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History in a Pecan
Shell
Saragosa
began with a settlement on Toyah Creek in 1880. The original site is four miles
east of the present town. A post office was granted in 1884, however, it only
lasted seven years before closing. It was reestablished in 1900.
A plat
for the town was filed in 1909 and the railroad (The Pecos Valley Southern) arrived
in 1911. The town only had twenty-five residents in 1925 but six years later it
had increased to a respectable 150 people. In 1933 it had decreased back to 25.
The 1940s were kinder to Saragosa and the town grew to 60 people. It increased
to 90 by 1949 – remaining there until the 1960 census when it reached a record
of 380 residents.
Ten years later it was back to only 173. As the 1980s
closed, the population stood at 183 people. Saragosa was struck by a huge tornado
on the night of May 22, 1987, killing 30 residents and injuring 121. Eighty-five
percent of the town’s buildings were destroyed in the storm. |
Toyah
Creek
TE photo, September 2009 | |
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