TexasEscapes.com HOME Welcome to Texas Escapes
A magazine written by Texas
Custom Search
New   |   Texas Towns   |   Ghost Towns   |   Counties   |   Trips   |   Features   |   Columns   |   Architecture   |   Images   |   Archives   |   Site Map

Parker County TX
Parker County

Texas Towns
A - Z
Weatherford Hotels

More Hotels

CARTER, TEXAS
aka Cartersville

Texas Ghost Town
Parker County, Central Texas North

10 miles N of Weatherford the county seat
Population: 0

Carter Area Hotels › Weatherford Hotels

Carter, aka Carterville, Texas
"These are the only two remaining structures."
- Mike Cooley, Fort Worth, TX, June 18, 2005

History in a Pecan Shell

Carter was established just after the end of the Civil War in 1866 – 1867. The name comes from Judge W. F. Carter – one of three town founders. The three men established the town around a business operation – a flour mill on Clear Fork Creek. The town was granted a post office in 1888 that remained open until 1907. The population dwindled in the 1920s due to its proximity to Weatherford.
Cartersville Texas historical marker
Cartersville historical marker
Photo courtesy Sam Maddox, March 2006
Historical marker:

CARTERSVILLE

Founded in 1866 by Judge W. F. Carter, Henry C. Vardy, and Thomas Parkinson, Cartersville was a thriving community for many years. At its height, the town boasted two main thoroughfares, Main Street and College Avenue. Local businesses included stores, a blacksmith shop, corn mill, flour mill, and cotton gin. A post office opened in 1867, and the town also included homes, a school, and two churches. The name of the town was changed to Carter in 1888. By the early 1900s the town began to decline, and little now remains of the community.
(1988)
Carter, TX - Cartersville Texas Memorial
Cartersville Texas Memorial
Photo courtesy Sam Maddox, March 2006
1894 Carter Main Street marker, Carter, Texas
1894 Main Street marker
Photo courtesy Sam Maddox, March 2006
Carter, Texas - Stones Flour Mill Site
The site of H.C. Vardy Flour Mill
Photo courtesy Sam Maddox, March 2006
Carter, Texas - Site of H. C. Vardy  Flour Mill  stone marker
Stone marks the site of H.C. Vardy Flour Mill, burned Nov 14, 1891
Photo courtesy Sam Maddox, March 2006
Carter, Texas - Post Office stone marker
Carter, Texas Post Office marker
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2016
See Texas Post Offices
Carter, Texas - Seven Rugged Riders stone marker
Seven Rugged Riders marker
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2016

"SEVEN RUGGED RIDERS:
WILL CURRY, JOHN DOBBS, GEO. LINDSEY, PETE DOBBS, TOM BEENE, IRA DOBBS, BRYANT PRATHER"

(Note: Dobbs and Prather are street names in Carter. - Dustin Martin)

Carter, Texas - Gun fightstone marker
Marker commemorating a gun fight
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2016

"A gun fight at this location ended a cattlemen's feud in 1873 — The man of the house was left dead in the yard while the other man, badly wounded, rode away unassiste."

More Texas Small Town Sagas

Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2016

"W.H. McLAUGHLIN SAW INDIANS PASS AND LATER LEARNED THEY HAD STOLE THE DAVIS BOY AND GIRL"

Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2016

"JOE HEMPHILL OF THE CARTER COMMUNITY WAS THE LAST PERSON KILLED IN PARKER COUNTY BY THE INDIANS JULY 1874"


Carter, Texas’ inclusion was suggested by Paul McCarty who wrote the following e-mail:

“When I was a child, I remember a ghost town in Parker County about halfway between Springtown and Weatherford, Texas on Highway 51. I am unsure of the name of the county road you turn on to get to it, but the turn off is at an intersection with a very old schoolhouse on the corner. I'm not sure of its name and don't know if it is still in use or not. The road and ghost town are to the North about 3-4 miles from this schoolhouse. They are near an old church and cemetery.

All that really remains is a collection of stone markers and monuments on the side of the road in several locations. Some you really have to look for to find. They mark different locations and events that happened in this town, which was apparently fairly wild. Several mark the locations of documented gunfights or Indian raids.

I believe the church may be the old town church. Come to think of it, I think the road is named Carter Road. At any rate, I have not been there in many years, but last time I was there, the monuments were still in existence. It makes a good trip for western history buffs and is not very well known except to the locals.”

Carter, Texas Forum

  • "Carter may be a ghost - but it isn't dead."
    Carter, TX began its history with the creation of its first mill. The town quickly sprang up around it, which at one time consisted of a general store, saloon, church, and school There were frequent Indian attacks, perhaps due to its close proximity to some Indian burial grounds which still exist today. Many people lost their lives here in the attacks, not to mention tornadoes, gunfights, and a fire. While today Carter sits vacant and is more accurately described as a ghost town, it is anything but dead. As a paranormal group based in Tarrant County, Tarrant County Investigators of the Paranormal has developed a special fondness for Carter. Our ongoing investigations here have produced results from catching orbs and EVP's (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) to significant EMF (Electro-magnetic Field) readings and even being touched. To date, we have captured at least five distinctly different voices here and we are sure more are to come. If you would like to hear some of our EVP's or just simply read more about the Carter, Texas investigations, please visit our site www.tarrantcountyparanormal.com - Tarrant County Investigators of the Paranormal, June 13, 2006

  • Subject: Carter, TX
    After seeing Carter on your website, I decided to fire up the Harley and ride out there. These are the only two remaining structures. The one on the left is now a chicken coop and home to the biggest chicken I've ever seen! - Mike Cooley, Fort Worth, TX, June 18, 2005

  • Subject: Carter ghost town
    I live one mile away from the Carter tabernacle. The reason that Carter became a ghost town was because a tornado came through and destroyed all the buildings in town. Carter is the name of the road and the closest to it is Prather which was a man from back then. The tabernacle has a church right next to it. The old post office is now a house. The Red Dog Saloon is still there and the front yard is a motor cross place. The land out here is still beautiful in the summer. - Casey Wharton, November 22, 2004

  • Cartersville TX, Parker County, 1887 postmark
    Cartersville TX, Parker County, 1887 postmark
    Postcard canceled with Cartersville, TX 1887 postmark
    Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection
    Carter TX, Parker County, 1890 postmark
    Carter TX, Parker County, 1890 postmark
    Postcard canceled with Carter, TX 1890 postmark
    Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection
    Parker County Texas 1907 map
    Parker County 1907 Postal Map showing Carter & Springtown along a creek (near Wise County line)
    Courtesy Texas General Land Office
    Take a road trip
    Carter, Texas Nearby Towns:
    Weatherford the county seat

    See Parker County
    Wise County

    Central Texas North

    Book Hotel Here:
    Weatherford Hotels | More Hotels
    Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


    Texas Towns A - Z Texas Regions:
    Gulf Texas Gulf Coast East East Texas North Central Texas North Central Woutn Central Texas South Panhandle Texas Panhandle
    South South Texas Hill Texas Hill Country West West Texas Ghost Texas Ghost Towns counties Texas Counties

    Texas Escapes Online Magazine »   Archive Issues » Home »
    TEXAS TOWNS & COUNTIES TEXAS LANDMARKS & IMAGES TEXAS HISTORY & CULTURE TEXAS OUTDOORS MORE
    Texas Counties
    Texas Towns A-Z
    Texas Ghost Towns

    TEXAS REGIONS:
    Central Texas North
    Central Texas South
    Texas Gulf Coast
    Texas Panhandle
    Texas Hill Country
    East Texas
    South Texas
    West Texas

    Courthouses
    Jails
    Churches
    Schoolhouses
    Bridges
    Theaters
    Depots
    Rooms with a Past
    Monuments
    Statues

    Gas Stations
    Post Offices
    Museums
    Water Towers
    Grain Elevators
    Lodges
    Stores
    Banks

    Vintage Photos
    Historic Trees
    Cemeteries
    Old Neon
    Ghost Signs
    Signs
    Murals
    Gargoyles
    Pitted Dates
    Cornerstones
    Then & Now

    Columns: History/Opinion
    Texas History
    Small Town Sagas
    Black History
    WWII
    Texas Centennial
    Ghosts
    People
    Animals
    Food
    Music
    Art

    Books
    Texas Railroads

    Texas Trips
    Texas Drives
    Texas State Parks
    Texas Rivers
    Texas Lakes
    Texas Forts
    Texas Trails
    Texas Maps
    USA
    MEXICO
    HOTELS

    Site Map
    About Us
    Privacy Statement
    Disclaimer
    Contributors
    Staff
    Contact Us

     
    Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes LLC. All Rights Reserved