grandeur

"let the grandeur of the pioneer be discerned in the safety he has secured, in the good he has accomplished, in the civilization he has established."


this was probably the most rewarding trip i've ever taken. we started north in the morning, heading toward a town called belcherville, tx. near the turn of the century, belcherville was a new and exciting town, at least compared to its nearby neighbors. it boasted a post office, some thirty businesses, and multiple churches.

shortly after the first world war, however, the hopes of the town were literally burned down. two separate fires destroyed most of the town, and almost none of it was rebuilt. legend holds that, at night, the residents from one side of town set fire to the other side. the next night, out of vengeance, the victims burned down the remaining half.

today almost nothing is left to mark belcherville's existence as an actual town. it's home to around thirty residents and has no businesses or other establishments. the shell of one of the old churches still stands on a corner lot. though thoroughly decomposed, the size of the building attests to a weekly turnout far greater than the town's current population. there are also several abandoned homes in various states of disrepair; from still standing (and apparently used as a garbage dumb site by the locals) to completely collapsed.

from belcherville we headed northeast to spanish fort, tx. spanish fort has a long and winding history. prior to the 1700's, the modern town site served as a major village of Taovaya Indians. in 1759, the Spanish attempted to take the village but, in one of their only major defeats at Native American hands, were repelled and had to abandon two Spanish cannons.

in the mid-1800's, white settlers returned to Spanish Fort. the native population, vastly reduced in number and strength by smallpox, moved to Oklahoma and joined the Wichita Indians. the new white settlers mistakenly took the fortified village to be the remains of an old Spanish fort, probably mistaken by the cannons; hence the name of the town they founded.

the town became the last stop on the Chisolm trail before crossing over the red river. Spanish Fort soon rose up to meet the needs of travelers, opening several shops, including the original home of the new famous Justin Boots, saloons, and brothels. soon it became a rough and tumble frontier town plagued by countless shootouts.

after the railroad passed it by, Spanish Fort quickly shriveled up. the discovery of major oil fields just south of town temporarily boosted the town in the 1920's, and a large schoolhouse was built. it proceeded to fade in population again, however, and today the schoolhouse stands empty.

Spanish Fort is still home to around 100 residents. for every occupied home, however, there is a disheveled, abandoned one next door. the downtown also stands silent.




abandoned home in belcherville










an old church in belcherville




a burned down home south of spanish fort
















worst headstone ever






no comment






inside the spanish fort schoolhouse, where the decoration suggests it was last used in the early 70's




















this photo cred: lisa bird




creepiest house i've ever seen

"historical museum town"

there seems to be a lot of contention about how to describe the grove, tx. it was included in t. lindsay baker's 1981 book ghost towns of texas, but these days the term doesn't seem to fit.

the town was built in the 1860's, centered around a pick axe-dug well which to this day has never gone dry. though extraordinarily well preserved, the ancient building which make up the downtown area attest to the willpower and historic significance of the town.

the grove is located about 20 miles northwest of temple, tx. its nearest neighbor is moody, tx, whose far-flung population of 1400, suffering downtown, and many abandoned buildings fail to significantly affect the grove. it's essentially in the middle of nowhere.

the town itself does have some residents. the area surrounding the downtown is dotted with ranches, and at the far edge of the downtown are a handful of houses. about half of these are abandoned and in various stages of disrepair, but a small few families still live here.

contained on the main square are a post office (which has been out of service since 1996), a sheriff's office, barber shop, bank, blacksmith's shop, saloon, and general store. this general store now serves as an antique shop, but is only open on weekends. the owner has provided 1800's and early 1900's artifacts to movies such as lonesome dove. just to the side of the main square lies another general store, much smaller and made of wood.

from the information i've found on the town, though it is a few years old, i've learned that it is (or at least recently was) a popular weekend spot. the saloon is open and is BYOB on the weekends, bands play on the porches of the buildings, and the antique shop is open to visitors. however, when we visited, the town was deserted. there were no obvious signs of recent use, making me wonder if the information i'd found is still accurate. the only other people in the area were the handful of nearby residents. the town also has an early 1900's lutheran church.

the whole downtown area is owned by one guy, who has put a tremendous effort into maintaining the buildings without losing touch with the past. it would appear he has tired of the work though; the whole downtown is for sale, asking for a starting bid of $1,000,000.






















the backyard of the blacksmith's shop is littered with antique farm and smithing equipment...and along the fence between it and the backyard of an abandoned farm house is this eerily placed headstone

























pictures 12-31-08