Although the community would ultimately be named for its proximity to the Lubbock and Hale County boundary, both it and the school were known by several names throughout the early 20th century, including Murray, Pettit, and Harral, all prominent neighbors. The Murrays founded a cattle and sheep enterprise, J.H. Pettit established a ranch, and L.A. Harral was a charter member of the Baptist church and a school board member. Joe Ed Hart built the first cotton gin in the area in the 1920s. The County Line Community Club, organized in 1924, was the first of several social groups. Orville Vaughn built the first store, and by 1940, several grocery stores, blacksmith shops and garages opened in County Line. After the discovery of the nearby Anton-Irish Clearfork Field in 1945, oil became an important part of the economy.
A 1936 court case regarding boundaries and elections was ruled in the school’s favor, but in 1940 County Line School consolidated with Abernathy. Even after the school closed, the community continued to function for another fifty years until modernization resulted in a dwindling local population. Social clubs and a few businesses including two cotton gins, continued through the early 1990s. Now only the church and cemetery remain as physical evidence of a once vibrant community.
