Phillips 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'' ...

Hutchinson County, Texas Hutchinson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,617. Its county seat is Stinnett. The county was created in 1876, but not organized until 1901. It is named for Andrew Hutchinson, an early ...

, United States. It was founded as Pantex, Texas. In 1938, Pantex and Whittenburg combined and renamed as Phillips for the dominant employer, the

Phillips Petroleum Phillips Petroleum Company was an American oil company incorporated in 1917 that expanded into petroleum refining, marketing and transportation, natural gas gathering and the chemicals sectors. It was Phillips Petroleum that first found oil in the ...

Company, by a vote of the people. American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Mary Castle Mary Ann Castle, ''née'' Mary Ann Noblett, (January 22, 1931 – April 29, 1998) was an American actress. She appeared in the films ''When the Redskins Rode'' in 1951, ''Three Steps to the Gallows'' in 1953 and ''Gunsmoke'' in 1953. In 1954 sh ...

lived in Phillips as a girl and attended junior high school there.

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

and former president of

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It was established on Se ...

Max Sherman was reared in Phillips and graduated from Phillips High School. Singer/songwriter Russell "Red" Steagall grew up in Sanford and also graduated from Phillips High School.

Past demographics

Maximum population: 4,250 in 1947

Education

It is served by the

Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips Consolidated Independent School District Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Stinnett, Texas (USA). It operates three schools, and its mascot is the Comanche. History The consolidation of the Plemons, Stinnett, and ph ...

. It was a part of the Phillips Independent School District until July 1, 1987, when it merged into the PSP CISD. On March 19, 1950, a fire destroyed the high school. Local churches housed classes until the new school was built.

Decreasing population

In the 1950s and 1960s, improved highways and transportation resulted in many businesses and people moving to

Borger Borger may refer to: *Borger (name), a surname and given name *Borger, Netherlands *Borger, Texas, U.S. See also * * Boorger * Börger * Borge (disambiguation) * Børge * Burger (disambiguation) Burger or Burgers may refer to: Food and drin ...

. By 1980, the population had dropped to about 2,500.

1980 explosion

A hydrocarbon explosion at the refinery in 1980 obliterated part of the industrial area and some nearby homes. Damages were estimated to be in the millions of dollars. After a long battle between the citizens of Phillips, M&M Cattle Company, and later Phillips 66, the town was permanently closed to residency, at the request of Phillips 66 Oil Company. The homes themselves were owned, but the land they sat upon was property of two local ranchers who leased the land originally to the company and later to the home owners. After the explosion, the company purchased the land from the ranches and forced the homeowners to move. In 1987, three schools and communities, Plemons, Stinnett and Phillips, created the Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips Consolidated independent School District. Three mascots, the Plemons Indians, Stinnett Rattlers and the Phillips Blackhawks were changed to create the Comanches. The campuses of the district, West Texas Elementary School, West Texas Middle School, and West Texas High School are all united as Comanches. Therefore, many homes were moved to areas nearby (Borger, Stinnett, and Fritch). The homes that were not moved were leveled. Today, the high school is one of the few buildings left and is used for business by the Phillips 66 Refinery.

References

External links

TexasEscapes Entry for Phillips, Texas

Handbook of Texas Online

Phillips High School Alumni Association

History of Phillips 66 Refinery in Phillips, Texas
{{authority control Geography of Hutchinson County, Texas ConocoPhillips Company towns in Texas Populated places established in 1938 Populated places disestablished in 1980 Ghost towns in the Texas Panhandle 1938 establishments in Texas 1980 disestablishments in Texas Phillips 66