This is the part of Texas most people have ZERO idea about and have NEVER imagined existing. They only think about Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, etc.
I am so thankful for this dude’s channel. Caught Covid for the first time and can’t leave my apartment so it’s really nice to just see new places via RU-vid. 💜
"risky business" walking the Oriana Bridge! Thanks for what you do John. 2 old bridges in one video....must have been due to your Roseman Covered Bridge shirt
Great video! I wonder if the birds under that bridge are barn swallows. The bridges around the Platte River here in Nebraska have a huge amount of barn swallow nests under them. Thanks for sharing another great adventure.
Thank you John for another amazing video. I bet someone out there remembers one of these ghost towns in their hey day and you made their day. Keep doing what you’re doing and be safe. Safe travels and God bless
I had to chuckle at the comments here about their apprehension of walking over that old bridge. Even at 64 I still would have walked across, "to get to the other side"(lol) Thanks John for getting some "mountains" in your video. I guess its all about perspective(lol). Looks like that was a great time of year to explore Texas. Thanks for sharing.
My Mom was born in Peacock, been a few times but it's was mostly gone by then. Her family owned a lot of the businesses there at one time. It looks like my grandfathers shop is still standing. There was a limited/self published book about Stonwall county, I think I bought the only copy :)
So much to love in this video! The feelings of hope and community pride these towns must have had comes to life watching this. The creek at Dorras looked so peaceful, not hard to imagine kids going down there to fish and play. The little airfield at the beginning. I wonder how many of those cemeteries have large family plots, if there are both old and newer additions to the community (so to speak).
Another interesting video. If anyone wants to get away from it all, this looks like a good area to head for. I am still thinking of the county courthouse out in the middle of nowhere from part #1. About lost some of my breakfast milk there towards the end. You announced you were at Twin Mountain, and your camera view was showing a very flat country side. Thank you for the. Showing the mountain view. Otherwise I would of been doubting the town father's sanity! Really had me wondering there for a few seconds.
Good job, very interesting video. The alpaca? at the end made me chuckle, if there was any grass on the other side I bet it would appear greener 😂😎We have two taller mountains here named the pilots, kind of a navigation guide
Great channel, doing what I really never have, and I live in Texas. I stumbled upon your channel and now I am a fan and have subscribed. It is great to see areas of the state that you just don’t realize actually exist. Keep up the great job.
Since I've been watching your channel, this county has had the most ghost towns yet. And the powers to be says we to many people. Have a great weekend and I'll catch you on the next video
My parents an Grandparents are buried at Mt. Olive. The black headstones with Cumbie and Gholston. That is where I’ll be buried. My family ranched there from the 1890’s until 2006. The cedar tree outside the entrance holds the last piece of the old school my grandfather went to. Right before you get to the cemetery around the curve the little brush area still holds the old icehouse where blocks were stored. I grew up a mile before the cemetery on FM 1263 and my father died in an auto accident at the river bridge in Jan. 1987. Right past the bridge (CR 215) is where my family’s main ranch house is. Thanks for the video!
John, The Salt Fork Brazos Bridge (collapsed) at the beginning was interesting. When viewing the drone shot, I could barely make out the network of a few roads that it serviced it. It's just at the point where those slight traces, completely disappear. I give it another ten years and even the traces will likely be gone. Most of these ghost towns were speculation towns, post civil war, planted along the newly laid railroads. Golddiggers of a type staging their claim and dragging as many as they can with them. At least they weren't carpetbaggers. But this is very telling of the history of the country as a whole. The early leaders were basically all opportunists and if people followed the wrong ones they were left desolate having to move and start all over again. Clearly, your videos are showing that this was a very common ploy with people looking to start their own towns. Many, if not most, did not succeed because of the early over development that would not be adequately supported by subsequent lack of population growth. Then there was the two wars with the depression and dust bowl sandwiched in between. If the towns did succeeded, many later collapsed due to the incredible social economic stresses encountered. It is not a very good testimony of the history of this country when compared to the development of the countryside in Europe, post dark ages. In a very real sense, when we view the reality of today... in retrospect, the wild west never really ended... only the impression of it faded away. Gord
@@TravelwithaWiseguy Thanks John... I was thinking to myself, why am I drawn to the ruines of yesteryear? They're not necessarily very attractive. But they are fascinating... but why? Because of history... And you get into that a bit. But like bread crumbs, I find myself following the dots to their conclusions. If it wasn't for your number of reviews and research of towns along railroads, I couldn't have seen this nearly as clearly. Thanks... your doing an important work apart from your intentions. It's like a history class of sorts. And a great history teacher will walk you through events in order to help you to draw correct conclusions... But the history must be honest and accurate and not some kind of brainwashed gaslighting poster boarding in order to present some other kind of picture. Clearly, this ghost town phenomena you are presenting is not really covered anywhere else. It's almost like a blemish that's not supposed to be important... but it really is. It starts to tell a story of a history that isn't supposed to be understood. Because if it was, then it would cause unwanted reflections on our current set of circumstances and break the mantra of today's narratives. Real history is power and it belongs to the people and to their children... Gord
Fascinating! I'm a native Texan and never heard of any of these places. The cemeteries are so interesting. Have you ever had any creepy experiences out there in such remote areas?
Every once in a while it will get pretty creepy but nothing too crazy haha. There was this one in Nebraska with fog rolling in that felt like a horror movie 😂
Talk about miles around Texas. Interesting town names and the broken down railroad bridges were fun to see. It's the kinda place you live if you don't want to see the neighbors lights at night.
When you stood on the Oriana bridge, you were not at the site of the town. If you continue westward, the road will turn north. You have then reached the site of the town. The base of the school's merry-go-round laid there at the fence line to Olin Godfrey's cotton field until sometime after I left the county in 1968. It's a shame you missed the Oriana Cemetery. My great-grandfather Benjamin Keeth and great-grandmother Florabelle Bedair Keeth are buried there.
Thanks for this video John. A heap of sad old forgotten places. I just can't get my head around why a whole population would up stumps and leave a place to slowly die. If my old village was on the decline I would not for one, unless it was a life or death situation, which it may well have been. Someone somewhere must still have ownership of the land, I wonder if they know or even care? or do these places become forfeit to the state when they are abandoned? Really fascinating. I have a metal detector and would spend hours in these areas looking for artefacts, depending on land ownership of course.
Definitely a difficult place to earn a living because of the harsh environment. Very dry. But I really enjoyed my visit and learning about the history!
