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BARSTOW,
TEXASWard County,
West Texas
Once the Ward
County Seat
Hwy 80 and FM 516
7 Miles E of Pecos
41 Miles W of Monahans
Population:
406 (2000)Barstow,
Texas Area Hotels
Pecos
Hotels |
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History
in a Pecan Shell
Barstow is one of the rare towns in Texas where the founder/ namesake is
buried in the local cemetery. George E. Barstow was an interesting man
who came to Texas from Rhode Island (via New York) and was one of the leading
world experts on irrigation.
The town was organized in 1892 and the courthouse
built the following year.
The population in 1900 was over a thousand
people, due to recruiting efforts of Mr. Barstow.
Irrigation was successful
enough for Barstow to win a silver medal for grapes at the 1904 World's Fair.
1904 was also the year that fruit and vegetable farming received a nearly fatal
blow when the Pecos River dam broke. Droughts followed and by 1918, farming was
a memory.
The population in 1930 was 468 - less than half of the 1910's
1,219.
Barstow Landmarks
> Barstow Photo Gallery |
The
First Ward County Courthouse
The former courthouse built in 1893 was razed in the 1950s. The red sandstone
used for the courthouse was quarried locally and was also used in the construction
of the first bank in Ward County. |
The
1893 courthouse in Barstow as it appeared in the mid-thirties right before the
move to Monahans.
Photo
courtesy TXDoT
|
Historical
Marker Text
Site
of First Ward County Courthouse
A
Three-story red sandstone courthouse with a domed cupola was constructed here
in 1893, one year after Barstow was elected first Ward County seat. The first
elected officials to serve in the courthouse were R. D. Gage, co. judge; S. D.
McWhorter, co. & dist. clerk; W. M. Ware, sheriff & tax collector; John W. Phillips,
co. attorney; S. H. Parker, tax assessor; J. B. Carson, surveyor; J. J. Walker,
treas.; Pat Wheat, Comm. No. 1; W. C. Carson, Comm. No. 2; Pat Duracke, Comm.
No. 3; and A. D. Irvin, Comm. No. 4. The landmark was razed soon after the county
seat moved to
Monahans
in 1938. All that remains is a cornerstone.
1985 |
First
Ward County Courthouse Historical Marker
On
FM 518 & FM 873
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, 2009 |
Mackey
Avenue Looking South from the courthouse
Early
1900s Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
Photographer's
Note:
"By strict definition Barstow is not a ghost town but it sure
blurs the distinction." - Barclay
Gibson, 2010 |
Downtown
Barstow. The white building is the former post office
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson,
2009 |
The
1901 Ward County Bank
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson,
2009 |
Historical
Marker Text
Old
Ward County Bank
C.
E. Pierce, an early advocate of irrigated agricultural lands for the Pecos River
valley, had this building constructed in 1901 to house Ward County's first bank.
Never incorporated, the bank lost money due to area crop failures and closed in
1907. Constructed of red sandstone from the nearby Barstow Quarry, the building
exhibits influences of the Romanesque revival style and features an interesting
corner entrance.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962. |
Old
Ward County Bank historical marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, 2009 |
| | The
111 year-old School in Barstow
Photo courtesy Lane DeWitt, 2005 |
Early
Public Library Historical Marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, 2009 |
Barstow
High School stadium scoreboard
Photo
courtesy James Feagin, 3-2002 |
 |
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Barstow
Texas Forum Subject:
WWII - PFC Cruz Gamboa
FOD Jan 18, 1945
I adopted the grave of PFC Cruz Gamboa at the Ardennes American Cemetery here
in Belgium. I also build a tribute to Cruz see http://users.skynet.be/2ltmalrait_gilbert/gamboastoryE.htm
, now is my question:
Cruz was from Barstow, TX, and I hope to find maybe
new information on this man. Have you any tip where to search? Thanks in advance.
- Philippe Vanderdonckt, vanderdonckt.ph@skynet.be
April 14, 2012
Subject:
Barstow: Shocked and Saddened
My husband and I visited Barstow in September of 2007. We had read about the history
of this unique little place but words cannot match the sorrow we felt when we
were actually present [to see] the isolation. We had purchased some "mystery acreage"
and this visit was to discover just what was what. This can't be America, to let
a town die is sad beyond belief. We spoke with "Jo" who had some connection with
the water co-op and she explained that the town did not even qualify for any grants
because they did not have a business that charged sales tax. I guess I am to believe
if you do not have some sort of tax base you do not deserve any assistance to
do anything. We are surrendering our property, because of the limited water supply,
being told by more than one person that wells were 4,000 to 5,000 ft deep and
didn't produce potable water. We would have to purchase all water but that too
was not available because the "town" could not increase their request for more
from Pecos. [It was] mind altering. [We]
did not think a place like this existed, what could have gone wrong? There were
not alot of wells working, but I was told the drilling now was for natural gas.
Will this product have any influence on the outcome of this situation? Hope somebody
comes to the rescue of Barstow. - Norm & JoAnn Deckant, Tampa, Florida, October
8, 2007
Barstow,
Texas Area Hotels
Pecos
Hotels
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. |
For a photo
gallery of some of the more interesting tombstones in the Barstow Cemetery,
see www.rootsweb.com/~txward/barstow_cemetery_page_1.htm
TE wishes to thank
Charlene Beatty Beauchamp, Webmaster and County Coordinator for many West Texas
Counties, for making this Barstow Town Page possible. |
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