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Texas Ghost
Town
PUMPHREY, TEXASRunnels County,
Panhandle / West Texas
FM 1677
10 miles NW of Winters
26 miles N of Ballinger
25 miles S of Abilene
Population:
0
Area
Hotels, Book Here & Save
Abilene
Hotels
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| "This
is the schoolhouse at Pumphrey TX.. There wasn't much else left in
Pumphrey." - Stephen Taylor, January 2006 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Originally
called New Hope, the town sprang into existance in the 1890s. By
1900 the community had a school and the following year a post office
was granted. The name New Hope may have been rejected because of
previous use, so the name was changed to Pumphrey. No one can now
remember if it was to honor W. M. Pumphrey or Lewis Pumphrey, but
it must've mattered at the time.
At it's economic zenith, Pumphrey had a drugstore, barber, two general
stores, and two blacksmiths. The population figures for most of
Pumphrey's life are missing, but what is known is that after WWII
the decline was underway. In 1950 Pumphrey's last store closed and
twenty years later there were just nine diehard residents (who have
since moved).
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Pumphrey
historical marker
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007 |
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A closed church
in Pumphrey
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007 |
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