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"Buffallo
Mop"
2002 photo courtesy of Bonnie Keeley |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Odds
had originally been called Buffalo Mott but was later renamed
to avoid confusion with other Texas towns with the word Buffalo in
the name. Odds, Kentucky is said to have been the source of the new
name. We called Kentucky to see what we could find out there, but
there's no listing for Odds. Perhaps the namesake has also become
a ghost. (See Forum below.)
The area had been settled by a man named David Baron in 1854 and growth
was rather slow. A store and post office were in operation in 1890
and by 1906 the post office was discontinued. Mail was later routed
from Thornton,
Texas.
By 1946 Odds had sixty citizens, one business, a school, and two churches.
At one time Baptist and Methodist congregations shared a union church
- the preachers saving souls on alternate Sundays.
Odds school had been in the Little Brazos School District before it
was consolidated into the Groesbeck ISD in 1965. School consolidations
nearly always drained the lifeblood of communities and the population
in 1967 was reduced to only 20. With no school or businesses, Odds
was a ghost by 1990. |
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"What
is left of the cotton gin my dad used many times in Odds."
2003 photo courtesy of George
Lester |
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The
steps and some foundation piers where a store once stood
2003 photo courtesy of George
Lester |
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Ruins
in Odds
2002 photo courtesy of Bonnie Keeley |
Odds,
Texas Forum
Subject:
Odds, Texas and Odds, Kentucky.
My name is Danny K. Blevins. I am an educator and author in Johnson
County, Kentucky. I have looked at your site many times and I found
it very interesting to find a Texas Ghost Town by the name of Odds,
Texas. According to your site, it was named for Odds, Kentucky.
You stated that you were unable to find anything about Odds, Kentucky
and that maybe it too had become a ghost town.
Well, Odds, Kentucky is located in southeastern Johnson County,
Kentucky. The U.S. Post Office of Odds was closed in the 1920's.
Today, it is served by the Van Lear, Kentucky Post Office. Most
of the Odds, Kentucky area was settled by the Richard Wells Family.
My mother happens to be a member of this family and I have always
been told that members of our family left Odds and relocated in
Texas. It maybe that one of my family members may have brought the
name from Kentucky? I would be interested in knowing if there were
ever any families with the surname Wells that lived in Odds, Texas.
- Danny K. Blevins, President Emeritus, Van Lear Historical Society,
Inc., February 25, 2011
Subject:
Odds Store
My father Earl Hancock operated the Odds store from 1934-1943 and
during that time there were two other stores. As a child I can remember
wagon loads of cotton waiting to be ginned. There was a lot of activity
around the gin in those days. The Great Depression brought hard
times to the area. Also, I remember that a young man with his wife
and young child came to our store one day after walking from Thornton,
TX. He had been hurt while taking his family off a train in
that town. They were very hungry and needed help. The young man
asked my Dad if there was any work he could do to pay for a meal
for his family. My Dad said "Go pick up that broom over there
by the wall." The young man did as he was told. My dad then
said, "Now put the broom down." The family was well fed
and were bedded down in the cotton seed warehouse across the road
from our store. While leaving the next morning the young man got
my Dad's mailing address. Ten years later my Dad received a check
from California with a note thanking him for the help. Thanks, Earl
Hancock Jr., Woodway, Texas, March 13, 2008
"[While attending
a] family reunion in Marlin
Sunday, [we] drove through Odds coming to and leaving Marlin.
The first time I missed the location because I couldn't find the
familiar landmark of the old cotton gin. When we came by the second
time I slowed down and saw what had happened. The old gin building
had evidently collapsed from old age and was lying flat on the ground.
The sight almost brought tears to our eyes. Now there will be nothing
to mark the spot where the town once was." - George Lester, Elkhart,
Texas, July 17, 2005
Well I just
came back home to Montana from visiting my family in Austin. We
took a trip up to see where Odds was at. This is what we found.
From Kosse on Hwy7 & FM 339 go North West to FM 147, turn toward
Marlin to FM 339, this
road goes NorthWest again. At the corner of FM 339 and FM 147 is
Odds.
Ruins consist of a brick fireplace chimney, tin barn, concrete square
and a large foundation with steps of concrete. There is a large
red barn at the junction of 147 and 339 that says BUFFALO MOP.
I really enjoyed the trip and seeing the places. Also visiting the
cemeteries around where my family was buried. I am working on my
family genealogy and came home with lots of info. I love TEXAS
and really miss it. - Bonnie Keeley, Montana, June 30, 2002
Odds, Texas was suggested by Bonnie Keeley of Montana, whose mother
Thelma Beatrice (Tabor) Carlisle once lived in Odds.
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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