Empty, desolate, abandoned – possibly haunted? – ghost towns in Texas are a dime a dozen. Take a trip back in time to these once prominent and promising towns in Texas that are now abandoned.
1. The Grove
View this post on Instagram
Established around the time of 1859, The Grove was once one of the most prosperous towns in Coryell County. Located a little over 15 miles southeast of Gatesville off of State Highway 36, The Grove was formerly home to a population of 150 or so people as well as numerous general stores, groceries, and markets.
Its decline came in the 1940s around the time when State Highway 36 went up, bypassing the town. With the establishment of Fort Hood and building of the Belton Dam, even more were forced to leave.
2. Thurber
View this post on Instagram
Near the Palo Pinto county line, some 75 miles west of Fort Worth is Thurber. The town is an unincorporated community in Erath County, that was once – between the years of 1888 and 1921 – the largest company town in the entire state of Texas with a population over 10,000 people. It was also one of the largest producers of bituminous coal in Texas. In 1903, it became the first closed shop town in the country.
3. Terlingua
View this post on Instagram
Located in West Texas minutes away from Big Bend, the ghost town of Terlingua was the former home of the Chisos Mining Company. In the early 1900s, the town was coming into itself when after World War II, the mine flooded.
In the aftermath, the price of mineral dropped, and the tiny town’s population abandoned ship. In the past few years however, Terlingua has seen in something of a resurgence with its numerous glamping experiences.
4. Independence
View this post on Instagram
Independence is a town in Washington County 12 miles northeast of Brenham. The town was established in 1835 by J. G. W. Pierson, Colbert Baker, Amasa F. Burchard, and Robert Stevenson. Independence served as the initial site of Baylor University and was the former home of Sam Houston and his family.
By the 1880s, many railroad lines bypassed the town, leading to Independence losing out on trade options to neighboring towns. Officials would soon relocate Baylor’s female college to Belton – now the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor – and move its Baylor University to Waco.
Presently Independence is home a number of historical sites including the Old Independence Cemetery, notable burial site of Judge Coles, Moses Austin Bryan, Sam Houston Jr., and other well-known Texans.
5. Lobo
Located 60 miles or so northwest of Marfa, Lobo is a West Texas town abandoned since the ’90s. Years ago, the town was owned by a group of German friends who used is as an escape from city life and a place to host numerous music and art festivals. Remaining properties of Lobo include a former motel, grocery store, post office, gas station, restaurant, pool, and a functioning well.
6. Guerra
View this post on Instagram
In Jim Hogg County, 20 miles from the border of the southern tip of Texas, is Guerra – the smallest town in Texas. According to HomeTownLocator, its present population consists of only three people.
7. Indianola
View this post on Instagram
With an ideal position along the coast, Indianola was once prominent commercial center for trade. The town collected revenues totaling in the millions year over year via its thriving port businesses – not to mention the other banks, hotels, and businesses in the area. Its undoing came with a sequence of devastating hurricanes, after which the town would never recover.
8. Barstow
View this post on Instagram
Barstow was established in 1892 by one of the world’s leading irrigation experts, George E. Barstow. By the year 1900, the town had a population of over 1,000 residents. However, following the breaking of the Pecos River dam and subsequent droughts, farming became virtually impossible by 1918.
9. Winkelmann
Less than five miles east of Brenham, the five-acre town of Winkelmann once had a glimmer of promise as a historical tourist destination. Owning some 150 historical buildings, Brenham developer, Ray Winkelmann, purchased the land and began to move structures to the site and opening saloons, plantation houses, school houses, and a general store in the area.
His aim was to create a tourist destination but following the economic decline in the mid ’80s, Winkelmann lost many of his structures to the bank. The town was later auctioned off, and as of 1994 the historical structures were no longer in use.
10. Toyah
View this post on Instagram
The town of Toyah began as a trading post in the early 1880s as the oldest townsite in Reeves Country. Around then, the Texas State Historical Association states that it was known as a “town of tents, saloons, and restaurants. Later a hotel would be built as well as a public school, reaching a population of nearly 800 in 1910. It was then a major cattle-shipping place on the railroad.
By 1914, the population exceeded a thousand; however, following the Great Depression, the population was half of that. Though a number of businesses were still in tact, the population continued to dwindle over the years. As of the year 2000, the population hovered around 100.
See also: