Texon, Texas
{{Short description|Unincorporated hamlet in Texas, US}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
Image:Map of Texas highlighting Reagan County.svg
Texon is a small unincorporated desert hamlet in Reagan County, Texas, United States, in the western part of the state about half a mile south of the nearest highway. The town was originally an oil boomtown but is now near abandonment. There may be only one or two homes left in Texon, and no businesses or services.
Population and location
The population in 1996 was estimated at less than 10. At its peak in 1933, the town had approximately 1,200 inhabitants.{{cite web
|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnt15
|title=Handbook of Texas Online – TEXON, TX
|author=Jane Spraggins Wilson
|publisher=Texas State Historical Association
|access-date=January 22, 2008
}} The town is located in Reagan County. It is 3/10 mile (0.5 km) south of U.S. Route 67 on RM 1675.{{cite web
|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Texas_ghost_towns/Texon_Texas/Texon_Texas.htm
|title=Texon, a West Texas Ghost Town.
|first=John
|last=Troesser
|access-date=January 22, 2008
|publisher=Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC
|url=http://dot.state.tx.us/travel/countymapbook2006/Pages/199.pdf
|title=County Mapbook 2010
|page=199
|publisher=Texas Department of Transportation
|date=December 31, 2009
|access-date=July 25, 2011
}} It is 85 miles west of San Angelo, Texas. Texon was served by the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway.
History
The town originates from May 28, 1923, when oil was discovered.{{cite web
|url=http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/tx/texon.html
|title=Texon – Texas Ghost Town
|access-date=January 22, 2008
|first=Henry
|last=Chenoweth
|publisher=Atjeu LLC
}}
The town was named for the Texon Oil and Land Company, which drilled the first successful oil well in the Permian Basin, the Santa Rita. On December 4, 1928, under the supervision of Carl G. Cromwell, Texon Oil discovered the Santa Rita University 1-B, at that time the world's deepest well at 8,525 feet. Texon Oil and Land Company developed the Santa Rita oil field. Texon's leases were subsequently purchased by M. L. "Mike" Benedum and Joe Trees of Pittsburgh, who formed the Big Lake Oil Company.Today in Texas History: Carl G. Cromwell drills world's deepest oil well {{cite web |url=http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/12/today_in_texas_history_carl_g.html |title=Texas on the Potomac: Today in Texas History: Carl G. Cromwell drills world's deepest oil well |access-date=2009-10-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615034708/http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/12/today_in_texas_history_carl_g.html |archive-date=June 15, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}{{cite book |last1=Olien |first1=Diana |last2=Olien |first2=Roger |title=Oil in Texas, The Gusher Age, 1895-1945 |date=2002 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin |isbn=0292760566 |pages=164–165}}
Ownership passed on to successive oil companies, including Plymouth Oil Company (in 1956) and Ohio Oil (now Marathon Oil) in 1962, which chose not to maintain the town that had at that time 100 residents. In 1986, the post office was closed.
In the 1920s, wastewater from oil extraction was released onto the ground, which caused extreme damage to vegetation and soil, to the point that the resulting scar can still be seen on satellite images. Cleanup is still ongoing.
Limited redevelopment
References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{Reagan County, Texas}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|31|13|30|N|101|41|22|W|type:city_region:US-TX_source:GNIS-enwiki|display=title}}
Category:Unincorporated communities in Reagan County, Texas
Category:Unincorporated communities in Texas