Anton

History

Anton was founded in 1924 near the center of the north pasture of the former Spade Ranch when ranch owner William Leonard Ellwood contracted with the Anton Townsite Company to plat a town at the site of Danforth Switch, a spur of the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway. The town was named in honor of J.F. Anton, a Santa Fe railroad executive. In the 1930s, Anton was impacted by the Dust Bowl.

Geography

Anton sits just to the east of the geographic center of the level High Plains of the Llano Estacado. The flat terrain is broken to the west by a dry watercourse called Yellow House Draw, which passes about to the southwest of Anton. Anton is well situated with regard to transportation. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 84 and Farm to Market Roads 168 and 597. US 84 leads southeast to Lubbock and northwest to Littlefield. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway passes through the western edge of town. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  438
• Great-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus mexicanus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  345
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  293
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  276
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  243
• Western Kingbird

  Tyrannus verticalis Say, 1823 · Aves
  211
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  204
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  203

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2022-04-30
  8 km E of Anton, Texas