A warning to those who believe their future is secure. When I was young, my family and I lived in a small town in the Texas panhandle. It was a thriving place of great economic opportunity filled with the kindest people I’ve ever known. Hard times looming on the horizon went unnoticed. What has happened to Morton is the rule in this area rather than the exception.
It's the rule all over America. Really the whole globe. Everyday more and more people are leaving the rural towns and flocking to cities. It's a sad fact of life.
@@thatfeeble-mindedboy History does repeat and often rhymes! I hold on to hope that one day rural America will come back to life as people once again leave the cities. Like people did in the 1700’s and 1800’s looking for a better way of life for their families. There is always hope!
I live in New Mexico, but I have relatives who use to live and some still are in Amarillo, Claude, Friona, Texico and other places in Texas. I actually think that area is awesome and your videos just bring back all of the memories of my brother and myself visiting relatives and staying a good part of the summer in those towns when we were younger. Thanks.
In the early 50s we moved briefly from the front range of Colorado down to Dumas, because my dad heard "there was work down there". The only thing I remember of that brief time was an Easter egg hunt in a grassy park, I was too young to be interested in "looking out the window". I do remember camping often in roadside parks like Thompson Grove, which were real common in those days. I passed through about 15 years ago and tried to imagine what it was like for my parents and of course many others, trying to find work in a big post war west. I think that was the time when all those little towns had got a kickstart as a result of WW2 needs. These towns were thriving community centers back in the days of small farms and ranches and before the establishment of certain giant general merchandise stores...I enjoyed the video.
I love your channel. I’m from Wisconsin but a lot of my formative years were spent in Texas in the USAF. I grew to love Texas and hope to visit some of the places you feature. Thanks for your work, it’s well done!
I'm from north east Texas and it's sad to see all these once bustling towns dry up and blow away with the wind it's also sad to see all the beautiful architecture in some of the towns disappear and be forgotten
In August 1969 on our way home to Friendswood, we stayed at Thompson Grove Picnic Ground. It looks mostly the same, but for the new rest room buildings. Our kids liked the hand pump at the well. I could not see the pump in your video. The wife and I were playing a marble game when a skunk walked between us and the tent where the kids were sleeping. The volcano you saw is Capulin Volcano National Monument, which we visited. When we watch your videos we always say "We were there."
My family farmed and ranched just across the highway from Thompson Grove. Used to know all the roads and trails for miles around. Just a little Northeast of there was Buffalo Springs, it was a artesian well that fed a small stream. When we lived nearby it was part of the Shamburger Ranch. They would stock it with fish from time to time. I would fish there with a buddy who worked for the ranch lots of great memories. Buffalo Springs was the North headquarters of the XIT ranch. Hard life out there with the aquifer drying up it’s not any better
That little concrete in-ground bunker with what looked like a shoot going down into it was a tornado shelter. Spent a few nights in one back in the day.
That was in the path of the Comanche and Kiowa who hunted and raided down into Mexico. I can see them riding across those wide open spaces on their paint-colored horses with all their head dresses, clothing, weapons, and war paint. That had to be an exhilarating sense of freedom; riding across those open plains on a good horse where one could see all the way to the horizon. It's gone forever though.
Going north from the Canadian River bridge on Hwy. 287 toward Dumas, we always saw antelope on the east side of the highway, around the Bud Crawford ranch (where the big mesa is).
I am very happy to hear that the viral video helped grow your channel and get you monetized. Thank you so much for sharing your content which allows people to see towns, historical sites and much more that we would never see otherwise. Does Morton have any resident s? Bless you and safe travels
The grasslands of the Panhandle would have never been plowed under if not for Fed Gov't subsidies that came about as a consequence of WW1 & WW2. Grain was the game to keep the cowboy, plowboy-soldier well fed.
Desolate? Yes, good description. At some point the US Parks & Wildlife Agency will introduce a menagerie of wildlife, restrict state highway funding discouraging travel to these places. It's happened in N NM. Take state highway running west out of Springer NM. Open range and stretches w/no asphalt left, just crumbling road base. One good gulley-washer rain will blow out some of the short, low arroyo bridges & no one will be traveling that route w/o helicopter. Feds restricted human use of a massive acreage donated to the people of NM. It was too much for the state to manage the thousands of acres donated by a major oil co... so the Feds stepped in. Now humans are restricted from visits except for a few months a yr. Their theory is that human presence on the one road through a corner of the acreage may hinder elk breeding. Not a joke. Valle Vidal lies north of Questa NM. Ted Turner owns most of the ranchland east of the continental divide up into CO.
@@rt3box6tx74 While I initially liked this idea, I'm not liking the BLM handling it. As for Ted Turner, that's a double edged sword for me. On the plus side, he did significantly help in repopulating of the American buffalo, on the negative side, he acts more like a land baron than a conservationist.
It's crazy I live in Amarillo and the dust and dirt has been flowing in like crazy last few weeks have been so windy. Air is full of dirt and at some point we might repeat our past.
Love your content. I am also fascinated by the many small towns that were once swarming with people. There are more tales to be told in Texas than we have time to tell them! Keep it up! I would love to interview you on my podcast. Let me know if you are interested.
I’ve been to Morton with work. Federal government knows the county as a highly rural county(no more than 7 people per square mile). Growing up in a small town at the edge of the Texas hill country these videos make me home sick along with sadness to see small towns disappearing.
That area is very striking between the vast sky and the vanishing population. Weird how there were communities there at one time. Not exactly sure what is happening. I recently drove through Memphis, Tx and the old downtown seemed totally abandoned. There were brick streets and blocks of cool old buildings.
I always wanted to see the national grasslands of the Panhandle. Sad to see these towns disappear. I spent some time in Wingate, Tx. If you are in the area please do a video. The house I used to visit now looks like one of the worst ones you showed. Thanks for bringing this to us.
I wish you were able to see Texline school. the boys basketball team won State last year. Also I wish bricks could talk because I’d love to know how the Texas panhandle was like decades ago
If only houses were easier to relocate. I see so many abandoned houses that look like they would be worth it for somebody to fix it up and move in... if the location were better.
Sad when a town dries up. The way things are these days, it looks like more people are moving to rural areas. We'll see what happens down the road. Another good video. Keep them coming. Beautiful grasslands south of Wichita Falls, btw.
Given the chance please go to the original capital of Texas, West Columbia. The whole area is a step back in time & a walk in Stephen F Austin’s footsteps. (W Columbia, E Columbia, Bailey’s Prairie, & more)
The next time you are n Jasper County in southeast Texas, go to Roganville. It is a town that has truly disappeared. It was a sawmill town in the early 20th century, but the mill closed in 1929. There are people still living in the area, but the town itself has disappeared. What was once a small but bustling commercial area, along with the train depot, slowly vanished over the years and had you not known it was once there, you would think nothing ever was there.
Sad to see towns drying up. But I really enjoy watching videos seeing and learning about areas I’ve never heard of. I’m originally from Southern California but my mom and her family were from Idaho and my dad and his mom were born in Oklahoma and his dad and dad’s family were from Clarendon Texas. I moved to Texas in 2013 and I’ve really enjoyed it. Texans are such nice people
Very sad for those who remember what it was like during the post-war boom of '50s, through '80. Not to be political, but Carter's USSR Grain Embargo marked the beginning of the decline of the small town in the Panhandle/ South Plains. Embargo led to the exodus of a small number of community leaders in each little town. I'm in the center of the Panhandle. Here a military vet who'd been wildly successful in the lumber biz moved to a bigger town. The WW1 veteran who owned the grain co decided to sell out & retire. From there the churches & school board suffered from loss of their wisdom. 30 yr decline has been so incremental that it's barely discernible w/o a microscope.
@@rt3box6tx74 I agree. I’m 56 years old and my mom and my stepdad took me to a big presidential political rally when I was 11 or 12 years old and my parents were voting for Ford and my mom used to talk about all the terrible things Carter was doing. And John Wayne was there I’ll never forget he was so tall LOL
I don’t live in Texas but Texas will always have a special place in my heart
A warning to those who believe their future is secure. When I was young, my family and I lived in a small town in the Texas panhandle. It was a thriving place of great economic opportunity filled with the kindest people I’ve ever known. Hard times looming on the horizon went unnoticed. What has happened to Morton is the rule in this area rather than the exception.
It's the rule all over America. Really the whole globe. Everyday more and more people are leaving the rural towns and flocking to cities. It's a sad fact of life.
Amarillo has homegrown kind people too. I am a Amarillo High School Sandie also. 1962. And I love 💗 Texas.
Jim Richards
@@thatfeeble-mindedboy History does repeat and often rhymes! I hold on to hope that one day rural America will come back to life as people once again leave the cities. Like people did in the 1700’s and 1800’s looking for a better way of life for their families. There is always hope!
I live in New Mexico, but I have relatives who use to live and some still are in Amarillo, Claude, Friona, Texico and other places in Texas. I actually think that area is awesome and your videos just bring back all of the memories of my brother and myself visiting relatives and staying a good part of the summer in those towns when we were younger. Thanks.
In the early 50s we moved briefly from the front range of Colorado down to Dumas, because my dad heard "there was work down there". The only thing I remember of that brief time was an Easter egg hunt in a grassy park, I was too young to be interested in "looking out the window". I do remember camping often in roadside parks like Thompson Grove, which were real common in those days. I passed through about 15 years ago and tried to imagine what it was like for my parents and of course many others, trying to find work in a big post war west. I think that was the time when all those little towns had got a kickstart as a result of WW2 needs. These towns were thriving community centers back in the days of small farms and ranches and before the establishment of certain giant general merchandise stores...I enjoyed the video.
One of your best, most interesting 👍
I love your channel. I’m from Wisconsin but a lot of my formative years were spent in Texas in the USAF. I grew to love Texas and hope to visit some of the places you feature. Thanks for your work, it’s well done!
Thank you for your videos-you provide a wealth of amazing history.
Very nice video thank you and God bless TEXAS
Well done! Definitely gives that surreal feeling!
I'm from north east Texas and it's sad to see all these once bustling towns dry up and blow away with the wind it's also sad to see all the beautiful architecture in some of the towns disappear and be forgotten
In August 1969 on our way home to Friendswood, we stayed at Thompson Grove Picnic Ground. It looks mostly the same, but for the new rest room buildings. Our kids liked the hand pump at the well. I could not see the pump in your video. The wife and I were playing a marble game when a skunk walked between us and the tent where the kids were sleeping. The volcano you saw is Capulin Volcano National Monument, which we visited. When we watch your videos we always say "We were there."
Thank you for doing this.
Fantastic. Thanks so much!
My family farmed and ranched just across the highway from Thompson Grove. Used to know all the roads and trails for miles around. Just a little Northeast of there was Buffalo Springs, it was a artesian well that fed a small stream. When we lived nearby it was part of the Shamburger Ranch. They would stock it with fish from time to time. I would fish there with a buddy who worked for the ranch lots of great memories.
Buffalo Springs was the North headquarters of the XIT ranch.
Hard life out there with the aquifer drying up it’s not any better
That little concrete in-ground bunker with what looked like a shoot going down into it was a tornado shelter. Spent a few nights in one back in the day.
Thanks so much for sharing this area with us. I always learn a lot from your channel.
That was in the path of the Comanche and Kiowa who hunted and raided down into Mexico. I can see them riding across those wide open spaces on their paint-colored horses with all their head dresses, clothing, weapons, and war paint. That had to be an exhilarating sense of freedom; riding across those open plains on a good horse where one could see all the way to the horizon. It's gone forever though.
Going north from the Canadian River bridge on Hwy. 287 toward Dumas, we always saw antelope on the east side of the highway, around the Bud Crawford ranch (where the big mesa is).
Its like they got dust bowled again without the dust
Big sky country all right, appreciate the warning on Rio Blanca grassland hiking trails
I am very happy to hear that the viral video helped grow your channel and get you monetized. Thank you so much for sharing your content which allows people to see towns, historical sites and much more that we would never see otherwise. Does Morton have any resident s? Bless you and safe travels
Aren't you ever going to do anything on Midland?
The grasslands of the Panhandle would have never been plowed under if not for Fed Gov't subsidies that came about as a consequence of WW1 & WW2. Grain was the game to keep the cowboy, plowboy-soldier well fed.
I often wonder what these towns looked like on a typical day when they flourished.
Id like to visit here. I dont live too far away
Even the word, "desolate" seems to be too generous a word to describe the sad abandonment of these towns.
Desolate? Yes, good description. At some point the US Parks & Wildlife Agency will introduce a menagerie of wildlife, restrict state highway funding discouraging travel to these places.
It's happened in N NM. Take state highway running west out of Springer NM. Open range and stretches w/no asphalt left, just crumbling road base. One good gulley-washer rain will blow out some of the short, low arroyo bridges & no one will be traveling that route w/o helicopter.
Feds restricted human use of a massive acreage donated to the people of NM. It was too much for the state to manage the thousands of acres donated by a major oil co... so the Feds stepped in. Now humans are restricted from visits except for a few months a yr. Their theory is that human presence on the one road through a corner of the acreage may hinder elk breeding. Not a joke. Valle Vidal lies north of Questa NM. Ted Turner owns most of the ranchland east of the continental divide up into CO.
@@rt3box6tx74
While I initially liked this idea, I'm not liking the BLM handling it.
As for Ted Turner, that's a double edged sword for me. On the plus side, he did significantly help in repopulating of the American buffalo, on the negative side, he acts more like a land baron than a conservationist.
PLEASE TRY IRRAN TEXAS........BIG WEST TEXAS.......SPECIAL..LIFE FOR ME ALOHA.
The 4ever angel was handsome, and clearly loved.
It's crazy I live in Amarillo and the dust and dirt has been flowing in like crazy last few weeks have been so windy. Air is full of dirt and at some point we might repeat our past.
Like most of the smaller towns. Just slowly disappearing
It's a beautiful area, but beautiful in a different way than, say, mountains or lake areas.
Indeed. I spent most of my young life in se Texas which looks entirely different than this. However this is so beautiful in its on way
What was it (sources/resources) that originally made these now dead towns begin and flourish for a time?
Good job. I really enjoyed the history you shared
I miss tx born and raised up there. There is no place like tx. I live in mo now.
Love your content. I am also fascinated by the many small towns that were once swarming with people. There are more tales to be told in Texas than we have time to tell them! Keep it up! I would love to interview you on my podcast. Let me know if you are interested.
Should come to alanreed tx and McLean Texas 8 miles from alanreed.
Love your videos, thanks for the great content!
I’ve been to Morton with work. Federal government knows the county as a highly rural county(no more than 7 people per square mile). Growing up in a small town at the edge of the Texas hill country these videos make me home sick along with sadness to see small towns disappearing.
That area is very striking between the vast sky and the vanishing population. Weird how there were communities there at one time. Not exactly sure what is happening. I recently drove through Memphis, Tx and the old downtown seemed totally abandoned. There were brick streets and blocks of cool old buildings.
I always wanted to see the national grasslands of the Panhandle. Sad to see these towns disappear. I spent some time in Wingate, Tx. If you are in the area please do a video. The house I used to visit now looks like one of the worst ones you showed. Thanks for bringing this to us.
Remember to vote Texas Green Party 2022!
I am Texan. ♥️🏹👉🏻
Ah three corners
Complete music credits please ... intro, outro, etc.
I wish you were able to see Texline school. the boys basketball team won State last year.
Also I wish bricks could talk because I’d love to know how the Texas panhandle was like decades ago
Nice video, thanks for posting!
I ain't giving a thumbs up to celebrate those towns and places decline, I'm doing so to celebrate what was long ago.
God made texas with care and love.
If only houses were easier to relocate. I see so many abandoned houses that look like they would be worth it for somebody to fix it up and move in... if the location were better.
What once was, will never be again.
Hate to say it but we are watching the fall of our great nation.
Kinda depressing watching
In this video, your voice is not clear.
A great if sad video. Love your channel. Best wishes for your new year. God bless us all. We need it.😎
Sad when a town dries up. The way things are these days, it looks like more people are moving to rural areas. We'll see what happens down the road.
Another good video. Keep them coming.
Beautiful grasslands south of Wichita Falls, btw.
Watching these towns slowly disappear because of lack of jobs and lack of opportunities is heartbreaking.
Given the chance please go to the original capital of Texas, West Columbia. The whole area is a step back in time & a walk in Stephen F Austin’s footsteps. (W Columbia, E Columbia, Bailey’s Prairie, & more)
nice to see a town full
of Abandoned buildings
that arent all Graffiti'd uP
w| Derelict Urban Gang Banger
Scribbles
I cotton farmed in Morton 12 years ago. There’s so much cotton/money out there, but the people that own those fields live 50 miles to the East.
We’ve been binge watching your channel today. Thank you all the great videos and the history. Great channel.
The next time you are n Jasper County in southeast Texas, go to Roganville. It is a town that has truly disappeared. It was a sawmill town in the early 20th century, but the mill closed in 1929. There are people still living in the area, but the town itself has disappeared. What was once a small but bustling commercial area, along with the train depot, slowly vanished over the years and had you not known it was once there, you would think nothing ever was there.
Sad to see towns drying up. But I really enjoy watching videos seeing and learning about areas I’ve never heard of. I’m originally from Southern California but my mom and her family were from Idaho and my dad and his mom were born in Oklahoma and his dad and dad’s family were from Clarendon Texas. I moved to Texas in 2013 and I’ve really enjoyed it. Texans are such nice people
Very sad for those who remember what it was like during the post-war boom of '50s, through '80. Not to be political, but Carter's USSR Grain Embargo marked the beginning of the decline of the small town in the Panhandle/ South Plains. Embargo led to the exodus of a small number of community leaders in each little town. I'm in the center of the Panhandle. Here a military vet who'd been wildly successful in the lumber biz moved to a bigger town. The WW1 veteran who owned the grain co decided to sell out & retire. From there the churches & school board suffered from loss of their wisdom. 30 yr decline has been so incremental that it's barely discernible w/o a microscope.
@@rt3box6tx74 I agree. I’m 56 years old and my mom and my stepdad took me to a big presidential political rally when I was 11 or 12 years old and my parents were voting for Ford and my mom used to talk about all the terrible things Carter was doing. And John Wayne was there I’ll never forget he was so tall LOL
Has the land and vegetation fully recovered?
Morton looks like a great place to film a Zombie movie. It is sad to see.
Thanks for taking us along.
Thanks for making these videos, I have learned so much from your them.
Love your videos.