Phillips, Texas

Last updated
Phillips, Texas
Hutchinson County Borger.svg
CountryUnited States
State Texas
County Hutchinson
Elevation
[1]
3,061 ft (933 m)
Population
 (1947)
  Total4,250
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
79007 (Borger)
Area code 806
GNIS feature ID1365141 [1]

Phillips is a ghost town in Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. [2] It was founded as Pantex, Texas. In 1938, Pantex and Whittenburg combined and renamed as Phillips for the dominant employer, the Phillips Petroleum Company, by a vote of the people.

Contents

American actress Mary Castle lived in Phillips as a girl and attended junior high school there.

State Senator and former president of West Texas A&M University Max Sherman was reared in Phillips and graduated from Phillips High School. Singer/songwriter Russell "Red" Steagall grew up in Sanford and also graduated from Phillips High School.

Past demographics

Maximum population: 4,250 in 1947

Education

It is served by the Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips Consolidated Independent School District.

It was a part of the Phillips Independent School District until July 1, 1987, when it merged into the PSP CISD. [3]

On March 19, 1950, a fire destroyed the high school. Local churches housed classes until the new school was built.[ citation needed ]

Decreasing population

In the 1950s and 1960s, improved highways and transportation resulted in many businesses and people moving to Borger. By 1980, the population had dropped to about 2,500.

1980 explosion

A hydrocarbon explosion at the refinery in 1980 obliterated part of the industrial area and some nearby homes. Damages were estimated to be in the millions of dollars. After a long battle between the citizens of Phillips, M&M Cattle Company, and later Phillips 66, the town was permanently closed to residency, at the request of Phillips 66 Oil Company. The homes themselves were owned, but the land they sat upon was property of two local ranchers who leased the land originally to the company and later to the home owners. After the explosion, the company purchased the land from the ranches and forced the homeowners to move. In 1987, three schools and communities, Plemons, Stinnett and Phillips, created the Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips Consolidated independent School District. Three mascots, the Plemons Indians, Stinnett Rattlers and the Phillips Blackhawks were changed to create the Comanches. The campuses of the district, West Texas Elementary School, West Texas Middle School, and West Texas High School are all united as Comanches. Therefore, many homes were moved to areas nearby (Borger, Stinnett, and Fritch). The homes that were not moved were leveled. [4]

Today, the high school is one of the few buildings left and is used for business by the Phillips 66 Refinery.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Lynn County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,596. Its county seat is Tahoka. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hutchinson County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Hutchinson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,617. Its county seat is Stinnett. The county was created in 1876, but not organized until 1901. It is named for Andrew Hutchinson, an early Texas attorney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carson County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Carson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,807. The county seat is Panhandle. The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1888. It is named for Samuel Price Carson, the first secretary of state of the Republic of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar Land, Texas</span> City in the United States

Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. Located about 19 miles (31 km) southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around the junction of Texas State Highway 6 and Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borger, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Borger is the largest city in Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,551 at the 2020 census. Borger is named for businessman Asa Philip "Ace" Borger, who also established the Hutchinson County seat of Stinnett and several other small towns in Texas and Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stinnett, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Stinnett is a city in and the county seat of Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,881 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 1,936 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponca City, Oklahoma</span> City in Oklahoma, United States

Ponca City is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 24,424 in the 2020 census, down from 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas City, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Texas City is a city in Galveston County, Texas, United States. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a busy deepwater port on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and petrochemical-manufacturing center. The population was 51,898 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in Galveston County, behind League City and Galveston. It is a part of the Houston metropolitan area. The city is notable as the site of a major explosion in 1947 that demolished the port and much of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritch, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Fritch is a city in Hutchinson and Moore Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,117 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillips Petroleum Company</span> American oil company, predecessor of ConocoPhillips

Phillips Petroleum Company was an American oil company incorporated in 1917 that expanded into petroleum refining, marketing and transportation, natural gas gathering and the chemicals sectors. It was Phillips Petroleum that first found oil in the North Sea on December 23, 1969, at a position that was later named Ekofisk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pantex</span> U.S. nuclear weapons assembly facility

Pantex is the primary United States nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is named for its location in the Panhandle of Texas on a 16,000-acre site 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County, Texas. The plant is managed and operated for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) by Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) and Sandia National Laboratories. CNS is composed of member companies Bechtel, Leidos, Orbital ATK, and SOC, with Booz Allen Hamilton as a teaming subcontractor. CNS also operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, a manufacturing facility for nuclear weapons components.

West Texas High School is a public high school in Stinnett, Texas (USA). In 1987 three great schools and communities, Plemons, Stinnett and Phillips joined forces to create the Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips Consolidated Independent School District. Three mascots, the Plemons Indians, Stinnett Rattlers and the Phillips Blackhawks were blended together to create the Comanches. The campuses of the district, West Texas Elementary School, West Texas Middle School and West Texas High School are all united as Comanches. The school is classified as a 2A school by the UIL. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.

The Spring Creek Independent School District is a public school district located in southeastern Hutchinson County, Texas, United States.

Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Stinnett, Texas (USA).

Pringle is an unincorporated community in northern Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The Pringle-Morse Consolidated Independent School District serves area students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Dixon</span> American scout and bison hunter active in the Texas Panhandle

William Dixon was an American scout and bison hunter active in the Texas Panhandle. He helped found Adobe Walls, fired a buffalo rifle shot at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, and for his actions at the Buffalo Wallow Fight became one of eight civilians ever to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Phillips College</span> Community college in Borger, Texas, U.S.

Frank Phillips College is a public community college in Borger, Texas. The college also manages the Allen Campus in Perryton in Ochiltree County, the Dalhart Center in Hartley County, and the Cosmetology Center in Hereford in Deaf Smith County.

Plemons is a ghost town in Hutchinson County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located 10 miles southeast of Stinnett, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Borger, on Plemons Road, just north of the junction of County Road R.

Adobe Walls is a ghost town in Hutchinson County, 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Stinnett, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was established in 1843 as a trading post for buffalo hunters and local Native American trade in the vicinity of the Canadian River. It later became a ranching community. Historically, Adobe Walls is the site of two decisive battles between Native Americans and settlers. In November 1864 First Battle of Adobe Walls, Native Americans successfully repelled attacking troops led by Kit Carson. Ten years later, on June 27, 1874, known as the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, civilians at the Adobe Walls trading post successfully fought off an attack by a war party of mainly Comanche and Cheyenne warriors led by the Comanche chief Quanah Parker. The second battle led to a military campaign which resulted in Indian relocation to Indian Territory.

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Phillips, Texas
  2. Google (22 April 2010). "Phillips, Texas" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  3. "CONSOLIDATIONS, ANNEXATIONS AND NAME CHANGES FOR TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS" (PDF). Texas Education Agency. 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  4. "Phillips, Texas, Hutchinson County".

35°41′15″N101°21′04″W / 35.68742°N 101.35111°W / 35.68742; -101.35111