The Rachuig-Swaim House
Conrad Dieter (1839-1915) moved to the Olney area in 1880 and acquired the south half of survey 158.
He was a native of Germany, a member of the Roman Catholic Church and the donor of the land for the Pioneer Cemetery of Olney. Mr. Dieter’s heirs sold the land in 1916, and it passed through several owners, and the 40 acres that concern this house became 35 acres. The 4.8 acres out of the Southwest corner was the home to the W. C. (Will) Noah (1865-1929) family at some time, and the youngest child of Mr. Noah was Fannie (1901-1991), who became Mrs. Carl Ramsey, one of Olney’s well-known piano teachers.
The 35 acres got passed around several times before Richard Henry (Rich) (1880-1980) and Anna Marie (Kunkel) (1888-1980) Rachuig bought the 35 acres for their home in 1926. The Rachuig farm where Mr. Rachuig got his oil is on Schlegel Road, just off FM 2178, and is badly scarred by saltwater. The architecture of the house is very similar to the other homes that were built about the same time north of town in the German Community after oil was discovered on their farms. The Rachuig’s moved to Weslaco, Hidalgo County, in the mid-30s to escape our cold winters and rented the place out. My paternal grandparents moved to Weslaco in the mid-1920s, and when my grandmother went to the doctor, it was in McAllen. The Rachuig’s daughter had become a nurse in McAllen, and a connection was made with my father when he had to see after his mother. So when the George and Margaret (Campbell) Key family moved to Olney in 1942, my father had the “perfect” place to move to—a farm so that the boys (4) could all share in the livestock and poultry care in the morning and evening as they had all their lives.
In 1945, Mr. Key traded the house in on the old J.T. Richardson Ranch, where the Swastika Oil Boom started from Charles S. Richardson.
The Key parents moved to 507 W. Elm, where the father would not have any livestock or poultry to tend. (As a side note, the pasture was covered with red lines from the central powers, and the rural mail carrier for Megargel was Mr. Dean, who was not very popular. So one day a person stopped to converse with Mr. Dean, knowing that his rear tire was parked on a moving rod line, and it blew out the tire.)
Mr. Richardson became the owner of the house.
In 1949, Floyd and Sarah Beth (Mays) Key became the owners for a very short time, and later in the year, they traded houses with Albert Foster (1916-1983) and Dorothy (Price) (1921-2011) Richmond, Sr.
808 W. Payne became the new home for the Keys. Foster Richmond was a jeweler in Olney for 40 years and was active in oil, cattle and horses. In addition, he was a fireman, a Chamber of Commerce member, and a Mason.
The Richmond’s children were Albert, Jr., and Kay. Dorothy was a Megargel person, and after the death of Foster, she married O.M. Smith, whom she had known from schooldays at Megargel.
In 1975, Robert and Dorothy Hamill became the owners. The
Hamill family came to Olney with either Dayco or Electric Hose & Rubber. They had a crew of three red-headed boys and needed this size house for them. The boys were popular in school and sports.
In 1983, Marvin and Gail (1945-2016) (McKinney) Swaim became the owners, and they were the parents of Teresa, Rhonda and Jimmy. They had 54 years of marriage with Marvin at Olney Auto and Gail at the Sweet Shop. In the last three years, Marvin has married Wanda (Stroud), and Wanda’s children are James and Sarah.
If you have any corrections or additional information to add to this article, please contact Clifton Key at 940-564-2979