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MEDICINE MOUND, TEXAS

Texas Ghost Town
Hardeman County
FM 1167 and FM 91
9 miles SW of Chillicothe
24 miles W of Vernon
12 miles E of Quanah
42 miles E of Childress
Population: 50 (Estimated but doubtful number used since 1980)

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Medicine Mound Texas old photo, New York Steam Laundry, people, horse & buggies
"New York Steam Laundry"
Medicine Mound old photo courtesy Teresa Byrd, restored by John Bates
History in a Pecan Shell

Like the old saying goes: "If you find Medicine Mound - you had to have been looking for it." It's not that it's difficult to find - since it still appears on the state map - it's just that it is on a long extended spur off of Highway 82. (FM 91 on the east and FM 1167) on the west. The mountains that comprise the mounds are visible from Highway 82. There are actually four elevations that rise 200-250 feet above the landscape. These are natural mounds that were held sacred by the Comanches.
Medicine Mount, Texas panaramic view
Medicine Mound. Click on photo for larger image.
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2006
The older Medicine Mound community that had been here prior to 1908 moved 2½ miles north to be alongside the tracks of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway as it built through Hardeman County. Medicine Mound was once a vibrant town with a respectable population of 500 served by 22 businesses. A devastating fire in the early 30s (arson) destroyed most of the town. By the end of the Great Depression the population was 210 and the town still had 6 buildings left.
W.W. Cole.Building and Old  gas pumps in Medicine Mound Texas
The W.W. Cole Building, one of the two remaining building.
Photo courtesy Geri Bates, 2006
Medicine Mound Museum, Texas
The Medicine Mound Museum
Photo courtesy Geri Bates, 2006
Today there are three - about the same number of historical markers. The Medicine Mound school merged with Quanah's district in the mid-1950s - about the same time the post office closed.

"Texas' Favorite Detour"
Could Medicine Mound be Texas' most interesting ghost town?

It is to the staff of Texas Escapes. Three reasons that come to mind are: #1 It doesn't mind being called a ghost town. It is what it is and it's certainly not pretentious (if it ever was). It is proud of it's fascinating history - but while many former towns are proud - Medicine Mound can boast having ... more

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Where did all the people go
Where did all the people go?

Photo courtesy John Bates, 2006
Medicine Mound, Texas Forum
Subject: Remembering Medicine Mound
I am now 62 years old and have fond memories of this now, ghost town. I lived with my grandparents in a very small house, there. Their driveway (dirt and gravel) ran beside the Baptist church. My grandmother made us clean up, if the lights came on at the church and off we would go to praise God ( and see our friends). My grandfather worked at the only service station in town and drove the gas truck home at night. I have fond memories of walking to see my grandfather at the station. He would always buy my brother and I a 5 cent coke in a glass bottle and a 3 - 5 cent candy bar. We loved to watch him fix flat tires in the back room. He would use a patch on the inner tube and would light it to seal the patch to the tube. We sometime got to go to what we called Punkin City to pick up gas for the station in the gas truck with him. We loved this as we sometimes got to eat at a cafe, which was a real treat.

My brother and I went to school in Medicine Mounds until they closed it. Then, we rode the bus to Quanah and back every day. The school at the Mounds had two teachers. Mrs Matthews taught the younger kids and the principal taught the older group. I think we only had six grades, I am not sure about that. I do remember the school as the most fun place. There was a wooden floor gym and you would enter the bleacher area on one floor and look down at the gym floor in like a basement area. I remember going to the gym after hours to be with my uncle to watch him practice basketball with his friends. While he was practicing, my brother and I loved to hang over the balcony and drop to the floor below. We thought this was very daring.

When I was young I remember hearing the foxhunts at night from our yard. I think my grandmother said they were at the King ranch. I also remember friends who told me of finding arrowheads on the mounds. My grandmother would never let me go there.

The last time I went to the Mounds as we all called the town, everything was all closed up. The school was still there looking very rundown. The station brought back so many memories, it is hard not to cry, even as I write this. - Nancy Sue Ashmore, October 16, 2006


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