ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[Meryl]

Ashwood, TX

[jpwagoneer1964]

Donna, Tx

Spurred by the arrival of the railroad a small town had sprung up on a site between McAllen and Weslaco.  One of the town sites charter members, Mr. T. J. Hooks,  had put all of his resources and energies in making the town self-sufficient. His efforts were not lost on the town folks and at a secret meeting it was decided to show their appreciation with a special gesture. A party was arranged in honor of T. J. Hooks. His daughter Donna, living in Beaumont, was invited to attend. When Mr. Hooks arrived at the little railroad station to pick up his daughter he was amazed to see a sign hung at the side of the rails, reading "Welcome to the town of Donna". The few surviving attendees of this time still swear that they saw tears in the eyes of T. J. Hooks..
Donna Hooks Fletcher was equally surprised and in the coming years she played a prominent part in the towns development.

Today Donna is a major player in the toursim industry and home to thousands of retirees from all over the United States

Mark

[MaineWriter]

Adobe Walls, TX

 The name Adobe Walls has been applied to several trading posts north of the Canadian River.

The earliest date is given as 1843 and the first structure appeared around 1845-46 when an 80 foot square adobe structure was built and aptly called Fort Adobe.

Indian misbehavior forced the post to close by 1848. Attempts were made to reestablish the post, but it was finally blown up in frustration, providing the Panhandle with its first landmark ruins.

In 1864 the First Battle of Adobe Walls was fought when Colonel “Kit” Carson and his force of 335 men (with 75 Indian allies) fought hostile Kiowas, with assorted Apaches, Comanches, and Arapahoes near the ruins. The casualties were three dead with 15 wounded for the Army and Indian casualties were estimated to be 60 killed or wounded.

Ten years later, Dodge City, Kansas merchants opened a trading post/ restaurant/ saloon a mile from the original ruins. Trade with the area’s buffalo hunters flourished until June1874 when the Second Battle of Adobe Walls took place. The main building was constructed of sod - in the fashion of Kansas buildings - and although the complex was overwhelmed by a force estimated between 300 to over a thousand Indians, the defenders held their own with only three dead (one an accident after the fight was over). The post was abandoned.

Later the Turkey Track Ranch made its headquarters near the original site. Former Army scout and survivor of the 1874 fight, Billy Dixon built a house at the ruins of Fort Adobe. In 1887 Dixon’s house became the community post office and Dixon became postmaster.

Adobe Walls as touted as an up and coming settlement in an attempt to recruit settlers, but in truth it never truly developed. The population never exceeded 20 throughout the 20th Century and only scattered houses remain today.

Leslie

[Fran]

Stoneburg, TX

Stoneburg is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 81 and Farm Road 1806, two miles northwest of Bowie Lake Dam and fifteen miles west of Montague in west central Montague County.  A settlement began in the early 1870s.  In 1883 school was conducted by W. T. Small on a ranch between Stoneburg and Bowie, twelve miles to the south.  In 1893 the tracks of the Chicago, Rock Island and Texas Railway reached the area.  That year a post office was established named Riley, but after five months the name was changed to Stoneburg, in honor of J. M. Stone, an area rancher who donated land for the townsite when the railroad arrived.  By the early 1900s the town's population surpassed 150.  Until the Great Depressionqv the number of residents remained above 100.  The post office closed on March 31, 1954.  Since World War IIqv the population has steadily declined, dropping to fifty-one by the late 1980s.  In 1989 the town had only a service station and two churches.  In 1990 the reported population was still fifty-one.

-- The Handbook of Texas Online

[jpwagoneer1964]

Grover, Wy

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 137 people, 48 households, and 38 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 61.5/km² (159.0/mi²). There were 56 housing units at an average density of 25.1/km² (65.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.35% White, 0.73% Asian, and 2.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.92% of the population.

There were 48 households out of which 43.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.2% were married couples living together, and 20.8% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 15.3% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $34,250. Males had a median income of $29,375 versus $20,625 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,687. None of the population and none of the families were below the poverty line.

[MaineWriter]

Ratcliff, TX

The town came into being with the arrival of a wagon train from Georgia in 1875. Jesse H. Ratcliff, built a sawmill here in the mid 1880s. The post office opened in 1889 and named in Ratcliff's honor. Ratcliff sold his mill in 1901 to the Central Coal and Coke Company. This new operation evolved into a huge lumber operation known by the four Cs in it's name - The Four C Mill.

The population swelled to 5,000 people and Ratcliff was spared the fate of many East Texas towns because of the size of the milling operations. But as the forests were cut, the writing was on the wall for Ratcliff. By 1920 almost all of the trees had been cut. The town declined until a reforestation project was launched in the 1930s. Davy Crockett National Forest was established and the Ratcliff Recreation Area opened.

Ratcliff has two Texas historical markers: one for the town and another for the Four C Mill.


L

[moremojo]

Fort Stockton, Texas

--county seat of Pecos County. Gateway for most travellers to Big Bend National Park.

[jpwagoneer1964]

North Escobares, Tx

 of 2000, there were 1,692 people, 412 households, and 390 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 246.5/km² (638.3/mi²). There were 505 housing units at an average density of 73.6/km² (190.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 99.47% White, 0.06% African American, 0.12% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 94.44% of the population.

There were 412 households out of which 72.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.4% were married couples living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.3% were non-families. 4.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.11 and the average family size was 4.26.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 46.6% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 10.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $15,958, and the median income for a family was $16,750. Males had a median income of $16,071 versus $6,250 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $4,562. About 59.7% of families and 61.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 67.1% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

[memento]

Snook, TX

Click on the plate for a video on YouTube about Chicken Fried Bacon in Snook Texas.

[moremojo]

Kimbro, Texas

--tiny community in eastern Travis County. Here is a little blurb on the place's history I found online:

Originally named Cottonwood, the town was named after Lemuel Kimbro, who had recieved the land in a grant awarded in the 1830s. A post office was established in 1901 and discontinued the following year. In 1907 Kimbro had a school with thirty-nine students which was eventually consolidated with other neighboring schools to form the Manda common school district. Kimbro had a population of twenty-five in the 1930s and has stayed at 50 for the last 50 years.