Closed.The date above the door is 1910. There are remains of several painted signs, fading away on the brick. It's maybe the mainstreet of Faxon, Oklahoma. It's a town I have never heard of. We stumbled upon it quite by accident. We were lost on the back roads in the southwest of the state. You can't go looking for these things, you have to let them find you.
Lucky Clov says:
Eerie- ghosts of the past!
anyjazz65 says:
Thanks. I liked how the double screen doors don't match each other and they aren't the same size as the doors behind them.
ed ed says:
this is full of interesting bits and pieces. yes, those doors are odd, and i like the glimpses of old stuff you get through the windows, the xeroc.....something you can see in the original size...the u.s. seems to have so much of this fascinating backroad ruin...
anyjazz65 says:
Thanks. I agree. There is too much. The deteriorating farm family, the gravity of the cities, the loss of rails as the primary mode of transportation, the superhighways, economics...well, I went on farther than I thought I could. There is too much.
Bluepeony says:
Wow! It has seen better days! Nice find!
anyjazz65 says:
Thanks!
elhawk says:
More evocative Americana from days gone by. Good one. Keep 'em coming.
anyjazz65 says:
Thanks elhawk. These poor abandoned buildings line the main streets of many small towns in the southwest. They symbolize the changes, indeed the losses, in the endeavors of uncomplicated people who saw only clear horizons. Progress, our boon and curse took them places they could not foretell. The shifting of our primary mode of transportation changed our maps, our lives. Good, bad? The scale is still swaying. The one pleasant thought is that these old derelict buildings will get at least one more admiring look from me. I see the hopes of families, their livelihood, their lifework and then their losses and fears and finally their resignation and defeat. It is a life cycle captured in brick and mortar. And when I spend a few moments with them, walking up to these structures, touching the corners, the walls, maybe I am showing some respect and admiration for their part in the grand scheme of things. And through a photograph maybe others will see those same things and think about them. And maybe the maps will change again. Thanks again, elhawk. You gave me a productive morning.
Who knows?
In Hollister, Oklahoma, population 60, stands this wall. Brick and stone and concrete. Just this wall, the rest of the building is gone. In a small town made up mostly of mobile homes and a post office, there is this wall. At the end of a nearly deserted street, a reminder of something completely forgotten.
oh boy photos says:
Very nicely done, do you have any idea what it was?
anyjazz65 says:
Not a clue. My only guess is that it might have been a hotel for railroad workers in times past. The town does not seem to have ever been very large. There is a grain elevator and a single rail siding now. The town is too tiny for a library or a courthouse or a police station. The post office is a small bilding the size of a mobile home on the other side of the highway. I don't know. I plan a return trip earlier in the day so I can get a better shot. Maybe I can round up one of the 60 locals who might know what it was and where it went.
Lucky Clov says:
Interesting- erected in the manner of a Doric temple. My guess is for the post office, library or other civic bulding. Who knows- could have been a movie set!
anyjazz65 says:
Thanks. I MUST go back there. We Googled the town and found absolutely nothing that would tell us about this. The building is just too big for the town. There are currently only 60 residents but it could have been larger in the past I suppose. It would have to be 10 times or more larger to merit a brick building this big. As you can see, the streets are just rocked in lanes. There are as many empty buildings as are occupied. The only activity seems to be the minor highway that passes directly through it. There is a grain elevator, a rail siding, a water tower and a tiny post office. Very unusual.
oh boy photos says:
With the coming of the Katy Railroad, Loveland, Hollister, and Tipton sprouted on the prairie. About the only objections that the settlers in this rich new land had were that Oklahoma was still a territory, and it was at least a two-day trip to Lawton, the county seat, since this was a part of Comanche County then. These situations were remedied by 1907 statehood and the creation of Tillman County, with Frederick as the county seat. Seven bustling towns were thriving in the new county: Davidson, Frederick, and Manitou on the Frisco line, Grandfield, Loveland, Hollister, and Tipton on the Katy. Tillman County entered the twentieth century with great expectations!
anyjazz65 says:
@oh boy photos: Hey that's very informative! Somehow I figured you would know something about it. Your research clears up a lot of suspicions and indeed, questions that I have about the area. I plan a return trip soon because there was so much recent history just sitting around, waiting. And thanks for the reminder that Oklahoma is not even a hundred years old yet, barely two and a half generations of people endowed with the fearless spirit of adventure in a quest for happiness and freedom. My wife, who spent most of her life in England, stands a bit amazed at us. While we marvel at buildings a scant 100 years old that we abandoned, England has many structures 500 or more years old abandoned by the Normans and the Romans. Some of these are still in use.Thanks to you for your informative comment!
Lucky Clov says:
Great to read the info! Thanks!
I had to include the whole conversation. The thoughts and information is so meaningful.
Labels: Faxon, Hollister, Oklahoma, Old Buildings, Rust and Ruin
