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SHAFTER,
TEXAS
Texas Ghost Town
Presidio County, West Texas
Highway 67
18 miles North of Presidio
43 miles South of Marfa
Population: Undetermined
Shafter
Area Hotels - Book Here & Save
Alpine
Hotels
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Shafter
mine in the 1890s
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Shafter became a mining town in 1880, when John W. Spencer discovered
silver ore.
Spencer showed a sample to Col. William R. Shafter, commander of Fort
Davis, who had it assayed. Shafter shared the information with two
of his fellow officers. They then convinced the state to allow them
to buy huge tracts of school land around the site in 1880. The three
made Spencer a partner (at least verbally) but although they now owned
the land, they lacked the capital to mine the silver.
In 1882 they leased some of their holdings to a California mining
group. A new company - The Presidio Mining Company was formed.
In 1884, the company installed new machinery and the town of Shafter
was born. |
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Spring
in Shafter
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2005 |
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Old Store fronts
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2005 |
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More
stone buildings
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2005 |
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Another
former store
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2005 |
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Nature
reclaiming Shafter
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2005 |
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Another
view
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2005 |
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The Shafter post
office as it once appeared in Texas Highways Magazine.
(date unknown.)
Photo courtesy TXDoT
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The post office
was granted in 1885.
One partner
sued when the company started mining on land deeded under his wife's
name. The case went to the Texas Supreme Court who ruled in favor
of the mine over the disgruntled partner in 1887. Operations increased
and Shafter became a full-fledged "company town" with the miners
totally dependent on the company.
Shafter only had 110 people around 1900. The mine closed and reopened
several times throughout the 20s and 30s.
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By 1943 Shafter's
population had grown to 1,500 with the economy buoyed by nearby Cavalry
Fort D. A. Russell and Marfa Army Air Field. When the posts
were closed at the end of WWII, the population shrank to only 20.
The town was used for early scenes of the 1968 science fiction movie
"The Andromeda Strain". |
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1940
Census Map
showing Shafter, Casa
Piedra, Plata and region
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
Shafter
Texas Forum
Shootout
at Shafter
As
a child I always heard the story of my grandfather killing a Texas
Ranger in Shafter, Texas. Although it was said to be in self defense,
he was almost being lynched for it... more
- William G. Howell, Estes Park, Colorado, , January 21, 2007
Shafter
and Unsolved Murder in Presidio
Dear TE, My Grandfather arrived in Shafter Texas in 1924 and opened
The New York Store selling dry goods to the townspeople. He purchased
two lots in the town with the intention of making Shafter his home.
My Mother, born in 1927, spent the first three years of her life
there. In 1930 my Grandfather, Grandmother and Mother moved to Presidio
along with the store and changing the name to The Joseph H. Kalmore
Company. Grandad ran the store in Presidio until 1952.
In 1947 my Grandmother passed away in Ojinaga, Mexico from cancer.
My Mother married in 1948 and moved to El Paso to raise her family.
After her passing in 2000 the land in Shafter was passed on to me.
I have been seeking more information regarding my Grandfather. He
was murdered during a robbery at his store in July of 1952. No one
was ever brought to justice for the crime. My Mother was his only
child and she was devastated by the crime and could not bring herself
to return to Presidio, although she did talk about returning a year
before her death. I have visited Shafter several times and find
it's surroundings and history very interesting. Shafter is a real
gem in the rough. - Joseph H. Diamond, El Paso, Texas,, December
30, 2006
Shafter's
Silver Mine
Dear TE, It was very intresting to see some information concerning
Shafter, Texas. My mother, Eliza Duke was born there in 1914. She
had two older brothers (David Duke II and Alfred Duke) that worked
in the silver mines. My grandfather was David Duke Sr. who married
Fausta Hernandez. My great grandfather, Frank Duke married Estanislada
Hernandez. I will probably visit that area some time next year and
will try to get additional information to include.- Ernest M.
Perez, San Angelo, December 09, 2006
I read with
much interest an article about Shafter..I was born there in 1940,
my father was a minister there preaching to the Mexican worker families.
Are there any records of a congregation or church (Assembly of God)?
Dad's name is Santos Becerra. - Santos Becerra Jr. San Angelo,
Tx., December
27, 2003
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*You got the
wrong movie being made in Shafter in 1968. It was "The Andromeda
Strain." I was there when it was made -- living in Presidio,
but watched with interest as Shafter transformed into a movie set.
- Martha Rhea, June 11, 2002
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There is a
funny story that occurred during the making of "The Andromeda Strain".
An old woman from Presidio, Ma Daniels, was driving down the Presidio
highway and spotted the activity in Shafter. She drove thru the
set where "dead" people were tied to buzzards who were feasting,
scattering buzzards and people and really messing up the set. Ma,
included in a book or two, was one of the larger than life characters
from Presidio/Big Bend. ... - Martha Rhea, June 13, 2002
Anyone wishing to share stories, memories or information on Shafter,
Texas, please contact
us.
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© John Troesser
More photos by Erik
Whetstone
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