Crosby County, Texas, Landmarks & Vanished Communities

The USGS no longer maintains its GNIS database so I've removed the links to it. You can copy and paste the Lat/Long into Google to get a map of the location. If you can fill in missing GPS coordinates or if you know of a location or vanished community not listed here, please let someone know. TXGenWeb is not responsible for incorrect GPS Coordinates.
Feature NameTypeLatitude, LongitudeDescriptionSource
Alfalfa Drawvalley33.626667, -101.130556USGS
Big Bull Tankreservoir33.541944, -101.213889USGS
Blanco Canyonvalley33.665833, -101.160000USGS
Blue Holereservoir33.552778, -101.176389USGS
Blue Hole Creekstream33.552222, -101.146667USGS
Bridwell Ranchlocale33.774722, -101.256667USGS
Broadwaypop place33.703611, -101.072222USGS
Bunker Hillsummit33.546944, -101.043611USGS
Camp Rio Blancolocale33.681667, -101.169167USGS
Canyon Valleypop place33.401111, -101.334722USGS
Cap Rocklocale33.491389, -101.398056USGS
Cedar Hillcape33.540556, -101.147222USGS
Collett Springsspring33.592778, -101.127500USGS
Conepop place33.797222, -101.387222USGS
Cone Airportairport33.811111, -101.396111USGS
Cone Cemeterycemetery33.797222, -101.421667USGS
Cottonwood Tankreservoir33.531667, -101.120556USGS
Courthouse Mountainsummit33.434722, -101.405556USGS
Crawfish Creekstream33.783333, -101.226944USGS
Crosby Countycivil33.600000, -101.300000USGS
Crosbytonpop place33.660000, -101.237500USGS
Crosbyton Cemeterycemetery33.657778, -101.210000USGS
Crosbyton Municipal Airportairport33.623611, -101.240833USGS
Davidson Creekstream33.488889, -101.098611USGS
Davidson Tankreservoir33.505000, -101.154167USGS
Dry Trap Windmilllocale33.550278, -101.233889USGS
East Herd Windmilllocale33.575556, -101.220556USGS
Estacadopop place33.752222, -101.561389USGS
Fairview Schoolschool33.740278, -101.317222USGS
Farmerpop place33.783333, -101.456667USGS
Forbes Oil Fieldoilfield33.405556, -101.434444USGS
Gannon Creekstream33.641944, -101.133056USGS
Grape Creekstream33.595000, -101.125556USGS
Ha-Ra Oil Fieldoilfield33.544167, -101.535556USGS
Home Creekstream33.439722, -101.085556USGS
Hornet Stadiumlocale33.672778, -101.530556USGS
Indian Hillsummit33.619167, -101.143611USGS
Indian Ridgeridge33.421111, -101.408056USGS
Kalgarypop place33.408889, -101.148056USGS
KCLR-AM (Ralls)tower33.666667, -101.378889USGS
Lions Parkpark33.669722, -101.386667USGS
Lorenzopop place33.670556, -101.534722USGS
Lorenzo Cemeterycemetery33.667778, -101.560278USGS
Lorenzo Cemeterycemetery33.695833, -101.535556USGS
Meadow Windmilllocale33.776667, -101.234722USGS
Mount Blancopop place33.815556, -101.192778The community was named for a mesa and Blanco Canyon, each located nearby. A trail was first mapped through this part of Bexar Land District in 1872 by the 4th U. S. Cavalry under command of Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie. Early in 1877 Charles P. Tasker, whom J. Evetts Haley called "a young Philadelphia spendthrift," asked Fort Griffin businessman, Henry Clay [Hank] Smith (1836-1912), to recommend a site for a cattle ranch. Smith chose the site in Blanco Canyon that became Mount Blanco as the headquarters of Tasker's proposed ranch. Tasker gave the ranch the romantic name of Hacienda Glorieta. Sometime later in 1877 Smith arrived at Mount Blanco with a herd of 500 to 600 cattle to stock Tasker's ranch. A two-story stone ranch house was built with walls 22 inches thick. Stone blocks for its construction were taken from Blanco Canyon. Before the ranch was established, Tasker found himself strapped for cash. He and his coachman loaded up his hounds and departed, abandoning the ranch. Since Tasker had borrowed $11,000 from Smith, the businessman seized the ranch and house as payment. The Smith family moved to the ranch in November 1878 and became the first permanent Anglo settlers in the area that became Crosby County eight years later, on 11 September 1886. At Mount Blanco, Smith ran a small store, operated a small ranch of sheep and cattle, and experimented with different types of crops. A post office named Mount Blanco opened at the Smiths' rock house in 1879 with Elizabeth Boyle Smith, the wife of Smith, as postmaster. A public school was established sometime after the Smiths arrived with their six children. Smith was active in county government, serving as first tax collector and as a county commissioner. The family lived in the rock house until Smith died in the spring of 1912. By 1913 the one-room Blanco Canyon school was moved to a site 8 miles northeast of the rock house. In 1916 a new Mount Blanco school was constructed, serving also as a union church and community center. A Missionary Baptist church was formed in 1918. The post office closed in 1920. At the end of the 1940s, Mount Blanco began its decline when its school consolidated with Crosbyton, depriving the community of its main focus. In 1952 the rock house burned, leaving only its thick walls standing. Although a cotton gin was built in 1954 and continued operation at the end of the 1980s, the community lost its last focus in 1965 when the Baptists voted to disband. In the early years of its existence, the rock house became legendary as a lonely outpost that offered hospitality to all who traveled the only road that crossed the high plains. By the 1990s the site was known as the Hank Smith Memorial Park. By 1998 the Texas Almanac listed Mount Blanco as a populated place, but it gave no population figure. Sources: State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, General Highway Map of Crosby County, Texas, revised 01 October 1984; Mary L. Cox, "Mount Blanco, Texas," in The New Handbook of Texas, Vol. 4 (Austin: The Texas State Historical Assn., 1996), 863; William M. Pearce, "Smith, Henry Clay," in The New Handbook of Texas, Vol. 5 (Austin: TSHA, 1996), 1100; J. Evetts Haley, The XIT Ranch of Texas and the Early Days of the Llano Estacado, reprint edition (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1953), 44; Luke Gournay, Texas Boundaries: Evolution of the State's Counties (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1995), 90, 98; Charles Deaton, Texas Postal History Handbook (Houston: by author, 1980), 122; 1998-1999 Texas Almanac, 310.USGS & Julia Cauble Smith
cauble@apex2000.net
Negro Hillsummit33.516389, -101.133056USGS
North Windmilllocale33.598056, -101.154444USGS
Old Emma Cemeterycemetery33.611667, -101.411389USGS
Owenspop place33.558333, -101.352500USGS
Pansy Churchchurch33.703889, -101.073333USGS
Pete Creekstream33.511111, -101.075833USGS
Plum Creekstream33.444167, -101.489722USGS
Poe Hollowvalley33.504167, -101.066944USGS
Rallspop place33.674167, -101.387222USGS
Ralph Bunche Schoolschool33.667778, -101.545278USGS
Robertsonpop place33.564167, -101.513333USGS
Rock Trail Tankreservoir33.569444, -101.196667USGS
Sand Creekstream33.464722, -101.092222USGS
Sand Rock Creekstream33.604167, -101.128889USGS
Sand Rock Springspring33.661389, -101.126667USGS
Savagepop place33.592778, -101.432500USGS
Shaw Tankreservoir33.549167, -101.048333USGS
Silver Fallsfalls33.666111, -101.160000USGS
Smith Tankreservoir33.407222, -101.071667USGS
Spindle Top Windmilllocale33.600833, -101.206389USGS
Spring Creekstream33.393611, -101.449722USGS
Turkey Creekstream33.429444, -101.230556USGS
Turkey Drawvalley33.455278, -101.489444USGS
Twenty Foot Fallsfalls33.662222, -101.155556USGS
V Ranchlocale33.402500, -101.521667USGS
Wakepop place33.782500, -101.094167USGS
White River Damdam33.458333, -101.083056USGS
White River Reservoirreservoir33.458333, -101.083056USGS
Wood Ranchlocale33.415556, -101.514722USGS
Yankee Creekstream33.499722, -101.148611USGS
Yellow House Canyonvalley33.452778, -101.536111USGS