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Tell
TX 79259
Photo courtesy of Tony Hool, March 2007 |
The Two "Towns"
of Tell
Childress CountyTell
was founded in 1887 on what had been called "Tell-Tale Flat." A post office was
granted under that name in 1888 and opened in the dugout home of postmistress
Belle Garrison. But by 1905 postal authorities nixed the hyphenated name and shortened
it to Tell. A store was opened in 1906, followed by a gin, grocery and drugstore.
By 1916 the primary businesses were joined by others and the town had four churches.
A bank was in operation from 1916 until its merger with a Childress bank in the
Great Depression. Postwar prosperity drew population away from Tell and into Childress
and other distant cities.
The school merged with the Childress ISD in the
early 1960s, leaving the brick school to become a community center. 1984's population
was a mere 59 people which later swelled to 63 for the 1990 Census. |
Telephone
Exchange
Photo courtesy of Tony Hool, March 2007 |
Hall
County
The Tell in Hall County was actually a post office established
in the last half of the 1890s, at the home of Will and Clementine "Clemmie" Rothwell.
The mail route extended from Childress to the Matador Ranch, more or less following
the route of present-day FM 96. The post office became an important personal link
between cowboys and their familes back home. When the town of Tell (above) was
established across the county line, the Hall County post office of Tell was closed
on the next to the last day of the 19th Century. |
Tell, Texas ForumSubject:
Tell, TX
Dear TE, For years my father-in-law has held he was born in Tell,
Texas in 1925. His daughter, my wife, is a traveling nurse. She took a position
at Medical City of Dallas in January. Last week [my wife and I]took a road trip
to the Panhandle to visit Tell. It is in Childress County about 10 miles south
of the town of Childress. I noticed Tell does not appear on your list of Panhandle
towns. Unfortunately we arrived in town after the post office had closed (operating
hours are 8:00 AM til noon). There was no one available to get information on
the town. Attached are photos of the post office and telephone exchange building
[to share with your readers]. -
Tony Hool, Dallas, Texas, April 02, 2007
Anyone wishing to share stories,
memories or photos of either of the two Tells, please contact
us.
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