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WHITEFLAT,
TEXAS
Texas Ghost
Town
Motley County, Texas Panhandle
Highway 70
61 miles S of Clarendon
60 miles SW of Childress
10 miles N of Matador
41 miles NE of Floydada
90 miles NE of Lubbock
Population:
0003 (estimate)
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The
parsonage for the Methodist Church
Photo courtesy Jon M. Hager, 9-04 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Whiteflat was originally a Matador Ranch line camp. Either Bill Tilson
or Mrs. H. H. Campbell named the town in 1899 for the abundant white
needlegrass.The town was established between the geographic features
of Willow Creek and Tom Ball Canyon.
By 1910 Whiteflat had a school and the population reportedly reached
several hundred.
The high school dates from the 1920s when the town also had a cotton
gin and post office.
According to the Handbook of Texas, "early families included the Tilsons,
Bloodworths, Wilkinsons, Morrisses, and Kimbells."
The population was a mere 50 in the late 1940s - the period of increased
mobility and school consolidations. The proximity of Matador was the
biggest contributor to Whiteflat's decline. In 1980 the population
was down to only 20 and the Texas highway map of 2000 shows an estimated
population of three people.
The post office and all businesses have long been closed. |
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The old Whiteflat school. "It's now overgrown and horses are
kept on the land behind the school building." - Jon M. Hager,
9-04 photo |
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Close up view of Whiteflat school
Photo courtesy Jon M. Hager, 9-04 |
PHOTOGRAPHER'S
NOTE
I happened across Whiteflat while driving back from a hiking trip
with my son Erich (Labor Day weekend). Whiteflat is in the panhandle
(Motley County) on highway 70 between Turkey and Matador.
According to the Texas Historical Commission's marker:
"This area of Motley County was first called "White Flat" due
to the tall white needlegrass which covered the flat prairie land.
A post office, named Whiteflat, was established for the rural settlement
in 1890 at the request of W.R. Tilson.
At its height, the community boasted four grocery stores, three service
stations, three garages, two cafes, a hardware store, two gins, and
three churches. A school, first housed in a one-room schoolhouse built
by volunteers, opened in 1890. It was replaced by a four-room school
in 1908, and in 1922 a new two-story brick structure was erected.
It also served as a community gathering place.
Dependent on an economy based on agriculture and small family farms,
the community began to decline as a result of the depression and dust
bowl years of the 1930s. The Whiteflat school closed in 1946, when
it was consolidated with Matador schools. The local churches disbanded
in the 1960s; the post office closed in 1966 following the death of
the last postmaster, Ida Morris; and the last remaining retail business,
a grocery store and service station closed in 1968."
The current local population can't be more than a handful as I saw
only one home that looked as if it might be occupied (though we did
not explore the area very long).
I've provided copies of three of the photos I took during our visit.
- Jon M. Hager Grand Prairie, Texas, September 12, 2004 |
Whiteflat,
Texas Forum
White Flat,
Texas
My grandfather, William W. Pierce, rented a farm near White Flat
sometime between 1918 and 1925. He and his older sons, my uncles,
raised cotton until a barn fire destroyed the harvest they were
storing there, waiting for better prices. They later moved to Floydada,
where my mother met my father in 1929. My aunt, Mae (Pierce) Griggs,
who died in January of 2005 at the age of 97, told me three things
about [those] time[s] at White Flat:
1. The school hired some local boys to drive to the surrounding
farms in a covered wagon to bring the children to school.
2. The school did not have a storm shelter. Instead there was a
large ditch next to the building. If a tornado was sighted the students
and teachers would lie down in the ditch.
3. Airplanes were extremely rare in this region at the time. One
day one flew over the school. The teachers allowed all the students
to run outside to see it. - Thomas Maddux, September 23, 2006
Whiteflat,
Texas
I grew up in Whiteflat and the white building was the parsonage
for the Methodist Church which I attended in the 1950 until it closed
in the 1960.
The old school building was used in the 50's and 60's to hold elections
and I can remember attending a Halloween haunted house there put
on by the Home Demonstration Club.
The Baptist Church was behind the school building. If you go west
on the dirt road, you will come to the Whitflat Cemetery. - S.
Alexander, June 10, 2005
Subject:
White Building
Perhaps this building was a business or government building before
mid 1930, but I really believe it was the parsonage for the Methodist
Church. I have been inside the house and cannot imagine it serving
any purpose other than a residence. - Earle Price, May 22, 2005
Our thanks
to Jon M. Hager for suggesting Whiteflat's inclusion and providing
the photos. Anyone wishing to share history or photos of Whiteflat,
Texas, please contact
us - Editor
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