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Texas Ghost
Town
PERICO, TEXAS
Dallam County,
Texas Panhandle
Highway 87
11 miles SE of Texline
25 miles NW of Dalhart
Population:
2 ?
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Gas
Station at Perico
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2004 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Originally a shipping point for the XIT Ranch, the town’s name was
first known as Farwell for the Ranch’s nearest camp.
A boxcar depot, a water tower and the residences of railroad workers
comprised the town.
In 1905 the railroad changed their designation to Perico. Perico’s
growth came about through the promotions of W. P. Soash – a town
builder who had limited success attracting settlers – and even less
success keeping “his” towns alive. (See Howard County’s Soash, Texas).
The Perico post office was granted in late1907.
Perico’s first
school was a simple a two-room affair, replaced in 1924 by a larger
school with an auditorium, teacherage, and gym.
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The
abandoned school
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2004 |
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One of Perico’s defunct businesses
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2004 |
Perico
was thriving before the onset of The Great Depression with the T.
W. Timmerman store and the Blotz-Henneman Grain Company elevator being
two of the most notewothly. In 1947 the population had decreased to
30 persons.
The decline increased when the new highway bypassed the business district
and the post office closed by 1970.
According to the Handbook of Texas, by the mid-1980s Perico was down
to two residents and one business.
"The
town we are approaching was Perico." - next
page
No longer on the map, it resides now in the heart of one Amarillian.
From an Interview with former resident Hugh Hamilton. Click
here |
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