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Plata

Plata, Texas: A Quiet Ranching and Railroad Community in Presidio County

Plata (Spanish for “silver”) is a small unincorporated community in Presidio County, Texas. Located on Farm-to-Market Road 169, it sits about 25 miles south of Marfa and roughly four miles south of Alamito, near Alamito Creek. Today, Plata is sparsely populated, with just a handful of buildings, a railroad siding, and a water tank marking its presence on the West Read more…
Pittsville

Pittsville, Texas: The Prairie Town That Time Passed Over

Pittsville was a small community in northern Fort Bend County, located about three miles north of Fulshear at the present-day junction of Farm Road 359 and Hunt-Jordan Road. Although the settlement has disappeared, its story reflects the rise and decline of many rural towns in nineteenth-century Texas. Origins and Growth Pittsville developed in the 1840s, when plantation owners sought higher Read more…
Pisgah

Pisgah, Texas: A Once-Thriving Navarro County Settlement with Only Traces Left Behind

Pisgah is a historic rural community located on Pisgah Ridge, about seven miles south of Corsicana in south-central Navarro County. The settlement traces its origins to the late 1840s, when farming families established homesteads in the area. Over time, it developed into a small but important local center for surrounding agricultural operations. Growth and Community Institutions By the late 19th Read more…
Pisek

Pisek, Texas: A Ghost Town Born of Railroads and Czech Heritage

Pisek is a ghost town in northern Colorado County, Texas. The community developed in the late 19th century as Czech and German immigrants settled the area. Its history is closely tied to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (the Katy). Origins and Settlement Before 1887, the settlement existed at a crossroads about three miles north of present-day Pisek. That original Read more…
Pine Springs

Pine Springs, Texas: From Stagecoach Stop to National Park Gateway

Pine Springs is an unincorporated community in northern Culberson County, Texas, located at the junction of U.S. Highways 62 and 180. It lies about 60 miles north of Van Horn and approximately three miles southeast of Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas. Today, it serves primarily as a small residential and service area for Guadalupe Mountains National Park, but Read more…
Pilares

Pilares, Texas: The Ghost Town Where a Spanish Fort Once Guarded the Rio Grande

Pilares is a ghost town in northwest Presidio County, Texas, located along the Rio Grande near the community of Porvenir. The site lies on the southern edge of the Sierra Vieja Mountains, about 1.25 miles south of the confluence of Quinn Creek and the Rio Grande and roughly 1.5 miles north of Porvenir. Historical Background The area gained significance in Read more…
Pila Blanca

Pila Blanca, Texas: Exploring a Ghost Town in the Heart of Duval County

Pila Blanca is a former rural community and recognized ghost town in southern Duval County, Texas. The site lies about 1.5 miles south of U.S. Highway 44 on Farm to Market Road 3196, roughly 10 miles southeast of Freer and 25 miles west of Alice. While little remains today, Pila Blanca is documented in state records as one of the Read more…
Phillips

Phillips, Texas: A Company Town Built on Oil and History

Phillips was a company town in Hutchinson County, Texas, located about three miles northeast of Borger. It developed in the 1920s during the oil boom in the Texas Panhandle and later became one of the best-known oil towns in the region. By the late 1980s, however, the community had been dismantled, leaving behind only memories, historical records, and alumni associations. Read more…
Phelan

Phelan, Texas: Exploring the Historic Ghost Town of Bastrop County’s Coal Country

Phelan is a historic ghost town in Bastrop County, Texas, located about two miles north of the city of Bastrop near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 157 and Phelan Road. Today, it is on private property, and little remains of the once active community beyond scattered foundations, remnants of mining shafts, and the Phelan Cemetery. Founding and Early Read more…
Peyton Colony 768x570

Peyton Colony: A Historic Freedmen’s Settlement in the Texas Hill Country

Peyton Colony—also known historically as Payton, Board House, or Boardhouse—is a freedmen’s settlement in southeastern Blanco County, Texas. It was founded shortly after the Civil War by Peyton Roberts, a formerly enslaved man, and a group of freed families who sought to establish a self-sufficient community in the Texas Hill Country. Founding and Early Settlement The community traces its beginnings Read more…