p. 15.
(4) http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/december-1899/, accessed August 16, 2017.
(5) https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/climate-history-great-arctic-outbreak-february-1899; https://blog.weatherstem.com/great-blizzard-of-1899/, accessed August 15, 2017.
(6) https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/Monthly-Weather-Review-February-1899.pdf, accessed August 16, 2017.
(7) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_D._Sayers, accessed August 14, 2017; http://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1899.
(9) The Pioneer History of Midland County, Texas, 1880-1926, p. 42.
(10) http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/december-1899/, accessed August 16, 2017.
(11) The Pioneer History of Midland County, Texas, 1880-1926, p. 15.
(12) http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/december-1899/, accessed August 16, 2017.