the bank of soash
Since today was to be the last nice day of the year, I checked my list (tunes on radio, gas in tank, tissue packet in case I needed to water the wildflowers, my "back roads of Texas" maps, and camera) and headed south and the ghost town of Soash. Established in 1909 by land prompter William P. Soash, the town was to be the focus of 200,000 acres acquired from the XIT Ranch to be sold to farmers. Soash named the place after himself, built a bank, hotel, an electrical plant and an automobile garage. Trains carrying potential investors arrived in Big Spring and rode by automobile on 25 miles of rough road. July 4, 1909 some 2500 people celebrated with baseball, barbeque and vaudeville under electric lights. Unfortunately Soash's railroad was pre-empted by the Santa Fe which ran six miles to the west bypassing Soash. That blow plus years of drought finished the town. The post office closed, people moved their belongings and buildings to Lamesa and the Soash Land Company declared bankruptcy in 1916. Today, at the corner of a cotton field, only the hulk of the Bank of Soash remains. Any ghosts have been recently disturbed by the installation of distribution lines for the nearby wind turbine farms. About a mile away, at the intersection of FM 1584 and Soash Road, stands the historic marker.
Howard County
No comments:
Post a Comment