A city located in Lubbock county in northwestern Texas, Lubbock is a place that witnessed rapid growth immediately after the Second World War.Lubbock is named after Colonel Tom S. Lubbock, one of the signers of the Texan Declaration of Independence and a Texas Ranger. The place was initially supposed to develop as a ranching center, yet now it is one of the most important cotton markets of the United States.The formation of Lubbock happened in 1891 from Monterey and Old Lubbock. The city’s population grew rapidly after World War II, almost increasing five times between 1940 and 1970. Lubbock was dubbed as the United States’ largest dry city as alcohol was prohibited in Lubbock for nearly a hundred years. 1972 saw the ban on alcohol being lifted, and the citizens could purchase and consume alcohol from then on. A deadly tornado took place in May 1970, which caused widespread damage and rendered thousands of people homeless. The nickname of Lubbock is ‘Hub City’ as it is situated at the juncture of five prominent highways of the USA.Texas Tech University is one of the largest universities in the United States, located in Lubbock. The Buddy Holly Walk of Fame is one of Lubbock’s most popular tourist attractions. A well-known regional event that takes place in the city is the Panhandle South Plains Fair. More than 90% of wine grapes in Texas are grown in Lubbock. You can imagine that there are diverse breweries and award-winning wineries in the city due to the abundance in the cultivation of wine grapes. Many startups are cropping up with a good success rate in the city.If you read the entire article and find it enjoyable, you should also check out even more interesting articles on El Paso, Texas facts and facts about Amarillo, Texas.Fun Facts About LubbockLubbock has something for everyone. It does not matter if you are a sports fan, a stargazer, a history buff, or a cowboy; the city has a rich cultural history.Lubbock Lights is a term used by the people to describe UFOs which a group of engineering professors claimed to see in the summer of 1951. They enjoyed a night of summer when they witnessed greenish-blue lights in a V-shaped formation flying in the sky above them. These UFOs became the sensational and fascinating obsession of many national and local magazines and newspapers. The US government even sent the United States Air Force for a formal investigation of the event. Although there was a lot of hype, effort, and collaboration, it was never found whether the UFOs were real or not, but the professors did not doubt what they saw.One of the most famous personalities of Lubbock is Buddy Holly, and the city is practically obsessed with him. The popular Rock’ n’ Roll star of the 1950s died tragically who was native to Lubbock. The citizens have done a lot to honor the memory of Buddy Holly. There is a huge Buddy Holly Statue along with the Buddy Holly Center. The Buddy Holly Center is a museum housing a vast collection of artifacts belonging to Buddy Holly, such as his guitar, record collection, and his clothes. There is also an annual festival held in Lubbock in memory of Buddy Holly. It is known as Bud Fest and is celebrated on the artist’s birthday.The Prairie Dog Town in Lubbock is home to cute prairie dogs. It is a feeding and petting zoo established by Kennedy Clapp and his wife back in the 1930s. It was initially supposed to be a residence of a colony of prairie dogs. The dogs are fond of humans as well. If you are not a dog lover, you can still visit the gigantic Mackenzie Park, an amusement park, mini-golf, and disc golf courses. You can visit Mackenzie Park with your whole family.Since Lubbock is located in the dry and dusty Southern Plains, the place is extremely prone to harsh weather conditions such as tornadoes and dust storms during certain seasons. Despite no large-scale tornado occurring in the last few decades, the people of Lubbock are still reminded of the category five tornado, which almost decimated the city back in 1970.The National Cowboy Symposium takes place annually in Lubbock, a must-visit for those looking for real cowboys. It is a huge festival that celebrates the cultural heritage of the cowboy community of the Western US. The Cowboy Symposium has a lot of things to offer, such as horse parades, cowboy cookoffs, chuckwagon rides, music concerts, poetry readings, Native American art exhibitions alongside many other events.Lubbock is the third-highest cotton producer in the US due to its rich soils and sunny climate. The largest contiguous cotton is grown in Lubbock. The famous ‘Lubbock smell’ is due to the cattle feeds present on the south side.Basketball and football are popular sports in Lubbock. Texas Tech University has a football team known as the Red Raiders, founded in the 1920s. The team has won 11 conference titles and participated in over 30 conference bowl games. The Red Raiders have won five of the last seven bowls they have taken part in. The university’s basketball team is equally impressive who has won 14 NCAA tournaments and has also gone thrice to the Sweet 16.Lubbock Texas UniversityTexas Tech University (formerly Texas Technological College) in Lubbock is a respected educational institution, a university and a museum hub, and a city community center. It even has a waterpark inside its campus.The famous Museum of Texas Tech University has millions of items displayed for the public to see. There are both touring and permanent exhibitions which consist of many things ranging from History, Clothing, Natural Sciences, Anthropology, Textile and Art among others. The new aquatic center in the university is also the waterpark of Lubbock. Students and families have access to a huge twenty-person jacuzzi, two giant outdoor lap pools, water sports such as a pool and a waterslide. There is also a huge lazy river where you can float around as much as you want.Texas Tech University occupies a vast 1900 acres of land, making it the second-largest contiguous university in the USA. It is the largest and oldest campus of the TTUS (Texas Tech University System). The university is home to more than 40,000 undergraduate, health sciences, and law students. It is Texas’ only university which includes a medical school, law school, undergraduate and graduate university inside the same campus.The university was established in 1923 with the name Texas Technological College by the state legislature of Lubbock. It had an engineering, home economics, agriculture, and liberal arts curriculum. 1927 was when graduate-level instruction started, while in 1929, the university granted the first master’s degree. The first doctorate from the university was handed out in 1952. In 1942, the business school was introduced, while the Seismological Observatory started operating in 1956. The College of Education and the School of Law became operational in 1967. The College of Architecture opened in 1986. The present name of Texas Tech University came into effect in 1969.The university is a coeducational institution offering about 60 doctoral degree and 100 master’s degree programs. The Health Sciences Center includes schools of pharmacy, health, nursing, medicine, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Various programs in the university are there for research in fields such as forensics, wine marketing, plant stress, cotton, leather, ergonomics, addiction, hazardous waste, pragmaticism, and industrial automation.The university’s Museum has six collecting divisions with nine permanent galleries featuring art from the 20th and 21st century alongside Southwest Indian art. It even has a gallery of dinosaurs. Seven additional galleries offer visitors a view of traveling exhibits from across the globe. The NSRL (Natural Science Research Laboratory) located inside the Museum has over five million specimens on display. It has the most extensive Natural History Collection in all of Texas with items such as birds, reptiles, mammals, fish, and others. These specimens can be used by researchers worldwide for problem-solving, scientific investigation, and discovery in the field of natural sciences. The Lubbock Lake Landmark is a natural history dig and preserve site affiliated with the Museum of Texas Tech University. It has several hiking trails, including a nature trail, wildflower trail, and archaeological trail. It is visited by people of all ages the whole year.Geographical Facts About LubbockThe location of Lubbock, Texas, is in the North West part of the State of Texas. It is located on the Llano Estacado, and the city’s elevation is at 3202 ft (976 m).The term ‘Hub City’ is given to Lubbock as it is the educational, health care, and economic hub in multiple county regions. No other city is as big as Lubbock in the South Plains.The county chair of Lubbock County also belongs to Lubbock. The Llano Estacado, on which the city is situated, is one of the biggest mesas in the continent of North America. The mesa extends into Eastern New Mexico and Northwestern Texas. The Spanish term Llano Estacado can be loosely translated as ‘Staked plains.’ The name of the mesa was given by early Spanish explorers who arrived at the place sometime around 1541. The southern terminal point of the Western Texas High Plains is where Llano Estacado is situated. It is also an ecological region of the Great Plains of North America.The Llano Estacado can be described as a flat grassland with few features. Apart from the developed area, several plants can be found in the region. These include mesquite trees, various types of short grasses, plain cottonwood, and cactus. The climate and soil of this region make it suitable for Lubbock as an area great for agriculture. Underground water sources like the Ogallala aquifer provide water to towns and farmers. The place receives very little precipitation.Mild winters and hot summers characterize the semi-arid climate of Lubbock. The region receives lots of winds of various types ranging from a light breeze to high winds. Dust storms can be produced from these high winds, which are pretty common occurrences during the spring and winter months.The South Plains receive little to no rainfall all year round. This leads to a dry climate with almost little to no humidity. The most rain of the year occurs in summer and spring. The average rainfall of Lubbock has been measured to be about 19 in (483 mm) in a year. Although snowfall is a rare occurrence in Lubbock, if you visit the city in winter and get extremely lucky, you might be able to experience a tiny bit of snow. On average, the South Plains receive about 8.2 in (20.8 cm) snowfall.The title of America’s ‘Toughest Weather City’ was given to Lubbock in 2013 by the Weather Channel.The city experiences hot summer with a significant portion of the season having an average temperature of 32 °C (89.6 ℉) during the day and 21 °C (69.8 ℉) during the night. The maximum recorded temperature of Lubbock was on 27 June 1994, going up to 46 °C (114.8 ℉).Sunny weather is found during winters with freezing temperatures at night. The average temperature at night is about -12 °C (10.4 ℉). The lowest temperature recorded at Lubbock was -27 °C (-16.6 ℉) that happened on 8 February 1933. Do not forget to pack warm clothes if you are visiting in winter.Things To Do In LubbockProducer of more than half of American cotton supply and cultivating the best Texas wine grapes, Lubbock has many things on offer where you can immerse yourself in the ‘Hub City.’The High Plains of the Lubbock area are ideal for grape production. The city holds annual wine festivals and has many award-winning wineries that make Lubbock a premier wine destination. The Llano Estacado Winery is Texas’ second oldest winery. Doc McPherson is known as the father of Texas Wine, who found McPherson Cellars. The Burklee Hill Vineyards in downtown Lubbock has a wide selection of wine in the in-house bistro, with delectable dishes available for lunch and dinner.The West Texas cuisine of the ‘Hub City’ is as expansive as its wine scene. Evie Mae’s is one of the best barbecue spots in Texas wide a large variety of culinary art. Not only smoked meat but the dessert and side are also gluten-free. The Nicolett is one of the newer high-end restaurants in Lubbock, owned by Chef Finn Walter. Locally produced ingredients are used to make four courses in this five-star restaurant. If you want a taste of ‘Hub City,’ you can go to Dirk’s, which has fresh oysters and fried chicken but the real catch are the traditional sides.To experience the cowboy culture of Texas, step into the National Ranching Heritage Center and the American Windmill Museum. Enjoy the western way of life in all of the museums across Lubbock. You can buy a cowboy hat and even a pair of custom boots available in local shops like RC Custom Boots and Flint Custom Hats. The Lubbock Memorial Civic Center plays the host to several events all year round.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 191 facts about Lubbock, Texas, you will only find here, then why not take a look at facts about Arlington, Texas, or fun facts about Austin, Texas?
A city located in Lubbock county in northwestern Texas, Lubbock is a place that witnessed rapid growth immediately after the Second World War.