Jane Snyder Agee

Borger Jane Snyder Agee

When A. P. "Ace" Borger came from Oklahoma to the Texas Panhandle's high plains in 1926, he saw what others had seen: a barren landscape, populated sparsely, with cattle and wildlife. However, through the experienced eyes of a town builder, Ace envisioned a booming, growing, all-American city. They laughed when he bought 240 acres thinking the attraction of black gold would bring enough people to make a profit. Borger was a true boomtown with all the appendages--fugitives, drug dealers, gaming houses, dance halls, prostitutes, and dishonest officers--though one could say boomtown hysteria ended with the assassination of Ace. Virtuous people, each with a vision, came to Borger to start churches, hospitals, and schools, raise families, profit from honest businesses, and restrain criminals. As citizens worked together, Borger became a 1970 All-America City. Now in its 86th year, Borger is a quiet, conservative Texas city towering above its epitaph of "the wildest town in America."