When outsiders think of Texas, they often imagine a dusty wild west town filled with cowboys. Well, they wouldn’t be too far off with Lubbock. If you’ve never been to Lubbock, Texas—or even if you have—there’s plenty of fun and interesting things to know and do in this Texas panhandle city.
Read on to learn ten fun facts about Lubbock that are entertaining, interesting, and may entice you to give Lubbock a visit to confirm some of these facts for yourself.
10 Fun and Interesting Facts About Lubbock, Texas
We’ve got something for everyone in our list of these ten facts about Lubbock. Whether you’re a history buff, a stargazer, a sports fan, or a cowboy, Lubbock is a wild west town with a rich and varied history and culture.
Lubbock Is Called the Hub City by Locals
Some claim that Lubbock is called the Hub City because it lies at the center of five major highways, which makes it appear like the hub of a wheel on a map or bird’s eye view. However, the city’s website claims that Lubbock is called the Hub City because it is the healthcare, educational, and economic hub for the surrounding counties of the region.
Lubbock lies at the southernmost point of the Great Plains, so the region in which Lubbock is located is known as the Southern Plains. It has a giant university, a top-tiered medical center, and is ranked as being one of the top 25 cities to start a new business.
Lubbock Experiences Impressive Dust Storms and Tornadoes
Lubbock lies in the flat, dry, dusty Southern Plains region of the Texas panhandle, which means it’s prone to extreme weather conditions like dust storms, tornados, and torrential rains during certain seasons.
Although there hasn’t been a large-scale tornado in Lubbock for many decades, the older generations will never forget the category five tornado that decimated Lubbock back in 1970.
Texas Tech Is a University, a Waterpark, a Museum Hub, and an All-Around City Community Center
Texas Tech is a noteworthy educational institution and a community-building, family-oriented institution that welcomes students and non-students alike. Their famed Museum of Texas Tech University has over 8 million items on display at any given time, with both permanent and touring exhibitions that include everything from Anthropology, History, Natural Sciences, Art, Paleontology, Clothing, and Textiles, and many more.
A newer addition to the University is an aquatic center that acts as the city’s waterpark. Families and community members, as well as students, can access two massive outdoor lap pools, a giant 20-person jacuzzi, water sports pools with basketball and volleyball nets, a waterslide, and a massive lazy river that you can float around to your heart’s content.
Lubbock has UFOs
If you thought Roswell, New Mexico was the only twilight zone in America, think again. In the summer of 1951, a group of engineering professors enjoying a summer’s night of beer drinking witnessed a V-shaped formation of greenish-blue lights soaring above them.
These UFOs became known as the “Lubbock Lights,” which became the fascination and sensational obsession of local and national newspapers and magazines and the government, who sent the U.S. Air Force to execute a formal investigation.
Despite the hype, collaboration, and effort, no one ever figured out what they were, but they never doubted what they saw.
Lubbock Is Obsessed with Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly, the famous ‘50’s Rock ‘n’ Roll sensation who met a tragic end, was a proud Lubbock native, and the city has gone above and beyond to honor his memory. Along with a large Buddy Holly Statue, you can visit the Buddy Holly Center, a museum with an extensive collection of Buddy Holly artifacts, from clothes, to guitars, to his record collection.
The homage to Buddy Holly doesn’t stop there; Lubbock throws an annual festival known as Bud Fest to celebrate Holly’s birthday.
College Football and Basketball are Lubbock’s Pride and Joy
Lubbock is all about high school and collegiate football, and basketball. Texas Tech has an impressive track record since its founding in the 1920s, with their football team, the Red Raiders, winning 11 conference titles, participating in 31 conference bowl games, and winning all but two of the last seven bowls they’ve competed in.
Tech’s basketball team isn’t too shabby either, with fourteen NCAA tournaments under their belt, making it to the Sweet 16 three times.
Lubbock Is Cowboy Central
If you are visiting Texas to see some real cowboys, Lubbock has what you’re looking for. Every year the city throws a National Cowboy Symposium, which is a giant festival meant to uphold and honor the cultural heritage of the Western cowboy.
The Symposium offers everything, from country-western music concerts to chuckwagon rides, cowboy cookoffs, horse parades, cowboy and Native American art exhibits, poetry readings, and more.
Lubbock Is the World’s Largest Contiguous Cotton Grower
Due to its sunny climate and rich soils, the Lubbock area has the largest contiguous cotton growth in the world, is the South Plains number one cash crop, and the U.S.’s third-largest cotton producer.
Lubbock has Whacky Alcohol Laws
Lubbock was a dry county up until fairly recently, although there were ample beer and liquor stores right outside of the city limits to get your booze fix.
Once liquor was no longer banned, Lubbock enacted a confusing law that restaurants could sell packaged liquor and beer, but liquor stores could not. It kind of defeats the purpose of a liquor store, doesn’t it? Unlike pretty much anywhere else in the country, it’s actually cheaper to buy booze at a bar than it is at a liquor store.
Lubbock has a Prairie Dog Town
The Plains are home to cute little rodents known as prairie dogs. Lubbock native, Kennedy Clapp and his wife, established a protected area to house a colony of them back in the ’30s that has grown exponentially. You can visit the Prairie Dog Town, a veritable petting and feeding zoo, since these critters have become so accustomed to humans.
Even if prairie dogs aren’t your cup of tea, the massive Mackenzie Park is worth visiting, which contains disc golf courses, mini-golf, and even an amusement park. It’s fun for the whole family.
