Anarene is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

Archer County Archer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,560. Its county seat is Archer City. It is part of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area. History In 1858, the Texas Legislat ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its name was used for the town portrayed in the film adaptation of

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

's novel, ''

The Last Picture Show ''The Last Picture Show'' is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel ''The Last Picture Show'' by Larry McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast includes T ...

''.

Geography

Anarene is located at .

History

Anarene was founded on the

Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad Wichita ( ) may refer to: People *Wichita people, a Native American tribe *Wichita language, the language of the tribe Places in the United States * Wichita, Kansas, a city * Wichita County, Kansas, a county in western Kansas (city of Wichita i ...

in 1908, the same year the Belknap Coal Company opened a coal mine in nearby

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. It was named for Anna Laurene Graham, the daughter of pioneer settler J. M. Keen. Keen began ranching in the area after serving in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Anarene's primary industry was the transportation of coal from the Newcastle mine. An

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

was discovered nearby in 1921. In 1929, Anarene had a population of 100, a store, a schoolhouse, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoli ...

, and a two-story hotel. By 1933 the population had declined to 20. In 1942, coal production ended at the Newcastle mine. The Anarene railroad station closed in 1951, and the railway itself was abandoned in 1954. The same year marked the end of production at the Anarene oil field. The post office, established in 1909, was discontinued in 1955.

Popular culture

The town portrayed in the 1971 film adaptation of ''The Last Picture Show'' is called "Anarene", although it is called "

Thalia Thalia, Thalía, Thaleia or Thalian may refer to: People * Thalia (given name), including a list of people with the name * Thalía (born 1971), Mexican singer and actress Mythological and fictional characters * Thalia (Grace), one of the three ...

" in Larry McMurtry's novel. The film was actually made some 8 miles (13 km) to the north of Anarene, in McMurtry's hometown of Archer City, which is widely believed to have been the model for McMurtry's "Thalia". Director

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on R ...

intended the film as an

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

' '' Red River'', set in

Abilene, Kansas Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum and the G ...

, and chose the name Anarene to evoke a correspondence. Anarene also appears in Bogdanovich's 1990 adaptation of McMurtry's sequel, ''

Texasville ''Texasville'' is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Based on the 1987 novel ''Texasville'' by Larry McMurtry, it is a sequel to ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), and features Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Clori ...

''.

References

; General *
Anarene at Historic Markers
* * Anarene Oil Field at the U.S. Geological Survey; Specific

External links

* Populated places in Archer County, Texas Ghost towns in North Texas Populated places established in 1908 1908 establishments in Texas {{US-ghost-town-stub