Big Spring Wedding

Located in the U.S. state of Texas, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20, Big Springs population of 25,233 (2000 Census) makes it the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo to the south. Big Spring was established as the county seat of Howard County in 1882 and is also the largest city in that county. It was named for the spring in nearby Sulphur Draw. The spring was the center of a territorial dispute between Comanche and Shawnee peoples and a popular watering hole for wildlife in the mostly arid area.

Although the area had long been a popular watering hole for Native Americans including members of the Pawnee and Comanche nations, the first European to view the site now known as Big Spring was probably a member of a Spanish expedition, possibly that of lvar Nez Cabeza de Vaca. United States Army Captain Randolph B. Marcy's expedition was the first United States expedition to explore and map the area in 1849. Marcy marked the spring as a campsite on the Overland Trail to California. The site began to collect inhabitants and by the late 1870s, a settlement had sprung up to support buffalo hunters that frequented the area. The original settlement consisted largely of hide huts and saloons. Ranching quickly became a major industry in the area; early ranchers included F.G. Oxsheer, C.C. Slaughter, and B.F. Wolcott..[1]