Becton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in northeastern

Lubbock County Lubbock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 census placed the population at 310,639. Its county seat and largest city is Lubbock. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. It is named for Thomas Salt ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the community had a population of 125 in 2000. It is located within the

Lubbock metropolitan area The Lubbock metropolitan area is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the South Plains region of West Texas, United States, that covers three counties – Crosby, Lubbock, and Lynn. As of the 2010 census, the Lubbock MSA had a population ...

History

It was originally named for W. E. Bledsoe of the Three Circle Ranch, but when E. H. Moody petitioned for a post office in 1917, he adopted the name Becton, after an early resident named Abner M. Becton, because there was already a town named Bledsoe in Texas. Moody went on to become the first and only postmaster in the settlement. Becton received mail via the Lorenzo Star Route until 1928 when the

Fort Worth and Denver Railway The Fort Worth and Denver Railway , nicknamed "the Denver Road," was a Class I railroad, class I Rail transport in the United States, American railroad company that operated in the northern part of Texas from 1881 to 1982, and had a profound infl ...

commenced its operations. Oldtimers claim the post office was open until 1949, although some reports state it closed in 1943. The community was served by the Bledsoe

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

from its founding in 1917 until the early 1970s. The Bethany Baptist Church, the original name of the Bledsoe Baptist Church, was established in 1915 and possessed a separate structure. Becton Baptist Church was a new structure constructed by the Baptist organization in the 1920s. 1973 saw the dissolution of the small surviving congregation due to a decline in membership. Situated in a fertile agricultural region, the community saw growing prosperity following the installation of irrigation. There were three companies, a church, and 25 people living in Becton in 1936. By 1945–46, the population had increased to 150, and there were still three companies. Becton had 125 residents and no enterprises in 1974. There were three churches and a factory in the village in 1978. It had 125 residents and no businesses from 1990 through 2000.

Geography

Becton is located on the

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

just east of

Farm to Market Road 400 Farm to Market Road 400 (FM 400) is a farm to market road located in Lynn, Lubbock, Hale, and Swisher counties in the Llano Estacado of Texas. Route description The southern terminus of FM 400 is at an interchange with US 87 no ...

, east of

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

in northeastern Lubbock County.

Education

Land for a new school building was provided by Abner M. Becton. W. E. Bledsoe built the first school, a one-room structure that housed pupils for two terms. Local churches also held services at the school. In 1910, it was relocated, but it subsequently caught fire. A new brick structure was constructed in 1924. Once merged with the Estacado school district, the Bledsoe Independent School District is among the oldest in Lubbock County. Bledsoe School joined the Idalou Independent School District in the summer of 1936. Becton had two schools that year.

Notable person

* Bill Kelley,

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Gallery

File:Becton Texas Fort Worth and Denver South Plains Railway.jpg, The Fort Worth and Denver South Plains Railway used to pass through Becton. The collapsed remains of a wooden railway overpass can be seen at the bottom of the roadcut. File:Becton Texas farm building.jpg, An old farm building: a remnant of Becton's past.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Lubbock County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas 1910 establishments in Texas