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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.
Childress
Hotels |
Telephone
Exchange
Photos courtesy of Tony Hool, March 2007 |
Tell in Hall CountyThe
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
(See Matador), 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. |
Matador
Ranch cowboys enjoying a catered meal
Photo courtesy Paul Cloyd |
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
Childress
Hotels |
| 1940s
Childress County map showing Arlie, Loco, Carey,
Tell and Kirland. Courtesy Texas General Land
Office | |
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