SHUMLA, TEXAS

Texas Ghost Town
Val Verde County, West Texas

Highway 90
Between the Pecos River and the Rio Grande
About 32 Miles W of Del Rio the county seat
West of Comstock
About 29 Miles E of Langtry
Population: 0

Shumla, Texas Area Hotels › Del Rio Hotels

Come back to Shumla, Tracy Henderson. All is forgiven.
Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

History in a Pecan Shell

The region was inhabited some 6,000 years before Shumla first appeared as a section station on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad in 1882. The unusual name supposedly comes from a Turkish fort that that was situated in terrain not unlike this portion of Val Verde County.

In early 1883, just east of town, a ceremony was held to commemorate the completion of the southernmost transcontinental railroad route. In 1892 it was discovered that the roadbed of vibration-sensitive limestone was an accident waiting to happen. Although it was just a 25-mile stretch, the railroad decided to reroute their tracks. After the alignment, Shumla found itself without a railroad. But it didn’t stop the town from receiving a post office in 1906. It took them three years to discover the town was dying and in 1909 the post office shut it doors. (See 1907 Val Verde County postal map.)

For years the town consisted of a freight station and little else. The highway was resurfaced and both the Devil’s River and Pecos River received new bridges – but progress ignored Shumla as it had ignored most towns along Highway 90. Population figures are not available, but by 1973 Shumla became a mere flag-stop. Shortly thereafter the former town decayed into the ruins that you see here.

[ Shumla by Mike Cox › ]

Shumla Ruins Photo Gallery

Shumla Motel Ruins
Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

Shumla Motel Ruins Interior
Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

Animal bones
Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

Another view of the Shumla ruins
Photo courtesy Abdul Khan, October 2016

Shumla Ruins in 2008:

Shumla's "Westside"
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2008

Shumla's "Westside" Neighborhood
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2008

The "Westside" seen from the East
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2008

Postcard cancelled with Shumla, TX 1909 postmark
Note "a big dance at Langtry" on July 4th
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

[ Shumla by Mike Cox › ]

Sunset Railroad by the Rio Grande, a few miles S of Shumla
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

1907 Val Verde County post map showing Shumla
(SE of Langtry)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

1940s Val Verde County map showing Shumla
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Related Article:

Shumla by Mike Cox

It’s been a long time since a train stopped at Shumla, a West Texas ghost town as ethereal as steam escaping from a coal-fired locomotive... more

Shumla, Texas Area Destinations:
Del Rio the county seat
Langtry | Comstock
See Val Verde County | West Texas Towns

Book Hotel Here:
Del Rio Hotels | More Hotels

Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic photos, please contact us.