"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