Borger, Texas (Amarillo, Pampa, West: rent, crime, motels)

[MaryBeth2]

Hello all. Does anyone know anything about Borger, Tx?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[NOTAM]

You probably need to be more specific in exactly what are you wanting to know. all i know is that it's a big town somewhere north of Amarillo, and it has a college there with a good rodeo team.
But I would do what I normally do when I am curious about, or interested in a town-first I google it, find everything I can about the town from the internet-forums, chamber of commerce, tourism bureaus, area forums, City Data forums (do a search function here-surely someone has mentioned Borger before), online newspapers, and Texas Travel Guide (you know, that free big wonderful guide to all the regions of Texas and small blurbs of almost every town in Texas, with pics and all).
Then, when I have exhausted my search, and have specific answers, I come on here with specific questions.

[MaryBeth2]

Thank you NOTAM. That is exactly what I'm doing is searching the web for Borger. I cannot find any good info so I posted here. I thought if someone lived there answered, I'd get first hand knowledge. I never heard of the town till now.
Maybe someone might still post in.

[GayleTX]

Borger is a small town, not exactly a beauty spot, on the edge of the oil fields and the 6666's Ranch. It's cold and windy in the winter and hot and windy in the summer. It was built in a hurry during the oil boom (and it looks like it), and its whole economy was based on Phillips 66 refinery there in the edge of town. It sat stagnant for a few decades but in the past 4 years or so it has come back alive because of oil production again. It's hard to find a rent house and all the old motels have stayed full of construction/oil field workers who live there. I understand they are building a couple of new motels (maybe already completed).

There is one good grocery store (a United) and a couple of smaller ones and several good local places to eat. There is one Mexican place that is great.....The Plaza, on 10th Street(that's the first place we go when we hit town). There are also a lot of little bars.

There is a hospital and a few doctors, but you have to go to Amarillo (40 mi) for anything major. The population is made up of a lot of retired people who have been there forever and are good, solid West Texas folks, and a lot of young men who have come there for oilfield work from 'other places'.
My relatives who live there feel it's still a safe place to live as long as you stay in your own part of town, don't go out after dark and take safety precautions.

Not knowing exactly what kind of information you need, that's about all I know to tell you and that's just based on having lived near there at one time and having relatives who live there.

[MaryBeth2]

GayleTx, thank you. First hand knowledge is just what I'm after. Is the area hilly or flat? You say the summers are hot and windy, is that humid or would that be dry? I would think that is dry heat. How about snow? A lot or little? Also, there are close little towns all around, right? Good places for jobs and Walmarts and such? I thought there was a mesum? I can't find any real pictures of the place but I did see houses are cheaper. Right?

[GayleTX]

VERY dry, low humidity, which makes both the heat and the cold more tolerable. Very little rain. Quite a bit of snow. Tornado territory....they seem to follow the gullies but seldom hit anything - there's not much to hit. It's a little hilly compared to the vast expanses of miles and miles of flat prairie that surround it....quite a few gullies. No recreational waters in the area....Lake Meredith is on the map but it's about dry and is not available for recreation. The Canadian River is not too far from there but you can't access it because it's mostly on private lands (the ranches are huge in that area).

Seems like there is a little oil museum on Main St (it's a long Main St but most of it is boarded-up buildings)....the business are all out on the highway by WalMart like most little towns these days. There is one WM and the one United out there, not much else. That's where the jr college is, too.

As for the 'little towns near it' that you mentioned....Stinnett is the county seat and it's not much more than Borger, kinda dirty; Panhandle is 20 miles...it's a nice clean little town with a good school, lots of churches, quite a lot of money; Fritch is not much at all, jst an extension of Borger really, no stores, mostly houses. That's about it.

Jobs.....WalMart, the hospital, nursing home, a couple of banks, a couple of funeral homes, flower shops, quite a few lawyers that specialize in the oil business. Other than that, mostly service jobs....auto repair, A/C service, beauty shops, and, of course, the oil fields and oil well equipment and supply businesses. Lots of people commute to Amarillo to work....40 miles.

Yes, houses are cheap.....majority of them were built in the 40's and 50's....some out in Fritch were built in the 60's-70's near Lake Meredith.

[MaryBeth2]

You are my angel.. thank you again. I wish I could get your report on all the areas we need info on.. I'll read this to hubby and am sure we'll have more questions..thank you again.

[case44]

Originally Posted by GayleTX

VERY dry, low humidity, which makes both the heat and the cold more tolerable. Very little rain. Quite a bit of snow. Tornado territory....they seem to follow the gullies but seldom hit anything - there's not much to hit. It's a little hilly compared to the vast expanses of miles and miles of flat prairie that surround it....quite a few gullies. No recreational waters in the area....Lake Meredith is on the map but it's about dry and is not available for recreation. The Canadian River is not too far from there but you can't access it because it's mostly on private lands (the ranches are huge in that area).

Seems like there is a little oil museum on Main St (it's a long Main St but most of it is boarded-up buildings)....the business are all out on the highway by WalMart like most little towns these days. There is one WM and the one United out there, not much else. That's where the jr college is, too.

As for the 'little towns near it' that you mentioned....Stinnett is the county seat and it's not much more than Borger, kinda dirty; Panhandle is 20 miles...it's a nice clean little town with a good school, lots of churches, quite a lot of money; Fritch is not much at all, just an extension of Borger really, no stores, mostly houses. That's about it.

Jobs.....WalMart, the hospital, nursing home, a couple of banks, a couple of funeral homes, flower shops, quite a few lawyers that specialize in the oil business. Other than that, mostly service jobs....auto repair, A/C service, beauty shops, and, of course, the oil fields and oil well equipment and supply businesses. Lots of people commute to Amarillo to work....40 miles.

Yes, houses are cheap.....majority of them were built in the 40's and 50's....some out in Fritch were built in the 60's-70's near Lake Meredith.

Good post, Gayle.

[MaryBeth2]

It's a fantastic post. I couldnt have asked for more.

[JamesAbilene]

Originally Posted by MaryBeth2

Hello all. Does anyone know anything about Borger, Tx?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I grew up in Pampa, but my dad worked in Borger. I can give you some information. Housing is inexpensive. Population has dropped considerably since the height of the petroleum boom in the 1920's through the early 1960's. The town has often had a bad reputation. You can read the history of it online. However, all of those old stories about corruption, murder, etc. happened a long time ago. It is a modern city and is no longer corrupt. However, the long term prospects of growth are not good. The last time I was there, I toured the Phillips refinery expansion. The man who took me around said that the refinery would keep Borger at its current level of population for about 30 years. After that, prospects for the city did not look too good. I am confident that it is a decent city now. When I was growing up, my mother refused to live there because of the air pollution from the carbon black plants and refineries and because of the corruption and crime in the city. So, dad commuted.