Doole, Texas

Like Clairemont, Doole proved to be a very enjoyable ghost town visit.  While there are still people living in the town, and its post office is still functioning, there are a number of abandoned buildings, and the old athletic field looks pretty much the same as when Baker photographed it 1984.  Doole is located at the intersection of Farm Roads 765 and 503 twelve miles due north of US 87 in extreme western McCulloch County.  It is about five miles north of Salt Gap.

On October 10, 2005 I received an email from a reader who has a connection to Doole:

Doole, well that is one town I hate to see go down. Used to stop at the general store there every time I could, even if I didn't need anything. Good place to get an ice cold coke in a glass bottle before you head back to work. Was anyway, no longer in business. The old folks died, kids sold it. Well if you want to know a lot more you can talk to my mom. Just let me know. Don't forget about Stacey, TX. It's under water now. Concho, Texas, it's not even there anymore. Marco, TX, not there anymore, Fife, TX, just a couple buildings left. All them old towns in that area are like that. Some towns that went away don't even have roads to them, like Whitland. Still has the old school house, but good luck getting to it.

On October 20, 2007, I received the email below from another reader who has a connection to Doole:

Doole, TX pronounced "dual" a once thriving agricultural farming and ranching area and still has a few ranchers left in the area that have not had to sell to the lawyers and doctors so they can put up 12 foot game fences all around the property. Well, it may not have many people there now by looks but I'm 47 now and spent most of my pre teen years during the summer months and plenty of time during my years at ACU Abilene Christian University class of 86' just 90 miles north working which sometimes was more like riding around with my uncle Johnny (John W. Cox) in his truck checking fences and looking at cows. Never could tell just what the heck he was looking at. Then later I found out he could tell just by looking how much weight gain or loss an animal had made.

Daily trips to the post office where Alenette Browning was postmaster for since I could remember. She is the wife of Briggs Browning another rancher and long time family friend. They live north up the 503 on the left in the more modern brick house about 2 miles from the post office. She has been fighting cancer for some time.

That old stadium seating you see in that picture is where my mother used to attend football games there when she was in school there. Yep, rode a horse for years to elementary and what we would call middle school these days then the county graded the road to the ranch house and they started riding the bus to school.

The post office you see in that picture is the NEW post office the old one wasn't quite as big. My Uncles P.O. Box was Box 75 for nearly 60 something years. There was also a flag pole dedicated there during the Texas Sesquensenteniel (not sure on the spelling).

The little general/feed store you see in the old picture was called "Oscars". Oscar Betsell owned and ran it till I could remember then I guess his children ran it or sold but it was never the same again. He had a brother that owned a Gulf station at the intersection but once again, old age, no family to pass it on to and the EPA was going to enforce the underground fuel tank clean-up that has been done all over the state, but since he couldn't afford it they put him out of business.

Oscar died around late 80's or early 90's about the same time my Uncle died in Sept. 91'. My Uncle John W. Cox known all around those parts would always take us children to the feed store for a cold big red or some other confection like candy bars, bubble gum, and a big 50 lbs sack of some generic brand of cat food to feed his 30 some odd cats (snake and rodent control) and would always put it on his account just like the old days. When we started having our own families we would take our children to see Oscar.

The feed store was information central believe me. Like my mother taught me about saying ANYTHING around the feed store "Everyone around here is related to just about everyone else in some way or another, you never know who is listening and remember these farmers and ranchers out here make a living using their wits. Never tell anything to someone out here you don't want known as general knowledge" My dad made that mistake once and before we could drive from Doole to Ballinger, Texas about 60 miles away a lady that ran the hair salon there mentioned to my sister who just happened be in getting her hair done that same day , that she had heard my mother was selling the ranch. Which wasn't exactly true but the point is my dad had mentioned something to this lady's brother who just happened to be stopped at the feed store getting some cattle feed and immediately called his sister in Ballinger 60 miles away to repeat the latest gossip . Watch what you say.

A man by the name of Jasper Stover bought our ranch about 92' it was a little more than my mother or her sister could hang on to and being the multi-millionaire he is, built a community fire station in Doole, and furnished the fire engine. But you can bet your bottom dollar it was done more out of self preservation of his new "hunting lodge" than concern for the citizens of Doole, Texas.