Loving 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 Name | Type | Latitude, Longitude | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcatraz | island | 31.967500, -103.938333 | USGS | |
| Beacon Light Lake | lake | 31.789167, -103.569167 | USGS | |
| Beacon Windmill | locale | 31.798889, -103.351389 | USGS | |
| Big Boy Well | well | 31.876111, -103.607778 | USGS | |
| Big Tank | lake | 31.831944, -103.792778 | USGS | |
| Boyd Ranch | locale | 31.971111, -103.847500 | USGS | |
| Boyd Well | well | 31.978611, -103.804444 | USGS | |
| Brookfield Windmill | locale | 31.784722, -103.409722 | USGS | |
| Brunson Ranch | locale | 31.945278, -103.477500 | USGS | |
| Bryant Wells | well | 31.947222, -103.581111 | USGS | |
| Burro Trap | area | 31.872778, -103.878056 | USGS | |
| Chapman Well | well | 31.902778, -103.545000 | USGS | |
| Cheyenne Draw | valley | 31.982778, -103.303889 | USGS | |
| Clifton Tank | reservoir | 31.920833, -103.678056 | USGS | |
| Double Well | well | 31.939167, -103.822222 | USGS | |
| East Tunstill Oil Field | oilfield | 31.845000, -103.785278 | USGS | |
| East Well | well | 31.946667, -103.621667 | USGS | |
| El Mar Oil Field | oilfield | 31.972778, -103.643333 | USGS | |
| El Mar Oil Field | oilfield | 32.005833, -103.639167 | USGS | |
| Gillespie Tank | reservoir | 31.873333, -103.536111 | USGS | |
| Gilliland Tank | reservoir | 31.824167, -103.532222 | USGS | |
| Goodrich Ranch | locale | 31.667778, -103.602500 | USGS | |
| Grice Oil Field | oilfield | 31.918056, -103.614722 | USGS | |
| Gyp Windmill | locale | 31.896111, -103.782778 | USGS | |
| Hackberry Tank | reservoir | 31.897778, -103.685556 | USGS | |
| High Lonesome Well | well | 31.748056, -103.499722 | USGS | |
| Highway Windmill | locale | 31.787500, -103.887500 | USGS | |
| Humble Well | well | 31.681667, -103.487500 | USGS | |
| Indian Springs Windmill | locale | 31.995278, -103.491667 | USGS | |
| Juanita | vanished community | 0.000000, -000.000000 | See Porterville, Texas. Some Porterville residents in 1914 were Tod Barber, cattle breeder; F. Y. Bell, cattle breeder; V. Brookfield, horse breeder; W. M. Brookfield, cattle breeder; K. Hartson, horse and mule breeder; Joseph Hudgens, cattle breeder; Albert Kyle, horse and mule breeder; J. B. McGuire, cattle breeders; Wm S. Newton, General Repair Shop; George D. Prindle, general store and lumber; W. Ross, cattle breeder; J. Schooter, horse and mule breeder; C. B. Scott, hotel. Source: Polk's Texas State Gazetteer and Business Dirctory 1914-1915, p. 745 | Julia Cauble Smith cauble@apex2000.net |
| Kyle Ranch | locale | 31.946667, -103.708333 | USGS | |
| Lake Well | well | 31.914167, -103.704722 | USGS | |
| Lehman Windmill | locale | 31.871944, -103.365000 | USGS | |
| Lehman Windmill | locale | 31.914167, -103.438889 | USGS | |
| Lindley Ranch | locale | 31.820278, -103.691667 | USGS | |
| Lineberry Windmill | locale | 31.850278, -103.403889 | USGS | |
| Little Tank | lake | 31.782778, -103.930833 | USGS | |
| Loving County | civil | 31.733333, -103.550000 | USGS | |
| Malone Well | well | 31.972778, -103.555278 | USGS | |
| Mentone | pop place | 31.705000, -103.598889 | USGS | |
| Meridian Oil Field | oilfield | 31.720278, -103.407778 | USGS | |
| Miller Wells | well | 31.895556, -103.575278 | USGS | |
| Moorehead Ranch | locale | 31.690000, -103.577500 | USGS | |
| New Well | well | 31.665278, -103.348889 | USGS | |
| New Well | well | 31.827778, -103.563333 | USGS | |
| New Well | well | 31.903056, -103.653889 | USGS | |
| Nine Section Windmill | locale | 31.811389, -103.878889 | USGS | |
| North Mason Oil Field | oilfield | 32.005833, -103.735278 | USGS | |
| North Pipeline Windmill | locale | 31.918889, -103.382222 | USGS | |
| North Tank | reservoir | 31.998611, -103.765000 | USGS | |
| North Well | well | 31.984167, -103.688611 | USGS | |
| North Well | well | 31.996944, -103.754444 | USGS | |
| North Windmill | locale | 31.843611, -103.740833 | USGS | |
| Pemm Windmill | locale | 31.802778, -103.401389 | USGS | |
| Pipeline Windmill | locale | 31.888889, -103.355278 | USGS | |
| Porterville | vanished community | 0.000000, -000.000000 | Was located 25 miles northwest of Pecos, Texas, on the east bank of the Pecos River in the southwestern corner of Loving County and was first called Juanita by its residents. In 1905 E. L. Stratton, founder of Stratton Land Company of Chicago, sponsored an excursion train to West Texas for prospective buyers of irrigated land. Traveling along the tracks of the Pecos Valley railroad and on the west bank of the river, many of the passengers were impressed with land east of the river in Loving County. Dr. Phil Porter, a physician from Michigan and a believer in the health benefits of the Southwest, was among the travelers. He agreed to head a colony for the land company and to serve as the area doctor. To attract settlers and to inflate the price of farm land, Stratton formed Porterville Ditch Company and contracted with S. V. Briggs, B. T. Briggs, and H. R. Templeton to build an irrigation ditch three miles north of the community to bring water to 10,000 acres of Loving County land. In 1908 settlers held pie suppers and dances to raise money for the construction of a school and union church building. In March 1909 the school opened and Celinda Newton became the first teacher. Juanita was granted a post office on 19 November 1909 with William T. Richie as postmaster. The post office kept the name of Juanita until 21 February 1910 when it was changed to Porterville. At one time Porterville was served by a boarding house, hotel, blacksmith, cobbler shop, doctor's office, lumber yard, land office, and two general stores. Porterville was connected by a bridge across the river to the Reeves County town of Arno, a depot of the Pecos Valley railroad, allowing access to shipping and passenger services. However, Porterville never succeed as an irrigated farming community because of the inability of irrigation promoters to keep their promises. Some settlers paid as much as $150 per acre for land only to see competing irrigation promoters build dams and place unrealistic demands on the limited supply of river water. In 1909 twelve farms, totaling 1,040 acres of irrigated land, were cultivated at Porterville. By 1913 only 600 acres could be irrigated and people began to move away from their bad investments. By 1923 the river sank even lower, reaching the saline stage. By 1925 oil production began in Loving County and in 1931 a new town, called Mentone, was built two miles northeast of Porterville. The school and church building and the post office were moved from Porterville to Mentone. Although Porterville had been the only town in the county over three decades, it lost out to Mentone and its residents migrated gradually to the new town. However, E. L. Stratton kept his home in Porterville until his death in 1953. Sources: Robert W. Dunn, "The History of Loving County, Texas" in West Texas Historical Association Year Book (1948), 93-119; Wylene Kirk, "Early Post Offices and Towns in the Permian Basin Area," in The Texas Permian Historical Annual 1:1 (Aug 1961), 18; Sue Navarro, "Four Square Miles Per Man, Loving County, Texas," in The Texas Permian Historical Annual 4 (Dec 1964), 9-19; Ellen Goodrich, "A Second Look at Loving County," The Permian Historical Annual 7 (Dec 1967), 9-14; Celinda Newton Whittum, "To Whom It May Concern," Handwritten note attached to the front of the teacher's register, Copy given to Writer by Mary Belle Jones, Loving County Clerk, 16 June 1989, Mentone, TX; Mary Belle Jones, Interview by Writer, 16 June 1989, Mentone, TX; Charles Deaton, Texas Postal History Handbook (Houston: by author, 1980), 109, 119, 210;Robert L. Phifer, Petroleum Review, Reeves, Loving and Culberson Counties, Texas (Houston: Phifer Petroleum Publications, 1958), 6. | Julia Cauble Smith cauble@apex2000.net |
| Porterville Pumping Station | locale | 31.716667, -103.592222 | USGS | |
| Rattlesnake Well | well | 31.972222, -103.639444 | USGS | |
| Red Bluff Cove | bay | 31.996667, -103.956667 | USGS | |
| Red Tank Windmill | locale | 31.652222, -103.457778 | USGS | |
| Rocky Point | cape | 31.915556, -103.907222 | USGS | |
| Rondo Well | well | 31.768611, -103.575833 | USGS | |
| Rudd Draw | valley | 31.729167, -103.511389 | USGS | |
| Rudd Well | well | 31.836667, -103.505000 | USGS | |
| Sand Bend Draw | valley | 31.800278, -103.876944 | USGS | |
| Sand Bend Tank | lake | 31.773889, -103.948611 | USGS | |
| Seeping Springs Windmill | locale | 31.948611, -103.338889 | USGS | |
| Shallow Water Windmill | locale | 31.799722, -103.458889 | USGS | |
| Sixes Windmill | locale | 31.916389, -103.339444 | USGS | |
| Slash Ranch | locale | 31.828611, -103.598333 | USGS | |
| South Tank | lake | 31.779444, -103.983056 | USGS | |
| South Windmill | locale | 31.788611, -103.715278 | USGS | |
| South Windmill | locale | 31.942778, -103.394722 | USGS | |
| Tarbottom Well | well | 31.975000, -103.513333 | USGS | |
| Tucker Draw | valley | 31.993889, -103.932222 | USGS | |
| Tunstill Oil Field | oilfield | 31.893333, -103.825833 | USGS | |
| Twin Windmills | locale | 31.835278, -103.374722 | USGS | |
| Two Freds Oil Field | oilfield | 31.657222, -103.480000 | USGS | |
| West Brookfield Windmill | locale | 31.761944, -103.491111 | USGS | |
| West Camp Windmill | locale | 31.786389, -103.916389 | USGS | |
| West Lehman Windmill | locale | 31.823333, -103.480556 | USGS | |
| West Well | well | 31.928611, -103.769722 | USGS | |
| West Windmill | locale | 31.834167, -103.407500 | USGS | |
| Wheat Oil Field | oilfield | 31.716944, -103.593056 | USGS | |
| Wheat Ranch | locale | 31.691111, -103.509722 | USGS | |
| Wheat Well | well | 31.755000, -103.611667 | USGS | |
| White Elephant Tank | reservoir | 31.994444, -103.528056 | USGS | |
| White Mule Well | well | 31.810833, -103.623056 | USGS | |
| Wilkie Well | well | 31.929444, -103.551389 | USGS | |
| Windmill Number Two | locale | 31.718889, -103.335556 | USGS | |
| Woody | vanished community | 0.000000, -000.000000 | Woody, Texas, a vanished community, was located 30 miles northwest of Pecos, Texas, at the headquarters of W Ranch in north central Loving County. A post office opened at Woody on 1 April 1910 and Sarah E. Hunt was postmaster. The post office closed 30 December 1911 and the building was moved to Arno, Texas. The community was named for Fannin Woodyard [Woody] Johnson, the leading partner in a business association with his brothers, W. D. and J. L. The Johnsons, who were bankers and merchants in Pecos, Reeves County, Texas, purchased W Ranch from Continental Land and Cattle Company in 1893. The brothers built an unusually large ranching operation of 1,200 sections of land in Loving, Ward, and Winkler counties by 1910, when West Texas was hit by a deep drought. Forced to decrease their holdings, the Johnsons sold W Ranch to John Z. Means of Valentine in 1912. No evidence of the existence of Woody, Texas, was found in 1990. Sources: Robert W. Dunn, "The History of Loving County, Texas" in West Texas Historical Association Year Book (1948), 93-119; Wylene Kirk, "Early Post Offices and Towns in the Permian Basin Area," in The Texas Permian Historical Annual 1:1 (Aug 1961), 18; Alton Hughes, Pecos: A History of the Pioneer West (Seagraves: Pioneer Book Pub., 1978), 275-277; Charles Deaton, Texas Postal History Handbook (Houston: by author, 1980), 155; 1912 Texas Almanac, 105; Writer's observation. | Julia Cauble
Smith cauble@apex2000.net |
| Yantis Ranch | locale | 31.770278, -103.326944 | USGS |