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History
in a Pecan Shell
The town is believed to have been named to honor Governor James Allred.
Allred (the town) got off to a late start. Walter E. Young and M.
A. Shields are credited with founding the 40-acre townsite in 1937,
soon after oil was discovered in the vicinity. A water well was dug
and construction of buildings began in January of 1938.
The first lot was sold in February and the post office opened in May
of '38. Being the Depression and knowing what had happened to other
boom towns, city fathers quickly acquired 120 additional acres to
accommodate a population estimated to eventually reach 3,000.
Walter Young sold his interest in the townsite to one Pat Malone in
January of 1939; under Malone's leadership, the light plant was enlarged
and a telephone system was installed. Allred reached a population
of 1,200 in 1939, making it the largest town in the county. Allred
got it's first newspaper - the Allred Times on May 25, 1939.
Publisher Roy Royal published one issue of the newspaper and it folded
for reasons not known. By 1940 the population of Allred started a
decline without coming near the projected 3,000. After WWII
it was down to only 750 residents.
During the school consolidations, Allred's school district merged
with that of Sligo.
The Allred school was later put to use as a community building.
In the late 50s there were only five households left and the Yoakum
County Gas Company cut off their service - saying that it wasn't worth
the cost of supplying them. In 1957 church, post office, and grocery
closed and the last time it was recorded (1964) Allred's population
was 50.
Photographer's Note:
This is Allred. Honest. I drove around looking for something to take
a picture of besides houses. - Barclay
Gibson |
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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