unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
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. According to the
Handbook of Texas
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
, the community had a population of 9 in 2000.
History
The settlement was established in 1906 as a station on the Wichita Valley line. A post office was granted on December 13 of that year and was named Mabelle for the daughter of resident J. T. Thompson. By 1920, the town had a depot, several businesses, and a Sunday school organization serving a population of 58. Mabelle continued as a small trade center despite a damaging tornado that struck the town about 1923. In 1940, the community had a post office and a few stores and reported a population of 35. The post office was discontinued about 1962. In 1980, Mabelle reported a population of ten, and in 1990 it was reported as six. By 2000, the population was reported at nine.
On Monday night, April 25, 1955, after performing at the Miller Brothers' M-B Corral dancehall in
Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat 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. According to ...
,
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, bass player
Bill Black
William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...
, and guitarist
Scotty Moore
Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968.
Rock critic ...
headed to another gig in Seymour, a benefit show for the local volunteer fire department. Along the way, they ran out of gas near Mabelle. After fueling up in Mabelle, Elvis and the boys arrived at the Seymour high school auditorium after most of the audience had left, but still managed to perform for the handful of people who remained.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Mabelle has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Mabelle was on June 29, 1980 and June 29, 1994, while the coldest temperature recorded was on December 23–24, 1989.
Education
A local school originally began around 1900, and was closed in 1948 when the community's children transferred to Seymour. The community continues to be served by the Seymour Independent School District today.