| |
| "You definitely
don't go through Soash on your way anywhere. It is about four miles E SE of Ackerly
or 20 miles NW of Big Spring
just inside the Howard County line." - Barclay
Gibson |
Soash
under Construction
Photo by Bascom Reagan, courtesy Doyle
Phillips |
History in a Pecan
Shell
Soash
was established and modestly named after "town builder" William Soash in 1909.
Soash contracted to buy thousands of acres of the Slaughter Ranch for his land
company. Soash moved to the Panhandle
from Iowa where he praised the land as fertile and the rainfall as plentiful.
In his first year he built a hotel to house prospective buyers and a bank to house
their money. In late December of 1909, rancher Rufus Slaughter became the Soash
postmaster. |
 |
Soash
(the man) had a reputation to live up to - so in short order the town had water,
electricity and telephone service. But although Soash planned for a cement block
factory, a cannery and public parks, his schemes were a bit too ambitious. Much
of the land was unsuitable for farming but the town might have survived this problem
had it not been for a severe three-year drought (1909-1912). To drive the final
nail in Soash's coffin, the Santa Fe Railroad chose to run six miles west of town
- dooming Mr. Soash's dream town. Most people left but even the most hopeful of
citizens were discouraged. Soash Land Company went bankrupt in 1912 and three
years later the population was down to a mere 50. Another drought in 1917 spelled
the end of Soash. The post office closed in mid-1916, reopened in April of 1917
but closed for good six months later. Remaining Soashers moved to Lamesa.
Today all that is left is the concrete bank - with a huge piece of concrete
hanging by a length of rebar. |
Photographer's
Note:
"Soash is just about beyond renovation. The 1980 picture in
Baker's Ghost Towns of Texas shows the shell of the building fairly intact. Now
the front sill is gone with two huge slabs being held up with only one piece of
rusted rebar. Best advice is to stand clear." - Barclay
Gibson, October 11, 2006 |
|
Soash,
Texas ForumSubject:
Soash,Texas
There are still Soash people there my parents Howard and Pearl
Armstrong. My dad, went to Soash elementary school there and to this day my parents
still live in eastern Soash community. They are not the only ones that live there.
Mammie Merrick lives across the street from the old bank building. She and her
deceased husband Bob Merrick, I believe lived there almost their entire married
life together. Bob passed away earlier this year, but Mammie still lives there
with one of their 8 children. All the rest has died or have moved away like I
have done in years past. But the Armstrongs and the Merricks will live there until
they die. Believe me I have tried to get my parents to move closer to Big
Spring, but they are not leaving Soash, Texas. Thanks. - Diann Owens, June
10, 2008
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