Site of Mail Relay Station

(500 yards west) By 1903, W.J. (1858-1930) and Mary E. (1863-1958) French had built a two-story home near this site, and it was a stop for freighters from the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Freighter rigs usually consisted of two wagons drawn by several horses, and the Frenches offered a campground, water, hot meals and a horse pen. Cattle drovers also rested here on their way through the area. In 1905, the French home became a stop along a mail route from Lamesa, known then as Chicago, through Brownfield to Gomez, a 40-mile trip. The mail hacks also carried passengers. The mail service was discontinued in 1910 when the mail was rerouted. (1973, 2006)