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History
in a Pecan ShellS.
H. Parnell was the community namesake. A school was constructed near here in 1901
on land owned by G.E. Grubbs and in 1905 the town was platted just NW of the school.
The community soon had a gin and a store, the latter receiving a post office in
1912. The Fort Worth and Denver Railroad was extending its tracks west from Estelline
in the 1920s and it was predicted that Parnell would boom as a result of the railroads
arrival.
Although the population was a mere 25 in the mid 1920s, it reached
500 by the end of that decade. The town could boast three stores, a lumberyard,
a café, hotel and a church. The town also had a brick school.
The Great
Depression hit the town hard. It returned to just 25 residents by 1933 although
it gained 50 more citizens before WWII.
The
Parnell school merged with Estelline,
and the post office closed in the early 1970s. By 1980 the town was left with
just a church, community center and a cemetery.
Photographer's
Note:
Parnell
was a community in Hall County, about 6 miles west of Estelline.
The school apparently burned at some point and all that is left is part of the
foundation. - Stephen
Taylor
1920s Hall County
Map
Hall
County Towns & Ghost Towns next page |
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1920s
Hall County Map showing Parnell (SW of Memphis)
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office | |
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