Where to donate books in Jal

Why the Jal donation map is shaped by a 1910 cattle-brand-named town, a Woolworth-sisters library bequest, and a Permian Basin natural-gas economy

Jal is a small City in the extreme southeastern corner of New Mexico, sitting on US-285 and NM-128 in southeastern Lea County, less than 5 miles from the Texas state line. The City's identity rests on three intertwined historical threads tracing from late-19th-century cattle ranching through 1915 homesteading to mid-20th-century oil-and-natural-gas economy.

1910 — Jal founded, named for the JAL Ranch brand. Jal was founded in 1910 and named for the JAL Ranch, which used "JAL" as its cattle brand. The brand was used by two ranchers — James A. Lawrence and James Allen Lee — in the late 19th and early 20th century. The JAL Ranch was an important pre-statehood cattle operation in the Lea County / West Texas ranching region. The brand and the Ranch eventually became associated with the broader Cowden Ranch operations headquartered in Midland (Texas) — the same Cowden Cattle Company that absorbed the 84 Ranch at Eunice. Multi-generation Jal-area ranching estates can include extraordinarily valuable Lawrence-and-Lee-era / JAL-Ranch / Cowden documentation: original brand-and-property records, period photographs, ranching-era family correspondence, and contemporaneous regional press.

1915 — the Woolworth family homesteading. In 1915, C.D. and Martha Woolworth — two of nine children of Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Woolworth — came to Jal to file on a homestead six miles north of the present town site. The Woolworth family became a defining pioneer family of Jal. Over the decades, several Woolworth siblings established themselves in Jal and the broader Lea County region.

The Woolworth Community Library bequest. Two of the Woolworth sisters — May and Elizabeth — indicated a desire to do something for Jal in memory of the sisters and brother who pioneered the area. They drew their wills with provisions for a library. The resulting Woolworth Community Library at 100 E Utah Street is named for the family and stands as one of the most poignant examples in New Mexico of a multi-generation family pioneer-legacy library bequest. The library's name and origin are inseparable from the broader Woolworth-family pioneer story.

Lea County oil-and-natural-gas economy. Like Eunice, Hobbs, and Lovington, Jal participated in the 1928-onward Lea County / Permian Basin oil boom. The El Paso Natural Gas Company's Jal No. 3 Plant (1959) and decades of natural-gas-and-oil operations have shaped the local economy. The local weekly newspaper, The Jal Record, was published from 1950 to 1974 (Library of Congress Chronicling America preserves the digitized run). Multi-generation Jal estate libraries can include mid-20th-century oil-and-natural-gas employee records, El Paso Natural Gas-era correspondence, and contemporaneous regional press.

The donation map reflects the City's small population (~2,000) and the layered ranching-and-industrial heritage. The principal public library is the Woolworth Community Library at 100 E Utah Street. The 350-mile drive each way puts Jal in deep volume-justified territory for NMLP. Routes always combine with Eunice (25 miles north on NM-128) and Hobbs (40 miles north).

Woolworth Community Library

Standard library donation rules apply: clean condition, books in sellable shape, no water damage, no mold, no significant marginalia or highlighting, no ex-library copies. The library accepts books and standard media at the front desk during open hours. The family-legacy bequest origin makes Woolworth Community Library a particularly meaningful donation destination for Jal-area material with documented ranching, homesteading, or local-history relevance.

For donors with mixed-condition material, large estate libraries, or volumes that exceed what the library can absorb, NMLP free pickup is the answer.

When NMLP free pickup makes sense in Jal

• Early-1910s JAL Ranch-era family papers. Lawrence / Lee / Cowden brand-and-property records, period photographs, ranching-era family correspondence — UNM CSWR, the Lea County Museum, NMSU University Archives, the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, or Texas State Historical Association archives FIRST.
• 1915-onward Woolworth-family pioneer-era documentation. Original 1915 homestead documents, multi-generation Woolworth family correspondence, May / Elizabeth Woolworth library-bequest documentation — UNM CSWR or Lea County Museum FIRST.
• Mid-20th-century Lea County oil-and-natural-gas family records. El Paso Natural Gas / Jal No. 3 Plant employee correspondence, period photographs, contemporaneous regional press — UNM CSWR or Permian Basin Petroleum Museum FIRST.
• 1950-1974 era The Jal Record newspaper-related material. The newspaper's run is digitized at Library of Congress Chronicling America; original runs and supplementary documents have additional archival value.
• Multi-generation Hispano household estate libraries.
• Documented Apache / tribal cultural material: always route through the relevant tribal cultural office. Never into general donation.
• Mobility-constrained donors, particularly elderly multi-generation Jal residents.
• Out-of-state heir coordinating remotely.
• Southeastern-corner Lea County rural addresses. Eunice, Monument, Bennett — all within reach of a Lea County route run.

Logistics: Call or text 702-496-4214. Routes always combine with Eunice (25 mi N on NM-128) and Hobbs (40 mi N). Cluster routing typically adds a week for the long Lea County corridor run.

Request a callback

Don’t want to call? Drop your name and a phone or email below — I’ll reach out personally to confirm a Jal pickup window. Free pickup, any condition, no sorting required.

Related

• Complete guide: 18 Albuquerque-area book donation channels compared
• The lifecycle of a donated book in Albuquerque
• Where to donate books in Eunice — 25 miles north on NM-128, route-paired
• Where to donate books in Hobbs — 40 miles north, route-paired
• Where to donate books in Lovington — Lea County seat
• Where to donate books in Carlsbad
• Where to donate books in Roswell
• Schedule a free pickup with NMLP

Sources

• Woolworth Community Library — City of Jal (1915 C.D. and Martha Woolworth homesteading; nine Woolworth siblings; May and Elizabeth bequest)
• Jal, New Mexico — Wikipedia (1910 founding; named for JAL Ranch brand used by James A. Lawrence and James Allen Lee)
• City of Jal — History (official municipal history)
• Woolworth Community Library — Library Technology Guides ((575) 395-3268)
• Cowden Ranch — Texas State Historical Association (JAL brand origins; Lawrence-and-Lee-era ranching context)
• The Jal Record (Jal NM, 1950-1974) — Library of Congress Chronicling America (digitized newspaper run)