View source for Lobo, Texas

{{short description|Ghost town in Culberson County, Texas, United States}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Lobo, Texas
|settlement_type          = [[List of ghost towns in Texas|Ghost town]]
|nickname                 =
|motto                    =
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|image_skyline            = Hotel in Lobo, Texas (circa 1910s).jpg
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            = Hotel in Lobo, ''circa'' 1910s
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|image_seal               =
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|pushpin_map              = Texas
|pushpin_relief           = yes
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|coordinates              = {{coord|30|48|51|N|104|45|11|W|region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Texas]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Culberson County, Texas|Culberson]]
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|unit_pref  = Imperial
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|population_as_of         = 2009
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 15
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|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      =
|elevation_m              = 1222
|elevation_ft             = 4010
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|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 77591
|area_code                = [[Area code 432|432]]
|blank_name               =
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|website                  = [http://www.lobo-texas.com http://www.lobo-texas.com]
|footnotes                =
}}
[[File:Lobo, Texas (2013).jpg|thumb|280px|Lobo, 2013]]
'''Lobo''' is a [[ghost town]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-11-25 |title=The Texas Ghost Town of Lobo {{!}} Nutty Hiker Adventures |url=https://nuttyhiker.com/the-texas-ghost-town-of-lobo/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |language=en-US}}</ref> in [[Culberson County, Texas]], United States, that was abandoned in 1991.<ref name="Lobo History">{{cite web | url = http://www.lobo-texas.com/lobohome/en/history.php | title = Lobo, Texas: History | format = | publisher = Lobo, Texas Community Site | date =  | accessdate = 2009-10-04}}</ref>
==Geography==
Lobo is located in the [[Trans-Pecos]] region of [[West Texas]], between the Van Horn Mountains and Wylie Mountains in southern Culberson County. It is situated along [[U.S. Route 90 in Texas|U.S. Highway 90]], approximately {{convert|12|mi}} south of [[Van Horn, Texas|Van Horn]] and {{convert|24|mi}} west of [[Valentine, Texas|Valentine]].<ref name="Texas Escapes">{{cite web|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Lobo/Lobo_Texas.htm|title=Lobo, Texas|publisher=Texas Escapes Online Magazine|date= |accessdate=2009-10-04}}</ref>
==History==
The community's history dates back to the mid-19th century, when a [[bolson]] [[aquifer]] named Van Horn Wells was discovered in the area. These wells were the only known water sources within a radius of {{convert|100|mi}}.<ref name="Lobo History"/> The springs became a stop on the [[San Antonio-El Paso Road]], followed by emigrants travelling to the [[Western United States|West]].  It was followed by the [[San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line]] and [[Butterfield Overland Mail]] and other mail routes from 1857 until the railroads arrived.
In 1882, the area became a watering stop and depot for the [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific Railroad]]. A post office was established in 1907 under the name Lobo, after the [[Mexican wolf|Mexican wolves]] (''[[Canis lupus]] baileyi'') that formerly roamed the area.<ref name="Texas Handbook">{{cite web|url= http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnl34|title=Lobo, TX|author=Martin Donell Kohout|work=[[The Handbook of Texas|The Handbook of Texas Online]]|publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]]|date= |accessdate=2009-10-04}}</ref> Two years later, a town site was laid out. With the creation of Culberson County in 1911, Lobo vied unsuccessfully with nearby Van Horn to become the new county's seat of government.<ref name="Texas Escapes"/> By 1915, the community had a population around 20 with a general store and several other businesses. A 1929 earthquake destroyed Lobo's hotel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lobo, Texas, Culberson County ghost town. |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Lobo/Lobo_Texas.htm |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=www.texasescapes.com}}</ref> Another [[1931 Valentine earthquake|powerful earthquake]] struck the community in 1931.<ref name="Lobo History"/> By the mid-1930s, the number of inhabitants had fallen to 10. The post office closed in 1942, but the arrival of the Texas Mica Company and two railroad houses caused a slight increase in the population.<ref name="Texas Handbook"/> Large-scale irrigation commenced in the late 1940s and in the following years, [[cotton]] became an important crop in the local economy. Anderson, Clayton and Company set up a gin in Lobo, but in 1962, the railroad stop shut down. The population approached 90 by the mid-1960s. Around that time, the water table dropped dramatically and the wells were unable to supply enough water for residents and businesses. The cost of keeping the irrigation pumps operational skyrocketed, and the [[cotton gin]] shut down.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Terlingua, Texas - It's a Southern Thing |url=https://www.southernthing.com/ruins-in-texas-2640914879.html |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=www.southernthing.com |language=en}}</ref>
In 1969, Bill Christ bought the entire community and opened a new gas station and a general store. Although business was initially good, the sale of alcoholic beverages caused an increase in crime.<ref name="Texas Escapes"/><ref name="Texas Handbook"/> The store was destroyed by fire in 1976. In 1988, Christ placed the community on the market for $60,000. By 1991, with no purchaser and faced with personal problems, Christ abandoned his effort to save Lobo. It became a modern ghost town with limited water and an annual rainfall around {{convert|13.2|in}} per year. On November 5, 2001, three residents from [[Frankfurt, Germany]], purchased Lobo. Their plans included fixing up dilapidated buildings and holding local arts and music festivals.<ref name="Lobo History"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=When Lobo's Water Dried Up, It Took The West Texas Town With It |url=https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/when-lobos-water-dried-up-it-took-the-west-texas-town-with-it/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Texas Standard |date=24 October 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
The Desert Dust Cinema festival was held in Lobo in 2011,<ref>{{url|www.shortfilmtexas.com/2011/dont-miss-the-desert-dust-cinema-film-festival-in-lobo-texas|Weidner, C. Don’t Miss The Desert Dust Cinema Film Festival in Lobo, Texas. ShortFilmTexas, March 29, 2011}}</ref> 2012,<ref>{{url|bigbendnow.com/2012/09/desert-dust-cinema-this-weekend-in-beautiful-downtown-lobo|Desert Dust Cinema this weekend in beautiful downtown Lobo, Big Bend Now, September 27, 2012}}</ref> 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/187074009|title = Desert Dust Cinema 2016 Documentation|date = 12 October 2016}}</ref> and September 2018,<ref>{{url|vhtx.news/2016/09/01/103999/|The Van Horn Advocate - Film Festival at Lobo}}</ref><ref>{{url|desertdustcinema.com/project/program-2018/|Desert Dust Cinema 2018 Program}}</ref> but no future dates are planned.
Today, there is an irrigated pecan orchard (with more than 61,000 trees)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Farms |url=https://pecangrovefarms.com/our-farms/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Pecan Grove Farms |language=en-US}}</ref> and the South Lobo campground,<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Lobo, Texas - Hipcamp in , Texas |url=https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/texas-south-lobo-texas-pw1h5xny |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Hipcamp |language=en-US}}</ref> both located within a mile of the old townsite of Lobo.
The German owners of Lobo were offering the town for sale for $100,000 in 2023.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ybarra|first=Gabriella|title=W. Texas ghost town for sale for less than typical house|page=3B|date=18 May 2023|url=https://statesman-tx.newsmemory.com/?token=593c83a2ea0ecfe876555a5255c11eab&cnum=87893559-562c-ed11-a2e7-0050568737a0&fod=1111111STD-0&selDate=20230518&licenseType=paid_subscriber&|work=[[Austin American-Statesman]]|location=[[Austin, Texas]]|access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref>
==See also==
{{portal|Texas}}
* [[List of ghost towns in Texas]]
* [[Beach Mountains]]
* [[Davis Mountains]]
* [[Trans-Pecos]]
==References==
{{reflist|22em}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Lobo, Texas}}
* {{Handbook of Texas|id=hnl34|name=Lobo, TX}}
* [http://www.lobo-texas.com/lobohome/en/home.php Lobo, Texas] - Official site.
{{Culberson County, Texas}}
{{Butterfield5}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Ghost towns in West Texas]]
[[Category:Geography of Culberson County, Texas]]
[[Category:Butterfield Overland Mail in Texas]]
[[Category:Stagecoach stops in the United States]]