|
Photographer's
Directions:
"Knapp was located 12 miles southwest of Snyder
and northwest what is now Lake J B Thomas on FM 1610. The Knapp
Baptist Church is located 1-1/2 miles south of the Knapp marker
at the intersection of FM 1610 and FM 1298." - Barclay
Gibson |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Knapp dates from
the late 1800s. First residents named the fledgling community Bison,
but were disappointed when their application for a post office was
rejected. Some other town had beaten them to the name. Instead, they
decided to honor someone named Knapp. The name was accepted by postal
authorities, but the namesake faded into history without anyone remembering
the first name or why he / she was chosen.
Knapp's short history is preserved by the historical
marker shown.
First population figures are from 1940 when Knapp had ten residents.
It doubled to 20 by 1947. The short-lived Scurry County Oil Boom (50-51)
boosted the population to 100 - which seems to have been the town's
peak.
But the addition of fresh residents didn't save the post office from
closing. Nothing continued to happen in Knapp for decades and the
1990 census counted only ten residents. The same number was used in
2010. |
Knapp, Texas
Historical Marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, July 2015 |
Historical Marker:
Town of Knapp
Pioneers settling
Bull Creek, 1888, where herds of bull buffalo grazed, called their
community Bison. They founded the Baptist Church on the creek
bank, the school in a nearby pasture.
Bison was located on fringe of the ranch belonging to A. P. Bush and
Benjamin Tillar, both prominent early Texas cattlemen.
In 1890, name of town and post office (then housed in a dugout) became
"Knapp" after the U.S. Post Office Department refused Bison because
it was a duplicate name.
In 1959, after a rousing decade of serving the oil boom workers, the
post office closed.
(1967) |
| 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
us. |
|
|
HOME
