Kelley (Texas)
New member
Early afternoon, it was a windy, but beautiful day, I decided to ride out to a small town by the name of Kingsbury, Texas. This town will soon be a ghost town...the buildings are in poor condition and there is no industry.
Kingsbury was founded beside the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio railroad line in the early 1870's. The town derives it's name from Dr. William Greely Kingsbury, a dentist who owned a large ranch in Boerne, Texas...ranch was appropriately named "The Molar Ranch." Because Dr. Kingsbury was instrumental in bringing many new settlers to the area, the Governor of Texas in recognition of the hard work of Dr. Kingsbury named the town in his honor.
Cotton was the primary economic force until oil was discovered in the 1920's. The town reached it's peak in 1968 with a population of 450. The present population is estimated to be 200 folks. I am of the opinion that the Interstate Highway was the reason for the decline of this small town, too far from the Interstate Highway.
I drove around the small town, or rather I should say what was left of the small town and was amazed at the poor condition of most of the buildings and houses. There was really no one readily available to ask about some of the history of Kingsbury. I rode to the small Post Office, but it was closed. I saw no adults, only children in a few yards...did get chased by two large dogs! They were close enough that I could hear their teeth clicking for a few moments. This town is interesting and I am going to do some research to find out more about it.
This first photo was the original Post Office and was established in 1876. Please note that there is still a flag post out front.
[attachment 86946 Kingsbury_1.jpg]
This is a photo of the business district, looking west. Note that the stores are closed and this is a Saturday afternoon! I was standing next to the railroad tracks when I took this picture.
[attachment 86948 Kingsbury_2.jpg]
This is a photo of the west end of the business district. This appears to be a beer house, and the lighted sign said "open," but the doors were locked.
[attachment 86949 Kingsbury_3.jpg]
This is a photo of the business district looking east. This is the complete business district.
[attachment 86950 Kingsbury_4.jpg]
As I was riding around the small town of Kingsbury, I spotted this old church through some trees. I finally found a road to the church and discovered that it was out in a field. I am puzzled because if you look closely, there are fresh plywood over some of the windows on the old church. There are no signs or means of identifying this church. Like I said, this town needs to be researched.
[attachment 86951 Kingsbury_5.jpg]
This is another photo of the old church.
[attachment 86952 Kingsbury_6.jpg]
The road to the old church ended at a drive way to an old house with a locked gate. Someone is living in that house, but did not come out as I sat on my bike at the gate. Also, just prior to the old church is what appears to possibly be an old church camp ground...complete with a few buildings. It was also located in a field.
I enjoyed myself, but was somewhat tired after riding almost 200 miles with wind gust up to thirty miles per hour...that wind kinda beats you just a tab. I need to find a way to carry a metal detector on this bike...lots of good spots in that old town, especially the old church and camp ground. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
Kingsbury was founded beside the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio railroad line in the early 1870's. The town derives it's name from Dr. William Greely Kingsbury, a dentist who owned a large ranch in Boerne, Texas...ranch was appropriately named "The Molar Ranch." Because Dr. Kingsbury was instrumental in bringing many new settlers to the area, the Governor of Texas in recognition of the hard work of Dr. Kingsbury named the town in his honor.
Cotton was the primary economic force until oil was discovered in the 1920's. The town reached it's peak in 1968 with a population of 450. The present population is estimated to be 200 folks. I am of the opinion that the Interstate Highway was the reason for the decline of this small town, too far from the Interstate Highway.
I drove around the small town, or rather I should say what was left of the small town and was amazed at the poor condition of most of the buildings and houses. There was really no one readily available to ask about some of the history of Kingsbury. I rode to the small Post Office, but it was closed. I saw no adults, only children in a few yards...did get chased by two large dogs! They were close enough that I could hear their teeth clicking for a few moments. This town is interesting and I am going to do some research to find out more about it.
This first photo was the original Post Office and was established in 1876. Please note that there is still a flag post out front.
[attachment 86946 Kingsbury_1.jpg]
This is a photo of the business district, looking west. Note that the stores are closed and this is a Saturday afternoon! I was standing next to the railroad tracks when I took this picture.
[attachment 86948 Kingsbury_2.jpg]
This is a photo of the west end of the business district. This appears to be a beer house, and the lighted sign said "open," but the doors were locked.
[attachment 86949 Kingsbury_3.jpg]
This is a photo of the business district looking east. This is the complete business district.
[attachment 86950 Kingsbury_4.jpg]
As I was riding around the small town of Kingsbury, I spotted this old church through some trees. I finally found a road to the church and discovered that it was out in a field. I am puzzled because if you look closely, there are fresh plywood over some of the windows on the old church. There are no signs or means of identifying this church. Like I said, this town needs to be researched.
[attachment 86951 Kingsbury_5.jpg]
This is another photo of the old church.
[attachment 86952 Kingsbury_6.jpg]
The road to the old church ended at a drive way to an old house with a locked gate. Someone is living in that house, but did not come out as I sat on my bike at the gate. Also, just prior to the old church is what appears to possibly be an old church camp ground...complete with a few buildings. It was also located in a field.
I enjoyed myself, but was somewhat tired after riding almost 200 miles with wind gust up to thirty miles per hour...that wind kinda beats you just a tab. I need to find a way to carry a metal detector on this bike...lots of good spots in that old town, especially the old church and camp ground. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
