Hogtown - Hemphill County, TX - Ghost Towns on Waymarking.com

County of ghosttown: Hemphill County
Location of ghosttown: US-60/83 & FM-2266, N. of river, about 1/2 mile N. of Canadian
Marker erected by: State Historical Survey Committee
Date marker erected: 1969

Marker text:

Former Site of
HOGTOWN Forerunner of town of Canadian. Sprang up, 1886, as a tent city for railroad gang working on Southern Kansas line. Named for poor appearance - like a hogpen. After landowner Sam Polland and railroad disputed price for land, line moved across river, taking populace with it.

"Hogtown, was Hemphill County's first settlement and the forerunner of the county seat, Canadian. It rose on the north bank of the Canadian River, near its junction with Clear Creek, late in 1886 as a camp for the construction crews of the Southern Kansas (Panhandle and Santa Fe) Railroad. Soon the town won considerable notoriety as a "desperado city." Saloons, gambling dens, and stores were erected, and tents were pitched for temporary sleeping quarters. Sam Pollard, a local rancher, constructed a hotel and restaurant. The brothers John J. and George Gerlach, who had operated a mercantile store for ranchers on Horse Creek since 1884, moved their one-room establishment to Hogtown.

The name Hogtown was supposedly derived from the town's generally shabby appearance and seamy atmosphere. One former resident, however, later stated that the town was so named because everyone was subject to the imperative "root, hog, or die." A dispute between Pollard and the railroad company over the price of town lots, along with the founding of Canadian on the south bank after completion of a bridge in 1887, led to Hogtown's rapid demise. Only a few settlers remained at the site, which was renamed Clear Creek. A schoolhouse, which doubled as a church, was in use until 1913. For years thereafter, a siding and flag station for the Santa Fe line retained the name." ~ TSHA online

Reason for Abandonment: Economic Date Abandoned: 07/04/1888 Related Web Page: [Web Link]

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