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Tell TX 79259
Photo courtesy of Tony Hool, March 2007 |
The Two "Towns"
of Tell
Tell, Childress
County
Tell was founded
in 1887 on what had been called "Tell-Tale Flat." A post office
was granted under that name in 1888 and opened in the dugout home
of postmistress Belle Garrison. But by 1905 postal authorities nixed
the hyphenated name and shortened it to Tell.
A store was opened in 1906, followed by a gin, grocery and drugstore.
By 1916 the primary businesses were joined by others and the town
had four churches. A bank was in operation from 1916 until its merger
with a Childress bank in the Great
Depression. Postwar prosperity drew population away from Tell and
into Childress and other distant
cities.
The school merged with the Childress
ISD in the early 1960s, leaving the brick school to become a community
center. 1984's population was a mere 59 people which later swelled
to 63 for the 1990 Census. |
Tell Post Office
Photo
courtesy of Tony Hool, March 2007 |
Tell Telephone
Exchange
Photo courtesy of Tony Hool, March 2007 |
Tell, Texas
Forum
Subject: Tell,
TX
For years my father-in-law has held he was born in Tell, Texas in
1925. His daughter, my wife, is a traveling nurse. She took a position
at Medical City of Dallas in January. Last week [my wife and I] took
a road trip to the Panhandle
to visit Tell. It is in Childress County about 10 miles south of the
town of Childress. I noticed Tell
does not appear on your list of Panhandle
towns. Unfortunately we arrived in town after the post office
had closed (operating hours are 8:00 AM til noon). There was no one
available to get information on the town. Attached are photos of the
post office and telephone exchange building [to share with your readers].
- Tony Hool, Dallas, Texas, April 02, 2007
Childress
Hotels |
Tell, Hall
County
The Tell in Hall
County was actually a post office established in the last half
of the 1890s, at the home of Will and Clementine "Clemmie" Rothwell.
The mail route extended from Childress
to the Matador Ranch (See Matador),
more or less following the route of present-day FM 96. The post office
became an important personal link between cowboys and their familes
back home. When the town of Tell (above) was established across the
county line, the Hall
County post office of Tell was closed on the next to the last
day of the 19th Century. |
Matador Ranch
cowboys enjoying a catered meal
Photo courtesy Paul Cloyd |
| 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. |
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