Virginia City, Texas, Bailey County. (original) (raw)

Virginia City Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2008

History in a Pecan Shell

In 1909 Virginia City had big plans. The original plat even set aside land for a courthouse. That same year an Iowa land company bought the entire site and went about marketing it. A hotel was constructed to accommodate the hoped-for crush of buyers. A railroad roadbed was graded in Virginia City and is thought to have been a silent persuasive tactic (in short � a trick). It wasn�t as bad as tying apples to Mesquite trees, but in any case it didn�t work and within a few years the future town was already in the past. In 2013, the town will celebrate its Centennial of Abandonment.

Historical Marker: FM 1731, 0.3 mi. N of CR 1234, 9 miles N of Maple,

Site of Virginia City

Part of a land promotion scheme begun 1908. Advertised as future metropolis by shrewd dealers, who implied that good rains and bumper crops were typical of region. Naive buyers were treated to tours through town, where they saw shops, a lot reserved for the courthouse, and a roadbed for the railroad. Town was named for wife of an early county landowner. Although a local cowboy had remarked that Virginia City's biggest crop was "suckers", many people bought land, only to face a ruinous drouth, 1909-1912. Most soon moved, leaving site vacant.
(1969)

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