If you've ever wondered how many ghost towns there are in Texas, the number may surprise you.
What You Need To Know
- Texas has more than 500 "Ghost Towns"
- These "Ghost Towns" are from Mother Nature
- Several "Ghost Towns" are now under manmade lakes
A technology company called Geotab reports that Texas has about 511 ghost town. That is the most in the United States!
Interesting, right?
Well, how many of those were abandoned because of Mother Nature or were submerged under manmade lakes? A good deal of them.
Indianola, Texas
The most notable is Indianola, Texas.
It’s located on the Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County. It was a German settlement in the mid-1800s and served as a major port with at least 5,000 residents.
On September 16, 1875, a major hurricane hit the coastal town and most of the town was swept away, even lighthouses were demolished. The town rebuilt itself but unfortunately, another hurricane hit in the 1886, just 11 years later.
The county seat was moved to Port Lavaca and in 1887 the post office was permanently closed.
Today, almost nothing remains of the original town as most of the site of the city is under water.
Barstow, Texas
This town came together in the late 19th century and had a very shot flash of fame. George E. Barstow, the town’s namesake, was a leader in the irrigation industry and brought his expertise to West Texas to grow fruit.
In 1900, the city had a population of more than 1,000 people and boomed with its successful farming industry. However, in 1904, a dam broke on the rain swollen Pecos River, damaging all the crops.
The following years were hard droughts so the population dwindled and now only about 400 people live there.
Lobo, Texas
The most recent “ghost town” is Lobo, Texas.
It’s located in Culberson County, about 12 miles south of Van Horn. Founded in 1882 and was a thriving cotton farming community.
Unfortunately, it was completely abandoned in 1991 after farmers discovered that the cost of irrigating their crops was costing more than they were making.
Bluffton, Texas
This was one of the first towns in the Texas Hill County.
It was founded in 1852 and quickly became the best place to cross the Colorado River near Burnet. Less than 100 years later, the town was abandoned when Buchanan Dam was constructed in 1937, forcing the water to cover the town and its pecan orchards and cornfields.
70 years later, a major drought hit Central Texas and the lake levels drop to historic lows. Areas that were normally about 30 to 40 feet below water were now resurfacing and so did “Old Bluffton”.
 Grave)
)
There are numerous other submerged ghost towns in Texas. A few of those are:
- Halsell under Lake Arrowhead
- Towashken under Lake Whitney
- Preston under Lake Texoma
- Friendship under Lake Granger
- Delvil’s River under Lake Amistad
- Sparta, Bland, Brookhaven, and Aiken under Lake Belton
For more cool stories and weather content follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.