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A closed
gas station in Belcherville
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2007 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Originally named Belcher, after local ranchers John and Alex Belcher,
it became known as Belcherville in the late 1850s even though there
was no populace other than the cowboys on the Belcher Ranch. In
1887, the Gainesville, Henrietta and Western Railroad was expanding
its routes and the Belchers platted a townsite on 27,000 acres they
had purchased for the purpose. The town was granted a post office
the same year the roadroad arrived. In 1890, nearby Red
River Station was hit by a tornado, and the population abandoned
that place in favor of Belcherville. The town incorporated three
years later. There were just over 300 people living in Belcherville
in 1900, supported by thirty businesses.
The town's incorporation was voided in a 1908 vote. Already in decline,
Belcherville suffered two fires just after WWI, causing the population
to move to greener pastures in Nocona, just as the residents of
Red River Station had
moved to Belcherville. The town still had 192 people in the mid-1920s,
but declined to less than 100 a decade later. The post office closed
in the 30s and by the mid 1950s it had reached a rock-bottom population
of 31 people.
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By the late
1960s, it had somehow risen to 90, only to decline again to the
current 34 - the same estimate used for the last 40 years.
The Belcherville cemetery is just west of town north of Hwy 82.
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From Old
West fires often impossible to tame by Delbert Trew
...A strange but true story with fire as the villain happened in
the Texas ghost town of Belcherville. Established in 1886, the town
lived until 1954. Being an "end-of-track" town, it prospered until
the railroad extended on through to other towns. This started the
decline of the settlement and fostered dissension between two factions
living on opposite sides of the track.
According to legend, one side of town burned and was believed to
be started by the opposite side residents. The residents of the
burned-out side retaliated by setting fire to the remaining side.
These two incidents jinxed the town for newcomers and the burned
areas were never rebuilt with Belcherville becoming a ghost town.
Could this be termed "the town that committed suicide?"
© Delbert
Trew
"It's All Trew" November 12, 2007
Column
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