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La Plata, Texas
La Plata is a ghost town in Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It was originally named Grenada and was established in 1890 by the XIT Ranch as a means of consolidating political power after Deaf Smith County was established. The town engaged in a controversial battle with neighboring Ayr, Texas, Ayr over the county seat election, which was mired in corruption. After Grenada won the election, county judge J. R. Dean changed the town's name to La Plata due to a request from postal officials. A courthouse was built and the town soon added a post office, a school, a county jail, and a Presbyterian church. Businesses included a general store, a pharmacy, a saloon, a hotel, an implement house, a blacksmith shop, a livery stable, and the offices which housed the county's first newspaper, ''La Plata Star''. Poor weather played a role in the town's slow population growth; from 1891 to 1894, the area suffered a drought, which caused considerable problems for farmers and ranchers. A ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost Town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it (usually industrial or agricultural) has failed or ended for any reason (e.g. a host ore deposit exhausted by mining). The town may have also declined because of natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, prolonged Drought, droughts, extreme heat or extreme cold, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, pollution, or nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents, nuclear and radiation-related accidents and incidents. The term can sometimes refer to cities, towns, and neighborhoods that, though still populated, are significantly less so than in past years; for example, those affected by high levels of unemployment and dereliction. Some ghost towns, especially those that preserve period-specific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deaf Smith County, Texas
Deaf Smith County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,583. The county seat is Hereford, which is known as the "Beef Capital of the World". The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1890. The Hereford, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Deaf Smith County. History In 1876, the state legislature defined and named the county, but it was not organized until 1890, with the town of La Plata as the original county seat. The county was named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith (1787–1837), a partially deaf scout and soldier who served in the Texas Revolution, and was the first to reach the Alamo after its fall in 1836. The pronunciation of "Deaf", as used by Smith himself, is ; however, most residents pronounce it . Image:Deaf Smith in museum in Hereford IMG 4856.JPG, Deaf Smith as he appears at the Deaf Smith County Museum Image:Deaf Smith County Museum IMG 4854.JPG, The Deaf Smith County Historical M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XIT Ranch
The XIT Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle which operated from 1885 to 1912. Comprising over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of land, it ran for 200 miles (300 km) along the border with New Mexico, varying in width from 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km). The massive ranch stretched through ten counties in Texas and at its peak regularly handled 150,000 head of cattle. The Livestock branding, brand "XIT" was chosen for its difficulty to alter thus thwarting rustlers. History The XIT ranch was located in the western edge of the Texas Panhandle. This was anciently the territory of the Querecho Indians and Teyas Indians, Teyas. In 1879, the 16th Texas Legislature appropriated 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of land to finance a new state capitol. In 1882, in a special legislative session, the 17th Texas Legislature struck a bargain with Charles B. Farwell, Charles B. and John V. Farwell of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, under which a syndicate led by the Farwells, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayr, Texas
Ayr is a ghost town in Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It was established in the spring of 1890 as an intended spur of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway to create a shipping point for Roswell, New Mexico, ranches. It was named for the Scottish town of Ayr. Settlers began arriving quickly that spring, and a store and post office were established. As was common at the time, a battle to obtain county seat status ensued between Ayr and another town named Grenada (later renamed La Plata), which had been established by the XIT Ranch The XIT Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle which operated from 1885 to 1912. Comprising over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of land, it ran for 200 miles (300 km) along the border with New Mexico, varying in width from 20 to .... In a contested election, La Plata won the election by a wide margin, and as a result, the rail spur was never built. The town site was abandoned by 1895. References Deaf Smith County, Tex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Store
A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general goods. The store carries routine stock and obtains special orders from warehouses. It differs from a convenience store or corner shop in that it will be the main shop for the community rather than a convenient supplement. General stores often sell staple food items such as milk and bread, and various household goods such as hardware and electrical supplies. The concept of the general store is very old, and although some still exist, there are far fewer than there once were, due to urbanization, urban sprawl, and the relatively recent phenomenon of big-box stores. The term "general merchandise store" is also used to describe a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, grilles, railings, light fixtures, furniture, sculpture, tools, agricultural implements, decorative and religious items, cooking utensils, and weapons. There was a historical distinction between the heavy work of the blacksmith and the more delicate operations of a whitesmith, who usually worked in Goldsmith, gold, Silversmith, silver, pewter, or the finishing steps of fine steel. The place where a blacksmith works is variously called a smithy, a forge, or a blacksmith's shop. While there are many professions who work with metal, such as farriers, wheelwrights, and Armourer, armorers, in former times the blacksmith had a general knowledge of how to make and repair many things, from the most complex of weapons and armor to simple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Livery Stable
A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on working livery - see below). Facilities at a livery yard normally include a loose box or stable and access for the horse to graze on grass. History of livery stables in North America Historically in North America, "livery stable" had a somewhat different meaning: a stable where horses, teams and wagons were for hire, but also where privately owned horses could be boarded for a short time. Because of the temporary boarding aspect, livery stables were often attached to a hotel or boarding house. Located at Buffalo, New York, the C. W. Miller Livery Stable is an example of a multi-story livery stable. The livery stable was a necessary institution of every American town, but its role has been generally overlooked by historians. In addition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also borders the state of Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and shares Mexico-United States border, an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua and Sonora to the south. New Mexico's largest city is Albuquerque, and its List of capitals in the United States, state capital is Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe, the oldest state capital in the U.S., founded in 1610 as the government seat of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, Nuevo México in New Spain. It also has the highest elevation of any state capital, at . New Mexico is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, fifth-largest of the fifty states by area, but with just over 2.1 million residents, ranks List of U.S. states and terri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hereford, Texas
Hereford ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It is 48 miles southwest of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo. Its population was 14,972 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the only incorporated locality named "Hereford (other), Hereford" in the United States. The area is known for its semiarid climate, with heavy farming and ranching throughout the area sustained by irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer and the saltier Santa Rosa Aquifer beneath it. Hereford's local water supply contains an unusually high level of naturally occurring fluoride. Because fluoride is used to protect against tooth decay, Hereford earned the title "The Town Without a Toothache". It is also known as the "Beef Capital of the World" because of the large number of cattle feedlots in the area. The city is named for the Hereford (cattle), Hereford breed. The local economy is affected significantly by growth in the dairy and ethanol industries. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, science-fiction, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery. Though known primarily for his novels, he has written approximately Stephen King short fiction bibliography, 200 short stories, most of which have been published in collections.Jackson, Dan (February 18, 2016)"A Beginner's Guide to Stephen King Books". Thrillist. Retrieved February 5, 2019. His debut novel, debut, ''Carrie (novel), Carrie'' (1974), established him in horror. ''Different Seasons'' (1982), a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the genre. Among the films adapted from King's fiction are Carrie (1976 film), ''Carrie'' (1976), The Shining (film), ''The Shining'' (1980), The Dead Zone (film), ''The Dead Zone'' and Christine (1983 film), ''Christine'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
