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History
in a Pecan ShellThe
region had been known as "Goldenrod Prairie" prior to development. Provident
City started as a land development scheme in 1909 when the Provident Land Company
of Kansas City recruited families from the Midwest to move here and buy five-to-ten-acre
tracts (sight unseen) for farming, despite that the soil was quite poor. Provident
City was off to a good start - which may have surprised the developers. In October
of 1910, 500 people assembled to witness a ground-breaking for the promised railroad.
A large hotel was built to woo buyers and welcome the newcomers. A post office
opened in 1910, and the town had all essential businesses including a mortuary,
a cannery (for future crops), and even a jeweler. But when reality reared its
head - and the promised railroad failed to appear, many of the families moved
to less isolated parts of Texas - or returned home.
By 1914 there were only 150 people left.
In 1915 there were enough people
left to report a saloon-keeper for staying open during a school board election
- an event that made the Austin newspaper.
The
town was almost destroyed by a prairie
fire in 1917. The fire, which had been burning for two days was put out by
the Herculean efforts of school principal C.K. Kuykendall and every student who
was able to beat at the fire with a wet burlap sack. The hotel, church and school
were all saved as well as other structures.
World
War I brought economic opportunities for the men of Provident City and many
more farms were simply abandoned. The Great Depression simply worsened the situation
and after WWII there were
only thirty people residing here - served by a single business. The post office
closed in 1953.
Most of the land is now owned by the Hancock Oil Company
who runs cattle on the property. It is said that the old hotel is still standing
- the last relic of the failed venture. |
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| 1920s
Colorado County map showing Provident City (S of Columbus)
near the Wharton County line. Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
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