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LOBO,
TEXAS The Ghost
Town with a Swimming Pool
Culberson County, West
Texas
On U.S. 90
About 12 miles S of Van
Horn
About 24 miles W of Valentine
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The
swimming pool in Lobo
Photo courtesy Rob Hann, 2001 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
The empty pool is appropriate for our first photo,
since Lobo lived and died on the availability of water.
The original
Van Horn Wells were not far from present day Lobo and the town (Lobo) was
once a rival with Van Horn for the
Culberson county seat. The town actually appears on the 2000 Official Texas Department
of Transportation Map, but the sad truth is: the vacancy sign is up, out in Lobo.
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| | This
may or may not have been the first child born in Lobo
TE Archives |
In 1907
Lobo had it's own post office and enough water to sustain the people who had been
lured there by land promoters a few years later. The promoters lied, which is
nothing new, but the buyers sued and won, which is noteworthy. The promoters were
forced to built the hotel (later destroyed in a 1929 earthquake) and amenities
that they had promised.
The town's water had been discovered before
the Civil War and the wells were the reason for the town to be on the San Antonio-San
Diego Stagecoach Mail Route. The water even seemed abundant enough to make the
town a water stop for steam locomotives in the 1880s.
The town lost
population after the seat went to Van
Horn in 1911 and the 20 remaining inhabitants lay in a sleepy twilight until
efficient pumps came into being just after WWII.
(The post office had already closed in 1942). Enough water was produced to irrigate
hundreds of acres of cotton and still have
enough left over for an occasional shower. The pumping proved expensive, though,
and wells were shut by the late 1960s. |
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| Photo
courtesy Rob Hann, 2001 |
| | The
desert reclaims the motel
Photo courtesy Jason Penney |
| | Lobo
For Sale
"Originally a truck stop owned by Buddy Griffin, a farmer in
Lobo Valley" - Ron Segura
Photo Courtesy Jason Penney |
"Albert
A. Ivy 1970's at that time Owner of Lobo Texas"
Photo courtesy Howard Ivy, January 05, 2008 |
When the
population approached 90 people, the water table fell. The population was estimated
at 40 in the mid 1970s when a man named Bill Crist bought the entire town. He
opened the store for awhile, but crime reared its familiar head and the building
was burned. The entire town with motel, diner, several houses and a gas station
were offered for sale in 1988 for $60,000. As you can see by Mr. Penney's photos,
the place remains as it was. A modern ghost town, with limited water and an annual
rainfall of 13.2 inches.
The Culberson County map shows a cemetery for
Van Horn Wells, but none for Lobo.
Nearby Destinations
12 miles north on Hwy 90 to Van Horn,
another 55 miles north on Hwy 54 to The Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
The park contains Guadalupe
Peak, the highest elevation in Texas (8749 ft.).
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© John Troesser |
Lobo
Texas Forum
My family and I lived in Lobo from 1978-80. I had a welding and mechanic business
set up in the old service station. I provided services to the local farms. In
'79 Miller Beer made a commercial in Lobo. It was called Jack's Chili Bus. Ruth
Bussy was there because her husband was in the commercial. She parked her motor-home
along side of my shop. They were very nice people and stayed for about 5 days.
We really enjoyed it. I can't remember the owners name but it was a couple who
sold rocks. In fact they moved to Marfa
and set up a rock shop and left us to take care of the town.
I just recently
visited Lobo in October, 2004. There are three Germans (I think they are Alexander,
Claus and Annette) who now own Lobo and are doing some restoration and repairs
to some of the buildings. ... It's right on Highway 90. Interesting place to visit
and sets in a beautiful valley. - Clarence Louviere, November 09, 2004 My
uncle, Edward Eugene Johnson, was a section foreman in Lobo, Texas in the early
1930s. His father, my grandfather, William R. Johnson lived there with him. They
lived in the Railroad Section House. Uncle Eugene took my grandfather to Valentine
to a doctor and he died there in March, 1936. The Section house probably dose
not exist now but sure would like to find a picture of it or even of the water
tower for the railroad there. - Jane Johnson Taylor - September 10, 2003
It has come to my attention some people are trying to resurrect Lobo, Texas. See
web site www.lobo-texas.com - Lon Braselton Allen, Texas, August 01, 2003In
searching for information on nearby, Candelaria,
Texas, I came upon the article on "Lobo For Sale", this particular building
was originally a truck stop owned by Buddy Griffin, a farmer in Lobo Valley, I
worked the truck stop during summer vacation and Christmas vacation 1958 while
a student at Texas Western College (now UTEP) in El Paso, Texas. A great place
to save money since there was no place to spent it! - Ron Segura, April 29,
2002
Subject:
Albert Ivy owned Lobo
My name is Howard Ivy. Albert Ivy was my dad. Even
named my hound dog after the town. We used it for housing for Evergreen Farms
for a time in the 70`s - Howard Ivy, April 28, 2002
Well,
except for seeing it in person to totally round out my final decision, I am, and
let me make this clear, 95% positive that I will purchase LOBO, Texas !!!! - Mike
G., Pennsylvania
I
enjoyed your article immensely. Can you point me to any other information about
Lobo? Is it still for sale, and who owns it today? I'm actually interested in
buying it if it's available. I've always wanted my own town. ;) - Larry T.,
Charlotte, NC
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