Provident City is a
ghost town in the far southern panhandle of
Colorado County
Colorado County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,557. Its county seat is Columbus. It is named for the Colorado River of Texas. The county was founded in 1836 and organized the next y ...
in the
U.S. state of
Texas. The former settlement is located along County Road 190. The town was first settled through a land promotion scheme in 1909 and enjoyed a brief heyday. When the hoped-for railroad obviously would never come to town, people began moving away. The post office closed in 1953, and most of the land was bought up for ranching. The town no longer exists, though the original hotel survives in private hands. Reaching the site requires driving on a gravel road from the nearest highway.
Geography
The
Geographic Names Information System locates Provident City at
[ which is near the intersection of County Roads 190 and 248 in Colorado County. The former town is southeast of ]Hallettsville
Hallettsville is a city in Lavaca County, Texas, United States. Its population was 2,731 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lavaca County. Hallettsville also has a sizable German-Texan population as the towns founders were mainly German ...
in Lavaca County via FM 530 and County Road 17. After County Road 17 crosses into Colorado County, it becomes County Road 190 and intersects with County Road 248 within a short distance.
History
In 1909, the Provident Land Company of Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
began heavily promoting land between Goldenrod Creek and Sandy Creek in Colorado County. As many as 500 families from the American Midwest bought 5- to ten-acre plots, sight unseen. The company built hotels in Ganado and in Provident City to accommodate people interested in buying land in the area. By 1910, the town boasted banks, a broom factory, a cannery, churches, a drugstore, general and grocery stores, a jewelry store, restaurants, a school, and an undertaker. That year, a post office opened. The sandy local soil proved to be ideal for growing melons, cucumbers, and other vegetables. The town counted 150 residents in 1914. By that year, a promised railroad connection clearly would not materialize in the isolated place. During World War I, people began to move to urban centers in search of higher wages. During 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 ...
, many area farms were abandoned and lost through nonpayment of taxes. By 1949, the population had sunk to 30 persons and the post office closed in 1953. Hancock Oil bought most of the property and converted it to ranching operations. By 1986, only the old hotel remained.
See also
Danish Heritage Preservation Society
*
References
{{Colorado County, Texas
Populated places in Colorado County, Texas
Ghost towns in South Texas