Elizabethtown, once known as Bugtown, 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'' ...

located about fifteen miles southwest of Denton in

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establis ...

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 town derived its original name from the adjacent Elizabeth Creek. The creek starts in northeast Roanoke and ends near Rhome,

Haslet In British English, haslet or acelet is a pork meatloaf with herbs, originally from Lincolnshire. The word is derived from the Old French meaning ''entrails''. In Lincolnshire, haslet (pronounced '/ˈhæslɪt/' locally) is typically made from s ...

, and Avondale. The town is one of four ghost towns in Denton County, which includes Drop, Stony, and

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

. It is one of many ghost towns in Texas.

History

The town site was located in the southeast corner of George W. Shamblin Survey #1191. Its first residents, members of the

Peters Colony Peters ColonyHarry E. Wade, "PETERS COLONY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/uep02), accessed May 15, 2015. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. (Peters' Colony ...

arrived c. 1850. Elizabethtown served as a supply station in 1852, mostly for cowboys driving their herds to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. The town founders, the Harmonsons, constructed a church, homes, a business, and a school. At its height the school had 25 students. In 1859 the town had six saloons, a hotel and a post office, a staple of all true towns. According to residents of nearby

Justin, Texas Justin is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,409 in 2020. It is also an outer ring suburb of Fort Worth. History In 1848, approximately 70 followers of the French utopian socialist Étienne Cabet arrived in what i ...

, Elizabethtown was once known as Bugtown after so many bugs swarmed in on a

camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier d ...

one night that the preaching had to be stopped. During 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 ...

the frontier in and west of

remained undefended against Indian resistance, many families moved east during this time period. Later, though, many did return. As the town grew it gained four general stores, another hotel and a livery stable, along with

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

churches, and a

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

that operated from 1873 to 1876.

John M. Tidwell

The schoolhouse included in the town formed its own school district, Elizabethtown School District #58, which was created in 1884. In 1911, a man by the name of John Morgan Tidwell was born, and started attending school at the schoolhouse around the age of 5. When the school became obsolete due to the decline of Elizabethtown, he moved to Roanoke with his family. But the school district Tidwell attended didn't last for long. By 1946, Elizabethtown School District consolidated with Roanoke and surrounding districts. This formed the creation of

Northwest Independent School District Northwest Independent School District (Northwest ISD) is a rapidly growing North Texas public school district with its headquarters in the city of Fort Worth, Texas (USA). with a Justin postal address. The school district is named for its locati ...

in 1949. When John M. Tidwell grew older, he applied to become a

board member A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

at the district, and became a prominent member, improving the growth of the district. However, Tidwell passed away in 1999. In honor of his service to the cities of Roanoke, Elizabethtown, and to the board members at NISD, a school was named after him and was opened in 2010 in Roanoke named John M. Tidwell Middle School.

Prominent residents

*George Harper: doctor and postmaster *M.H. Smith: blacksmith *Newton Chance: blacksmith *Amos Bullard: blacksmith *Sewell Brown: merchant *James Snyder: wagonmaker *Robert Wright: carpenter *Barry Allen: courier * John Morgan Tidwell: 9 Year NISD Board of Trustee Member, City Council Member of Roanoke.

Decline

Elizabethtown last appeared on the Denton County tax roll in 1880. The

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

, which was built in 1881 from

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

through Denton County, bypassed Elizabethtown by just two miles. Many residents subsequently moved two miles east to the newly established town of Roanoke, along with their businesses, churches and the Masonic lodge. The only remnant of Elizabethtown is the Elizabeth Cemetery, which is still in use today. Everything else in the town is gone, and the area remains a muddy field that is currently open for lease off of Highway 114.

Geography

The site of the former town is by the Elizabeth Creek, near

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

at State Highway 114. The cemetery is in the southeast corner of the ghost town, off of Elizabethtown Cemetery Road. Although the town is no longer there, the name "Elizabethtown" is shown on

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

to be near the

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...

. The zip code for the area is 76262.

Notes

External links

*
Handbook of Texas Online

{{Denton County, Texas Geography of Denton County, Texas Ghost towns in North Texas Populated places established in 1852 1852 establishments in Texas