Borger was founded and incorporated in 1926, just in time to profit from the discovery of oil in Hutchinson County. The town is named for oilman and land developer A. P. Borger. Whereas Pampa, an established cattle town, prospered from the oil boom, Borger developed as a classic boom town, with saloons, brothels, and gambling dens that required the intervention of the Texas Rangers in 1927 to maintain order. Although none of the ephemeral boomtown construction survives, Borger’s commitment to the oil industry is reflected in the Industrial Carbons Plant at the town’s western approach and in the Borger Refinery of Phillips 66, astride TX 207/152 approximately four miles north.
About fifteen miles south of Borger on TX 207 are vast ranks of wind turbines, extending east–west in a zone north of and paralleling I-40. Like similar wind farms (RBI8) in West Texas, their enormous size is well suited to this land of endless horizons.
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