SALT GAP, TEXAS

Texas Ghost Town
McCulloch County, Texas Hill Country

31° 18' 14" N, 99° 35' 57" W (31.303889, -99.599167)

Junction of FM 503 and FM 504
2.6 miles S of Doole
24 miles NW of Brady the county seat
21 miles E of Eden
Walking distance from the Concho County Line
Population: 25 (2000, 1990)

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The Old Salt Gap Store
Photo circa 1930 courtesy of Barbara Jackson

History on a Pinhead

Named for the local creek of the same name, the town had a post office in operation from 1905 to 1913 - the year it closed. It reopened in the 1920s and closed for good several years later.

The population high-water mark was 60 people in the late 1930s. The town never developed past the store and school stage, but it remains a viable community in 2006 and still appears on the county map.

The Old Salt Gap Store in the 1930's

Submitted by Barbara Jackson from the memory of her father John Wesley Little who was born Jan. 31,1930. His grandparents William Foris Tillery and Matty Pearl Davis ran the Salt Gap Store, from about 1935-1938? The post office was attached to the store and they had living quarters in the rear of the store. Grand Dad was the post master, they also had two gas pumps, one regular and one ethel as well as a small ice house. I went with him on many occasions to get the blocks of ice, which he hauled in a trailer pulled by an old Buick car. We went to Brady,Tx to get the ice. The cotton gin was across the road from the store. They also had a bulk oil tank. The picture I'm sending has written on the back, me(my aunt Dorothy) Daddy, my Great Grandfather, and a drug salesman, name unknown. My Grandmother, Laverne showed me this picture many times of the Old Salt Gap Store. Thank You, Barbara Jackson, Canyon Lake, Tx, September 30, 2007

Salt Gap Texas Forum

Subject: Salt Gap
My dad John L. Slaughter Jr.owned this store in Salt Gap in the late 1950 into 1952. We lived in the house to the left of it. The Post Office was in the rear of the store and my mom Ona Evalon Slaughter ran the Post Office. There was a gas pump in front of the store. My dad also drove the school bus for the Melvin school district. I was attending Melvin High School at the time. At one time there was a filling station across the road south west of the store during the 1940's. A Mr Peel was the owner. These were lean years for the Farmers and they would charge their groceries. A lot of them could not pay their bills, so we got out of the grocery business and moved back to Melvin. If you look at the Pear Valley page, there is a picture of me and my dad standing by his fuel truck. In Salt Gap there was a garage behind the grocery store where dad worked on tractors and vehicles. He also welded on farm equipment. He was a very busy man. There were no eight hour days back then. - Johnye Slaughter, April 27, 2006

Subject: Salt Gap Texas & Texas Flags I check back every now and then to see if there is anything new listed under Salt Gap Texas. I have lived here since 1981. The store you show is the store in Doole Texas, 6 miles to the north on FM 503.

The Flag on the door of the shop did fly over Texas, but it is the 1st National Flag of the Confederacy. The Flag on the pole is the 3rd National Flag of the Confederacy. Thank you. - Richard, May 05, 2006

Texas flag on a barn door, Salt Gap Texas

Flag on a barn door. (See forum above)
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006

McCulloch County 1907 Postal Map showing Salt Gap
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

Texas Hill Country

Salt Gap, Texas Nearby Towns:
Brady the county seat
Doole
Eden
See McCulloch County | Concho County

Book Hotel Here:
Brady Hotels | More Hotels

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