Texas Small Town Adventures

Neglect

2013-10-13T14:53:00.001-05:00

I realize I haven't posted in 6 months or so. I've been busy, and Instagram has been an easier media.

But I'll work on my backlog of locations soon. In the mean time, click here to see my latest stuff.

A lonely, but famous bridge

2013-04-30T18:00:00.000-05:00

The Regency Suspension Bridge. Located in Mills County, deep in the Hill Country, over the Colorado River. You can see this bridge in the opening sequence of The Texas Country Reporter, when host Bob Phillips drives across. I did drive across, knowing that my hybrid weighs a lot less than Bob Phillips' SUV.

Looking east.

Looking west.

For some reason, the historical marker for the bridge is Goldthwaite, 20 miles away from the bridge.

The Ruins of San Fernando Academy in Pontotoc, TX

2013-04-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

Located in the North Hill Country, in Mason County, Pontotoc is a historic little town with some fascinating ruins. Here's what the Texas State Historical Association has to say about it:

Pontotoc is at the junction of State Highway 71 and Farm Road 501, near Pontotoc Creek in the northeastern corner of Mason County. The spot was formerly the junction of the roads leading from Llano and Fort Mason to San Saba. Early settlers began arriving in the 1850s. Benjamin J. Willis moved into the area in 1859 along with four or five other families, and by 1878 the community was well established. M. Robert Kidd is said to have named the town after his former home, Pontotoc, Mississippi. Kidd also opened the town's first business, a general store. The first post office was established in the home of Benjamin Willis in 1880 with Ellen Willis as postmistress. Pontotoc once promised to be a large town. The founding of the San Fernando Academy in 1882, which at times had as many as 200 students, drew people to the area. By 1886 the community had four stores, and by 1890 it had two doctors and more than twenty businesses, including general stores, a market, a gin and mill, several saddle and harness shops, a blacksmith shop, and a hotel. The main products of the community included cotton, wool, cattle hides, and pecans. A typhoid fever epidemic nearly wiped out the town in 1887. The town cemetery became so full that it had to be closed in 1888, and a new one was established. In 1890 there was a move to found a new county called Mineral County out of parts of McCulloch, Mason, San Saba, and Llano counties, with Pontotoc as the county seat. Mason residents petitioned against the action, however, and the movement failed. Many attempts were made to get a railroad through the community, but each of three proposed railroad lines missed the town by a few miles. This and the closing of San Fernando Academy in 1890 caused the town's prosperity to decline. The academy building was bought by the Pontotoc public school in 1889 and continued to be used until 1927. Pontotoc had a newspaper, the Country News, founded by D. C. Boyles in 1906 and published by him, but it was short-lived. Telephone service was established in the community by 1914. The estimated population was 196 in 1904 and rose to 300 during the 1920s, possibly due to a nearby mica mine started by J. L. Anderson and J. G. McNaughton in 1924. The mica was shipped to the Ford Mica Company in New York. By 1941 Pontotoc had seven businesses and an estimated population of 196. In August 1947 five of the town's commercial buildings were gutted by a fire that started in a theater owned by Steve Fickling. Although some of the stores were rebuilt, the incident hurt the town's commerce. The population held steady at an estimated 196 from 1933 to 1967. It rose to 206 in 1968 and remained at that level in the mid-1980s. As of 1985 Pontotoc had a post office, a well-service shop, a flea market, a cafe, and a volunteer fire department. The community club included an annual barbecue among its activities, and the local newspaper was the Pontotoc Enterprise. The population in 1990 was 125. The population remained the same in 2000.

Welcome to Mozelle, TX

2013-04-28T15:05:00.003-05:00

Located in Coleman County, Mozelle is a lonely little ghost town with only a school complex and and old filling station left. Above is the main high school building.

The gymnasium

This was the home economics building.

And, in it's hey day (from a 1945 yearbook):

Mosheim School

2013-04-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

Located in Bosque County, Mosheim doesn't have much left except a shell of a school. I can't find much about the history of the school. So just enjoy the ruins.

More exterior shots

Interior shots:

"Courtyard" shots:

Old Nazerene Hospital, Mineral Wells

2013-03-31T12:30:00.000-05:00

The Old Nazerene Hospital, on 4th Street, is fairly mysterious. It opened in 1931 and was run by nuns, who lived on the top floor. It had 46 beds, and stayed open until the mid 1960s. It's not clear what's been going on there since it closed.

"Is it just me, or that an ominous looking chimney?"

"Oh shit! Is this the morgue?!"

And, in it's heyday:

Welcome to Ireland, Texas!

2013-03-10T23:12:00.001-05:00

Yep. This is it. Completely deserted and silent, except for some gunshots echoing in the distance. Here's what the TSHA has to say about it:

Ireland is on Farm Road 932 sixteen miles northwest of Gatesville in northwestern Coryell County. It was first known as Hamco because of its location on the Hamilton-Coryell county line, but in 1911, with the completion of the Stephenville North and South Texas Railway, residents applied for a post office in the name of Ireland, in honor of Governor John Ireland. The Ireland community reached its peak in the 1920s, when it had three general stores, three churches, a bank, several other businesses, and a population of 400. When the railroad was abandoned in the early 1940s, the community declined rapidly; by the late 1940s it had only forty residents. By 1970 the post office at Ireland had become a rural branch of the Gatesville postal service. The community reported a population of sixty in 1990. The population remained unchanged in 2000.

Was this a jail? The only surviving brick structure.

Several signs for the cemetery...

Turns out, we never could find it.

Welcome to Carlton, Texas!

2013-03-03T20:10:00.001-06:00

Literally out in the middle of nowhere, Carlton used to be tiny, but populated cotton town in Hamilton County. Those days are gone. And this is all that's left.

This was obviously a filling station. Nothing else was discernible though.

The Baker Hotel (Part 5)

2013-02-24T22:28:00.000-06:00

Inside the Baker lobby. As you may have guess or already know, this place is known for paranormal activity. Click here to see the Ghost Adventures episode about the place.

And in its heyday:

The Baker Hotel (Part 4)

2013-02-24T22:17:00.000-06:00

This is the back of the hotel, the service entrance. This area has the only entry point we could find.

The Baker Hotel (Part 3)

2013-02-24T21:57:00.002-06:00

The Verandah.

And in its heyday:

(Courtesy of http://bakerhotel.us)

(Courtesy of http://bakerhotel.us)

The Baker Hotel (Part 2)

2013-02-24T17:52:00.001-06:00

The northeast side of the property, including the pool area. Enjoy!

The bridge from the hotel to the pool area. The bridge is over an area that looks like it was for the service staff.

Service alley

I think this was a snack bar.

And in its heyday:

( Courtesy of http://www.bakerhotel.us)

The Baker Hotel-Mineral Wells (Part 1)

2013-02-24T17:33:00.000-06:00

Located at 200 E. Hubbard Street in Mineral Wells, the Baker Hotel has fascinated me for years. I passed it driving out to the summer camp I went to on Possum Kingdom and always wondered about it. I made the trip up there because there's been talk for several years of a restoration, but there were absolutely no signs that was going anywhere. I'm going to divide the posts into several parts and insert historic photos intermittently. This first post will be the front exterior. Enjoy!

And in its hey day:

(Courtesy of http://www.bakerhotel.us)

No, I would not.

2012-09-16T19:04:00.000-05:00

This is probably the creepiest coffee house ad I've ever seen.

Llano, TX.

Stunning Dilapidation in Llano

2012-09-16T16:37:00.000-05:00

Located at Sheffield and Tarrant in Llano

Red Top Llano

2012-09-16T16:29:00.001-05:00

Behold Red Top in Llano, TX, located on Oatman and Haynie Streets. It's currently being restored, but it looks like the work has stopped. It's also notoriously haunted. There have been paranormal investigations.

For more information about the history of the building, visit the Friends of Llano Red Top Jail site.

To see what it looks like on the inside, click here.

For Rent

2012-09-16T16:04:00.000-05:00

Located in Llano, TX on Sheffield Avenue. It comes with window treatments, but you need to bring your own front door, window panes, siding, and floor.

Welcome to Gay Hill, Texas!

2012-08-09T21:40:00.001-05:00

Gay Hill, TX is a charming little ghost town in Washington County. Behold the ruins:

We think this was a feed store.

This was also some sort of store.

A chicken coop?

Scary!

A simple, abandoned house.

No one is surprised...

2012-08-07T00:04:00.000-05:00

Behold the recent ruins of the dry cleaners in downtown Mexia. The building just collapsed on 7/30/12, kind of like this one, which is down the street. Fortunately no one was hurt.

From the Mexia Daily News:

Collapsed business' future uncertain
by Roxanne McKnight
(Posted Thu 08:00 am)

Although the building that housed Nabors Cleaners in downtown Mexia collapsed without warning Monday evening, there’s good news for those whose clothing items were there.
Owner Dave Fitte said the clothing on the premises was in the back of the building, which is least damaged, and is asking customers whose clothing was being cleaned to contact him at 254-625-0693 to make arrangements to retrieve their property.
Andrew Taulton witnessed the collapse and said there was no warning when, about 7:25 p.m. July 30, the walls of the building, located at 209 E. Main St., fell outward, the roof fell in and the front facade tipped forward and landed across the sidewalk and in the street.
“I was standing there at the car wash,” Taulton said, “and I heard a noise like some tin was rattling, and I looked over here and I could see the front windows – the plate glass – were just starting to vibrate. It was just vibrating, and I saw the side – I thought somebody was in there and was running out the side. And then all of a sudden, it just collapsed, that was it. It took about five seconds. I didn’t see nobody around and that’s what worried me. I thought maybe somebody was inside.”
Rick Washington was at the car wash with Taulton and also saw what happened. He said that when the building fell “in about 15 seconds,” a cloud of dust shot out from the site.
“You couldn’t see the bank or the sign shop at all,” Washington said.
Mexia Police personnel and Mexia Fire Department first responders arrived on the scene almost immediately and cordoned off the area with caution tape.

Fitte was called and appeared at the scene, too. The building was closed and no one had been in it that day, because Fitte and his wife were about to leave on vacation.

Fitte attributed the collapse to the sheer age of the structure.
“It’s a 100-year-old building,” he said the following day. “It just got tired, I guess.

Before

(Thanks Nicholette!)

Trinity University Tehuacana

2012-08-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Who knew Trinity University, now in San Antonio, started in little Tehuacana? And now this super creepy but awesome old building is left. Here's a rundown of the history of the property:

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church made Tehuacana the site of Trinity University and it remained there until it moved to Waxahachie in 1902. The property was then sold to the Methodist Church, which opened Westminster College.Westminster College merged with Southwestern University in 1942 but the school closed its doors in 1950. The school opened as Westminster Junior College and Bible Institute in 1953.

Apparently some weird church group uses the building. I really can't figure out WTF they do. They had another building behind the old college that looked like a half-way house.

Still not sure WTF is going on here.

The bell tower fell off somehow at some point.

I found this creepy picture of what it looked like when the bell tower was still attached.

Tehuacana Public School

2012-08-01T20:43:00.002-05:00

Behold the ruins of the Tehuacana Public School, c. 1923. Located on East 2nd Street, there were no indications of preservation or restoration. Oh well, it's cool like it is.

Highlights from the Tehuacana Cemetery

2012-08-01T20:43:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Tehuacana!

2012-08-01T20:38:00.004-05:00

Tehuacana is a little but historic town in Limestone County. Above is Main Street. Love it.

Their one emergency vehicle.

The town Boston Terrier and Rat Terrier, also known as the greeting committee.

Some historic signs

Follow-up: Taylor Sanitarium aka Wedemeyer Hospital

2012-07-08T20:06:00.002-05:00

Since the original post is very popular, I though I'd follow up and get some different perspectives of the building:

It's been almost a year and nothing has changed.

Stunning Dilapidation in Mexia

2012-06-16T11:44:00.000-05:00

Now, Mexia is my second home but we just discovered this gem. It is located at the corner of Bowie and Sherman Street in the far southwest side of downtown. I think the storefront on the right said Mexia Pawn Shop.

WTF