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DALHART,
TEXASDallam
County Seat, Texas
Panhandle
31 miles SW of Stratford
on US 54
51 miles N of Vega on
on US 385
60 miles NW of Amarillo
US 87
Population
7237 (2000) 6,864 (1990)
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History
in a Pecan Shell
Originally called Twist, Texas or Twist Junction - Dalhart
also tried using Denrock - a combination of the names of the two railroads that
crossed here (the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad and the Fort Worth and
Denver Railroad).
After their choice was rejected by postal authorities,
they came up with another combination - this time of the two counties - Dallam
and Hartley. Other significant events are in this simplified timeline:
1901: Town platted when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad crossed
the tracks of the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad.
1902: Town Incorporated
1903: Dalhart replaced Texline as the Dallam County
Seat
1906: Town gets water tower
1921: County library opens for business
1920s: Dalhart's recently restored La Rita Theater is opened
1936: XIT
Ranch Reunion Association formed
Dalhart
Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save |
Dalhart
Attractions Dallam/
Hartley Counties Museum: 108 East 5th Street
La
Rita Theater: 311 Denrock Street
Lake
Rita Blanca:
FM 281 South - Rita Blanca Canyon and Lake
According to Texas Park & Wildlife, "Lake Rita Blanca State Park is the
second most important wintering area in the Texas Panhandle for migratory waterfowl
using the central flyway, attracting from 40,000 to 100,000 geese alone to 150-acre
Lake Rita Blanca. In addition, large numbers of neo-tropical, migratory birds
pass through the park each spring and summer." Texas' northernmost state
park has since been transferred to the city of Dalhart.
Where
to Stay
Dalhart
Hotels
Dalhart
Tourist Information
Dalhart
Chamber of Commerce - 806-244-5646
102 E. 7th Street
www.dalhart.org
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The 1929 Train
Wreck in DalhartFrom
"Area full of
historical tidbits" by Delbert Trew
One of my recent articles
told that today's Dalhart was known at one time as Twist when the first railroad
was constructed through the area. This statement generated an e-mail from Gerald
Hook of Russellville, Ark., who is my "resident railroad expert."
He sent
an article from a 1929 railroad magazine that reported on Dec. 9, 1928, at 2:15
a.m. a northbound freight train moving at about 25 mph ran about one mile beyond
Twist, a sidetrack where it was supposed to wait for a southbound passenger train
to pass by. It seems the passenger trains always had right-of-way over freight
trains. This created a terrible train wreck.
Since this was before diesel
engines, the steam boiler of the passenger train was ripped loose and came to
rest on top of the cars of the freight train. The glowing fire-box of the boiler
set fire to a railcar containing gasoline and eventually 10 railcars burned.
Three railroad employees died in the crash and 45 other passengers were injured.
Blame for the wreck was placed on the freight train crew. Seems no one noticed
they had passed the sidetrack entrance at Twist. The conductor admitted he was
"attending paperwork" and depended on the rear brakeman to keep watch on the train's
progress.
Where was Twist exactly? According to an October 1940 copy of
the Official Railway Guide, Twist was an unmanned station at milepost 388.5, some
4.8 miles south of today's Dalhart
on the old Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad. Thanks to Gerald for this information.
© Delbert
Trew
"It's All Trew"
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People
Tex
Thornton: King of the oilfield firefighters and rainmaker by Clay Coppedge
The oil fields of the Texas Panhandle in the 1920s and ‘30s were a place
where a man who knew how to use nitroglycerin could make a good living for himself.
Ward A. “Tex” Thornton was such a man. He learned all about nitro when he went
to work in 1913 for an Ohio company that manufactured torpedoes. He brought that
knowledge along with a steady hand and no small degree of courage to the oil fields
around Amarillo in 1920... more
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| | Dalhart
City Hall and Fire Station
Postcard circa 1910 courtesy THC |
| | The
Trans-Canadian Sanitarium in Dalhart, Texas
Postcard circa 1900 courtesy
THC |
| | Dalhart
main street
Postcard circa 1900 courtesy THC |
| | Dalhart
Caboose
Photo courtesy James Feagin, 2-2002 | |
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