For those of you who recall my trip to The Grove in August 2010, I made some field recordings of the town back in March while exploring The Grove with Jayme Carr. The recordings are now available as part of another audio ghost town essay on Mixcloud, complete with another helping of evocative music to help set the mood. Texas artists are represented in this cloudcast, including a live performance by Chuck Allen during the last night that the Cocklebur Saloon was open for business in The Grove.
Click here to listen on Mixcloud if you'd like to check it out. The entire piece runs for just under 45 minutes.
Showing posts with label Coryell County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coryell County. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Ireland (Coryell County/Hamilton County) - March 2013 photos
A lot of communities in Texas became ghost towns because railroad tracks were never laid anywhere in the vicinity of these sites. Ireland, however, is an example of a town that gained a railroad, then lost it.
Ireland, which straddles the Coryell/Hamilton county line about 16 miles northwest of Gatesville, got its start as the rural community of Hamco, which took its name from the first letters of each county. In 1911, however, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (better known as the Cotton Belt Railway) ran a line between Gatesville and Hamilton that ran right through Hamco, which blossomed into an actual town through the work of the Mid-Texas Improvement Company. The locals then petitioned for a post office to be named in honor of John Ireland, a former Texas governor. The post office was granted, and Ireland was born in earnest.
The handsome train depot at Ireland, now on private farmland
A closer look at the depot
The new town attracted cotton farmers who were eager to sell their crops to European nations, where World War I drove up prices for agricultural commodities. Ireland's population swelled to 400 by 1921, when a two-story brick schoolhouse was built on the county line to replace its previous wooden frame schoolhouse. In addition to the school, Ireland now boasted a bank (also two stories) with $20,000 of capital stock and a chamber of commerce as well as three churches, three general stores, a drug store, a restaurant, and several other businesses.
A general store in downtown Ireland
Another general store that converted into a gas station
Unfortunately for Ireland, agricultural prices collapsed in 1921, making it harder for farmers to realize a profit on their crops. Then the Great Depression hit in 1929, and Ireland's downward spiral was now unstoppable. Families who couldn't sell their land often had it foreclosed by the banks. The Cotton Belt Railway stopped passenger service to Ireland in 1936, finally pulling up its tracks in 1942. By the end of World War II, only 40 residents remained.
Foundations and vault of the bank in Ireland
A closer look at the vault
Historical marker designating the location of the schoolhouse, which was finally demolished in 1984
Front steps and foundations of the school, now on private property (Thanks to Jamye Carr for discovering this)
Table inscribed with JUNIORS 31 just outside the school (Thanks again, Jamye)
A water cistern (?) behind what may have been a gymnasium for the school
A state marker at Ireland Cemetery
This tree stands vigil over Ireland's dearly departed
Various gravestones at Ireland Cemetery
Resting place of Ella Stewart, wife of W.R. Stewart
Ireland's post office managed to linger on until 1970, when it became a rural branch of the Gatesville service. The population grew to 60 in 1990 and stayed there for at least 10 years. A recent estimate says that there may now only be 20 people living at the townsite. One of the churches has also been converted into a private residence.
Today, Ireland is a quiet place, farmed and ranched by the few diehards who stayed behind, and friendly dogs play amongst the building foundations that straddle Farm Road 932 on the county line. Jamye and I truly enjoyed our visit to this once-promising Texas ghost town, built on cotton and the railroad, but doomed by outside forces beyond its control.
Ireland, which straddles the Coryell/Hamilton county line about 16 miles northwest of Gatesville, got its start as the rural community of Hamco, which took its name from the first letters of each county. In 1911, however, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (better known as the Cotton Belt Railway) ran a line between Gatesville and Hamilton that ran right through Hamco, which blossomed into an actual town through the work of the Mid-Texas Improvement Company. The locals then petitioned for a post office to be named in honor of John Ireland, a former Texas governor. The post office was granted, and Ireland was born in earnest.
The handsome train depot at Ireland, now on private farmland
A closer look at the depotThe new town attracted cotton farmers who were eager to sell their crops to European nations, where World War I drove up prices for agricultural commodities. Ireland's population swelled to 400 by 1921, when a two-story brick schoolhouse was built on the county line to replace its previous wooden frame schoolhouse. In addition to the school, Ireland now boasted a bank (also two stories) with $20,000 of capital stock and a chamber of commerce as well as three churches, three general stores, a drug store, a restaurant, and several other businesses.
A general store in downtown Ireland
Another general store that converted into a gas stationUnfortunately for Ireland, agricultural prices collapsed in 1921, making it harder for farmers to realize a profit on their crops. Then the Great Depression hit in 1929, and Ireland's downward spiral was now unstoppable. Families who couldn't sell their land often had it foreclosed by the banks. The Cotton Belt Railway stopped passenger service to Ireland in 1936, finally pulling up its tracks in 1942. By the end of World War II, only 40 residents remained.
Foundations and vault of the bank in Ireland
A closer look at the vault
Historical marker designating the location of the schoolhouse, which was finally demolished in 1984
Front steps and foundations of the school, now on private property (Thanks to Jamye Carr for discovering this)
Table inscribed with JUNIORS 31 just outside the school (Thanks again, Jamye)
A water cistern (?) behind what may have been a gymnasium for the school
A state marker at Ireland Cemetery
This tree stands vigil over Ireland's dearly departed
Various gravestones at Ireland Cemetery
Resting place of Ella Stewart, wife of W.R. StewartIreland's post office managed to linger on until 1970, when it became a rural branch of the Gatesville service. The population grew to 60 in 1990 and stayed there for at least 10 years. A recent estimate says that there may now only be 20 people living at the townsite. One of the churches has also been converted into a private residence.
Today, Ireland is a quiet place, farmed and ranched by the few diehards who stayed behind, and friendly dogs play amongst the building foundations that straddle Farm Road 932 on the county line. Jamye and I truly enjoyed our visit to this once-promising Texas ghost town, built on cotton and the railroad, but doomed by outside forces beyond its control.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Exploring ghost towns - with a friend
Phew! I just got back in town from Coryell County, where I've been running around for the better part of Saturday with my friend Jamye Carr. We had a lot of fun exploring The Grove, which I visited before back in August of 2010, but this was Jamye's first time to visit this historic and picturesque Hill Country ghost town. And yes, the town well still has water in it to this day. We made sure to check closely this time.
Afterwards, we paid a visit to Ireland, which straddles both Coryell County and Hamilton County. We discovered the downtown area, the cemetery, and the remains of the historic school in Ireland. (It must have been historic - Texas erected a historical marker in its memory.)
I'm very happy that this was my first ghost town expedition with a running buddy, and we're already looking forward to our next expedition together. I will share my photos from Ireland soon, but as many of you know, I've been swamped with work and other commitments lately, and right now I'm just flat out tired. Going home to relax and adjust myself to Daylight Savings Time. Spring forward, remember?
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Afterwards, we paid a visit to Ireland, which straddles both Coryell County and Hamilton County. We discovered the downtown area, the cemetery, and the remains of the historic school in Ireland. (It must have been historic - Texas erected a historical marker in its memory.)
I'm very happy that this was my first ghost town expedition with a running buddy, and we're already looking forward to our next expedition together. I will share my photos from Ireland soon, but as many of you know, I've been swamped with work and other commitments lately, and right now I'm just flat out tired. Going home to relax and adjust myself to Daylight Savings Time. Spring forward, remember?
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Grove (Coryell County) - August 2010 photos
Some of you may be wondering if I'll ever post photos of a Texas ghost town that actually looks like a ghost town. I'd usually respond that no two ghost towns are exactly alike, that each one has its own history and sometimes a little charm, but I digress. Let me welcome you to The Grove, some 16 miles southeast of Gatesville in Coryell County. Don't just call it "Grove," folks; this is The Grove. And it has a fascinating history of its own - and a happy ending that some of you won't believe.
The day that I was laid off from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas after working there for almost 12 years, I decided to celebrate my emancipation from my passive-aggressive supervisor by rewarding myself with a road trip down Interstate 35 into the Hill Country. I was on a mission to discover a town that my wife, Ginny, had discovered decades ago while working as a park ranger over in Meridian. The town is Norse, which has now been absorbed into nearby Clifton and has virtually disappeared except for its church and cemetery. As long as I was looking for Norse, however, I wanted to spend a little time in Coryell County visiting the town that graced the cover of T. Lindsay Baker's Ghost Towns of Texas that rested in the passenger seat. And so I made my way down to The Grove, also known once upon a time as Morrison Grove, and this is what I've discovered.
Jim Whitmore's well at the center of The Grove, sitting in front of the building that housed the bank, post office, and the W.J. Dube General Merchandise store
The downtown area of The Grove has been carefully and lovingly preserved by the few people who still live in the vicinity. The buildings in downtown are arranged around the central well, which Jim Whitmore dug with a pick and crowbar in 1872 (some folks say in 1853). Twenty-eight feet deep, the well is reportedly still wet to this very day. And it's a good thing the well was productive, because the settlement was quickly becoming a favorite of Wendish colonists who had left eastern Europe for Texas in search of religious freedom. By 1874, The Grove had amassed enough townfolk, Wendish or otherwise, to obtain its own post office, with J.B. Coleman serving as postmaster. The Wends established a Lutheran church at The Grove in 1883.
In the mid-1880s, The Grove boasted three general stores, two grocery stores, a candy shop, a blacksmith, a cotton gin, and two barbershops, among other establishments, all laid out around Whitmore's hand-dug well that sated the town's thirst even during the driest of seasons. The Grove had also amassed a population of 150. The town was small, but prosperous due to the cotton, grain, and hides produced and shipped by Grove farmers.
A barber shop (or perhaps two?)
The diminutive Sheriff's Office at The Grove, next to the barber shop
1917 proved to be a busy year for The Grove, for this was the year that businessman W.J. Dube constructed a two-story red brick building that covered a whole city block. The middle of the building served as Dube's general store, with Planters State Bank opening next door within the building on September 14 with a capital stock of $10,000. The other side of the building housed the post office, with a doctor's office located just above the post office. Dube also served as postmaster and bank president.
Another look at the Dube general store as well as the bank and post office
Teller's window inside Planters State Bank at The Grove
W.J. Graham's General Merchandise, one of Dube's competitors
Planters State Bank operated until 1932, when it was driven out of business by both robbery and embezzlement. But the one event that probably changed the fortunes of The Grove more than anything else was the construction of Texas State Highway 36 in 1936. The original plans by the Texas Department of Transportation called for the highway to run right through The Grove - requiring Whitmore's old well to be paved over and lost forever. The townfolk of The Grove demanded that their beloved well be spared, but the only solution was to reroute Highway 36 two-tenths of a mile north of The Grove. When that happened, much of the traffic simply bypassed The Grove without taking the short detour to visit the various establishments. The cotton gin soon went out of business. During the 1940s, the camp that later evolved into Fort Hood confiscated 250,000 acres of farmland from The Grove's farmers, forcing them to seek their fortunes elsewhere. The Grove lost its public school in 1948, and Dube's general store changed hands twice before being closed down for good in the 1960s. By this time, the only establishments still operating in The Grove were a Lutheran church and the old post office, which lasted until 1996.
In 1972, however, an Austin antiques collector named Moody Anderson purchased the entire downtown area of The Grove with a view to preserve it. He purchased the Cocklebur Saloon building from Round Rock and had it shipped up to The Grove, where it now sits next to the blacksmith's shop.
The Cocklebur Saloon and the blacksmith shop
Anderson also transformed Dube's general store into a museum that held all sorts of antiques that Anderson had collected over the years. Anderson's efforts breathed new life into The Grove and brought tourists from far and wide to get a look at how life used to be like in a small Texas town so many years ago. The museum contained various artifacts - antique covered wagons, bathtubs, weapons, hanging lamps, quack medicine bottles, farm implements, signs, and so on - that have been rented by movie producers and have shown up in movies and television series ranging from Lonesome Dove to the film version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and even the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit. Anderson even hosted jamborees in the Cocklebur Saloon.
But in 2010, the aging Anderson, who was recovering from a stroke, decided to auction off The Grove and all of the antiques within. Musician Chuck Allen performed at the last jamboree at the saloon:
1,800 lots of antiques and memorabilia were sold off at The Grove in April 2010 over a three-day period. As for the town itself, it was sold for $200,000 to Fran Moyer, whose grandfather was none other than W.J. Dube, beloved town elder of The Grove. Moyer had spent many childhood summers in The Grove, and she tearfully told the other auction attendees, "I just bought back my childhood."
Today, The Grove is home to 65 inhabitants. Some of the older houses near downtown have crumbled into ruins, while a few hang on for dear life. A few of the old buildings, including an old service station, have been converted into private homes. But the downtown area still stands, and Fran Moyer intends to keep it standing. She may eventually use the site to host family reunions and other events such as weddings. So if you get a chance, take Highway 36 to The Grove sometime soon. You'll be glad you did.
The day that I was laid off from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas after working there for almost 12 years, I decided to celebrate my emancipation from my passive-aggressive supervisor by rewarding myself with a road trip down Interstate 35 into the Hill Country. I was on a mission to discover a town that my wife, Ginny, had discovered decades ago while working as a park ranger over in Meridian. The town is Norse, which has now been absorbed into nearby Clifton and has virtually disappeared except for its church and cemetery. As long as I was looking for Norse, however, I wanted to spend a little time in Coryell County visiting the town that graced the cover of T. Lindsay Baker's Ghost Towns of Texas that rested in the passenger seat. And so I made my way down to The Grove, also known once upon a time as Morrison Grove, and this is what I've discovered.
Jim Whitmore's well at the center of The Grove, sitting in front of the building that housed the bank, post office, and the W.J. Dube General Merchandise store
The downtown area of The Grove has been carefully and lovingly preserved by the few people who still live in the vicinity. The buildings in downtown are arranged around the central well, which Jim Whitmore dug with a pick and crowbar in 1872 (some folks say in 1853). Twenty-eight feet deep, the well is reportedly still wet to this very day. And it's a good thing the well was productive, because the settlement was quickly becoming a favorite of Wendish colonists who had left eastern Europe for Texas in search of religious freedom. By 1874, The Grove had amassed enough townfolk, Wendish or otherwise, to obtain its own post office, with J.B. Coleman serving as postmaster. The Wends established a Lutheran church at The Grove in 1883.
In the mid-1880s, The Grove boasted three general stores, two grocery stores, a candy shop, a blacksmith, a cotton gin, and two barbershops, among other establishments, all laid out around Whitmore's hand-dug well that sated the town's thirst even during the driest of seasons. The Grove had also amassed a population of 150. The town was small, but prosperous due to the cotton, grain, and hides produced and shipped by Grove farmers.
A barber shop (or perhaps two?)
The diminutive Sheriff's Office at The Grove, next to the barber shop
1917 proved to be a busy year for The Grove, for this was the year that businessman W.J. Dube constructed a two-story red brick building that covered a whole city block. The middle of the building served as Dube's general store, with Planters State Bank opening next door within the building on September 14 with a capital stock of $10,000. The other side of the building housed the post office, with a doctor's office located just above the post office. Dube also served as postmaster and bank president.
Another look at the Dube general store as well as the bank and post office
Teller's window inside Planters State Bank at The Grove
W.J. Graham's General Merchandise, one of Dube's competitors
Planters State Bank operated until 1932, when it was driven out of business by both robbery and embezzlement. But the one event that probably changed the fortunes of The Grove more than anything else was the construction of Texas State Highway 36 in 1936. The original plans by the Texas Department of Transportation called for the highway to run right through The Grove - requiring Whitmore's old well to be paved over and lost forever. The townfolk of The Grove demanded that their beloved well be spared, but the only solution was to reroute Highway 36 two-tenths of a mile north of The Grove. When that happened, much of the traffic simply bypassed The Grove without taking the short detour to visit the various establishments. The cotton gin soon went out of business. During the 1940s, the camp that later evolved into Fort Hood confiscated 250,000 acres of farmland from The Grove's farmers, forcing them to seek their fortunes elsewhere. The Grove lost its public school in 1948, and Dube's general store changed hands twice before being closed down for good in the 1960s. By this time, the only establishments still operating in The Grove were a Lutheran church and the old post office, which lasted until 1996.
In 1972, however, an Austin antiques collector named Moody Anderson purchased the entire downtown area of The Grove with a view to preserve it. He purchased the Cocklebur Saloon building from Round Rock and had it shipped up to The Grove, where it now sits next to the blacksmith's shop.
The Cocklebur Saloon and the blacksmith shop
Anderson also transformed Dube's general store into a museum that held all sorts of antiques that Anderson had collected over the years. Anderson's efforts breathed new life into The Grove and brought tourists from far and wide to get a look at how life used to be like in a small Texas town so many years ago. The museum contained various artifacts - antique covered wagons, bathtubs, weapons, hanging lamps, quack medicine bottles, farm implements, signs, and so on - that have been rented by movie producers and have shown up in movies and television series ranging from Lonesome Dove to the film version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and even the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit. Anderson even hosted jamborees in the Cocklebur Saloon.
But in 2010, the aging Anderson, who was recovering from a stroke, decided to auction off The Grove and all of the antiques within. Musician Chuck Allen performed at the last jamboree at the saloon:
1,800 lots of antiques and memorabilia were sold off at The Grove in April 2010 over a three-day period. As for the town itself, it was sold for $200,000 to Fran Moyer, whose grandfather was none other than W.J. Dube, beloved town elder of The Grove. Moyer had spent many childhood summers in The Grove, and she tearfully told the other auction attendees, "I just bought back my childhood."
Today, The Grove is home to 65 inhabitants. Some of the older houses near downtown have crumbled into ruins, while a few hang on for dear life. A few of the old buildings, including an old service station, have been converted into private homes. But the downtown area still stands, and Fran Moyer intends to keep it standing. She may eventually use the site to host family reunions and other events such as weddings. So if you get a chance, take Highway 36 to The Grove sometime soon. You'll be glad you did.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)