The Britton-Abalos House
HOMES OF OLNEY with Clifton Key 940.564.2979
706 W. Payne Street, Olney, TX Photo by Will Sadler
Arch Daniel Britton (1860-1954) came to Texas from Tennessee and settled in North Archer County in the 1890s. His son Arch Dale Britton, Sr. (1902-1963), could see much of the oil activity in the Wichita Falls area and envisioned that oil could be his ticket to fame and fortune. But first, he was smitten by a girl from another early day Archer County family—Edith Noles (1904-1973). They married in 1922 and Arch was already working in the oil fields of Wichita County. In 192,3 when the Swastika Oil well blew in in Southwest Archer County, Arch came to the Olney area. He brought his wife and soon-to-be son to find a place to live while he worked.
They found a room on Grove Street with kitchen privileges. Arch learned his trade with hard work and good luck. N.D. Goldsmith, who had been a farmer when the oil boom hit, was one of the principal beneficiaries of the boom, and he wanted to invest in the oil patch. He met Arch Britton, and a partnership ensued to the benefit of both with Goldsmith providing the money and Arch the business acumen.
In 1929, the Brittons were ready to own a home in Olney, and they signed a contract with Mytinger and Walker, who had paid $500 for this lot to build the house for $4,700.
Dale (1924-2008) grew up here in Olney. He was an OHS grad before entering Texas A.&M. with World War II interrupting his education. (As a side note, Dale served in the Ski Brigade of the Army and trained in Colorado as the USA thought some of the warfare in Europe would occur in the Swiss Alps.) In the late 1930s, Arch saw an opportunity in Cooke County. He headquartered in the Turner Hotel in Gainesville. He formed a new partnership with K. Kimbell, owner of Kimbell Mill & Elevators. They even had an elevator here in Olney. Mr. Kimbell was the philanthropist who created the Kimbell Museum of Art in Fort Worth.
Dale worked with his father after he graduated from A.&M. and settled in Gainesville, marrying a local resident—Wanda Darline Elkins (1928-2013). Wanda and Dale had three children—A.D., III, Paula and Mark. Dale and Wanda were named “Family of the Year” in Gainesville, and Dale owned a Brangus Ranch there.
In 1974, Arch Dale Britton, Jr. individually and as executor of the Estate of Edith Britton Turpin (the Brittons had divorced, and Edith remarried a retired Methodist minister) sold the house to Mrs. A.L. Farrell. In 1984, Mrs. Farrell conveyed the property to her niece Trevia (Pollock) (1934-1984) and husband William O. Foster (1932-2019) as a gift. Trevia worked for OISD as a bus driver and teacher’s aide. William had been a tile setter earlier in life before returning to Young County to farm in 1973. His sister was Martha (Foster) (1928-2009) Andrew, who was in my OHS graduating class in 1945.
After Trevia’s death, William Foster conveyed the property to Thelma Walker (later, Cook) (1910-2005) in 1987. Thelma was the daughter of H.C. and Ollie (Haygood) McCaghren. She married Howard Walker in Archer City in 1926, and as a widow, married Chester Cook in Jacksboro in 1987. During World War II, she worked for North American Aviation in Grand Prairie, then moved to Lubbock from 1947 to 1971 until she moved to Olney. She was an LVN at Seven Oaks Nursing Center, worked for home health for 10 years, and was a Hamilton Hospital Auxiliary member for 25 years. Thelma’s daughter, Mary Ann (1935-2000), was the second wife of William Foster.
In 2000, Thelma Cook sold the property to Luke H. and Jennifer Lunn. Luke dropped out of Lunn Funeral Home and moved from Olney, but he still is engaged in a related field. He sold the house to James W. Morton and wife Alyce in 2005, who sold to Jose Abalos in 2014.
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