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THALIA,
TEXASFoard
County, Texas
Panhandle
Highway 70 and FM 262
11 Miles E of Crowell
20 Miles SW of Vernon
Population: 104 (since the 1960s) |
Cotton
Wagons and Church. See Cotton
TE photo,
September, 2009 |
History in a Pecan
Shell
Thalia
was first known as Paradise. But when it came time to apply for a post
office they learned that Wise County had beat them to the name. They re-submitted
the name Thalia, which was accepted and the post office opened in 1890 when the
town was still in Hardeman County.
That same year a school was founded
at the community. Thalia remained in Hardeman County until 1891 when Foard County
was organized. The townsite was platted in 1910 and when oil was discovered Thalia’s
future looked bright. But despite the oil, the population was only (estimated
at) 50 in the mid-1920s. |
The
Great Depression hit the town hard. The high school, finished in 1930, closed
in 1943. By 1950, the population was still less than 200 and after the post office
closed, the population declined to a mere 104. The town did manage a brief place
in the sun in 1966 when it appeared in the movie Hud – an adaptation of
Larry McMurtry's novel Horseman, Pass By.
A
Visit to Thalia |
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