Contact Information
2202 Landmark Ln
Lubbock, TX 79415
806-765-0737
Lubbock Lake Landmark State Historical Park a 336.6-acre, day-use only, historic site, is an archaeological and nature preserve located in Lubbock County that is jointly operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Tech University. Located on the northwestern edge of Lubbock, the site was acquired from the city of Lubbock in 1986, and after extensive facilities construction and revegetation work, was opened to the public in 1990. The State Historical Park encompasses most of the designated 300-acre National Historic Landmark, an archeology-rich area lying along Yellowhouse Draw, a dry tributary of the Brazos River. Lubbock Lake has also received designation as a State Archeological Landmark.
A body of water has existed, off and on, for thousands of years in a deep meander of Yellowhouse Draw. Known variously as "Punta de Agua," Long Lake, Firemen's Reservoir and Lubbock Lake, the ancient water source was fed by a shallow underground aquifer that quickly dried up after extensive agricultural irrigation began in the 1920s and 1930s. The significance of Lubbock Lake in the prehistory of the Southern Plains was revealed in 1936 when two cousins, Clark and Turner Kimmel, found a projectile point among remains of extinct animals dredged from the Firemen's Reservoir during an effort to rejuvenate the dry water hole. Dr. W. Curry Holden, renown Director of the old West Texas Museum and Professor of History at Texas Technological College, identified the artifact as a 10,000-year-old Folsom point.
The earliest professional excavations at Lubbock Lake took place in 1939-41, conducted by WPA archeologists. The University of Texas at Austin excavated at the site in the early 1950s, and the West Texas Museum investigated the site in the early 1960s. The Museum of Texas Tech has conducted extensive archeological excavations at the Landmark every year since 1972. The Museum is in charge of all educational activities at the site and is the official curatorial repository for artifact collections. Excavations have uncovered the remains of numerous extinct animals, including mammoths, two types of horse, camel, giant bison, giant short-faced bear, and giant armadillo, all in association with human activity.
Much of the attraction of the Lubbock Lake Landmark State Historic Park revolves around the area's historical and natural significance.
Lubbock Lake Landmark is one of very few sites in North America known to contain evidence of a complete sequence of human existence during the past 11,500 years: from the Paleoindian Clovis culture, through the Archaic, Ceramic, and Protohistoric cultures, to Historic times. Singer's Store, the first business in Lubbock County was established at Lubbock Lake in 1879.
This educational site, a habitat for many native of plants and animals, draws history and nature lovers as well as educators. It has proven to be an absorbingly interesting place to visit for the non-specialist. Life-sized bronzes statues of extinct bison, giant armadillo, and giant short-faced bear adorn the site and enhance visitors' experience. A mammoth will join the metallic menagerie in 1998.
There are additional scheduled workshops on Native American crafts, culture, archaeology, and nature. TPWD and Museum sponsored Texas Conservation Passport programs. Annual week-long programs during Archaeology Awareness Week and Park Opening Celebration Week.
Information is available upon request: TPW, Landmark, City of Lubbock, satellite communities, Texas' wide schedules of events, maps, and selected brochures. Call the park office or Fax 806/763-1968.
Information on group tour focus topics, workshops, outreach and other programs, and Lubbock Lake Artifact Boxes. Call the Educator's Office: 806/742-1116; if no contact call/fax inquiry to the manager's office.
To schedule school or other group tours, contact the Scheduling Office at least two weeks before desired tour date. 806/742-2456.
This site has been revegetated with native grasses and other native botanical species. Ongoing environmental restoration has resulted in the return of small native animals such as gray foxes, coyotes, prairie dogs, opossums, burrowing owls, and other resident and migratory birds.
Area Attractions: Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyon State Parks are two hours from Lubbock. Nearby are the Texas Tech University Campus; the Museum of TTU and the Ranching Heritage Center; Science Spectrum and the Imax Theater; Lubbock Civic Center; Mackenzie City Park; Caprock, Llano Estacado and Pheasant Ridge Wineries; the Depot District, a nightclub and restaurant area; Lubbock Fine Arts Center; Godbold Cultural Center; the Historical Heritage Farm; Joyland Amusement Park; and Buffalo Springs Lake.
Area Events: Events include the Buddy Holly Music Festival, Cinco de Mayo and Fiestas del Llano Hispanic Heritage Celebrations, ABC Rodeo, National Cowboy Symposium, Celebration Lubbock Arts Festival, Panhandle-South Plains Fair, West Texas Opry, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Lubbock Ballet, Texas Tech Intercollegiate Rodeo, and Farmer-Stockman Show. For further information about Lubbock area attractions and events call: the Convention and Tourism Bureau of Lubbock at 1-800-692-4035.
For more details, call the park or Park Information at 1-800-792-1112.
Recreational opportunities offered by the Lubbock Lake Landmark State Historic Park includes, daily guided and self-guided tours, artifact interpretation, hands-on dig for children, and history and nature video presentations, together with scheduled workshops on Native American crafts, culture, archaeology, and nature.
Located at an elevation of 3241. feet, the Lubbock Lake Landmark State Historical Park has an average summer temperature of 92 degrees and a winter average temperature of 24 degrees. The average annual rainfall is 18 inches. Current weather conditions can vary from day to day. For more details, call the park or Park Information at 1-800-792-1112.
