|
Oran,
Texas Post Office
Photo courtesy Curtis Carter |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The original name
was to be Black Springs, but that name had already been registered
as a post office in Texas. It is believed that the present name came
from Oran M. Roberts, a Governor of Texas.
The town was granted a post office in in 1886 and a mineral water
industry began around 1908 - with local waters and crystals shipped
all over the country.
An extension of the Texas and Pacific Railroad connected Oran with
the rest of the world The extension was the Weatherford, Mineral Wells
and Northwestern Railway. Oran became a shipping point for locally
grown cotton, and in-season there
was a gin that was in operation 24 hours a day.
Oran in its heyday could boast four general stores as well as an economical
20-room hotel, a weekly paper and even a skating rink.
The number of students in 1912 was 112, requiring a two-story school
with four classrooms. The 1920s started out prosperous for the town
but the boll
weevil infestation in the middle of that decade had devastated
the cotton crop.
The cotton gins were moved to whiter fields and even the water "industry"
had a severe setback. As the economy tanked, the railroad added to
the town's woes by taking up its tracks and tearing down the depot.
By the late 1960s there was a population of 80 - which slowly declined
thereafter, resulting in a count of 61 people for the 2000 census.
|
 |
Black
Springs Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Curtis Carter |
Historical Marker
- On FM 52 in Oran
Black Springs
Settled before
the Civil War and named for the area's early water source, located
nearby, the Black Springs community played a significant role in the
growth of Palo Pinto
County. Prominent individuals associated with the town included
early cattlemen and trail drivers Oliver Loving and Charles
Goodnight and J. J. "Jack" Cureton, a noted military veteran and
pioneer. In 1886 the community was renamed Oran in honor of Texas
Governor Oran M. Roberts. Once the county's leading town and the site
of stores, churches, a school and railroad, it declined in the 1930s
and 1940s.
(1982) |
Charles
Goodnight Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Curtis Carter |
Historical Marker
- On FM 52 in Oran
Charles Goodnight
Here at Black Springs
in the Keechi Valley in 1857, the celebrated pioneer open range cowman
and trail driver Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) located his first ranch
on the extreme Indian frontier of Texas. From here he took part in
the 1860 Pease River fight when Cynthia
Ann Parker was recaptured from Comanches, he served as scout and
guide for the Texas Rangers during the Civil War and in 1866 he laid
out the Goodnight-Loving cattle trail, over which thousands of longhorns
were driven to market in New Mexico. In 1867 at Fort Sumner, New Mexico,
his partner Oliver Loving died from wounds suffered in an Indian attack.
Without the aid of an undertaker, Goodnight carried the body by wagon
through hostile Indian territory for burial at Weatherford
(24 miles southeast).
Goodnight extended his cattle trails to Wyoming and to Colorado, where
he started a ranch near Pueblo. In 1876 he established the first cattle
ranch in the vast Texas panhandle, which became the internationally
known JA Ranch. Involved in the preservation of the area's native
buffalo,
he also bred the first herd of cattalo by crossing buffalo with range
cattle.
Goodnight's pioneer efforts led to the development of the frontier
and the Texas cattle industry.
(1982) |
Subject: Community
of Oran
The two historical
markers are located on the main street, out front of the post office.
One of the markers describes the older community of Black Springs,
and the change to the current name of Oran. Notice, toward the lower
section of the left-hand door of the post office, there is a letter
slot that has been cut in. I do not know how often this post office
is still used, but during Christmas, letters can be dropped through
the slot for delivery to Santa. The unusually low position of the
door slot makes sense when you know this. - Curtis Carter, February
07, 2015 |
Subject:
Oran Post Office
You didn't classify Oran as a ghost town, but it hasn't had a post
office for over 60 years and, with its population continuing to dwindle,
it should be there before too long!
This cover was posted in its last year with a post office, about three
months before it closed for good. - John
J. Germann, September 15, 2021 |
1920s Map showing
Oran in Northeastern Palo
Pinto County
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
|
|
HOME
