I live in Bellcherville Tx.. There's nothing here now because in the 40s the town committed suicide over a 2 day span due to a dispute between the wealthy side of the tracks and the poor side of the tracks. One side set fire to the other side and the next night the survivors from the first fire set fire to the other side.. All that's left of the town is 2 houses and a post office and gas station. Abandoned. The town is all ranch land now. My mailing address is Bellcherville but the town closest to me is the one to deliver my mail. Most history and records of Bellcherville was lost to the fires, so what little is known was passed down from the few survivors of the 1940s fire.
Looks like the prospects for gainful employment are slim at best. Guessing that would adversely affect home prices. Small towns were once the strength of this country. It's sad to see them deserted and dying. Very interesting videos.
Wow, I've never seen a Family Dollar sign looking that old. There's something about those wide open plains with pump-jacks in the Panhandle TX / Oklahoma. It really is beautiful. Thanks for the video, Lord Spoda.
But, when you live there it sure isn't. Dreadfully boring and outright depressing. My buddy is from Rotan. It's just depressing; soul crushing. There is very littel to do. Very little in the ways of careers or money. People turn to drugs or liquor to get by.
Thanks for this! My Mom and Grandma were born in Anson. My Dad and Grandpa were born in Merkel, Texas. I was born and raised in Abilene, Texas. Safe travels and May God Bless You and Your Wife!!
What I appreciate about all your efforts is just how many heartfelt comments you receive from people who know the areas you visit. Thanks to you and all who watch and share experiences from then and now. Btw, these west Texas videos always bring the film Hud to mind.
Nautin näiden videoiden tarjoamasta mahdollisuudesta nähdä millaista on tavallinen amerikkalainen elämä kaiken sen tiedotusvälineiden antaman hyvin suppean kuvan vastapainoksi. Suomessa, jossa asun, on paljon pieniä kyliä ja kaupunkeja jotka ovat myös autioitumassa samoista asioista eli ihmiset lähtevät paremman elämän toivossa suurempiin kaupunkeihin. Kiitos näistä videoista 👍
@@DIVISIONINCISION That's just so much BS. I worked in these towns keeping the lights on and these are some of the finest folks in the nation. Just because their town is declining and they live in rural Texas doesn't mean they are ignorant, redneck hicks.
I enjoy seeing the small towns of Texas. My own small home town is experiencing the same decline. Back in the late '50's and '60's, the farms had to consolidate to remain profitable. That, of course, led to a decline in population. Then the schools became smaller with fewer offerings for study. Then the grocery stores slowly closed, also for lack of profitability. Once the grocery stores close, even the elderly are forced to move. Then naturally follows the fall of resale value of any house. A slow spiral down the drain. If there is some oil money, some remnants remain.
As someone who spent a while living in Coleman, Texas, this series brings me a lot of nostalgia. Tiny sleepy towns spattered across the plains of west texas. Nothing to do but get into trouble and go roller skating!
My mother was a single mom worked her fingers to the bone to raise her three boys. She was injured in a fall that caused her to not be able to work for almost a year. I was sent to live with my aunt who was a teacher in a very rural part of Texas. I spent my freshman year in high school in Mozell 20 miles from Coleman. (1968) I believe the school is gone now. We had 11 people in our class with 90 in the entire school including K-1. The experience was wonderful. Coleman, Santa Anna, Bangs, Brownwood. San Angelo, Christoval, El Darado, Menard., Fisk, Voss, Gouldbusk and 6 man football. FFA. A very interesting part of Texas. The best of memories. I ended up in Llano. We had a wonderful river, rocks, mesquite trees, snakes, more deer than dears💔 ( sniff sniff) So I found my wife in Aggieland. And we live happily forever after. But my heart belongs in the Hill Country. Rural Texas in the 60's and 70's was a hoot. Fast cars , dirt roads, CB radios and room to spread your wings. It was a magical time, we just didn't know that it was.
I love your videos I'm from Texas came as a youngster to California always wanting to go back to Texas I really love eating your videos to get an idea how things look now in day thank you so much for ur videos
My dad is from Hamlin and my mom is from Aspermont. It’s cool to see you doing what you do. Brings back a lot of memories from my childhood. I have lived in Houston my entire life but it’s always good to go visit relatives in these small towns. I’m always thankful that my parents decided to make a new start in a larger city
Appreciate the extra effort taken to show us five rural Texas towns that would otherwise be unknown and ignored except for the locals. Four of the five show inexpicably low poverty rates given their gravely high levels of depopulation and loss of local commerce. That's a developing pattern emerging from your videos. Rural Americans in many parts of the country have a reputation for being defiantly private and independent (said with the utmost respect). Makes one wonder whether there aren't ways to statistically conceal one's poverty, both at the individual and municipal levels, even though that might mean loss of public benefits, one's privacy having a greater value than government "handouts." It might be a lot easier than I imagine. See you both in Missouri.
Bruh most of these people in these rural towns are on food stamps and all sorts of handouts. Nothing wrong with that but don’t act like rural towns are actual independent they also suck tax dollars in state funds.
@@daviddecelles8714 You are just proving the OP's point. Are you really sure these towns aren't fudging the numbers to make it appear that poverty level isn't as lowcas they appear?
I was happy that you drove thru Stamford. My mother's father came from there. And when I was a kid we went to visit relatives in Stamford. The family was very large and there were multiple generations. Some of the very old houses you drove by were similar to the ones my great aunts and cousins lived in. I do remember being about 8 and going to that movie theater ... cost a dime to get in for a child. Popcorn about the same price. Sad to see what it has become.
Watching this from the perspective of being a big city boy my whole life it has always amazed me how people find ways to live or get by in these little towns with low populations
There is an eerie comparison between these towns and where I live. The homes that are slowly falling apart as there is no one in them, apart from the New Year when people travel back to honour the spirts of past relatives. Even the railway has gone between Stamford and Hamlin and it looks like the health centre in Hamlin has finished. The large grain elevators still stand as testament to more affluent times as do the city halls. It's lucky you have visited as I suspect in a few years even less will be standing. I do like the architecture and those old cinemas are frozen in the past. All very interesting to see and the data on the population too. Thank you for the trip to a part of the world I never knew existed but is fascinating. Take great care!
My dad was born in Skellytown, Texas. A few years ago, before he passed away, I took him there on our way back to California from Oklahoma. There is nothing left of the town except for some abandoned buildings. It's worse than any town you've ever presented on your videos
I'm from Fritch and I know what you mean seeing towns fade away to nothing especially when the older generation has passed . I enjoy hearing stories from the old timers about how it used be in the area when it was booming. I came along in the 80's so I never really got to see any of it I remember in school when I started we had 170 kids in my class and by the time I graduated we had 50 kids left . The sad thing is it will continue to die because most people leaves for better opportunities in bigger places the only thing that helped Fritch is the lake during the summer
Give it time, the area I am in from Comanche Texas to Burkett Texas, the hwy 36 corridor is filling up with people who are escaping the Californians hitting the big eastern Texas cities. we have a near 27% growth and over 55% housing price increase and none moving here have 5 genders, purple hair and antifa mask. LOL! 90% have more trucks and guns than the Afghan army and more American flags than Arlington veterans cemetery on July 4th. Population is 89% white in the area and increasing fast in both black and hispanic families with the same attitude and think as the locals. So Skellytown and places like Turkey, Shamrock Guthrie are seeing similar interest for same reasons. People are willing to earn 20k a year and not live in Wokanazi lefty land anymore. It's just reality.
I met my wife online. She lived in Washington State and i lived in Virginia. The distance saw us drift apart, but then she moved to a little Texas town close to where you are now in the video. I figured if she could come that far, i surely could come to meet her and i did. We lived there in Strawn Texas for a year and then we came to visit my folks in Virginia. When we got back to Texas she surprised me by saying 'let's move to Virginia. We did. The people there in Strawn were very nice and i liked it there, but now we are happy here in Virginia and we have a big family here too who loves her.. Great video btw. New subscriber here.
U took me back to my childhood I'm serious. My grandfather lived in Hamlin Texas. My parents and the kids would go and visit him. He had a teenage Cafe we used to go and dance. I met my first boyfriend in Hamlin Texas of course my mom did not approve. Lol Thank u so much for ur work. Im elated
I really enjoy your videos, my boyfriend and I are both blind and pretty much stuck here in Austin texas! I'd love to live in a country town but we'd have to have stores nearby enjoy your videos keep up the good work
I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! I’ve always had a love for some rural Texas towns and it took me forever to find a channel that would showcase this, this is perfect! Please don’t ever stop 😊
I’ve been to Anson. I was hoping you might catch some of the towns closer to me in the Slaton area - maybe in the future. Yes, house prices are lower in these small towns in long decline. The problem with buying there is that selling is difficult. You might go a long time before you get a buyer - or you move on without finding a buyer and let the property become one of those small town ruins. The reasons for living there left decades ago.
It was noted here that the average age of males in Anson is 30.5 years and the average of females is 41.3. I checked to see what the local school's mascot was. They are the Tigers. I thought they may have been the Cougars! 😉 Anyone here remember the song "Harper Valley PTA?" It went numero uno back in the day I believe on both country AND pop charts. The song isn't about going the ons in Anson, TX, but its singer Jeannie C Riley was born in Anson.
Thank you for showing Anson, my old home town. I haven't been back since 1984. I think you may have passed by my house. I think it was the carport that was falling down. I had heard that the house was in bad shape. We had a drive-in theater called the Twilight theater but you didn't drive by that way so I don't know if it is still standing. We are the Tigers in Anson, I was in the band as a freshman and I still have relatives who live in Anson. Jeannie was a baton twirler in the band during her high school years.
We lived close enough that we walked to school when we were in grade school and high school also. Our church was near the high school also. Both sets of grandparents were within walking distance. The drive-in theater was a favorite place to go. I saw all the Haley Mills' movies and of course the Elvis movies were shown there. There were often Country music shows with local talents at the high school auditorium.
You should try New Gulf Texas in Wharton County, the towns been dead since the 80s. It was a Sulfur mining town owned by the Texas Gulf company. The elementary school is still there and services the smaller towns nearby. Former residents of New Gulf preserve it's history through photos and stories on Facebook, they had a town reunion last year, and keep the cemeteries clean. They care deeply about the old town. My Great Grandparents were immigrants from Mexico that started their American Dream in that town, their descendants still live in neighboring counties.
I discovered your videos a week or so ago and have been binge watching since. A real education on the US from here in the UK. Great quality. When you’ve completed US you should go international.
Thanks for posting, I was born in Rotan currently reside in Anson, Roby was my home address for a period, and I do most of my shopping in Stamford. Point of interest the courthouse in Anson is the Jones County Courthouse and in front is a statue of Anson Jones the last President of the Republic Of Texas.
In a lot of those west Texas towns you can watch your dog run away for 20 miles. As a truck driver who has traveled all over the United States and stopped in some extremely remote areas, I always find it interesting when there isn’t a thing within 50 miles of a truckstop to ask the people that work at the truckstop where people that work at that truckstop live and what they do for fun lol. I’m assuming some of them probably think I’m a serial killer or something, but I always find it interesting in extremely economically depressed areas how far people are willing to drive for less than $10 an hour to work. It really puts things in perspective for me living not far outside of Dallas in a town that I wish the population would crash lol.
If you live anywhere near Dallas, half the population would have to die for it be reasonable. Was in Dallas for a conference and just getting to the Marriott on Olive Street was a job! At least the nice Dallas people let me in so I could get to where I needed to be.
They drive that distance because they need the money. Many do that today in East Texas were jobs in the economically depressed small towns are hard to find so drive 50 miles+ to Longview and Tyler to work. I first came thru DFW in 1977 when there were great empty spaces between the big cities and small towns. Went thru that area often during the 80's when the two lane state highways to those small towns were racetracks full of commuters cruising at 90 mph to and from their jobs. I was on a motorcycle so took the less traveled backroads. I couldn't believe how fast those empty areas filled up with apartment complexes, housing developments and strip malls.
If ever get to rural Oaklahoma , there is a town called , NOWHERE , OAKLAHOMA , Southwest part of the state , Caddo county. I visited there some 30 years ago !
I really enjoy these videos. I’m a native Texan that lived first half of my life in Texas and this coming October I will of been in Tennessee exactly the same amount of years I lived in Texas. I do have family and friends in Texas and old saying born a Texan always a Texan. I’ve never visited the area you videoed. Sad to see what was nice communities that are slowly dying. Keep up the good work.
I walked past a very old, abandoned brick building downtown in my Texas town one day. It had one of those old black and white mosaics, two names. I googled the names, see an obituary for an elderly woman whose last name was those names hyphenated. Apparently, the owner of the building was an older man, and his business partner, the other name, was younger. The younger business partner married the older business owner's daughter. The obituary was their grown daughter. The building owner ran a bus service out of it. This was before WW1, when the roads were first being paved for cars. Greyhound bus did not exist. There were only street cars and stage coaches for public transit. The business owner leased large transport cars from Studebaker. I found that out randomly when I came across an old ad archived, Studebaker mentions this business and others in their advertising. There is not much in the way of examples or photographs of this early type of bus. They kind of looked like a long Model T. I was so intrigued, this humble person who opened and operated this business here in this small area of Texas was such a genius. People lived all over in these far flung little communities and rural areas around here. Oil was discovered, so oil field workers were recruited out of these tiny places out in the sticks. The new bus service could get them to and from work faster than a stage coach. Sadly, the old brick building was purchased and refurbished. They removed the old mosaic out front. If I had not randomly found it and looked it up, I would have no idea. There is no plaque on the building, it was not deemed historical anything by the city. I wish Texas was better at recording and honoring some more of it's more mundane history.
Those were stretched touring cars. Back then a road atlas showed which towns had rail passenger service, their hotels and any motor coach services in the area that went where the trains didn't.
Beautiful, interesting video. I love Texas . I wonder, I see so many abandoned houses, what's the story behind it. Let the walls talk. It's sad to see how many people have left this beautiful place. Incredibly much. Nowhere Texas towns on life support.
A lot of Texas is 30 miles square counties. County seats in roughly the middle. That put county seats a day apart by horseback. Towns are 7 miles apart in every direction. That grew so everyone could get to a town and back in an hour on horseback. Kids could ride a horse no more than 30 minutes to school. Everyone could get to the county seat, take care of business, and back home in a day. Trains, cars, and planes now have an effect but the template was for transportation by horse. Guessing most states are that way.
One of the things about these small towns is when a kid goes to college there is NOTHING for him to make a living in town. So he goes to a big town to have a good life. Even high school grads have the same problem. Many of the stores when the owner retires no one will buy his business because the town is dwindling away so no one will buy it. The only thing left to do is sell what they can and in many cases just leave the rest there.
That's why Walmart stores are everywhere. When one comes in, then those college kids often return to remodel Mom and Pop's store to lease out to new business owners wanting to take advantage of the increased traffic count now passing by.
Interesting Lord Spoda I live in Texas I dont travel as much when I was younger I remember traveling the highways and byways on my way to the Texas hill country i used to get thrilled when I came upon a small town with history you could actually feel it surveying the architecture and some of the antique stores it made me feel just like an explorer if you ever get a chance make your way thru to Goldwathe and San Saba Tx it's been over 25 years since I've been in there communities I used to fish near the Colorado River exciting for a city guy God Bless you
Hate to see the loss of population Jobs and Industry. America really needs more industry. we've lost so many jobs to overseas. Looking forward to the Missouri videos.
I think the main reason for the condition of a lot of these small towns when it comes to their roads and the upkeep of the city is directly connected to the fact that they have lost 50% or more of their population. That means they’ve lost a huge amount of their Taxing bracket where the money would come from for the upkeep of these small towns. As I’m sure you’ve seen, this is not just a Texas issue but a nationwide issue when you’ve lost such a big portion of a towns population. But I love seeing the small towns with some of the beautiful architecture. As always, keep the videos coming love them it’s always you do a great job.
And the reason why people left, was the high fantasy of urban centralization due to interstate highways. The de-centralization technology offered by blockchains, threatens the neo-liberal centralization fantasy. They realize once this technology matures, urban favorability will fall out of fashion.
Roby may not look like much... But in 1996, 42 residents pooled their money and won $46,000,000.00 in the local lottery. That meant 7% of the populace become millionaires. of course... it's my guess that they left town.
We travel 180 from time to time, visiting relatives and going back home. Stopped in Anson and ate at Ocsar’s. We had a great meal, and enjoyed the visit with the waitress. So sweet! I love all those little towns through that area. Post is really cool.
Rotan breaks my heart-I bet those folks would give you the shirt off their backs. That Family Dollar looks like an old school grocery store from the 60's when I was a child-or at least part of it. America won't ever see days like that again.
I really do enjoy your channel..seeing all of the towns I have remembered from the past. I live in Arlington Tx now originally from Vernon, Tx. My wife is from a very small town in Oklahoma by the name of shattuck. In my younger days traveled for work throughout Texas and Oklahoma and these visits of yours really are fun to watch..keep up the great work
This channel is oddly great. I often visit some little towns to visit family and I really enjoy looking around and noticing what time has left behind. It's really nice to see as opposed corporate stores every 10 ft
Thank you for trolling around in Texas my birth state. Just FYI... don't let the non active grain places fool you. I am not sure if that one was in operation or not but they only use then during the season. There is one not too far from where I leave in Texas that I thought it was abandon too for 20+ years, and I was surprised that one day I saw it being used and operational. Even though some of the buildings had rust the storage bins looked okay. I am just saying you never know. It isn't something they use every day just during season.
thank you.... each of these towns had life at one time: the best diner, a local newspaper, a 5 and dime store, a shoe store, and now there is nothing. WOW.
LORD SPODA ...you got very close to my Home town. Was getting all excited to see it as I don't get to go back now. 🙃 Maybe one day you will film MUNDAY, TEXAS. Love your videos ♥️
Please don’t trash the little Big Bend towns (Alpine, Marfa, Ft. Davis) in your next video! They’re very small and very remote but they’re cool places to live and vacation (Big Bend National Park, the McDonald Observatory, some decent food, a couple of breweries, and lots of pretentious art curated by coastal trust-fund kids with graduate degrees, if you’re into that). And Alpine’s movie theater is still open, by the way! (It does good business on the weekend.) Not “dying,” like the towns you’ve been visiting in this entertaining series: just plugging happily along w/ a stable 2K or 6K in population.
im from midland, and when I was a kid and my grandfather was alive he had a ranch about 13 miles west of marfa if im remembering correctly, had to go thru the border checkpoint to go get something from the grocery store, you could barely make out the observatory on one of the edges of the ranch. miss going on those trips. it was strange tho, my grandfather was really old by the time i came around and had remarried to a golddigger, convinced that man to turn that ranch into a circus almost with how much African game we had on their. spur ranch. I miss it and i miss him alot but i understand fully why we sold it after he died.
I grew up in Roby! I lived right behind that gas station at the beginning of the video! My Dad owned the station and worked there around 40 years. He was an institution and true Roby legend! You went the opposite direction of most of the homes though!
Greetings from Anson. I wish I had known you were in town. So many cool tidbits. The Post Office which you were in front of @ 6:50 was built during the depression and houses an original Jenne Magafan mural. You were a block away from the Methodist Church which was built the same year as the courthouse (1910).
I've been to all of these towns. I had no clue about the dancing rule in Anson lol. Couldn't have been me cause I love to dance. But I was only a child in the 80s too. A famous football comes from Stamford, and is supposed to ay tomorrow for the Cowboys. His name is James Washington. Had a great high school career there in Stamford, then dominated at Oklahoma St, and did his thing with the Steelers, and should do well for the Cowboys. All those towns are pretty nice. They may look ugly to the ones who have lived in the city all their lives, but to us small town people, it is home
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip Thank you. I have cousins that grew up in Dallas and East Texas who come out here to West Texas and the South Plains, and they can't stand it lol. Want to know how I do it, and I'm just like this is home
My father was born in rotan, half that town is related to me in one way shape or form. When you drove by the thrift way and you made the turn the grey house with the satellite dish on the roof, my grandparents lived in. Also when you drove by the fancy house with the Christmas decorations when you turn the camera the house just in the corner on the right can't really see it you just see a little bit of it my cousins live there.
At about 21:52. To the right of Family Dollar is a Whites Hardware. I remember a store from my childhood named "Whites Home and Auto". It was an car parts store similar to AutoZone, Oreily's, Pep Boys, etc. But they also carried large home appliances, furniture (not the kind that come in a box!!!), TV's and other home electronics. The letter "font" looks like the White's here. Ive searched for years and havent been able to find anything on this old store chain. I believe it was mainly in Texas, Oklahoma, and maybe New Mexico. We bought our first console color TV at White's.
That part of the country really can't support small farms. That's west of the 100° meridian or nearly so. It was a climatological freak of several decades that lured too many farmers from farther east. By the time the county was fully populated the normal semi arid nature of the area returned. Just a case of bad timing. It's ranch land..... extensive ranch land. Never should've had a plow turn that ground.
@@willbass2869 I wasn't specifically speaking about this area of texas, but even so, even many small family owned cattle ranches have rapidly disappeared too.
Just a thought: You ought to seek out the cemeteries of these towns. Roby's cemetery is reached by dirt roads north of town. I was struck by its unexpected size and by its beauty. I am not certain what these past lives can say about the present, but surely there is a message waiting to be devined by the thoughtful person. My grandmother always said she was born in Roby, mostly because it took too long to explain what and where Swedonia was. Nothing left but a small cemetery, a stone monument to the first church there, and a pile of rubble in a corner of a cotton field. So many of the towns in this part of Texas are of about the same vintage -- late 1870s, early 1880s. That's when the land opened up for the first time and for one reason only: the defeat of the Comanche nation, which until November of 1874 had mostly swept this vast part of Texas clean of intruders.
You should visit Coleman, TX! Excellently preserved old downtown area with exquisite dining experiences such as Black Cur steakhouse and Rancho Pizzeria! Check it out now!
Lord Spoda, have you ever driven around downtown Crockett, Texas? The real old area? I'm sure you have, but I have not found your video about it. The few times I have been in that area, I have circled around and around it, taking it all in. It reminded me of an old western movie lot, and I thought it would be the perfect backdrop for a Civil War era movie. Downtown and old parts of Palestine, Texas are interesting too. There is a little town closer to where I live called Troop. Behind the old buildings are a bunch of loading docks. As recently as the 1930's, the place was a bustling little train stop. Produce, eggs and such were brought to downtown, processed, packed and put on trucks. Trucks took everything to the rail road cars to ship out. Palestine and Crockett look to be older than Troop. Palestine and Crockett were Pony Express route stops. Oh, and Jefferson! Have you seen Jefferson?? It is a drive away from everything, but fascinating to see. It exists because it was forgotten after the railroad was built. The place was not really built upon, so it is much like it was originally during the steamship era. Natchitoches, Louisiana is older, it's on my bucket list but I can't afford to road trip right now.
I love these videos the most...seeing these small tucked away little enclaves that nobody visits because their not on the major thoroughfares...but these towns offer so much character and charm as well as a fare amount of history and sights to make them a worthy look-see on a dime...that's the main thing I love about these towns,they're very budget friendly...
Greetings from Hamlin! It was cool seeing all our neighboring towns. I wish you a had a little more footage of Hamlin as the grain elevator is on the outside of town and there is really nothing on the way out there. Cool video though.
I’m a relatively new subscriber and love your videos. It very entertaining seeing these towns and your commentary on them. I appreciate the effort and details you provide. Keep up the good work and I look forward to more videos.
I really enjoy your videos and seeing the country from the comfort of my couch. How did you choose the name "Spoda?" Please tell Nicole that Jeanie in Fort Worth says "Hey" and y'all have a great weekend!
I have been to Anson and Stamford. Stamford has a Wal Mart, I believe. One thing I did notice in most of those little towns - they have a DQ, an Allsup's Convenience Store and a Dollar General.
Hi Lord Spoda Enjoyed those rural Texas towns. Not a single person was seen anywhere that's unique. Sprinkling of those new styled houses attract attention. Ending part of video is particularly interesting. The market place in downtown with evening lights on looks attractive. Slowly fading horizon as you left the last town is beautiful. Wishing you a Merry Christmas ahead and waiting for your next video.
I drive to Lubbock usually at least once a year for a Texas Tech football or basketball game and try to take different routes to vary up the long drive a bit. Last trip went pretty far out of the way to Vernon, TX and the Red River Valley Museum was very interesting there. Breckenridge and Graham to the east have a lot of history and I like that area with the hills and Possum Kingdom Lake.
I live in Bellcherville Tx.. There's nothing here now because in the 40s the town committed suicide over a 2 day span due to a dispute between the wealthy side of the tracks and the poor side of the tracks. One side set fire to the other side and the next night the survivors from the first fire set fire to the other side.. All that's left of the town is 2 houses and a post office and gas station. Abandoned. The town is all ranch land now. My mailing address is Bellcherville but the town closest to me is the one to deliver my mail. Most history and records of Bellcherville was lost to the fires, so what little is known was passed down from the few survivors of the 1940s fire.
Now that's true Redneck behavior!
What a story!
Looks like the prospects for gainful employment are slim at best. Guessing that would adversely affect home prices. Small towns were once the strength of this country. It's sad to see them deserted and dying. Very interesting videos.
Wow, I've never seen a Family Dollar sign looking that old. There's something about those wide open plains with pump-jacks in the Panhandle TX / Oklahoma. It really is beautiful. Thanks for the video, Lord Spoda.
Thank you for the kind words, Joon.
This channel is awesome, I'm born and raised in Texas and have never heard of most of these places. I find it super fascinating.
Thank you for that, Michael! :)
But, when you live there it sure isn't. Dreadfully boring and outright depressing. My buddy is from Rotan. It's just depressing; soul crushing. There is very littel to do. Very little in the ways of careers or money. People turn to drugs or liquor to get by.
I was in Anson in September for a signing of my book, Michael's Eyes, that is set in part in Anson.
Thanks for this! My Mom and Grandma were born in Anson. My Dad and Grandpa were born in Merkel, Texas. I was born and raised in Abilene, Texas. Safe travels and May God Bless You and Your Wife!!
What I appreciate about all your efforts is just how many heartfelt comments you receive from people who know the areas you visit. Thanks to you and all who watch and share experiences from then and now.
Btw, these west Texas videos always bring the film Hud to mind.
Well said! :)
"Last Picture Show"
Stamford looks very nice. I love the Texas squares. Appreciate the opportunity to see these towns. I find each has a hidden gem or two! Thank you!
Nautin näiden videoiden tarjoamasta mahdollisuudesta nähdä millaista on tavallinen amerikkalainen elämä kaiken sen tiedotusvälineiden antaman hyvin suppean kuvan vastapainoksi. Suomessa, jossa asun, on paljon pieniä kyliä ja kaupunkeja jotka ovat myös autioitumassa samoista asioista eli ihmiset lähtevät paremman elämän toivossa suurempiin kaupunkeihin. Kiitos näistä videoista 👍
Imagine you're watching this and he drives by your house - 'and this house is in rough shape'!
If you live in these small towns, you probably don't know any better. Don't know what a nice house is.
🤣
I memorized his car...we are ready
He passed my truck in this one!
(I think the algorithm recommended him due proximity) 🤣
@@DIVISIONINCISION That's just so much BS. I worked in these towns keeping the lights on and these are some of the finest folks in the nation. Just because their town is declining and they live in rural Texas doesn't mean they are ignorant, redneck hicks.
I enjoy seeing the small towns of Texas. My own small home town is experiencing the same decline. Back in the late '50's and '60's, the farms had to consolidate to remain profitable. That, of course, led to a decline in population. Then the schools became smaller with fewer offerings for study. Then the grocery stores slowly closed, also for lack of profitability. Once the grocery stores close, even the elderly are forced to move. Then naturally follows the fall of resale value of any house. A slow spiral down the drain. If there is some oil money, some remnants remain.
@zsleepwalker
The worst thing that has happened to America was the loss of large numbers of
small family farms!
As someone who spent a while living in Coleman, Texas, this series brings me a lot of nostalgia. Tiny sleepy towns spattered across the plains of west texas. Nothing to do but get into trouble and go roller skating!
My mother was a single mom worked her fingers to the bone to raise her three boys. She was injured in a fall that caused her to not be able to work for almost a year. I was sent to live with my aunt who was a teacher in a very rural part of Texas. I spent my freshman year in high school in Mozell 20 miles from Coleman. (1968) I believe the school is gone now. We had 11 people in our class with 90 in the entire school including K-1. The experience was wonderful. Coleman, Santa Anna, Bangs, Brownwood. San Angelo, Christoval, El Darado, Menard., Fisk, Voss, Gouldbusk and 6 man football. FFA. A very interesting part of Texas. The best of memories. I ended up in Llano. We had a wonderful river, rocks, mesquite trees, snakes, more deer than dears💔 ( sniff sniff) So I found my wife in Aggieland. And we live happily forever after. But my heart belongs in the Hill Country. Rural Texas in the 60's and 70's was a hoot. Fast cars , dirt roads, CB radios and room to spread your wings. It was a magical time, we just didn't know that it was.
I was born and raise in Hamlin tx.. now live in Dallas Tx.. Hamlin was a oil boom town.. Ty for showing my small town.. ❤..
I was born in Anson Tx. all my Family is from that area. You brought back some good memories. Great Video!!
Most folks there work in the oilfield and jobs in Abilene as they commute.
I live in a town called Earth Tx,
Like most of these small towns it is about to dry up and blow away.
Still has some very good people here
Wishing you a lovely, peaceful and warm holiday! 🎄🎇🎁
Thank you, Road Runner!!
Love the Texas videos! Neverending material. I could watch these forever.
I love your videos I'm from Texas came as a youngster to California always wanting to go back to Texas I really love eating your videos to get an idea how things look now in day thank you so much for ur videos
You have a new subscriber in me! I’m mostly disabled, but my spirit still loves to explore the open roads!
Awesome! I'm glad you're along for the ride, Ann!
My dad is from Hamlin and my mom is from Aspermont. It’s cool to see you doing what you do. Brings back a lot of memories from my childhood. I have lived in Houston my entire life but it’s always good to go visit relatives in these small towns. I’m always thankful that my parents decided to make a new start in a larger city
My grandfather was from Hamlin Texas. Im from Paducah Texas
Thanks for visiting these towns. One of them is my birthplace
Cool!
Appreciate the extra effort taken to show us five rural Texas towns that would otherwise be unknown and ignored except for the locals. Four of the five show inexpicably low poverty rates given their gravely high levels of depopulation and loss of local commerce. That's a developing pattern emerging from your videos. Rural Americans in many parts of the country have a reputation for being defiantly private and independent (said with the utmost respect). Makes one wonder whether there aren't ways to statistically conceal one's poverty, both at the individual and municipal levels, even though that might mean loss of public benefits, one's privacy having a greater value than government "handouts." It might be a lot easier than I imagine. See you both in Missouri.
Interesting analysis, David.
Those living at and below poverty level probably are collecting social security retirement or have a bunch of kids.
Bruh most of these people in these rural towns are on food stamps and all sorts of handouts. Nothing wrong with that but don’t act like rural towns are actual independent they also suck tax dollars in state funds.
Except that, in the towns shown, the poverty levels were very low. Got to be poor to get the handouts.@@zg3342
@@daviddecelles8714 You are just proving the OP's point. Are you really sure these towns aren't fudging the numbers to make it appear that poverty level isn't as lowcas they appear?
I was happy that you drove thru Stamford. My mother's father came from there. And when I was a kid we went to visit relatives in Stamford. The family was very large and there were multiple generations. Some of the very old houses you drove by were similar to the ones my great aunts and cousins lived in. I do remember being about 8 and going to that movie theater ... cost a dime to get in for a child. Popcorn about the same price. Sad to see what it has become.
I enjoyed the ride today. Thank you for sharing.
Watching this from the perspective of being a big city boy my whole life it has always amazed me how people find ways to live or get by in these little towns with low populations
a lot of people enjoy the quiet with less bs in it, they most likely farm or work out of town and look forward to being home where the quiet is
Thank you for your work. We learn a lot and you take us places we know a little or nothing of. Thank you and good work again.
There is an eerie comparison between these towns and where I live. The homes that are slowly falling apart as there is no one in them, apart from the New Year when people travel back to honour the spirts of past relatives. Even the railway has gone between Stamford and Hamlin and it looks like the health centre in Hamlin has finished. The large grain elevators still stand as testament to more affluent times as do the city halls. It's lucky you have visited as I suspect in a few years even less will be standing. I do like the architecture and those old cinemas are frozen in the past. All very interesting to see and the data on the population too. Thank you for the trip to a part of the world I never knew existed but is fascinating. Take great care!
Interesting, SF. Great analysis.
Roby was briefly famous in 1996 when 42 locals won a Texas lottery pool totaling $46m. Unfortunately life did not turn out well for most of them.
Oh hell I had forgotten about that.
Guess they blew the money?
What happened? How did it not turn out well? It sounds like there is a story here.
I remember that
Wow !
My aunt Debby was one of them but they turned out just fine
My dad was born in Skellytown, Texas. A few years ago, before he passed away, I took him there on our way back to California from Oklahoma. There is nothing left of the town except for some abandoned buildings. It's worse than any town you've ever presented on your videos
I'm from Fritch and I know what you mean seeing towns fade away to nothing especially when the older generation has passed . I enjoy hearing stories from the old timers about how it used be in the area when it was booming. I came along in the 80's so I never really got to see any of it I remember in school when I started we had 170 kids in my class and by the time I graduated we had 50 kids left . The sad thing is it will continue to die because most people leaves for better opportunities in bigger places the only thing that helped Fritch is the lake during the summer
Give it time, the area I am in from Comanche Texas to Burkett Texas, the hwy 36 corridor is filling up with people who are escaping the Californians hitting the big eastern Texas cities. we have a near 27% growth and over 55% housing price increase and none moving here have 5 genders, purple hair and antifa mask. LOL! 90% have more trucks and guns than the Afghan army and more American flags than Arlington veterans cemetery on July 4th. Population is 89% white in the area and increasing fast in both black and hispanic families with the same attitude and think as the locals.
So Skellytown and places like Turkey, Shamrock Guthrie are seeing similar interest for same reasons. People are willing to earn 20k a year and not live in Wokanazi lefty land anymore. It's just reality.
Lol the irony in the name of the town proved so true at that point in time at-least.
I met my wife online. She lived in Washington State and i lived in Virginia. The distance saw us drift apart, but then she moved to a little Texas town close to where you are now in the video. I figured if she could come that far, i surely could come to meet her and i did. We lived there in Strawn Texas for a year and then we came to visit my folks in Virginia. When we got back to Texas she surprised me by saying 'let's move to Virginia. We did. The people there in Strawn were very nice and i liked it there, but now we are happy here in Virginia and we have a big family here too who loves her.. Great video btw. New subscriber here.
Wow, great story. Thanks for sharing it!
U took me back to my childhood I'm serious. My grandfather lived in Hamlin Texas. My parents and the kids would go and visit him. He had a teenage Cafe we used to go and dance. I met my first boyfriend in Hamlin Texas of course my mom did not approve. Lol Thank u so much for ur work. Im elated
That is awesome!
Best voice to fall asleep to hands down. Pure ASMR. THANK YOU 😁 😊 🙏 explore more off the grid regions in this great country.
I enjoy your travels, and your play-by-play commentary is excellent!
Thank you, Jimmy.
I really enjoy your videos, my boyfriend and I are both blind and pretty much stuck here in Austin texas! I'd love to live in a country town but we'd have to have stores nearby enjoy your videos keep up the good work
Wow, thank you, Betty. :)
I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! I’ve always had a love for some rural Texas towns and it took me forever to find a channel that would showcase this, this is perfect! Please don’t ever stop 😊
Awesome! I will be doing this for a long time. :)
There’s another guy I watch that does this. He has about 500k subscribers. The Daily Woo. And I think he has two channels.
I’ve been to Anson. I was hoping you might catch some of the towns closer to me in the Slaton area - maybe in the future. Yes, house prices are lower in these small towns in long decline. The problem with buying there is that selling is difficult. You might go a long time before you get a buyer - or you move on without finding a buyer and let the property become one of those small town ruins. The reasons for living there left decades ago.
From Lubbock! ❤
Isn't Hamlin Texas near Anson?
I went through Slaton in 78 . They had an earthquake the next day
@@msdecemberloveangel8236 Yes it is, northwest of Anson on Hwy 83.
Cool deal. Been wanting to do something like this in my van. So many small towns in Tx its crazy.
It was noted here that the average age of males in Anson is 30.5 years and the average of females is 41.3. I checked to see what the local school's mascot was. They are the Tigers. I thought they may have been the Cougars! 😉
Anyone here remember the song "Harper Valley PTA?" It went numero uno back in the day I believe on both country AND pop charts. The song isn't about going the ons in Anson, TX, but its singer Jeannie C Riley was born in Anson.
LOL!
Thank you for showing Anson, my old home town. I haven't been back since 1984. I think you may have passed by my house. I think it was the carport that was falling down. I had heard that the house was in bad shape. We had a drive-in theater called the Twilight theater but you didn't drive by that way so I don't know if it is still standing. We are the Tigers in Anson, I was in the band as a freshman and I still have relatives who live in Anson. Jeannie was a baton twirler in the band during her high school years.
@@diannemalone6709 It looks like a nice place to have grown up in, you must have some great memories?
We lived close enough that we walked to school when we were in grade school and high school also. Our church was near the high school also. Both sets of grandparents were within walking distance. The drive-in theater was a favorite place to go. I saw all the Haley Mills' movies and of course the Elvis movies were shown there. There were often Country music shows with local talents at the high school auditorium.
@@HannadayFLO
Yeah, me too.
Thanks for showing my town! I work for the City of Anson! It's a wonderful place to live
Your narration is superb!
Wow, thank you, BW!
You should try New Gulf Texas in Wharton County, the towns been dead since the 80s. It was a Sulfur mining town owned by the Texas Gulf company. The elementary school is still there and services the smaller towns nearby. Former residents of New Gulf preserve it's history through photos and stories on Facebook, they had a town reunion last year, and keep the cemeteries clean. They care deeply about the old town. My Great Grandparents were immigrants from Mexico that started their American Dream in that town, their descendants still live in neighboring counties.
I discovered your videos a week or so ago and have been binge watching since. A real education on the US from here in the UK. Great quality. When you’ve completed US you should go international.
Thank you, Isaac, and yes, that is the plan. UK will be first! :)
Thanks for posting, I was born in Rotan currently reside in Anson, Roby was my home address for a period, and I do most of my shopping in Stamford. Point of interest the courthouse in Anson is the Jones County Courthouse and in front is a statue of Anson Jones the last President of the Republic Of Texas.
In a lot of those west Texas towns you can watch your dog run away for 20 miles. As a truck driver who has traveled all over the United States and stopped in some extremely remote areas, I always find it interesting when there isn’t a thing within 50 miles of a truckstop to ask the people that work at the truckstop where people that work at that truckstop live and what they do for fun lol. I’m assuming some of them probably think I’m a serial killer or something, but I always find it interesting in extremely economically depressed areas how far people are willing to drive for less than $10 an hour to work. It really puts things in perspective for me living not far outside of Dallas in a town that I wish the population would crash lol.
I occasionally drive through many of these and other small towns when Im headed elsewhere. I to have wondered the same things!
If you live anywhere near Dallas, half the population would have to die for it be reasonable. Was in Dallas for a conference and just getting to the Marriott on Olive Street was a job! At least the nice Dallas people let me in so I could get to where I needed to be.
I live just outside 2 of these old Texas towns, and I wouldn't give you 2 cents for Dallas!
They drive that distance because they need the money. Many do that today in East Texas were jobs in the economically depressed small towns are hard to find so drive 50 miles+ to Longview and Tyler to work.
I first came thru DFW in 1977 when there were great empty spaces between the big cities and small towns. Went thru that area often during the 80's when the two lane state highways to those small towns were racetracks full of commuters cruising at 90 mph to and from their jobs. I was on a motorcycle so took the less traveled backroads. I couldn't believe how fast those empty areas filled up with apartment complexes, housing developments and strip malls.
@@billwilson3609 Absolutely. Cross a street and you in a different town!
If ever get to rural Oaklahoma , there is a town called , NOWHERE , OAKLAHOMA , Southwest part of the state , Caddo county. I visited there some 30 years ago !
I will, just for the name!
I really enjoy these videos. I’m a native Texan that lived first half of my life in Texas and this coming October I will of been in Tennessee exactly the same amount of years I lived in Texas. I do have family and friends in Texas and old saying born a Texan always a Texan. I’ve never visited the area you videoed. Sad to see what was nice communities that are slowly dying. Keep up the good work.
I walked past a very old, abandoned brick building downtown in my Texas town one day. It had one of those old black and white mosaics, two names. I googled the names, see an obituary for an elderly woman whose last name was those names hyphenated. Apparently, the owner of the building was an older man, and his business partner, the other name, was younger. The younger business partner married the older business owner's daughter. The obituary was their grown daughter.
The building owner ran a bus service out of it. This was before WW1, when the roads were first being paved for cars. Greyhound bus did not exist. There were only street cars and stage coaches for public transit. The business owner leased large transport cars from Studebaker. I found that out randomly when I came across an old ad archived, Studebaker mentions this business and others in their advertising. There is not much in the way of examples or photographs of this early type of bus. They kind of looked like a long Model T. I was so intrigued, this humble person who opened and operated this business here in this small area of Texas was such a genius. People lived all over in these far flung little communities and rural areas around here. Oil was discovered, so oil field workers were recruited out of these tiny places out in the sticks. The new bus service could get them to and from work faster than a stage coach.
Sadly, the old brick building was purchased and refurbished. They removed the old mosaic out front. If I had not randomly found it and looked it up, I would have no idea. There is no plaque on the building, it was not deemed historical anything by the city. I wish Texas was better at recording and honoring some more of it's more mundane history.
Thanks for the story!
Great comment.
that is on the city, my town does that. sucks to read what you just said about how they house turned out
Those were stretched touring cars. Back then a road atlas showed which towns had rail passenger service, their hotels and any motor coach services in the area that went where the trains didn't.
Beautiful, interesting video. I love Texas . I wonder, I see so many abandoned houses, what's the story behind it. Let the walls talk. It's sad to see how many people have left this beautiful place. Incredibly much. Nowhere Texas towns on life support.
Small East Texas towns...I have lived in Van, Grand Saline and Ben Wheeler before, but I am out by Dallas now and been the thete for a while.
A lot of Texas is 30 miles square counties. County seats in roughly the middle. That put county seats a day apart by horseback. Towns are 7 miles apart in every direction. That grew so everyone could get to a town and back in an hour on horseback. Kids could ride a horse no more than 30 minutes to school. Everyone could get to the county seat, take care of business, and back home in a day.
Trains, cars, and planes now have an effect but the template was for transportation by horse.
Guessing most states are that way.
I didn't know this and thanks for sharing.
@@Michael-r9x7h And then there's west Texas. We have a place in Brewster county. That county could hold about four Rhode Islands.
Love those Peaceful rural areas down south.
One of the things about these small towns is when a kid goes to college there is NOTHING for him to make a living in town. So he goes to a big town to have a good life. Even high school grads have the same problem. Many of the stores when the owner retires no one will buy his business because the town is dwindling away so no one will buy it. The only thing left to do is sell what they can and in many cases just leave the rest there.
That's why Walmart stores are everywhere. When one comes in, then those college kids often return to remodel Mom and Pop's store to lease out to new business owners wanting to take advantage of the increased traffic count now passing by.
Interesting Lord Spoda I live in Texas I dont travel as much when I was younger I remember traveling the highways and byways on my way to the Texas hill country i used to get thrilled when I came upon a small town with history you could actually feel it surveying the architecture and some of the antique stores it made me feel just like an explorer if you ever get a chance make your way thru to Goldwathe and San Saba Tx it's been over 25 years since I've been in there communities I used to fish near the Colorado River exciting for a city guy God Bless you
Thanks, Rudy, and I'm the exact same way when I drive into a small town for the first time.
Do a video about Friona, Bovina, Farwell, Muleshoe. These towns are in the southwest Texas panhandle.
I will be.
Hate to see the loss of population Jobs and Industry. America really needs more industry. we've lost so many jobs to overseas. Looking forward to the Missouri videos.
I think the main reason for the condition of a lot of these small towns when it comes to their roads and the upkeep of the city is directly connected to the fact that they have lost 50% or more of their population. That means they’ve lost a huge amount of their Taxing bracket where the money would come from for the upkeep of these small towns. As I’m sure you’ve seen, this is not just a Texas issue but a nationwide issue when you’ve lost such a big portion of a towns population. But I love seeing the small towns with some of the beautiful architecture. As always, keep the videos coming love them it’s always you do a great job.
And the reason why people left, was the high fantasy of urban centralization due to interstate highways.
The de-centralization technology offered by blockchains, threatens the neo-liberal centralization fantasy. They realize once this technology matures, urban favorability will fall out of fashion.
You're right.
@@BigGator5 "...urban favor ability will fall out of fashion".
Uh, I don't think so.....
6,000 years of human history put your theory in the trash.
Roby may not look like much... But in 1996, 42 residents pooled their money and won $46,000,000.00 in the local lottery. That meant 7% of the populace become millionaires. of course... it's my guess that they left town.
We travel 180 from time to time, visiting relatives and going back home. Stopped in Anson and ate at Ocsar’s. We had a great meal, and enjoyed the visit with the waitress. So sweet! I love all those little towns through that area. Post is really cool.
Rotan breaks my heart-I bet those folks would give you the shirt off their backs. That Family Dollar looks like an old school grocery store from the 60's when I was a child-or at least part of it. America won't ever see days like that again.
❤🙏
I really do enjoy your channel..seeing all of the towns I have remembered from the past. I live in Arlington Tx now originally from Vernon, Tx. My wife is from a very small town in Oklahoma by the name of shattuck. In my younger days traveled for work throughout Texas and Oklahoma and these visits of yours really are fun to watch..keep up the great work
Thanks for watching!
This channel is oddly great. I often visit some little towns to visit family and I really enjoy looking around and noticing what time has left behind. It's really nice to see as opposed corporate stores every 10 ft
I agree. These are the most interesting areas in the country, I think. :)
Thank you for this video. I grew up in neighboring Kent County. This was like a walk down memory lane.
I'm from Jayton too
Hi, Rodney! I am so happy to connect with another Jaybird! Do you live in Jayton now?
@@sherylfriedrichs9536 No way. I live in Austin. I graduated in 89 and never went back
Thank you for trolling around in Texas my birth state. Just FYI... don't let the non active grain places fool you. I am not sure if that one was in operation or not but they only use then during the season. There is one not too far from where I leave in Texas that I thought it was abandon too for 20+ years, and I was surprised that one day I saw it being used and operational. Even though some of the buildings had rust the storage bins looked okay. I am just saying you never know. It isn't something they use every day just during season.
Texas has some of the most magnificent courthouses
I agree.
thank you.... each of these towns had life at one time: the best diner, a local newspaper, a 5 and dime store, a shoe store, and now there is nothing. WOW.
LORD SPODA ...you got very close to my Home town. Was getting all excited to see it as I don't get to go back now. 🙃 Maybe one day you will film MUNDAY, TEXAS. Love your videos ♥️
I will. :)
Much oblige. I use to live between Roby & Rotan & on a ranch southeast of Sweetwater. Be safe
Please don’t trash the little Big Bend towns (Alpine, Marfa, Ft. Davis) in your next video! They’re very small and very remote but they’re cool places to live and vacation (Big Bend National Park, the McDonald Observatory, some decent food, a couple of breweries, and lots of pretentious art curated by coastal trust-fund kids with graduate degrees, if you’re into that). And Alpine’s movie theater is still open, by the way! (It does good business on the weekend.) Not “dying,” like the towns you’ve been visiting in this entertaining series: just plugging happily along w/ a stable 2K or 6K in population.
im from midland, and when I was a kid and my grandfather was alive he had a ranch about 13 miles west of marfa if im remembering correctly, had to go thru the border checkpoint to go get something from the grocery store, you could barely make out the observatory on one of the edges of the ranch. miss going on those trips. it was strange tho, my grandfather was really old by the time i came around and had remarried to a golddigger, convinced that man to turn that ranch into a circus almost with how much African game we had on their. spur ranch. I miss it and i miss him alot but i understand fully why we sold it after he died.
Terlingua is a place of its own 😎
Don't miss the murals in Neosho Missouri...since your going to Joplin.
I grew up in Roby! I lived right behind that gas station at the beginning of the video! My Dad owned the station and worked there around 40 years. He was an institution and true Roby legend!
You went the opposite direction of most of the homes though!
Thanks for taking the time to take me on a tour of tx. Some of the towns I been to but others I am glad i saw with you
Greetings from Anson. I wish I had known you were in town. So many cool tidbits. The Post Office which you were in front of @ 6:50 was built during the depression and houses an original Jenne Magafan mural. You were a block away from the Methodist Church which was built the same year as the courthouse (1910).
Thank you for driving these small towns. I'm currently looking to relocate from Ft. Worth area. It's just too crowded for me.
I've been to all of these towns. I had no clue about the dancing rule in Anson lol. Couldn't have been me cause I love to dance. But I was only a child in the 80s too. A famous football comes from Stamford, and is supposed to ay tomorrow for the Cowboys. His name is James Washington. Had a great high school career there in Stamford, then dominated at Oklahoma St, and did his thing with the Steelers, and should do well for the Cowboys. All those towns are pretty nice. They may look ugly to the ones who have lived in the city all their lives, but to us small town people, it is home
I don't think they're ugly at all.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip Thank you. I have cousins that grew up in Dallas and East Texas who come out here to West Texas and the South Plains, and they can't stand it lol. Want to know how I do it, and I'm just like this is home
Joplin has Galena to the west, check it out.. not sure how far Iola is but we passed through it heading in from Wichita
I've done a video of Galena. It's in one of my Kansas small town tour videos. Baxter Springs is in there as well.
My father was born in rotan, half that town is related to me in one way shape or form. When you drove by the thrift way and you made the turn the grey house with the satellite dish on the roof, my grandparents lived in. Also when you drove by the fancy house with the Christmas decorations when you turn the camera the house just in the corner on the right can't really see it you just see a little bit of it my cousins live there.
You need to go back during cotton and wheat harvest and you'll see those elevators are a beehive of activity.
At about 21:52. To the right of Family Dollar is a Whites Hardware. I remember a store from my childhood named "Whites Home and Auto". It was an car parts store similar to AutoZone, Oreily's, Pep Boys, etc. But they also carried large home appliances, furniture (not the kind that come in a box!!!), TV's and other home electronics. The letter "font" looks like the White's here. Ive searched for years and havent been able to find anything on this old store chain. I believe it was mainly in Texas, Oklahoma, and maybe New Mexico. We bought our first console color TV at White's.
I found your channel. I w was born there in Anson. My grand parents and my mom are buried in Anson
*One of the worst things that has happened to the USA is the huge loss of small family farms*
That seems to be what hurts these small towns the most.
That part of the country really can't support small farms.
That's west of the 100° meridian or nearly so. It was a climatological freak of several decades that lured too many farmers from farther east. By the time the county was fully populated the normal semi arid nature of the area returned.
Just a case of bad timing.
It's ranch land..... extensive ranch land. Never should've had a plow turn that ground.
@@willbass2869 I wasn't specifically speaking about this area of texas, but even so, even many small family owned cattle ranches have rapidly disappeared too.
Amen 💯
Yes, but homesteading is having a comeback 👍🏻
@@watershed44 That was due raising cattle being unprofitable too often.
Just a thought: You ought to seek out the cemeteries of these towns. Roby's cemetery is reached by dirt roads north of town. I was struck by its unexpected size and by its beauty. I am not certain what these past lives can say about the present, but surely there is a message waiting to be devined by the thoughtful person. My grandmother always said she was born in Roby, mostly because it took too long to explain what and where Swedonia was. Nothing left but a small cemetery, a stone monument to the first church there, and a pile of rubble in a corner of a cotton field. So many of the towns in this part of Texas are of about the same vintage -- late 1870s, early 1880s. That's when the land opened up for the first time and for one reason only: the defeat of the Comanche nation, which until November of 1874 had mostly swept this vast part of Texas clean of intruders.
I see you did include Rotan! I grew up there and left in '78! I thought it was dead back in '78, now it looks like a zombie! Brings back memories!
You should visit Coleman, TX! Excellently preserved old downtown area with exquisite dining experiences such as Black Cur steakhouse and Rancho Pizzeria! Check it out now!
I've had several people comment that I should visit Coleman, so I will be for sure. :)
Lord Spoda, have you ever driven around downtown Crockett, Texas? The real old area? I'm sure you have, but I have not found your video about it. The few times I have been in that area, I have circled around and around it, taking it all in. It reminded me of an old western movie lot, and I thought it would be the perfect backdrop for a Civil War era movie. Downtown and old parts of Palestine, Texas are interesting too. There is a little town closer to where I live called Troop. Behind the old buildings are a bunch of loading docks. As recently as the 1930's, the place was a bustling little train stop. Produce, eggs and such were brought to downtown, processed, packed and put on trucks. Trucks took everything to the rail road cars to ship out. Palestine and Crockett look to be older than Troop. Palestine and Crockett were Pony Express route stops. Oh, and Jefferson! Have you seen Jefferson?? It is a drive away from everything, but fascinating to see. It exists because it was forgotten after the railroad was built. The place was not really built upon, so it is much like it was originally during the steamship era. Natchitoches, Louisiana is older, it's on my bucket list but I can't afford to road trip right now.
I haven't visited there yet, but I will be.
I love these videos the most...seeing these small tucked away little enclaves that nobody visits because their not on the major thoroughfares...but these towns offer so much character and charm as well as a fare amount of history and sights to make them a worthy look-see on a dime...that's the main thing I love about these towns,they're very budget friendly...
Greetings from Hamlin! It was cool seeing all our neighboring towns. I wish you a had a little more footage of Hamlin as the grain elevator is on the outside of town and there is really nothing on the way out there. Cool video though.
I’m a relatively new subscriber and love your videos. It very entertaining seeing these towns and your commentary on them. I appreciate the effort and details you provide. Keep up the good work and I look forward to more videos.
I really enjoy your videos and seeing the country from the comfort of my couch. How did you choose the name "Spoda?" Please tell Nicole that Jeanie in Fort Worth says "Hey" and y'all have a great weekend!
I will tell her, absolutely. The name is a bartender term, kind of an insult.
I'm loving all of these videos!!! I have been to all of these towns as well! I was in Roby for my last job. Absolutely nothing there and I loved it.
Cool! :)
Another great tour Joey , .. thanks .
Thank you for watching, Chris!
I have been to Anson and Stamford. Stamford has a Wal Mart, I believe. One thing I did notice in most of those little towns - they have a DQ, an Allsup's Convenience Store and a Dollar General.
Hi Lord Spoda
Enjoyed those rural Texas towns.
Not a single person was seen anywhere that's unique. Sprinkling of those new styled houses attract attention.
Ending part of video is particularly interesting. The market place in downtown with evening lights on looks attractive. Slowly fading horizon as you left the last town is beautiful.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas ahead and waiting for your next video.
Thank you, Rajeev. :)
I used to tell my boys (now 42&43), there was more Dairy Queens in Texas than McDonald's. Not everything has changed.
I've spent a lot of time in Stamford my grandfather grew up there
I drive to Lubbock usually at least once a year for a Texas Tech football or basketball game and try to take different routes to vary up the long drive a bit. Last trip went pretty far out of the way to Vernon, TX and the Red River Valley Museum was very interesting there. Breckenridge and Graham to the east have a lot of history and I like that area with the hills and Possum Kingdom Lake.
I totally enjoy traveling with you!!! This is Fun!!!!
I'm glad you're along for the ride, Judy!
Great job, it’s always so curious in your interesting videos never a pedestrian to be seen.
Saya belum pernah melihat Texas disini saya bisa melihat sepenuhnya , Texas jarang sekali tanaman hampir seperti gersang dan tandus tanahnya
Anyone who knows that part of Texas and New Mexico knows Allsup's and what they are famous for. Good stuff.