Grayback, Texas, a town in Wilbarger County. (original) (raw)

Early photo of Grayback Post Office & Greyback Grocery
Courtesy Gene McIlroy

History in a Pecan Shell

When the Waggoner Ranch was formed in the 1880s, Grayback was having its own (more modest) beginnings. The town with its handful of people survived and went about its business until oil discoveries in the 1920s prompted the town to apply for a post office. During the boom the town was often referred to as Rock Crossing, an oil town actually several miles east. Phillips Petroleum Company did build some housing units for its employees in the 20s and a school was briefly in operation. The boom may have been felt elsewhere, but for Grayback, it retained a tiny population - peaking in 1950s at just 50.

Rock Crossing has long ago disappeared from maps and now everyone calls Grayback by its proper name. The population remains at 25 - and the town remains on the state map.

Rock Crossing &

Grayback Post Office / Grocery

"Rock Crossing may have been a town east of Grayback but the name actually referred to a natural hard sandstone crossing of Beaver Creek just East of the Post Office. I never heard my parents refer to a town by that name and they were raised in the area.

Cities Service Oil Co. had a camp east of Grayback. It always was referred to by both names in my extended family who moved there in 1926 and some remained until the middle 2000's." - Gene McIlroy, July 25, 2017

Wilbarger County 1940s map showing Beaver Creek
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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