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BOLING, TEXAS
Wharton County,
Texas Gulf Coast
29° 15' 57" N, 95° 56' 40" W (29.265833, -95.944444)
FM 1301 and FM 442
West bank of Caney Creek
9 miles SE of Wharton the
county seat
Zip Code 77420
Boling-Iago Population:
1,122 (2010) 1,271 (2000)
Boling, Texas Area Hotels › Wharton
Hotels |
Boling mural
depicting oil boom
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2008 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Once known as Floyd's
Lane, Boling was renamed after the New York, Texas and Mexican
Railway built through around 1900. The new name came from the middle
name of Mary Bolling Vineyard, daughter of the man who platted the
town. The name was misspelled when the post office was granted.
Although new settlers arrived after the railroad was built - the region
was mostly made up of large tracts of land which had been former plantations.
In 1907 Boling may have had a railroad
connection, but the population was less than fifty with only the most
basic businesses. That changed in the mid 1920s with the discovery
of the huge oil, gas and sulfur deposits of the Boling Dome. The boom
wasn't as big as the oil boomtowns of legend, but the population increased
tenfold to nearly 500 by 1930 and reaching 800 during WWII.
In 1941 the Boling Independent School District was formed of Boling
and the neighboring communities of Iago
and Newgulf. The high school was in
Boling, the junior high in Iago,
and the elementary school was in Newgulf.
The population had dropped to a little over 500 in the early 1970s
but by the early 90s it had grown to nearly 1,300. The Newgulf
sulfur plant closed in late 1993 and the population for Boling-Iago
was still 1,271 while Newgulf joined
the list of Texas ghost towns.
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Historical Marker:
100 Texas Ave. at FM 442, Boling
Boling
This area was
called Floyd's Lane prior to the advent of the New York, Texas
& Mexican Railway in 1900. Named for the Bolling family of Virginia,
the town name was misspelled when citizens applied for a U. S. Post
Office. The economy was based on farming and the railroad until sulphur,
oil, and gas were discovered on the Boling dome in 1925. Boling became
a boom town; the population grew from 20 in 1920 to 450 in 1930. Many
streets and subdivisions were named for the companies that flocked
here. Mineral production was the dominant industry in the area for
70 years.
1996 |
Boling, Texas
Landmarks
Photo Gallery |
Boling United
Methodist Church
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2008 |
Most of the fireplugs
are painted like dogs.
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2008 |
"The water
tank gauge shows the tank to be 3/4ths full. Gauge has a float in
the water connected to a cable with a weight outside the tank indicating
the water level."
- Ken
Rudine, 2008 photo
More Texas Water
Towers |
The town pump
jack has Christmas lights on it.
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2008 |
An old pecan
orchard outside of Boling.
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2008 |
Boling, Texas
Forum
Subject:
Boling/Iago/Newgulf
My mother grew up in the Texas Gulf Sulfur company town of New
Gulf ca. 1928-1944 and graduated from Boling High School. Her
father and numerous relatives worked with TGS. As I recall she spoke
of her first job as a teen with a Brockmann's Drygoods Store in
the town.
My grandfather had a home in Iago
for many years which is still standing on the main street parallel
to the old railroad and current highway. Our family visited and
even stayed there several stints in between venues from 1944-1955
in which I attended Iago Elementary for short times. We stayed in
a homemade trailer house on the property among the pumpjacks and
oil tanks. Granddad kept a milk cow which he stake-tied and grazed
on the abundant grass along the tracks. One day tragedy hit when
it got loose on the tracks and was hit by a train.
The one store in the fifties was on the corner, building still standing.
For a prolonged period there was a Red Ryder BB gun in the window
that I coveted and dreamed of having every visit. I saved every
penny I could gather and earn to buy it when we returned again with
constant fear it would be sold. Fortunately, it or one like it was
there when finally I bought it on one of the visits.
I visited periodically Boling, Iago
and the TGS ghost town and plant
out of nostalgia over the years and recently retired back to the
region. On Nov 23, 2015 on such a tour with a visiting relative
we learned of the old Boling jail which I was unaware of
over the many years and visited it. It was supposedly built in the
pre-'20's and been recorded as a historic site. Hopefully it will
be preserved as a Texas landmark eventually. It may be a worthwhile
addition to your site on Boling. http://www.tinytexasjails.com/?page_id=618
- Wallace L. McKeehan, November 26, 2015
Subject:
Boling/ Iago and
Newgulf
I lived in Boling, Texas from 1952 - 1954 when I was about 10. There
was no elementary school in Boling so we were either bussed to Iago
or New Gulf. I went to Iago. At
lunch time we were bussed to the high school in Boling. That was
a fun time in my life. I have often wondered what changes have taken
place in the last 50 years. My mother was a telephone operator in
Boling and we actually (she and I) lived in the back of the telephone
office. - Alma (Hudson) Waggoner, November 30, 2006
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