Lubbock

About Lubbock

Lubbock is the largest city on the South Plains of West Texas, set on the flat, sunny Llano Estacado where cotton fields stretch to the horizon. Comanche and earlier peoples hunted bison here for thousands of years, and the canyon at what is now Lubbock Lake Landmark holds evidence of nearly 12,000 years of human life. The city was founded in 1890 and named for Thomas S. Lubbock, a Confederate colonel and Texas Ranger, and it grew as a center for cotton, cattle and the railroad.

Today Lubbock has about 265,000 residents and is known as the Hub City of the South Plains. Texas Tech University, one of the largest universities in the state, gives the city a lively college atmosphere, and its Spanish Renaissance-style campus is one of the most attractive in Texas. Lubbock is also the hometown of rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly, honored at the Buddy Holly Center and the West Texas Walk of Fame, and it has a growing reputation for wine, with many vineyards in the surrounding High Plains.

Visitors will find museums that reflect the region's character. The National Ranching Heritage Center displays more than 50 historic ranch buildings moved from across the Southwest, the Museum of Texas Tech University covers art and natural history, and the American Windmill Museum shows more than 160 windmills that once pumped water across the plains. The Silent Wings Museum honors World War II glider pilots, Lubbock Lake Landmark preserves an important archaeological site, and the Depot District offers restaurants, wineries and live music.