Yesterday, I pushed all the way into Knox County during my first ghost town expedition in months, and after seeing some impressive sights and taking lots of photos, I raced all the way back to Dallas to catch a performance of Avenue Q with some old friends of mine, walking through the front door with only a couple of minutes to spare.
I did mention photos, right? I'll be sharing them with you sometime this week, and they will definitely be worth the wait. Can't do it today, though - too many errands, and I'm still feeling exhausted. The leg cramp that woke me up this morning didn't help. Please bear with me; the photos are coming really soon. I have some catching up to do on this site.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
If you're staying home on the night of November 15...
The folks at the Discovery Channel are unveiling a series called Ghost Town Gold on Thursday, November 15. I intend to catch the debut while waiting patiently for my first opportunity to hit the ghost town trail once again. Sorry about the delay in updating the blog, but life has intervened in the form of work, politics, more work, Halloween, and catching up with old friends.
No word on whether Ghost Town Gold will visit any Texas sites, but if you plan on heading out to an abandoned townsite with metal detector in hand, make sure you're not digging on private property and keep mindful of all applicable laws, please. We're ghost town enthusiasts, not Visigoths.
You can read more about the Discovery Channel series here.
No word on whether Ghost Town Gold will visit any Texas sites, but if you plan on heading out to an abandoned townsite with metal detector in hand, make sure you're not digging on private property and keep mindful of all applicable laws, please. We're ghost town enthusiasts, not Visigoths.
You can read more about the Discovery Channel series here.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
How a Navarro County ghost town keeps the spirit alive
A recent article available on mySA covers the ghost town of Pelham, formed by freed slaves in 1866. Once boasting a population of 350, the community has dwindled down to between 40 and 50 residents. But once every year, the town holds a homecoming that draws in people from all over Texas. Click the link to learn more.
Monday, October 8, 2012
It's October the WHAT?!?
I apologize profusely for neglecting the blog for almost a month. Things have been rather busy in my neck of the woods. But I noticed that there aren't any guesses for the mystery photo that I posted last month, so I'll post a photo essay of the ghost town in question this coming weekend. It will definitely be worth the wait - and now that temperatures are dropping, worth the trip!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Mystery Photo! Mystery Photo!
For a little change of pace tonight, I'm going to post a photo taken at a ghost town somewhere in Texas and then see if you can tell me where this particular landmark is located.
Trying to Google this photo won't do you any good, so don't even try it. I know that little trick, too. :)
Funds are a bit tight, so I'm afraid the winner only gets bragging rights - but hey, it shows you're a true fan of Texas ghost towns. Good luck!
Trying to Google this photo won't do you any good, so don't even try it. I know that little trick, too. :)
Funds are a bit tight, so I'm afraid the winner only gets bragging rights - but hey, it shows you're a true fan of Texas ghost towns. Good luck!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Corn Hill (Williamson County) - April 2011 photos
If you're heading down Interstate 35 in the vicinity of Jarrell, see if you can cast your gaze eastward on the southern edge of town - you just might see a few remnants of a fading town known as Corn Hill.
Historical marker for Corn Hill
As far as Texas ghost towns go, Corn Hill (also spelled Cornhill) enjoyed a relatively tranquil life, free of the lawlessness of Helena or the industrialism of Thurber. In its latter days, Corn Hill also served as the birthplace of Texas Governor Preston Smith (1912-2003). The site was originally settled in 1852 by John E. King, who would later serve as County Judge for Williamson County from 1858 until 1860. King built a house and planted a cornfield on top of a small hill, which is how Corn Hill got its name. By 1855, the small farming community that sprung up around King's hilltop farm served as the first stop on a stagecoach line connecting Georgetown to Fort Gates in Coryell County, and Corn Hill had established its own post office that same year.
A collapsed concrete building at Corn Hill
The town's growth was fairly slow until Corn Hill opened its first store in 1869 and its first cotton gin in 1871, capable of producing three bales of cotton per day. By 1884, Corn Hill boasted a multicultural population of 250 that included Czechs, Slovaks, Moravians, Germans, and Austrians as well as other settlers from Arkansas and Tennessee. At that time, Corn Hill also featured two mills, two (some say three) cotton gins, four churches, a Masonic lodge, a blacksmith's shop, a school (on land donated by Judge King), and the Express, Corn Hill's weekly newspaper. In 1886, the school outgrew its original building and moved into a new two-story facility with four rooms, an auditorium, and a bell tower; the new schoolhouse also provided meeting space for churches. The population grew to 350 by 1896, and by this time Corn Hill also featured a hotel that was actually a converted two-story house built by John Wesley Shaver, although Mr. and Mrs. John D. Black actually operated the hotel beginning in 1889.
Remains of the Shaver Hotel, now on private property
Corn Hill's zenith appears to have been in 1909, when the town's population grew to an estimated 500. Many farmers in the town were taking an increased interest in the pro-agrarian People's Party, of whom William Jennings Bryan (prosecutor for the Scopes Trial of 1925) was one of its brightest luminaries. Corn Hill was also developing its own waterworks and telephone company by this time, and the Corn Hill College graduated a class of 36 students in 1909.
Deteriorating house at Corn Hill, now the site of a Verizon communications tower
The only problem was that Corn Hill failed to secure a railroad through its vicinity. In 1909, the Bartlett and Western Railway bypassed Corn Hill, and a new town called Jarrell was established on the line by developers from the towns of Temple and Bartlett. Over the next decade, many of the residents of Corn Hill migrated over to the new townsite. When Jarrell established its own post office in 1912, it was simply because Corn Hill's post office had been moved to Jarrell. A steam engine was used to move many of the other buildings from Corn Hill to Jarrell during this period, and the Corn Hill College graduated its last crop of students in 1915.
A once-lovely abandoned house in Corn Hill on County Road 312
Say hello to my little friend
Collapsing interior of the County Road 312 house
Unfortunately for the town of Jarrell, it did not fare much better than the small farming town it had just depopulated. The cotton industry declined, the Great Depression struck, and the Bartlett and Western Railway went out of business. By 1933, Jarrell had been reduced to a population of 200. A handful of determined holdouts remained at what little remained of Corn Hill, but most of the original population had already moved to Jarrell or Georgetown, while some other townfolk moved eastward in an attempt to preserve their community. New Corn Hill was established sometime around 1913 on FM 1105, approximately two miles east of "Old" Corn Hill. New Corn Hill today appears to have dispersed into a possible ghost town itself, although it still features a Moravian Hall and the beautiful and historic Holy Trinity Catholic Church. One of these days, I need to arrange another trip down to Williamson County to photograph New Corn Hill for you.
Cornhill Cemetery, just outside Jarrell city limits
Resting place for the gravestone of James G. Wilkinson, one of the heroes of the Battle of San Jacinto - but his body is actually buried in Austin
Today, the town of Jarrell has rebounded from its early brush with disaster, not to mention a devastating 1997 tornado that killed 27 people in Jarrell and destroyed numerous homes and structures. According to the 2010 Census, Jarrell currently boasts a population of 984, and its boundaries are starting to swallow much of what remains of Corn Hill. The Shaver Hotel is the only remaining historic structure at the former townsite, although there are also a few other abandoned and dilapidated houses as well as a few that are still occupied. The town cemetery, however, lies just outside of Jarrell city limits and a mile east of the old townsite, and it serves as the final resting place for many of those who worked and toiled to preserve their town and their way of life.
Tombstone for E.M. Donnell, Citizen of the Republic of Texas
The grave marker of J.H. Biles records his birth date, his death date, and the date he became a Mason
For those who are interested, the Williamson County Historical Commission has published some old photos of Corn Hill online as well as a more detailed history of the community. I highly recommend it for the amount of detail that is presented on the life and death of this humble yet progressive Williamson County town.
Historical marker for Corn HillAs far as Texas ghost towns go, Corn Hill (also spelled Cornhill) enjoyed a relatively tranquil life, free of the lawlessness of Helena or the industrialism of Thurber. In its latter days, Corn Hill also served as the birthplace of Texas Governor Preston Smith (1912-2003). The site was originally settled in 1852 by John E. King, who would later serve as County Judge for Williamson County from 1858 until 1860. King built a house and planted a cornfield on top of a small hill, which is how Corn Hill got its name. By 1855, the small farming community that sprung up around King's hilltop farm served as the first stop on a stagecoach line connecting Georgetown to Fort Gates in Coryell County, and Corn Hill had established its own post office that same year.
A collapsed concrete building at Corn Hill
The town's growth was fairly slow until Corn Hill opened its first store in 1869 and its first cotton gin in 1871, capable of producing three bales of cotton per day. By 1884, Corn Hill boasted a multicultural population of 250 that included Czechs, Slovaks, Moravians, Germans, and Austrians as well as other settlers from Arkansas and Tennessee. At that time, Corn Hill also featured two mills, two (some say three) cotton gins, four churches, a Masonic lodge, a blacksmith's shop, a school (on land donated by Judge King), and the Express, Corn Hill's weekly newspaper. In 1886, the school outgrew its original building and moved into a new two-story facility with four rooms, an auditorium, and a bell tower; the new schoolhouse also provided meeting space for churches. The population grew to 350 by 1896, and by this time Corn Hill also featured a hotel that was actually a converted two-story house built by John Wesley Shaver, although Mr. and Mrs. John D. Black actually operated the hotel beginning in 1889.
Remains of the Shaver Hotel, now on private propertyCorn Hill's zenith appears to have been in 1909, when the town's population grew to an estimated 500. Many farmers in the town were taking an increased interest in the pro-agrarian People's Party, of whom William Jennings Bryan (prosecutor for the Scopes Trial of 1925) was one of its brightest luminaries. Corn Hill was also developing its own waterworks and telephone company by this time, and the Corn Hill College graduated a class of 36 students in 1909.
Deteriorating house at Corn Hill, now the site of a Verizon communications towerThe only problem was that Corn Hill failed to secure a railroad through its vicinity. In 1909, the Bartlett and Western Railway bypassed Corn Hill, and a new town called Jarrell was established on the line by developers from the towns of Temple and Bartlett. Over the next decade, many of the residents of Corn Hill migrated over to the new townsite. When Jarrell established its own post office in 1912, it was simply because Corn Hill's post office had been moved to Jarrell. A steam engine was used to move many of the other buildings from Corn Hill to Jarrell during this period, and the Corn Hill College graduated its last crop of students in 1915.
A once-lovely abandoned house in Corn Hill on County Road 312
Say hello to my little friend
Collapsing interior of the County Road 312 houseUnfortunately for the town of Jarrell, it did not fare much better than the small farming town it had just depopulated. The cotton industry declined, the Great Depression struck, and the Bartlett and Western Railway went out of business. By 1933, Jarrell had been reduced to a population of 200. A handful of determined holdouts remained at what little remained of Corn Hill, but most of the original population had already moved to Jarrell or Georgetown, while some other townfolk moved eastward in an attempt to preserve their community. New Corn Hill was established sometime around 1913 on FM 1105, approximately two miles east of "Old" Corn Hill. New Corn Hill today appears to have dispersed into a possible ghost town itself, although it still features a Moravian Hall and the beautiful and historic Holy Trinity Catholic Church. One of these days, I need to arrange another trip down to Williamson County to photograph New Corn Hill for you.
Cornhill Cemetery, just outside Jarrell city limits
Resting place for the gravestone of James G. Wilkinson, one of the heroes of the Battle of San Jacinto - but his body is actually buried in AustinToday, the town of Jarrell has rebounded from its early brush with disaster, not to mention a devastating 1997 tornado that killed 27 people in Jarrell and destroyed numerous homes and structures. According to the 2010 Census, Jarrell currently boasts a population of 984, and its boundaries are starting to swallow much of what remains of Corn Hill. The Shaver Hotel is the only remaining historic structure at the former townsite, although there are also a few other abandoned and dilapidated houses as well as a few that are still occupied. The town cemetery, however, lies just outside of Jarrell city limits and a mile east of the old townsite, and it serves as the final resting place for many of those who worked and toiled to preserve their town and their way of life.
Tombstone for E.M. Donnell, Citizen of the Republic of Texas
The grave marker of J.H. Biles records his birth date, his death date, and the date he became a MasonFor those who are interested, the Williamson County Historical Commission has published some old photos of Corn Hill online as well as a more detailed history of the community. I highly recommend it for the amount of detail that is presented on the life and death of this humble yet progressive Williamson County town.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Not in the mood for heatstroke
It was about a year ago that I was hiking around the shores of dwindling Lake Whitney in search of remnants of the ghost town of Towash, back when it felt like Texas was only five feet away from the Sun. Yes, I would like to visit a few more sites before the year ends - and I did get to visit the remnants of Elizabethtown in southwest Denton County, practically in the shadow of Texas Motor Speedway - but maybe when the average high drops abot 10 degrees or so. Hope all of you are doing well!
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