Ghost Towns of Texas - Softcover

T. Lindsay Baker (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0806121890 ISBN 13: 9780806121895

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991

Synopsis

In the past 150 years as many as two thousand Oklahoma hamlets, villages, towns, and even cities have bloomed and then died. Some have faded away, with not even a fallen chimney to mark their location. Others have left ghostly marks of their past--mounds of rubble grown over with grass or crumbling walls of buildings. A few still cling tenaciously to life, with a few inhibitants left to call them home.In these pages John W. Morris tells about 130 of the towns. He describes how and why each was established, the activities of its people in its heyday, and the conditions that cuased it to fade away. Of course, to tell about the towns is also to tell about the people who built them and lived in them--and once had high hopes for their success.

About this title

Synopsis:

A survey of 86 ghost towns in Texas. The author's criteria for inclusion were tangible remains, public access and statewide coverage. In each case he comments about the founding of the town, its former significance and the reasons for its decline. The history of these areas describes the high expectations of new settlers and speculators, the hopes and eventual failures of railroad, mining and oil towns, different ethnic and religious groups and conflicts among Native Americans, Mexicans and Texans. Maps with instructions on how to find the towns is included.

About the Author:

T. Lindsay Baker, who holds the W. K. Gordon Chair in Industrial History at Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas, is Director of the W. K. Gordon Center for Industrial History, Thurber, Texas, and editor of the Windmiller's Gazette. He is the author of A Field Guide to American Windmills and North American Windmill Manufacturers' Trade Literature: A Descriptive Guide.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0806121890
• ISBN 13: 9780806121895
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208