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LANDERGIN,
TEXAS
Texas Panhandle
Ghost Town
Oldham County
Between Adrian and Vega
West of Amarillo
Not shown on TxDoT maps
Population:
Unknown
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Landergin
grain elevators
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2006 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town was founded in 1906 by John and Pat Landergin, sons of Irish
immigrants who immigrated to the US because of the Irish potato famine
of the 1840s. The brothers were born in New York and later moved to
Indian Territory in the 1870s. They raised longhorn cattle along the
Red River and once drove 1,040 head of cattle over the Chisholm Trail
to Kansas where they settled briefly - making a fortune by shipping
cattle to England.
The brothers leased land in the Texas Panhandle to raise more cattle
and in 1908 with the arrival of the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf
Railway, the town of Landergin, was established - and subsequently
Vega, Texas where John
Landergin opened the First State Bank there. They bought part of the
XIT ranch and invested in other land in Oldham and Deaf Smith Counties
as well as New Mexico and Arizona. In 1912 they moved to Amarillo
and built a mansion on Polk Street. John died in 1923 and his brother
in 1929. Their company floundered after the death of John and the
ranch holdings were finally liquidated after WWII - sold at auction
to farmers and smaller ranchers.
In 1936 Landergin's population was a mere 15 - and in the 1980s only
two businesses were in operation. |
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