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WASHBURN,
TEXAS
Texas Panhandle
Ghost Town
Armstrong County
Highway 287
20 Miles E of Amarillo
Not shown on state
map
Population:
104 (1990)
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Washburn
grain elevators
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2006 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town was once part of the JA Ranch until the ranch was split up
in 1887. Robert E. Montgomery, landowner took advantage of a site
that was briefly the terminus for the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway.
A townsite was platted and Montgomery named the town for D. W. Washburn,
a railroad officer. Perhaps because of his act, the railroad dug two
water wells and built a depot and section house. When tracks were
laid (1888) to the town of Panhandle (Carson County), Washburn became
a boom town - becoming a hub of activity. A post office was granted
that year and a combination school / church was built a year later.
In 1890 Washburn and Claude competed
for the Armstrong county seat. Washburn lost the election. Between
it's proximity to Amarillo
and it's lost status, Washburn fell into an immediate decline.
The town may have been down, but it wasn't out. They received a telephone
connection to Amarillo
in the mid-1890s 1896 and a bank was established and a church built.
The population remained at just 25 people for decades - from the 30s
through the 50s - the decade when the post office closed. By the mid
1960s it had increased to an estimated 100 people but declined to
70 not long after.
Today the town is marked by the grain elevator - but not much else. |
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