McGirk, Texas | |
Settlement Type: | Ghost town |
Pushpin Map: | Texas#USA |
Pushpin Label: | McGirk |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Hamilton |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Population As Of: | 2000 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Timezone: | Central (CST) |
Utc Offset: | -6 |
Timezone Dst: | CDT |
Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
Coordinates: | 31.5181°N -98.3314°W |
Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
Blank Name: | FIPS code |
Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
McGirk is a ghost town located in Hamilton County near the Lampasas River in Central Texas, United States. Founded in the early 1870s, the town acquired a post office in 1882. John A. McGirk, the town's namesake, also served as the first postmaster. A steam-operated cotton gin on the Lampasas River remained in place for many years. The post office closed by 1920 and the school was gone by the mid-1930s. The town still had a population of 25 in 1945, but post war opportunities drew off that meager number and the town became a ghost.
"There is only a little bit of information on this old town. The only thing that is left of it is an old cemetery and a school foundation off in the brush, that you wouldn't even notice if you didn't know it was there. This town was located on 1047 right on the Lampasas river between FM 2005 and Star at the far end of Hamilton county. From what I have gathered there once was a gas station and a whole community there. Now it is just a few farms and that old cemetery on the far corner of J. H. Joiner's (my grandfather) ranch." - Cody Morris, February 25, 2007