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History in a Pecan
Shell
Once the only town alongside the Texas and Pacific Railroad
in Fisher County, Eskota's name may be Indian or may be Spanish. But everyone
agrees that no one knows what it means.
It was to be known as Trent
after local rancher Riley Trent, but the wrong sign was delivered and put to use.
Riley Trent was remembered on the next stop east. The post office opened in 1888
and as the only town with a railroad in Fisher County, it prospered – briefly.
A two-story hotel served train crews and passengers. The population was 50
in1947.
It remains on the railroad – presently the Missouri Pacific.
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Eskota,
Texas Forum
Subject: Eskota, Texas
Dear TE, The last business in Eskota was the general
store, owned by my grandfather, C.B. Johnston. It was closed 1967 upon his death,
and the contents were auctioned that summer. The post office closed in 1954. The
only commerical buildings left standing are the old store and the old bank building.
The hotel burned down in 1919, and the church was torn down in the 80's as it
was unsound. The Eskota school was torn down in the late 40's after the war, and
the bricks used to build the high school in Sweetwater.
There are 4 houses remaining from Eskota's heyday still standing and in use.
Eskota Homecoming is held annually on the 1st Sunday in October at the site
of the old Methodist Church. - Elaine Starkey, President, Eskota Homecoming
Association, October 11, 2006 |
The
town is listed in T. Lindsay Baker's book More Ghost Towns of Texas, which
contains exact driving directions.
Photographer's Note
Eskota
was worth the drive. It is mostly the old house that Baker showed in his book.
It hasn't changed all that much. - Barclay
Gibson, February 20, 2007
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