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Muleshoe is a city in Bailey County, Texas, United States. The town of Muleshoe was founded in 1913 when the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway built an line from Farwell, Texas to Lubbock through northern Bailey County. In 1926, Muleshoe was incorporated. The population was 5,158 at the 2010 census. The county seat of Bailey County,〔(【引用サイトリンク】accessdate=2011-06-07 )〕 it is home to the National Mule Memorial. The Muleshoe Heritage Center located off the combined U.S. Routes 70 and 84 is a popular museum which commemorates the importance of ranching to West Texas. The complex has several unique buildings originally from Bailey County that display the living conditions of the area in the late-19th century and the early to mid-20th century. The Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is located some twenty miles (32 km) to the south on State Highway 214. Founded in 1935, the refuge is the oldest of its kind in the state of Texas. It is a wintering area for migratory waterfowl flying from Canada to Mexico. It contains the largest number of sandhill cranes in North America.〔Texas Historical Commission marker, Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, 1985〕 ==History== The name Muleshoe can be traced in the region to Henry Black when he registered a brand on November 12, 1860. In 1877, Black purchased three houses on a in Stephens County, naming it Muleshoe Ranch. Later he built a large ranch house and a log schoolhouse, and established a small cemetery for family members. Muleshoe Ranch was supposedly named after the owner found a mule shoe in the soil. On April 23, 1906, the Gulf, Santa Fe and Northwestern Railway Company and the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway Company merged and were chartered to construct a railway between Lubbock, Texas and Farwell, Texas on the New Mexico border. From 1901 to 1915, communities along the future railway contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to construction.〔Hunt, William R. ("Muleshoe, TX," ) ''Handbook of Texas Online'', accessed November 8, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.〕 Muleshoe was founded in 1913 when the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway laid rails across northern Bailey county; residents borrowed the name from the nearby Muleshoe Ranch.〔 Soon after the railroad passed through Muleshoe, the town expanded rapidly. In 1917 Muleshoe became the county seat after the county was organized, but it was not incorporated until 1926. Muleshoe continued to grow quickly, and by 1930 there were 800 residents in the town. Three decades later Muleshoe tripled in population to 3,871. In 1970 Muleshoe reached its pinnacle at over 5,000 residents, 200 businesses, two hospitals, two banks, a library, a newspaper, and a radio station. During the 1970s and 1980s the population stagnated, and by the 1990s Muleshoe's population began to decrease. The population went from 5,048 in 1988 to 4,530 in 2000.〔 The once lively and vibrant Main Street is now quiet with many abandoned buildings. Many of the businesses that once called Main Street home are now on American Boulevard (US Highway 84/70). During the early 1960s Texas residents were eager to build a memorial to the mule for his strength and sparse eating habits, traits which endeared him to the pioneers. In war, the mule carried cannon; in peace, he hauled freight. His small hooves allowed him to scale rocky areas.〔Texas Historical Commission marker, National Mule Memorial〕 The Mule Memorial was first displayed on July 4, 1965 near the intersection of US 70/84. Muleshoe is the home of the world's largest mule shoe found at the Muleshoe Heritage Center. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Muleshoe, Texas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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