Thrift, AKA Newtown, Texas, Wichita County; an oilboom ghost town. (original) (raw)
Little is left of Thrift. Even the historical marker has been noted for being a �Good candidate for "Worst Condition" [of a historical marker].Historical Marker:
THRIFT
(Ghost Townsite, 1.25 miles north)
"Newtown", or "Thrift", originated about 1919 in the northwestern extension of the Burkburnett Oil Field. Early in its existence it gained prestige by the founding of a bank--the only one in the area at that time. Mostly a tent city, Thrift suffered many fires. One of these, started by lightning striking an oil tank in 1920, caused two deaths and wiped out much of the town. Thrift's Post Office opened in 1925. After the population shrank to 30 in 1929, the bank, a church, school, and store served people living at oil field pump stations; but all of Thrift's buildings are now gone.
(1977, 2002)
Ghost town Thrift aka Newtown Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007
This appears to be an old schoolhouse
at a T-intersection at the eastern end of Thrift road.
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2017
More Texas Schoolhouses
Cinder block building at a T-intersection at the western end of Thrift road.
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2017
Northwest Extension Oilfield historical marker
(next to the Thrift historical marker)
on Hwy 240 to FM 368 (Fairview Rd)
W of Burkburnett
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, September 2017
Historical Marker:
Northwest Extension Oilfield
Oil exploration and production in this area was minimal until April 17, 1919, when the Bob Waggoner Well No. 1 blew in at 4,800 barrels per day. It was the first well in what became known as the Northwest Extension Oilfield, comprised of approximately 27 square miles on the former S. Burk Burnett Wild Horse Ranch. R.M. "Bob" Waggoner's well led to a boom, and the area was suddenly thick with oil derricks. The hastily organized tent cities of Thrift, Springtown, Morgan City, Waggoner City, Bridgetown and Bradley's Corner supported the industry. Today, sparsely sited pump jacks continue to draw oil, but in far smaller quantities than the early wells of Wichita County.
(2006)
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