BLAND, TEXAS

A Submerged Ghost Town

Texas Ghost Town
Bell County, Central Texas North

About 10 Miles NW of Belton
Once on FM 184 and Owl Creek
Now UNDER Lake Belton

View of Lake Belton from Belton Dam
Photo courtesy Chandra Moira Beal

History in a Pecan Shell

Bland came into being around 1880 when storekeeper John Atkerson saw the opportunity of opening a store here. He had considered naming the community Pokerville since it seemed to be the most popular form of recreation / entertainment in town. Perhaps Atkerson was aware the postal authorities frowned on frivolous names, so the town was called Bland - perhaps in sarcastic compliance to postal rules or perhaps to honor prominent citizen D.T. Bland.

A post office was granted in 1894 and two years later the population was still a meager 20 people. Bland lived up to its name with no major events or catastrophes occurring. The population had mushroomed to 63 by 1925 but if anything of consequence happened, it has gone unrecorded. The Great Depression came and went (if anyone noticed) and so did WWII. By the end of the 1940s, the population had returned to the 1896 level of 20.

Since Bland had no history (nor did it seem interested in having any), it was added to the short list of towns to be flooded to create Lake Belton in the 1950s. The community disappeared under the waters and there were few people to mourn. Perhaps the town's most lasting achievement is its inclusion on a ghost town list.

See
Drowned Towns of Bell County by Mike Cox

Cover cancelled with Bland, TX 1936 postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

Postcard cancelled with Bland, TX 1950 postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

About all that's left of Bland, Texas are postmarks like these and the name Bland on antique maps. Everything else is now beneath Lake Belton.

While many people are familiar with "first day covers" - denoting the initial day of issue of a particular stamp, a lesser know item is the "last day" - commemorating the final day in the life of a post office.

"The last day postmarks are not really on a cover - as you can see, there is no addressee. These were done as "favor"cancels. The 1950 postmark is on a 1 cent postcard - many collectors went the cheapest route possible." - John J. Germann

BLAND, TEXAS

By David Knape

Used to be a town
near here, and
since nothin happened
they named it Bland

Bland tried to be somethin'
but on the other hand,
it just went underwater
'neath the Belton Dam.

© d.knape

Bell County 1907 postal map showing Bland
(N of Belton, near Coryell County line)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

Bland, Texas Nearby Towns:
Belton the county seat
Temple
Gatesville
See Bell County | Central Texas North

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