Bragg is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

in Hardin County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States, in the

Big Thicket The Big Thicket is the name given to a somewhat imprecise region of a heavily forested area of Southeast Texas in the United States. This area represents a portion of the mixed pine-hardwood forests or " Piney Woods" of the Southeast US. The Nat ...

forest area of the southeastern part of the state. Sometimes referred to as "Bragg Station", this small community that flourished in the early 1900s lies ten miles west of

Kountze Kountze ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,981 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Beaumont– Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. Kountze was originally estab ...

. Named after the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

general

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...

, this town was built around an important

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

junction installed by the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

system in 1902. The railroad line transported lumber and other supplies servicing the

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

industry near Beaumont. Several years later, the local industry would begin to shift its shipping lanes and abandon the railroad. The local post office that had served the railroad and oilfield workers was closed in 1914. In addition to the relocation of oilfield workers into other communities, the rail line extending from Bragg Station south to the small community of Saratoga was dismantled in 1934. Today, all that remains of Bragg Station is a small

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

community and a locally famous dirt road that has been designated a scenic drive county park. The ''Ghost Road'' leading south to Saratoga is the center of a local legend of a ghost light called the

Light of Saratoga The Light of Saratoga is a legend located in the Big Thicket of Southeast Texas. This legend of a mysterious light is also known as the Ghost Road of Saratoga, the Saratoga Light, and Bragg Light by local residents. Located on a dirt road, it is a ...

References

{{coord, 30, 25, 09, N, 94, 33, 52, W, type:city_region:US-TX, display=title Ghost towns in East Texas Populated places in Hardin County, Texas Braxton Bragg

See also

References