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Texas
Ghost Town
TOKIO,
TEXASTerry
County, Panhandle / West Texas
Highway 82 / 380
17 miles W of Brownfield
57 miles SW of Lubbock
Population:
60 (est) Tokio
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The
former Tokio School.
Photo courtesy Jason Penney, June 2002 |
A ghost town in Terry County
(sort of) between Big Spring
and Lubbock.
It's a little out of the way - which partially explains the population.
History
in a Pecan Shell
Texas has two towns named Tokio (the now-antiquated
spelling was correct on maps of the day). The other Tokio
is now within the city limits of West, Texas in McLennan County. This Tokio was
granted a post office in 1912. The former postmistress, Mrs. H. L. Ware, is said
to have named the town.
In 1929 Tokio had a population of only 15. Tokio
kept its post office and it's name - throughout WWII. It record high population
was in the 1940s with 125 people calling Tokio home. The population of 60 has
been more or less constant since the 1950s. |
| | Tokio
School Historical Marker
Photo Courtesy Jason Penney |
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Tokio, Texas
Forum
The Marble Champ of Tokio, Texas
Dear TE, I was born in 1933 and I started to school in Tokio in 1939. We then
moved to Wellman and in 1942, we moved back to Tokio. We lived about 2 miles east
of town. I went to school there for 2 more years ( 1942 and 1943 ) and then my
parents transferred me to Plains
in January of 1944. Tokio consolidated with Brownfield.
Grades 1 through 8 went to Tokio and grades 9 through 12 went to Brownfield. I
don't know why the [historical marker] is not right, but I know what I am telling
you is correct.
When I went to school at Tokio, marbles was popular game
for kids to play. I am bragging, but I was the BEST marble player around. So much
for that. Ha Ha. I see where my cousin LeRoyce has sent you a message. He is absolutely
correct in his statements. He told about one person riding a horse to school.
The name of the person was Roland Pair. He and his brother James would also bring
an old donkey to school for people to ride. If you pulled on the hair of the donkey,
he would buck. It's real hard to ride a donkey when he bucks, but it was fun.
THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS. - G.W. Brantley, Buckscratc@aol.com, June 12,
2007
Subject:
Tokio Schooling
Dear TE, The Tokio school was not shut down in 1941 (as
stated in the historical marker). There are a lot of people that went to school
at Tokio during that time frame (30s - 40s). In fact one of them rode a horse
to school part of the time and tied it in the outhouse.
I was born in
1935 and started school at Tokio in 1941. I went through 1st grade there 1941-1942
and then 2nd and third grade at Plains
in Yoakum Co. I went through the 4th grade 1944-1945 at Tokio and then 5th & 6th
grade at Gomez in Terry County. I went through the 7th grade at Brownfield,
Terry Co. and finished the rest of my schooling at Plains
in Yoakum County.
Tokio just had 1st through 4th grades. Gomez had grades
1st through 6th, then you had to go to Brownfield.
We still lived at Tokio but all our friends went to Plains
because they had moved the Plains ISD from the county line two miles east to Tokio.
We lived 2 miles east of Tokio. Our folks had to pay the state fee the first year
for us to transfer after that the state payed the transfer fee. Our folks took
us to Tokio to catch the school bus. Back then they had a mail car that ran from
Brownfield to over
into New Mexico. The car was a limousine that also carried passengers. We rode
home in the mail car from Plains
in the afternoon.- LeRoyce, Gorman, Texas, March 26, 2007
Anyone
wishing to share history or photos of Tokio, Texas, please contact
us.
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