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Odell
History in a Pecan ShellOdell
came into being with the arrival of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad
in 1908. J. T. Odell is the town's namesake and although there had been a town
named Haulk just two miles away, the population was drawn off of Haulk,
lured by the opportunities the railroad offered.
A post office was opened
in April of 1909 and ten years later the town was thriving with 30 businesses,
including a a newspaper. In time, Odell could boast 5 different churches. In the
prosperous 20s, Odell had over 800 citizens but The Great Depression took its
toll and several fires caused a lot of damage to Odell's main street. By the end
of WWII only eight businesses
were left and the population was a mere 301. It declined to just 130 - nearly
the same figure given today.
A Visit to Odell |
| The
1890 Odell Baptist Church |
Odell
School's gymnasium built by the WPA in the 1930’s
Photos courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2007 |
Odell,
Texas ForumSubject:
Odell, Texas
Dear TE, This is in response to your Odell page in your [magazine]. I reside in
Odell with my grandparents in the old Tallent-Starr House on CR 102 West. The
old post office is now a recording studio for the bands around the area and there
is a now a stage for them to perform on during Odell Days. I thought that it was
so cool to see my hometown on a website and be able to say that I have lived in
an actual "ghost town." My house is one of the originals built in 1908 for the
Starr's daughter who was getting married. It has since been added on to although
we don't know the exact date of these additions. The old train tracks went right
across our driveway and the old cotton gin, which is now a private residence,
is not too far. The [railroad trestle] across the river is still standing, although
time has taken its toll on it. Although I have and continue to [walk] on it, I'm
still kind of cautious because it's starting to collapse in some places. Other
than a few rotten boards it's in relatively good condition. - Hannah Clark,
Odell, Texas, September 03, 2007
Subject:
Odell Texas
Dear TE, Thank you for the inclusion of Odell (Wilbarger County) in your features.
I was born there and my Dad worked for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.
We lived in the concrete “bunk houses” built for railroad employees that lie just
west of the 3-way cross roads. Dad moved with the railroad jobs but we returned
there in the mid-fifties and re-built the house that lies [near] between the Primitive
Baptist Church.
I can attest to the existence of the five churches and
report that my youthful employment included mowing the lawns of all of them and
the small patch beside the old post office; a task that netted me 50 cents. The
much larger church grounds could bring me as much as $5 for several hours labor.
All five churches remained active until the early 1970’s with only the 1890 Baptist
and the Primitive Baptist holding services today.
Your photo of the Odell
School is primarily the gymnasium built by the WPA in the 1930’s. The flagstone
staircase banisters at the entry once held a brass plaque reporting this fact.
The plaque has since been scavenged by a souvenir hunter. The main school building
was even older and sat to the north of the gym. In the 1950’s the single-story
structure was added between the two and while the north face of the gym building
was opened for construction there came a heavy rain that caused the hardwood flooring
of the basketball court on that end to warp severely. This became an important
strategy in our game plan during my school years.
The post office building
was once an ice house and the walls are lined with cork for insulation. Today
it is used as a sound recording studio by a local resident. Mrs. Cooper ran the
small grocery from my earliest memory until just a few years ago. The walls of
the store were filled with collections of wallet size “School Days” photos of
the children who frequented her store from the community and the school. I personally
achieved a priceless baseball card collection by trading her empty pop bottles
found along the roadside.
A reunion called Odell Days is held each year
on the last Saturday in April. It features live bands, barbeque, arts & crafts,
a car show, and lots of fellowship while serving as a fundraiser for the town’s
volunteer fire department. I invite you to check www.odell.coyotedream.com for
photos of this event and a pencil drawing depicting Odell (circa 1914).
If by chance you photographed a small concrete cubicle structure about 200 yards
east of Cooper Grocery but did not use it for lack of identification; that is
the ancient jail. In the mid-1960’s it was the abode of an eccentric and transient
man known only as “Andy” who did odd jobs around the town. - Billy Gilbert,
Denton, Texas, June 12, 2007 | |
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