Dundee is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located in

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 ...

. According to the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

, the community had a population of 12 in 2010. Dundee is located within the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Several families were already living in the area when the town was laid out on the T Fork Ranch between 1886 and 1890. In 1890 the Wichita Valley Railway Company established a line between

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

and Seymour and constructed a three-story

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

at the station the railroad's president is said to have named for

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. That year, Amanda Giddens built the first post office and became postmistress. In 1892, the town was described as a post office and station on the railway with a population of twenty-five. The railroad brought in more settlers. By 1896, the population was estimated at 199 and Dundee had two

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

dealers, a clothier, a general store, a

hardware store Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing suppli ...

, a seller of notions, and a Mr. Biffle who sold

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

s. The Methodists and Presbyterians organized in the late 1890s, and the Baptists in the early 1900s. Dundee prospered and became for a time the second largest town in Archer County. In 1909, a bank was established with Alex Albright as president. Albright later became well known as the owner of "probably the largest

Karakul sheep Karakul or Qaraqul (named after Qorakoʻl, a city in Bukhara Region in Uzbekistan) is a breed of domestic sheep which originated in Central Asia. Some archaeological evidence points to Karakul sheep being raised there continuously since 1400 BC ...

ranch in the world," just outside Dundee. By 1919, the town had added some businesses, and the population was about 165. In the 1920s, the population was estimated at 400. The oldest of the county's federated study clubs was founded there in 1921. Lake Kemp was built during the 1920s fifteen miles west and Diversion Lake four miles north, as well as an irrigation system for the northern part of the county. Diversion Lake provided both irrigation and the site for a

fish hatchery A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...

, which was still in operation in 1990. In 1929, a tornado crippled Dundee, which rebuilt most of its businesses, but with the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the town's growth was halted. The bank closed in 1933. The number of businesses dropped from ten in 1940 to five in 1946. By 1953, Dundee had an estimated population of 300 and three businesses. In the mid-1960s, the population was seventy-five; by 1970, it was forty, and the town had lost its post office. In 1980, Dundee had no businesses, although the railroad still ran through, and the population was forty. In 1990, the population was still forty but dropped to twelve by 2010. Award-winning Western novelist Benjamin Capps is a native of Dundee. An

Eothyris ''Eothyris'' is a genus of extinct synapsid in the family Eothyrididae from the early Permian. It was a carnivorous insectivorous animal, closely related to '' Oedaleops''. Only the skull of ''Eothyris'', first described in 1937, is known. It ...

skull was found a mile west of the former Woodrum ranch house south of the community.

Geography

Dundee is located at the intersection of

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

U.S. Highway 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Inter ...

, and Farm to Market Road 2846, 25 miles northwest of Archer City and southwest of

in northwestern Archer County.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Dundee has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Dundee, Texas
/ref>

Education

Dundee had its own school in 1891. It is located within the

Holliday Independent School District Holliday Independent School District is a public school district based in Holliday, Texas, Holliday, Texas (United States, USA). Located in Archer County, Texas, Archer County, a small portion of the district extends into Wichita County, Texas, ...

References

{{authority control Archer County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas