ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[jpwagoneer1964]

Anderson Mill, Tx

Water park

Mark

[memento]

LOONEYVILLE, TEXAS

History in a Pecan Shell

First settlers started appearing in the 1860s. Storekeeper John Looney was honored with having the town named after him in the early 1870s. Like most early towns, the post office was set up in the local store and in 1874 the Looneyville post office opened in John Looney's store. The office closed in 1878, reopened eleven years later and then closed for good in 1905.

Lumber was the town's main industry and several sawmills operated in and around Looneyville in the late 19th Century. The town reached a population zenith in the 1890s with just 100 Looneyvillians. A Looneyville school was in operation in 1900 and the population decline started just after WWI. It managed to survive the Great Depression with 40 people. After the closing of the school in the 1960s, only a church and store were left.

[MaineWriter]

Earl, TX also known as Earle's Chapel, TX (either way, the next player gets an L)

The town was named after one M. L. Earle, who settled in the area in the late 1850s or early 1860s. The second part of the name came from the local church - the town's central building.
   
A post office was granted under the name Earl but only remained open for a few months in 1874. The community had 40 students enrolled in the Earle’s Chapel School in the 1890s.

Without a railroad and in a rather isolated region, Earle’s Chapel didn't pose much of a threat to the county seat. Still, throughout the 1930s, Earle’s Chapel maintained their school and church and still had enough people living in the area to keep it alive. After WWII, the population was drawn off by the larger towns and the school has since closed.

Today only the church and cemetery remain.

Leslie

[jpwagoneer1964]

Lightning Flat, Wy

Where Ennis got that very special gift from Jack.

Mark

[belbbmfan]

Tlacolula, Mexico

Tlacolula is the central town in the Tlacolula Valley. The town is home to more than 10,000 people. The Sunday market, reported to be one of the oldest in all of Mesoamerica, is the largest in the area. The valley is home to more than 60,000 Indians who speak the Zapotec language. There are numerous colonial buildings.

[Fran]

Addison, TX

[jpwagoneer1964]

Nurillo, Tx

Pop. 5056

Mark

[MaineWriter]

Oxford, TX

 The area was first settled in the mid-1850s and was home to the Bedford Academy, which received students from anywhere within riding distance.

A.J. Johnson laid out the town of Oxford around 1880, naming it for his hometown in Mississippi. A post office was opened that same year and the town was surveyed.

The cemetery was built in 1881 and a sign marks the date the way some businesses do:

Oxford Cemetery
"Since 1881"

The town prospered for a short time - attaining a population of around 300 by the mid-1890s. The jobs in and around Llano along with improved roads drained the population.

Since there's nothing left of a town center - our photos for Oxford feature only the cemetery.

The Moss Family who had substantial land holdings in southern Llano County are interred here, as is the town's founder - the previously mentioned A. J. Johnson.

Oxford has never been written about without mentioning its nickname of Cat Town. This name is derived from an incident where a cat was thrown into a large pot of coffee at a dance. It must be remembered that entertainment was hard to come by in the 19th century.

The cat may have cursed the town for Oxford started its decline before it even reached a high point. By the early 1900s it lost population and the post office closed in 1924.

Leslie

[memento]

Dull, Texas

History in a Pecan Shell
The community was named for the Dull Ranch of which it was once a part.

The Dull Brothers sold their ranch in 1901 and the land sold in tracts. Los Angeles and Fowlerton were two other towns formed by this break-up.

Dull was established in 1912 and granted a post office in 1913 The townsfolk may have gotten some ridicule over their town's name - so in 1915 they changed the name of the post office to "Nettaville" - but that was short-lived. The post office closed in 1919 and they were back to being Dull.

[jpwagoneer1964]

Lagrange, Wy

When visiting Lagrange you can stay at the Bear Mountain Horseback Riding Ranch.

Mark