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Former Ireland
Depot
Photo courtesy Megan Harris |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Named in honor
of Governor John Ireland, the town had been known as Hamco
prior to the arrival of the Stephenville North and South Texas Railroad.
The utilitarian but somewhat undignified name of Hamco came from the
towns location on the shared Hamilton-Coyell
county line.
The community reached its zenith with a population of about 400 in
the mid-1920s. (See 1920s Map
below)
Ireland declined when the railroad dissolved and by the late 1940s
there were only 40 Irelanders. |
Close-up view
of the former Ireland Depot
Photo
courtesy Megan Harris
More Texas Depots |
My grandparents
owned the store
Thank you for
the compliment on my grandparents,
Onie and Etta Patteson. They owned the store until the early 50s then
moved to Oglesby. They lived in the
back of the store. That's where my mother grew up. My other granddaddy,
Edward Huckabee, owned the "filling station." His boys that didn't
want to work the farm, about 5 miles out of town, were the mechanics.
My folks were married in the Methodist church in December 1944 while
Daddy was on Christmas leave from the war. Just tidbits about town.
- D. Robbins May 5, 2020 |
L - Onie P. Patteson
R - Etta May Patteson, 1916 |
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Ireland, Texas
Forum
Subject:
Ireland Texas
I live on my family's ranch, about 4 miles from Ireland. Ranch has
been in the family since 1938. My mother grew up here and graduated
from Jonesboro in 1955. She remembers
hearing the train in Ireland when she was 4 or 5 years old, early
40s.
During the late 40s, after WWII,
mother remembers the store (Ireland Cabinets now) was owned by the
Patteson's. She said they were a cute older couple. She also remembers
going to the 2nd story of the Hotel where they had an area set up
for groups of women to quilt. Mother can't remember when the store
stopped operating, she thinks many years after the hotel closed.
I remember going through Ireland in the late 60s, no 2 story Hotel
then, just the old bank vault. I do remember the school structure
standing, but it had long been abandoned. In the 60s, the Baptist
Church and the Methodist Church both had weekly services. Both structures
are now private residences. Just thought you might be interested in
the old store owners. - Scott, April 11, 2020
Subject: Ireland, Texas
I wanted to thank you for your AMAZING and INFORMATIVE website. I
have been exploring ghost towns in Coryell County with the help of
your site. I took some pictures of what was probably the railroad
station of Ireland, Texas while on my explorations yesterday... Thank
you again. - Megan Harris, September 16, 2007 |
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| 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/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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