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Texas Ghost
Town
FRIENDSHIP,
TEXASWilliamson
County, Texas Hill Country
Formerly on FM 971 - Now under Lake Granger
6 miles E of Granger
50 miles NE of Austin
22 miles NE of Georgetown
Population 0
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Granger
Lake from the park - more or less where Friendship once was.
Photo by John Troesser, 9-04 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Friendship
and a nearby town called Old Friendship (AKA Allison) were founded
in the 1880s. According to information provided by Harold Grinstead,
the land was first settled by Elihu Creswell Allison in 1847. Allison
was partially destroyed in a 1921 flood.
In the 1970s it was decided to impound the waters of the San Gabriel
River. Laneport Dam (the original name) was the result. It was renamed
Granger Dam some time later. Graves in the Friendship Cemetery were
reintered at other cemeteries and the Friendship school consolidated
with Granger schools in 1958. The former Friendship Community holds
a reunion every year on the third Saturday of October. |
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The
Lucky Sisters
(Dorothy and Gladys) in front of the original Friendship gas station
Photo courtesy the Lucky Family |
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Bill
Michalek with dog. Mrs. Michalek taking photo.
Photo courtesy Tony and Martha Machalek |
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Emil's Place with Mr. Emil Mohel left of door.
Photo courtesy Hattie Mohel Gaida |
Contributor
Bob Mohel, a former resident of Friendship, has sent in newspaper
clippings with information on the various floods that plagued this
part of Williamson county. The clippings were used to assemble the
information below.
The San Gabriel River flooded in 1913, causing widespread damage and
even wrecking a train on the M.K.& T. railroad bridge at Berry's Creek.
The biggest flood came in 1921 and a third destructive flooding occurred
on February 22, 1958. The dam was constructed in the late 1970s. |
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Inlet to Granger Lake from the FM 971 Bridge
Photo by John Troesser, 9-04 |
The
Deadly Flood of 1921
The
rain started at 6 p.m. on September 10, 1921 and continued until 6
a.m. on September 11th. Although no official measure was mentioned
- it was estimated that 50 inches of rain fell. One Henry Rozacky
(who was 83 when he gave his report to the paper) had no trouble recalling
the soggy events. He reported that a "dry and empty" 50 gallon drum
in his backyard was overflowing about 2 a.m. and that the lightning
was giving everything a greenish tinge. He reported that the blacksmith
shop was washed away and that the general store was a total loss.
He and a neighbor rescued 26 bales of ginned cotton that were bobbing
away from the gin. In Mr. Rozacky's words: "You'd be surprised how
readily 500 and 600 lb bales of cotton can float." He continued: "we
got hold of them and pushed them before us until we reached a hill
at the old Brookshire place. "...and you know, no one gave us a dime
for their bales as they came to take their own." "One man tied a bale
onto a tree and after the waters receded that bale was suspended in
mid-air."
The flooding wasn't just in Friendship, either. Further west, the
waters took out the North San Gabriel River bridge in Georgetown.
A family of three in Friendship lashed themselves to a tree but all
drowned. Twenty-six people were trapped at Laneport - when they were
"engulfed" by the flood. All were later found drowned - and Mr. Rozacky
said he helped construct the twenty-six coffins. Rozacky went on to
say that "not a single bridge of any type was left standing." "The
bridge across the San Gabriel at Hoxie was swept away and the railroad
tracks at Circleville stood on end in an arc." One house (the C.B.
Arnold home) was carried downstream and deposited "where it now stands."
Several other homes were involuntarily moved great distances by the
surge of water.
After the rains, mud was everywhere -- its quantity nearly matched
by its depth. With the bridges gone, horses became the best method
of transportation. One man on horseback sank up to his saddle and
had to be pulled out by a block and tackle. Scores of domestic pigs
turned feral and had to be shot.
The old iron bridge at Hoxie was moved to Wilson H. Fox Park
on Lake Granger and became part of the nature trail.
Finally it was decided that it just wasn't worth it - if the water
wanted Friendship so bad - let the water have Friendship. In the summer
of 1977 the spillway for the dam was constructed. |
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The
old Friendship Sign
Photo courtesy Richard Cadan |
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"The
Road Going East into Friendship"
Photo courtesy Richard Cadan |
The
Town Layout:
Based
on a drawing provided by Bob Mohel, the town of Friendship straddled
Farm to Market Road 971 - the town's only paved street. The north
side of 971 had the school, seed house, gin and scale. The southside
had several residences along with the blacksmith, the Baptist church,
gas station, the Mohel "Beer Joint" and Bob's Barbecue Shack. ...
more
Friendship Texas vintage images >
©
John Troesser
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