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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town of Longworth
appeared in 1902. Its name was an adaptation of the Long Ranch which
subdivided its vast holdings in 1907. The small tracts of farmland
were advertised in Northern newspapers (as was the custom) and many
of the buyers were Bohemian immigrants who transmigrated from Pennsylvania.
The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad arrived the same year
(1907) that the ranch subdivived and may have been a factor. Gypsum
deposits were discovered a few years later near Plasterco and many
of Longworth’s residents found work processing the gypsum. In the
mid 1920s more deposits were discovered much closer to Longworth.
Information on the town in the Great Depression and WWII
is not available but after the war Longworth was left with a respectable
200 residents and at least five businesses. As most small towns in
Texas, the postwar boom did more harm
to the town. It declined to just 65 residents and that number has
been used through the 2000 census.
Longworth was suggested for inclusion by Charles M. Thompson who wrote:
“I was checking out [your magazine] and found that a small town in
West Texas that we lived in back in the early 1930's is not listed.
The name of the town was Longworth, in Fisher County. When we lived
there my dad was manager of the local lumber yard. I attended school
there through the third grade. There were several small businesses
there along with a Santa Fe Railroad station and agent. There was
also a Union church. I would guess the population was about 150 or
so.” |
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Fisher
County 1907 Postal Map showing Longworth SE of Roby
From Texas state map #2090
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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