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PETTY, TEXAS
Lamar
County, North
Central Texas
33° 36' 9.36" N, 95° 48' 35.86" W (33.6026, -95.80996)
Highway 82, FM 137 and FM 1509
16 Miles SW of Paris the county
seat
Population: 100 est. (2010, 2000, 1990)
Petty Area Hotels › Paris
Hotels |
Entering Petty
Photo
courtesy Mike
Price, April 2008 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Now known as a
“dispersed rural community,” it wasn’t always so. Petty, which was
also known as Lookout or Dowlin, was settled in the
late 1860s. The relative height of the topography gave it its first
name of Lookout, and the name was changed again with the arrival of
the Texas and Pacific Railroad in the 1880s.
No explanation of the name Dowlin is available, but its safe to assume
there was some connection to the railroad. Finally the matter was
settled when a post office was opened in 1886.
Landowner J. M. Petty, was popular enough to have the post office
application filled out with his name – and it has remained so ever
since. In 1890 the town had a respectable population of 350 with most
essential businesses and a few not-so essential. The population peaked
in the early 1930s with 500 residents.
The Great Depression hit the town hard and so did the post war draw
of good jobs and better highways. By the mid 1960s there were only
100 residents – the same number that’s been used ever since. |
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Petty Methodist
Church
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, April 2008 |
| 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 photos, please contact
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