FRANKELL, TEXAS

Texas Ghost Town
Stephens County, Texas Panhandle / North Central Texas

(32.624, -98.718)

County Road 140
About 12 Miles SE of Breckenridge
S of Graham
N of Eastland
W of Palo Pinto
E of Albany

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History in a Pecan Shell

Like Tomball, Edcouch and other Texas towns, Frankell was named after the first and last names of its namesake Frank Kell. Mr. Kell was the president of the Wichata Falls and Southern Railroad when the region was booming with oil discoveries.

Besides being a stop on the railroad, the town of Frankell was almost entirely populated by oil workers. These roughnecks and their families numbered between two and three hundred people.

The town required a church and two schools which were reported functioning in the mid 1930s. The town's proximity to Breckenridge hindered its growth and a proper business district never developed. After the boom, the population fell to 50 although the town had acquired a post office and store somewhere along the way.

Maps of Stephens County published in the 1980s have the town shown but it is essentially a ghost town with no surviving structures.

Frankell, TX Stephens County post office info

Frankell, TX Stephens County 1936 Postmark

Cover canceled with Frankell, TX 1936 postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

Stephens County 1920s map showing Frankell,
SE of Breckenridge
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Stephens County 1940s map showing Frankell,
SE of Breckenridge
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Frankell, Texas Area Towns:
Breckenridge the county seat
Eastland, Palo Pinto, Graham
See Stephens County

Panhandle | Central Texas North

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