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Dallam County TX
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PERICO, TEXAS


Texas Ghost Town

Dallam County, Texas Panhandle

36° 16' 35" N, 102° 51' 52" W (36.276389, -102.864444)

US Hwy 87
11 miles SE of Texline
25 miles NW of Dalhart the county seat
Population: 2 ?

Book Hotel Here › Amarillo Hotels

Abandoned schoolhouse in Perico, Texas
The abandoned school
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone April 2004

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.

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.


Old gas station in Perico, Texas
Gas Station at Perico
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone April 2004

Old store ruin in Perico, Texas
One of Perico’s defunct businesses
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2004



"The town we are approaching was Perico."

No longer on the map, it resides now in the heart of one Amarillian. From an Interview with former resident Hugh Hamilton. next page

Dallam County TX 1940s Map
Dallam County 1940s map showing Perico NW of Dalhart
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

Texas Panhandle

Perico, Texas Nearby Towns:
Dalhart the county seat
Texline
See Dallam County


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