Iraan

In 1922, O. W. Parker, George Thompson, and I. G. Yates leased drilling rights on twenty sections of ranch land to Transcontinental Oil Company. After two dry holes, the I. G. Yates Well No. 1 came in on October 28, 1926, and the area around the ranch headquarters quickly became a boom town. Its isolation made supporting the growing population difficult, so Yates converted a barn into a hotel, and the settlement became known as Red Barn Community. In April 1927, Yates commissioned H. L. George of San Angelo to survey a townsite at this location, three miles north of Red Barn. A naming contest selected "Iraan," a combination of Ira Yates's name and that of his wife, Ann, submitted by C. R. Hallmark, who received a city lot as his prize. Iraan's first business was a service station operated by K. P. Looney, and a post office opened in 1928. Contributions from Yates and Mid-Kansas Oil Company established a nondenominational chapel called Union Church. During Iraan's boom days, V. T. Hamlin worked there as a freelance writer and created the comic strip "Alley Oop"; a park in the city honors his cartoon characters.

Iraan, Texas · United States