Why are there so many ghost towns in Texas?

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by augiedogie

Its not just in the west either. I read a post on Maine recently that claimed that some towns in northern Maine have disbanded, gone out of business in a sense, and the only govt. left is the county govt.

There are ghost towns all over Pennsylvania, too. But often all you can find are remnants of building foundations, deep in the woods. Wooden structures eventually collapse and disappear in wetter climates.

[cBach]

There are many ghost towns in Canada in the Far North. It is very similar to the West where the only draw were mineral extractions and once that was exhausted, there were not many reasons to live in the town. Out West, the heat and the lack of water were problems, up north the cold and the remoteness were reasons. Take a look at this ghost town in northern Quebec:

Gagnon, Quebec - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rwr]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

For a state with a growing population, there sure are a lot of extinct communities in Texas.

Ghosts need a place to live too and I sure as heck don't want them living with me. Here in Texas we treat our ghosts kindly.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Here's an interesting article (with pics) that came out in this month's Texas Coop Power magazine about four Texas ghosts towns:

1. Sher-Han (Hansford County)
2. Manning (Angelina County) I remember this place.
3. Girvin (Pecos County)
4. Morris Ranch (Gillespie County) SW of Fredericksburg.

Texas Co-op Power Magazine - Texas Stories: Old Haunts - An Online Community for Members of Texas Electric Cooperatives

[texascycling]

There's a couple of books that may no longer be in print (but shouldn't be too hard to find) written by T. Lindsay Baker in the 1980's and 1990's called "Ghost Towns of Texas" and "More Ghost Towns of Texas." University of Oklahoma Press as I recall (have them both at home!). Each one has about 80+ towns in it and are truly fascinating. I found the first volume on my parents' bookcase when I was 12 years old and I'll blame them for figuring out what to DO with a history degree 15 years down the line...

[High_Plains_Retired]

I couldn't recall the name of the book by Bob Bowman but it is The 35 Best Ghost Towns in East Texas and 220 Other Towns We Left Behind published in 1991 at Lufkin.

I have several of Bowman's east Texas books, several of which are signed, but I do not have this one.

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

Originally Posted by texascycling

There's a couple of books that may no longer be in print (but shouldn't be too hard to find) written by T. Lindsay Baker in the 1980's and 1990's called "Ghost Towns of Texas" and "More Ghost Towns of Texas." University of Oklahoma Press as I recall (have them both at home!). Each one has about 80+ towns in it and are truly fascinating. I found the first volume on my parents' bookcase when I was 12 years old and I'll blame them for figuring out what to DO with a history degree 15 years down the line...

I remember reading "Ghost Towns of Texas" when I worked at the public library in Palestine.