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History in
a Pecan Shell
Kansas gypsum-processor
James Sickler discovered a huge deposit of gypsum here in 1890 and
decided to exploit it. Sickler went into partnership and reestablished
his Kansas operations here.
Known as the Lone Star Cement Plaster Company, it was the business
that created the town of Acme.
Other Kansas gypsum companies arrived and by 1898 the town had its
own post office. Two railroads made a connection to Acme - the Fort
Worth and Denver City and the Quanah, Acme, and Pacific.
By the early 1900s Acme had a school, store, hotel and depot. As the
gypsum was excavated, prehistoric mastodon fossils were discovered.
Little information was to come from Acme through the teens, 20s and
30s. The population reached 400 in 1945 and in time the plant became
one of the largest US companies.
A plant closure in the 1960s created a severe decline and since the
plant was virtually the only source of work, by 1975 there were only
14 people reported living there.
Since the 1980s, the Georgia Pacific Corporation has manufactured
sheetrock at the site.
A few scattered buildings remained, but in the late 1990s, many of
the old ruins were bulldozed – little is left today other than the
sheetrock plant. The name Acme could only be seen on the side of the
railroad bridge – as part of the name of the railroad. |
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Acme School,
Quanah Texas
1939-42
Teachers and Students Portraits
Click on image to enlarge
Photo courtesy Steve Rollins |
School pictures
from Acme Texas
"My grandparents
were school teachers in the Texas
Panhandle area from about 1919 until 1957. At least half of the
schools they taught at no longer exist and neither do the towns. His
family lived in Quanah and
his kids went to the Quanah schools while he and Mrs. Rollins taught
at area schools. My granddad, Wells Rollins, is in the top pictures,
some of his students are below. The picture is from between 1939 to
1942." - Steve Rollins, August 25, 2020
[See Texas
Schoolhouses] |
Hardeman
County 1940s map showing Acme
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| 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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