Grandfalls, Ward County, West Texas. (original) (raw)

A church in Grandfalls
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2005

History in a Pecan Shell

The original town site was located at the upper falls of the Pecos River. The upper falls were called Grand and the lower falls Great. In the 1880s dams were built that channeled water to power a cotton gin.

A school was organized in 1892 and the schoolhouse also served as a church for 7 different denominations. A flood caused a major setback in 1894 and many families left. Scandinavian families came in 1897, including a woman physician, Dr. Charlotte Bergman.

The population was dwindling in 1925 due to a severe drought several years prior and a slow economy. Things were looking bleak when oil was discovered and the population doubled to 500 in 1929. Incorporation came in 1940. Throughout that decade the population was about 650. The 50s and 60s saw Grandfalls reach its peak of around 1000 people. The 1990 census showed 583 people in Grandfalls.

	Grandfalls Chamber of Commerce TE Photo, 2000

Grandfalls Tourist Information

The Chamber of Commerce holds meetings.
The City Hall number is 915-547-2331

Other numbers for Grandfalls are:
Chamber Director Jim Crawford at 915-547-2383, and
Grandfalls FFA coordinator Duffy Galloway at the FFA office.

Joy Chew at City Hall was able to answer all of our questions about Grandfalls, except what the Armored Personnel Carrier is doing on main street. Our theory is that it was a straggler in an Army convoy and was forgotten. The crew might've married into the local population.

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