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The
old Santa Fe Depot (c. 1910) in Lometa
TE photo |
History
in a Pecan ShellLometa
was born along the rails of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad in 1885 on
the route connecting Lampasas
with Abilene. The old Santa
Fe Depot (c. 1910) sits today at the North end of town - awaiting restoration.
This depot dated from 1910 - the year the Santa Fe connected Lometa with Eden,
Texas.
The town had originally been called Montvale, but a
change was made in 1886 when a post office was applied for. Lometa was made up
of buildings moved from the town of Senterfitt - a town that had a reputation
for wild times and unruly citizens. 200 acres of land were deeded to the town,
which was platted May 17, 1886.
By 1890 there were 150 Lometans and four
years later the town got its first newspaper. Another weekly paper was published
in 1896 and a third by 1900.
The Scholton Railway was a short line railway
established to haul cedar posts for ranches in West
Texas. The historical marker for the railroad is south of town - on the west
side of highway 183. It ceased operation in 1920.
Lometa has served as
a shipping point for cotton, wool, and mohair.
Delaine sheep were imported from Germany in 1879 and are still raised in the area.
Lometa received telephone service in 1914 and the town incorporated in
1920. In 1919 the first oil well was drilled, but water was struck instead of
oil or gas. Other attempts failed as well, and by 1938 the drillers had given
up on this part of Texas.
The population
in the mid to late 1920s was 1,000 to 1,500 people and in the 30s it dropped below
900. By the early 80s it had reached about 650 and has remained at that level
ever since. |
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The
name on Lometa's Santa Fe Depot
TE photo |
1907
Lampasas County map showing Lometa and Santa Fe Railroad
Courtesy Texas General
Office
See Texas Railroads |
The
feed store at Lometa
TE photo |
Lometa Chronicles:Salt
of the South by
Clay Coppedge
The Civil War has been called by some historians "The
War Between the Salts" because salt was only slightly less important to the Union
and Confederate armies than ammunition.
The Union had plenty of salt but
the South did not. As a result, you might say that the North salted away the South.
Or you may say nothing of the kind.
Much of the salt used by the Confederate
Army was produced about eight miles south of where Lometa is now, at a place called
Swenson Salines. more
Kim
Stanley: Daughter of Texas by Maggie Van Ostrand
...Kim
Stanley made very few films, and was nominated for the Oscar for nearly every
one... Born Patricia Beth Reid, she told different stories about her origin, depending
on her mood. In the rural Texas version, she was born to a Baptist family on a
farm outside of Lometa in the hill country of Texas. She was not allowed to dance,
listen to the radio, or go to the movies, all considered instruments of the devil... |
Lometa
Texas ForumI
grew up on a ranch south of Lometa near the ghost town of Nix
west of Lampasas. As a kid I took
a picture of an abandoned victorian mansion about two miles south of Lometa. I
lost the picture but Ive never been able to forget that house. It was torn down
many years ago but thought perhaps someone may have information or a picture of
it? It was located on Co Rd 55 off Fm Rd 3415 off 183/190 south going towards
Lampasas. It was symmetrical in design with two big stone chimneys & two turrets
with steeples on each side of the house. A covered porch with turned posts wrapped
around the front of the house and a balcony was over the top of the porch with
a pediment front off the center of the roof. There was lots of fancy woodwork,
cut shingles, etc. Not typical for most houses around Lampasas county! - Dave
Porter, August 20, 2010
A
letter from Johnnie Stokes:
.. In 1947 I worked at Lometa, Texas for the Colorado, Gulf and Santa Fe railroad...
The railroad hauled a lot of sheep and goats out of Lometa in Spring and lots
of wool and mohair in the fall. more
Subject:
Lometa Texas John Stokes
I am E. L. "Poncho" Melvin Santa Fe Southern Division Santa Fe June 1945 through
October 1990. Was telegraph operator. Found letter from John Stokes very interesting.
I am sure we broke him in at Milano where Santa Fe crosses the IGN (Missouri Pacific).
I worked at Lometa in 1946 . The second trick man was L. G. Muncy and the day
man Fred Martin, the mixed train conducter was "Cedar Leg" Kegley. I never worked
at Blair but I did work at View. - Poncho, April 27, 2006
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas,
asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic photos
of their town, please contact
us. | |
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