It was WPA site 17 dash 1. In 1936, federal works crews were using heavy equipment – the likes of which had never been seen in West Texas – to try to rejuvenate springs in Yellow House Draw, at the north end of Lubbock. The spectacle drew onlookers, including local high schoolers Clark and Turner Kimmel.

In the debris, the Kimmels saw something unusual – strange animal bones, and a stone tool. Wisely, they sought professional advice.

Dr. William Curry Holden, director of the West Texas Museum, recognized what they'd found: a Folsom spearpoint, at least 10,000 years old.

So began a process of discovery that continues today. Native Americans visited this prairie oasis for 12,000...