Cain City 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), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

founded in 1915, southeast of Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It was established to be a station stop of the Fredericksburg and Northern Railway Company, of which the city's namesake Charlie Cain was a leading fundraiser. The town suffered an economic downturn within a decade of being founded.

Charlie Cain

Charles Matthew Cain was born one of six children on December 12, 1881, in the Robertson County town of

Calvert, Texas Calvert is a city in Robertson County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 962. It is located approximately halfway between Waco and Bryan-College Station at the intersection of Texas State Highway 6 and Farm ...

. His parents were Dr. Whitfield Henderson Cain, D.D.S. of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Briscoe Cain of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. His siblings were John G. Cain; Briscoe Whitfield Cain, D.D.S.; Claude Duval Cain; Phillip Jackson Cain; Grover Cleveland Cain; Walker Hunter Cain; and Lizzie (Townsend) Cain. Cain was educated in the public schools of

, but he left school at an early age and went to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

to seek his fortune. In 1902, Charlie (or Charley) Cain began his career as a stock room employee of the Peden Iron and Steel Company in Houston, a company established by Edward Andrew Peden in 1902. After a period as road salesman for Peden, Cain became manager of Peden's

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

branch when it opened in 1910. In 1912, Cain was instrumental in raising $50,000 for the building of the Fredericksburg and Northern Railway. Cain died in

Hondo, Texas Hondo is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Texas, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 8,803. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Original inhabitants of the area, now M ...

, on September 12, 1970.

Cain City

On January 3, 1913, the San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Northern Railway was chartered to connect Fredericksburg with the

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of Texas in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of San Antonio as a direct route from the city to Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast. It was eventual ...

near

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. The initial board of directors consisted of James M. Dobie of Cotulla; C. B. Lucas of Berclair; Richard R. Russell, Thomas E. Mathis, W. W. Collier, J. H. Haile, and J. L. Browne, of San Antonio. A long railroad tunnel was built at the cost of $134,000, which sent the railroad into receivership on October 28, 1914. It was sold under foreclosure on December 31, 1917, to Martin Carle, who deeded the property to the

Fredericksburg and Northern Railway The Fredericksburg and Northern Railway was a connector line between Fredericksburg, Texas, and the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway. It operated under that name from 1917 until 1942. From 1913 to 1917, it was operated as the San Antonio, Frede ...

, which had been chartered on December 26 of that year. The train operated until July 27, 1942, when the rail line was sold by the War Department. Another source says " e railroad ceased operation on October 1, 1944." In 1913,

banker J.C. Stinson bought in Gillespie County, in anticipation of the construction of the Fredericksburg and Northern Railway. Surveyor A.J. Green laid out the town they named after Charlie Cain of San Antonio. The Cain City train depot established the area as an important shipping destination. Within a year, a water system was developed, and Cain City had a rural road connection to Luckenbach. Tom Schmidt opened Farmers' Produce Company warehouse, and Alfred Jung established a

lumberyard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services suc ...

. Anticipated prosperity brought a telephone exchange and two general stores. A schoolhouse was established, with Katie Striegler as teacher. Hugo Pahl, also serving as the railroad agent, was Cain City's first postmaster in 1915. Robert Price succeeded him that same year, with George Price being appointed the town's last postmaster in 1919. In July 1916, the Cain City State Bank was added as a member of the Texas Bankers Association, with Stinson as its president. The bank only lasted a few years before it shut down completely. Stinson moved back to San Antonio in 1922. In 1919, Gus Bausch opened a cotton gin, but prosperity was already waning in the town. The Mountain Home Hotel, opened by Mrs. Fletcher Hamilton of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, was bought by J.C. Stinson and eventually sold to Mrs. Will Bird. When the town experienced an economic downturn, Bird razed the hotel. Edgar Tatsch and Theodore Keller opened a dance hall in 1927, but by that time the town was already in an advanced state of decline. Today Cain City is a ghost town.

Notable person

* Harold Billings (November 12, 1931 – November 29, 2017) Editor, author, retired librarian instrumental in developing national and state library networking and resource sharing among libraries. Born in Cain City.

Charlie Cain

Cain City

Notable person

References

Further reading