Buffalo Courts

A unique community venture at West Texas State Teachers College during the Great Depression produced an architectural landmark. The project began in 1933 and used student labor, community donations, and state and federal funding. Limestone, petrified wood and other rock was quarried in Texas and New Mexico. The complex included a fieldhouse, athletic dormitories, an outdoor swimming pool, stone walls and stadium bleachers. Much of the facility was later razed; only the two-story recreation hall completed in 1941 remains standing. The facility has a petrified wood exterior, large stone fireplaces and staircase, and a second-story hardwood dance floor. In the 1980s, the alumni association moved its headquarters here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2007