Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
“The Old Lyford High School is a historic school building in Lyford, Texas. Built in 1923 as the first high school in Willacy County it was designed by the architectural firm Smith & Kelly.”
Wikipedia article Old Lyford High School, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 2 National Register listings published here for Willacy County · listed in 1985 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 59 fires within 5 miles of Old Lyford High School between 2002 and 2020, burning about 1,497 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31 |
| Debris and open burning | 17 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 7 August 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 29 August 2009 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 27 August 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 16 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | LARGE FRONTAGE GRASS FIRE |
| 10 August 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | FRONTAGE FIRE |
| 10 August 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 10 August 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | NATURAL VEGITATION |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lyford, the town this property stands in, in 11 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 tornado, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lyford | $3,000 | A couple of utility poles were reported down along FM 491, approximately one mile west of Business 77. |
| September 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lyford | $1,000 | Wind casued extensive tree damage. |
| March 2026 | Tornado (EFU) | Lyford | - | KRGV Channel 5 news shared a video of a landspout tornado near East FM 1018, in the Lyford area. Location estimated from distance from where the video was taken. |
| March 2025 | Flash Flood | Lyford | - | Torrential rainfall with estimated totals ranging from 6 to 12 inches affected southern/southwestern Willacy County during the mid to late evening of March 27, with several water rescues reported in Sebastian along the Cameron County line. Additional flooding with water depths on roads likely at or near 3 feet occurred northward to Lyford and perhaps the outskirts of Raymondville, and also east to FM 1420 between Santa Monica and Willamar. ||An unknown number of structures had some flooding. Countywide damage statistics will be available later in 2025. |
| March 2025 | Flood | Lyford | - | The Texas Department of Transportation continued to report flooding along the frontage road near Sebastian well into March 28th, with additional flooding noted by emergency management/law enforcement along Farm-to-Market and County roads in the southern portion of the county. Flooding continued at homes in the Sebastian area where drainage backups remained.||There was an unknown amount of water remaining in the North Floodway of the International Boundary and Water Commission's Flood Control Project. Further details for Willacy County flooding well after the rains ended will be provided through updates. |
| May 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lyford | - | Local law enforcement reported trees down in the city of Lyford. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Lyford | - | Public reported golf ball size hail on Highway 77 near Lyford. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Lyford | - | Willacy County emergency manager reported golfball size hail 2 miles south of Raymondville. |
| December 2009 | Heavy Rain | Lyford | - | Rain, heavy at times during the daylight hours of the 16th, accumulated an estimated 1 1/2 to 2 inches between 6 AM and 6 PM in along the Highway 77 corridor of Willacy County. High standing water occurred in these areas. Event totals in Willacy County included 3.33 inches in Raymondville, and 2.92 inches in Port Mansfield. |
| November 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Lyford | - | A resident first noticed a tornado over an open field approximately 1-2 miles east of U.S. Highway 77 just south of FM 491. The tornado moved westward toward U.S. Highway 77 and lifted as it approached the Highway, then dissipated. The tornado was on the ground approximately 3 to 5 minutes. No damage was reported. |
| April 2003 | Hail | Lyford | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Willacy County Courthouse | 5.0 miles | 2017 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 85002770 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Willacy County | All 2 listed properties in this county. |
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