2fatcats Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Has anyone ever been to New Gulf, Texas? It is a little place not far from Wharton and was once a company town for TexasGulf Sulphur company. The area was supposed to be one of the largest Sulpher domes in the country and mining went on there from the late 1920's until the 1970's. New Gulf had a reasonable population in it's heyday of the 30's-50's and the town boasted churches, a theater, school, hospital and several small businesses. Today there is nothing there but the abandoned sulphur works and several rows of company houses which stand empty amidst some beautiful old trees. It is a strange place to go to as they keep it mowed and neat, but the empty houses give it the appearance of another time. Recently part of the property has been sold off for development and there are some new houses going up close by, but you can still drive down the narrow streets laid out in a large grid, and view some of the leftovers from when New Gulf was a busy place. There is an excellent website for New Gulf which shows many photos of the town when it was inhabited. You can see this at http://www.newgulftexas.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fatcats Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Since posting my reply, I got to thinking about the Newgulf area. I can almost remember the bends in the highway, and there was one in particular that, as soon as you passed it, the two stacks came into view. I guess I even made a game of trying to spot them as soon as I could. I also recall that, depending upon the prevailing winds, sometimes I would smell the sulfur before I spotted the stacks. Rarely did we pass the place that the odor of sulfur wasn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fatcats Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 That Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 been there several times - very interesting but eerie place.that being said, the people there have been quite nasty about non-locals looking around - i won't be going back there anytime soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 been there several times - very interesting but eerie place.that being said, the people there have been quite nasty about non-locals looking around - i won't be going back there anytime soonI felt like taking a drive down there earlier today after having seen the pics, but it was getting late in the afternoon, so I decided to hold off on it. Mind if I ask what happened to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I felt like taking a drive down there earlier today after having seen the pics, but it was getting late in the afternoon, so I decided to hold off on it. Mind if I ask what happened to you?the first couple times i had been there, it was quite desolate without any botherrecently, though, there seems to be more activity in the area (golf course, new development, perhaps) and someone called the police - nothing came of it, of course, but it seemed that they were bored and trying to find something...not sure if there has been recent crime or vandals in the area, but they seemed a little on edge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fatcats Posted January 23, 2007 Author Share Posted January 23, 2007 recently, though, there seems to be more activity in the area (golf course, new development, perhaps) and someone called the police - nothing came of it, of course, but it seemed that they were bored and trying to find something...not sure if there has been recent crime or vandals in the area, but they seemed a little on edge<<sevfivThat's interesting. I was down there about six months ago and nobody bothered me. The only thing different I noticed was that the road to the sulphur works was blocked off where you couldn't get close to the building anymore. I think the new development proabably has something to do with their being on edge. I certainly don't advocate tresspassing, but it is still a public road and there is no law that says you can't drive around there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 There was another company town just outside the Phillips plant (now ConocoPhillips) in Old Ocean, south of West Columbia. Same types of houses, recreation building and such. Most of it is all gone now. The trees and abandoned streets give the location away as you drive by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watch4Snakes Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 I grew up in Wharton (Hungerford, actually) and had many family members and friends that attended school in Newgulf / Iago / Boling.It was a shame to watch it all so quickly disappear. When they abandoned the railroad tracks to Newgulf, you knew the town was dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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