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The
Hamilton post office mural depicts Texas rangers
TE photo |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Back in the 1870s there had been a Texas Ranger camp two miles northeast
of present-day Ranger along Palo Pinto Creek. The Ranger visits gave
it the place it's initial name of Ranger Camp Valley. It did indeed
have the appearance of a camp since all businesses, including schools,
churches and stores were inside tents. |
Adam's
Grocery and Market in Ranger
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson April 2006 |
When
the Texas and Pacific Railroad entered the valley in 1880, 160 acres
were donated to the railroad and the community moved to establish
the permanent town of Ranger. In the last few days of 1880, the town's
new post office opened. Growth was slow but assured. BY the end of
the 1880s Ranger had 350 people which grew to 750 by 1904.
The region suffered a drought in 1917 - just about the time the area's
first oil well came in. With daily production measured at 1,700 barrels,
this produced one of the largest (and some say the most archetypical)
oil boom in Texas. The Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company had 22 wells
either in production or being drilled in 1919. No fewer than eight
refineries were under construction or refining and with $5 million
in deposits, banking was good in Ranger. The 1920 Census figures have
given the population of Ranger as 16,201, but the tent cities and
transient population made an acurate count impossible. Some estimates
go as high as 30,000. Ranger received a second railroad with the arrival
of the Wichita Falls and Southern and soon five trains a day were
stopping at the boom town. |
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Ranger
Depot and Second Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson April 2006 |
Odd
Fellows Building
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson April 2006 |
A closed
gas station
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson April 2006 |
Every
silver-lining has its dark cloud and when the drought broke Ranger's
dirt streets turned into a morass. Unsanitary conditions caused an
outbreak of typhoid fever. An April fire in 1919, destroyed two downtown
blocks. Naturally, the parasites descended on Ranger and violence,
gambling and prostitution sprang up like the proverbial mushrooms.
The boom was short lived and while some in 1921 were hoping for new
oil discoveries, a string of bank failures dashed all hopes. The 1930
population of Ranger (which was much easier to count than the 1920
census) was down to just 6,208.
After the bust, unrest and discontentment provided a strong base for
the Ku Klux Klan. By 1980 Ranger had a population of 3,142 which has
since declined to just under 2,600. |
Brick
street view common in town.
Photo courtesy Mike Price, 2007 |
Tourist
Court
Photo courtesy Mike Price, 2007 |
| Photo
courtesy Mike Price, 2007 |
Ranger's
Gholson Hotel
by Don Champion
Excerpted from the book Wood Derricks, Iron Men and Gold Women
"The Gholson was the scene of many oil deals taking place during
the oil boom, and scores of the famous and the infamous were found
around the hotel lobby..." more
More Rooms
with a Past |
Theatre
ghost sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson April 2006 |
The Theatre
in Ranger
"I was delighted to see the photos of Ranger in the October issue
of TE. I wanted to share with you some information about the picture
of the old theater. It was originally called the Lone Star
and later became the Columbia. Its speciality was the Western.
The old movie house has sat empty for years, but I understand that
the local historical society has cleaned the inside up and has accumulated
seats for the building in the future hope of making it a workable
theater again. The roof is missing and that is the financial imperative
for full restoration. Who knows? Maybe someday there will be a theater
again in Ranger. - Billy
Smith, October 21, 2007
More Texas Theatres |
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