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GOODNIGHT,
TEXAS
Texas Ghost
Town
"Hometown of Hud"
Armstrong County, Texas
Panhandle
Highway 287
14 miles SE of Claude
40 miles SE of Amarillo
Population:
25 Est.
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Goodnight
Vintage Photos
Courtesy
Lance
Ingham Sloan, (decendent of the Vaughan's of Goodnight) and (GGGG-nephew
of Charles Goodnight) |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Named for famed cattleman Charles
Goodnight, who settled here, the first building in town was
reportedly Goodnight's ranchhouse, built in 1887.
The Fort
Worth and Denver City Railway soon came through and established
a depot. The post office opened in 1888 and the former JA Ranch
blacksmith opened a shop that same year.
Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight, with the help of the Goodnight Baptist
Church opened Goodnight College (1898 until 1917).
Charles
Goodnight died in 1929, but up until his death he was, for all
intents and purposes, the town of Goodnight. His house and his buffalo
herd remain.
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The
graduating class of Goodnight College 1899 - 1900
Photo courtesy Lance Ingham Sloan |
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Goodnight
sign
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, 2006 |
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Goodnight
had a population of 300 for the 1940 census. As Claude's
star rose, Goodnight's declined. In 1963 the Paul Newman movie Hud
was filmed in Goodnight and the post office closed six years later.
Besides the Goodnight Ranch facilities, only two churches and the
cemetery remain today.
The population in 1990 was the same as the 1969 estimate - 25 persons.
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| Photo
courtesy Lance Ingham Sloan, 2007 |
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Charles
and Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight Marker
Photos courtesy Marlee Goodnight Dickerson, October 2003 |
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Goodnight
Cemetery
Photo courtesy Marlee Goodnight Dickerson, October 2003 |
Goodnight,
Texas Forum
Subject:
Goodnight, Texas
Dear TE, Around 1950 or 1951 I was six years old an enrolled in
the first grade at Goodnight school. My mother was hired to teach
the 7th, 8th and 9th grades. I remember my first girlfriend, Becky,
(she was an older woman). She was in the second grade and sat in
front of me through 6th grade. I remember driving out to the canyon
and seeing trunks and other discards left by wagons that had going
through just forty or so years earlier. A lot of clothing and household
effects were still in the trunks - just as they were packed all
those years earlier. I remember riding hogs, calves, and catching
turtles from a pond. I remember going to the funeral of an old man
I remember as Mister Goodnight. I still question my memory as to
who he really was but the whole county turned out. I remember getting
hit in the back of the head with a base ball bat playing catcher
at recess. No questions there. I so yearn for days like those again.
I would like to hear from others from Goodnight of the same time.
- D D Durbin, Corpus Christi, Texas, November 22, 2007, ASKDAL@aol.com
, November 22, 2007
Subject:
Goodnight Cemetery
Dear TE, My grandfather, Henry Louis Hodgin, worked for Captain
Goodnight as a ranch hand. The story is that Captain Goodnight sent
him to school; I don't know for how long he worked for the Captain
or any other information on that. I do know that my great grandfather,
William Sterling Hodgin, is buried in the Goodnight Cemetery and
was buried by Captain Goodnight. A marker is on the grave. In the
registry for the cemetery, it only denotes that the father of Louis
Hodgin was buried in the plot.
I do have a photo of that grave, but my question is if there is
any way that I could get information on this grave or the history
of more of the ranch hands on the Goodnight ranch during the early
1900's? (I'm guessing here at a date, my grandfather was born in
1893.) Since my grandfather was half Cherokee, he was always very
quiet about his heritage because he didn't want his children to
be called "Half-breeds."
My mother is now 85 years old and the oldest of her siblings. We
are having a reunion at her brother's house outside of Post, Texas
this summer. Her brother is the baby of the family at the age of
73. We've always been curious about the history of Goodnight because
of this connection and the lack of information in the family. If
anyone can be of any help to us in finding more sources on the history
of Goodnight or the ranch hands please send it in. - Kay Strickland,
kay_strcklnd@yahoo.com, Edgewood, Texas, July 02, 2007
Subject:
Goodnight Texas
Dear TE, I have attached a few more photographs
of family from the glory days of Goodnight, Texas. Quite a few of
them are buried in the Goodnight Cemetery. - Lance Ingham Sloan,
(decendent of the Vaughan's of Goodnight) and (GGGG-nephew of Charles
Goodnight), May 12, 2007
Dear TE, My
name is Marlee Goodnight, now Marlee Dickerson. My family and I
came through Goodnight, Texas and stopped at the lovely museum in
Claude in 2003, what a wonderful
trip... I have photos that turned out nicely. Charles Goodnight
was my fathers great uncle. I will dig out those photos. When I
was in Claude they had some lovely photos, the one I really liked
and would love to have is the one with Charles and Mary sitting
together on a white settee in front of the house.
During my research last night I came across a website talking about
a fundraiser for the homestead. Have your heard how it went? I would
love to be able to come back, we were talking about going for the
reunion this summer.
Its funny but Goodnights seem to have the innovative spirit. Whenever
I am confronted with a problem, I just decide to make it work, reinvent
it, IE the chuckwagon. I think it is best summed up with we don’t
like being told NO! you can't do it, that won't work. For me it’s
a battle cry! - Marlee Goodnight Dickerson, Santa Rosa, California,
February 18, 2007
Dear TE, I
have in my possession some photos of residents from Goodnight, Texas
including a class photo from Goodnight College 1899 - 1900. I have
attached the photograph and one of my GGGrandparent's and their
home in Goodnight. - Lance Ingham Sloan, Santa Rosa, California,
February 09, 2007
To share history or photos of Goodnight, Texas, please contact
us.
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