Editing Vega, Texas (section)

==History==
In 1879, the area was opened by the state for homesteading. The first settler, N.J. Whitfield, arrived in 1899. On October 17, 1899, he purchased part of Oldham County known as Section 90 at a per-acre rate of {{US$|1|1899}}.<ref name="Oldham Chamber">{{cite web | url = http://www.oldhamcofc.org/index.php?page=vega-tx | title = Vega, TX | publisher = Oldham County Chamber of Commerce | access-date = 2009-07-17}}</ref> In 1903, Whitfield sold a {{convert|100|ft|adj=on}} strip of land that extended across the southern part of Oldham County to the [[Choctaw, Oklahoma and Texas Railroad|Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Texas (later Rock Island) Railroad]] as a right-of-way.<ref name="Legends of America">{{cite web | url = http://www.legendsofamerica.com/TX-Vega.html | title = Vega, Texas - Prairie Town in the Panhandle | publisher = Legends of America, A Travel Site for the Nostalgic & Historic Minded | access-date = 2009-07-17}}</ref> He then sold portions of land on the south side of the right-of-way to other settlers. A. M. Miller and Howard Trigg surveyed the town site that eventually became Vega in May 1903.<ref name="Texas Handbook">{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlv07 | title = Vega, Texas | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2009-07-17}}</ref> The name Vega, which is [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "meadow", was chosen because it reflected the vast prairie and surrounding countryside of the area.<ref name="Legends of America"/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66Texas/vega.htm | title = Vega, Texas is a Route 66 Town! | publisher = The Road Wanderer | access-date = 2009-07-17}}</ref> Soon after, Miller opened a store, and a post office, saloon, and a school that doubled as a Masonic Lodge were built in the community. In 1907, ranchers Patrick and John Landergin purchased a part of the [[LS Ranch]] from [[Swift & Company]]. Working in association with the [[Amarillo, Texas]]-based Pool Land Company, the Landergin brothers brought more prospective settlers to the community.<ref name="Texas Handbook"/>

The nearby town of [[Tascosa, Texas|Tascosa]], which was designated Oldham County seat in 1880, declined in both importance and population as Vega grew. A five-year battle over which community should serve as Oldham County's seat of government was put to a vote in 1915.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hco02 | title = Oldham County, Texas | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2009-07-17}}</ref> In the special election, citizens chose to move the county seat from Tascosa to Vega. Until a permanent courthouse was built, county business was conducted in Vega's Oldham Hotel.<ref name="Legends of America"/><ref name="Texas Handbook"/><ref name="Texas Escapes"/>

Modern amenities, such as telephone service, were introduced during the 1920s. In 1926, Route 66 (superseded by [[Interstate 40 in Texas|Interstate 40]]) was commissioned as a link from [[Chicago]] to [[Los Angeles]] and ran through Vega along the [[Ozark Trail (auto trail)|Old Ozark Trail]].<ref name="Oldham Chamber"/>

Vega was officially [[municipal incorporation|incorporated]] in 1927, and the population was 519 in the 1930 census. On May 3, 1931, a fire destroyed six buildings west of the courthouse square. Two months later, a second fire burned two buildings on the north side of the square. These fires prompted the town to establish a municipal water system.<ref name="Texas Handbook"/>