Asa Borger murdered

On this day in 1934, town builder Asa (Ace) Borger was shot to death in the Hutchinson County town that bore his name. Borger was shot by Hutchinson county treasurer Arthur Huey, who was upset with Borger over the failure of the Borger State Bank and for failing to post his bail when he was arrested on an embezzlement charge. Huey also wounded another man, who died five days later. At his trial Huey claimed that he had shot in self-defense, arguing that Borger was gunning for him. The jury believed him and acquitted him. Three years later, however, he was sent to the state penitentiary for theft of county funds. Borger was born in Missouri in 1888 and successfully promoted several boomtowns in Oklahoma as a young man. In 1926 he purchased 240 acres in the Panhandle and organized the Borger Townsite Company. The company began selling lots in the town of Borger in March of that year and grossed between $60,000 and $100,000 on the first day. After six months Borger sold out completely, for more than a million dollars. The two-story dream house he built in 1929 was the first brick residence in Borger and is now a Texas historical landmark.