W. D. Twichell
| Willis Day Twichell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 24, 1864 Hastings, Minnesota, US |
| Died | September 23, 1959 (aged 95) San Angelo, Texas |
| Resting place | Lawnhaven Cemetery in San Angelo |
| Residence |
(1) Amarillo, Texas |
| Alma mater | National Normal University |
| Occupation | Surveyor; Civil engineer |
| Years active | 1883—ca. 1934 |
| Known for | Cadastral surveying, Texas/New Mexico border, XIT Ranch |
| Spouse(s) | Eula Trigg Twichell |
| Children |
Four daughters |
| Parent(s) |
Daniel Wilson Twichell |
(1) Amarillo, Texas
(2) Austin, Texas
Four daughters
Daniel Wilson Twichell
Willis Day Twichell (March 24, 1864 – September 23, 1959) was a Texas surveyor and civil engineer, based primarily in Amarillo and later Austin, who surveyed 165 of the state's 254 counties.
Twichell was born in Hastings in southeastern Minnesota, to Daniel Wilson Twichell and the former Sarah Catharine Coons. After the death of his mother, which occurred when he was four, Willis lived on farms owned by uncles. His father remarried and moved to Madison County in west central Ohio. Willis attended public schools in Minnesota and then Ohio. Presumably, he followed his father and stepmother to Ohio. In 1883, he graduated from the since defunct National Normal University, a teaching institution in Lebanon in southwestern Ohio. With a degree in civil engineering, he established a surveying practice in Springfield in western Ohio.
In November 1885, Twichell migrated to West Texas, where his first assignment was to stake out Garden City, located some twenty-seven miles south of Big Spring. Garden City became the seat of the newly created Glasscock County. In 1886, Twichell met William S. Mabry, a surveyor employed by the Capitol Syndicate, which owned the huge XIT Ranch, which was then constructing the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Mabry also had built the former T&P Hotel in Big Spring, the seat of Howard County. Twichell surveyed the Yellow Houses Division of the XIT, which the syndicate had established on lands that it procured in exchange for the building of the state capitol. After finishing this work, Twichell surveyed the Spring Lake Division of the XIT. He also surveyed Littlefield, the seat of Lamb County, named for the cattleman George W. Littlefield, a Confederate officer and large donor to the University of Texas.
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