Cactus, Texas, Moore County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Cactus began in 1942 as an Ordnance plant run by the Chemical Construction Company for the government. The facility was huge � with 16 sections of land being purchased to house the workers. It was one of the largest in the country. Completed in 1943 � the main product was ammonium nitrate.

The population during the war got as high as 6,000.

Other facilities opened to take care of ammonium nitrate production and Shell Union Oil Company began an aviation fuel facility in early 1944.

Other changes were made after the war � the largest being the plants absorption by Phillips Chemical in 1948.

The post office was opened that year for the 2,000 people who remained in the area, but over the years the population declined to where there were only 898 people in the early 80s. It has since swollen to over 3000 in 2010.

"Bull Wash Out 1/4 Mile" -
One of the signs that you only see in Texas
Photo courtesy James Feagin, 2001

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