Langtry was named in honor of George Langtry, an engineer and construction foreman during construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad. But Roy Bean, the local justice of the peace, claimed that he named the town after British actress Lillie Langtry, who he was enamored with. This view shows the sheriff's office in Langtry, now abandoned.Bronson Dorsey
Texans are no strangers to long drives. Whether cruising from Mission to South Padre Island to spot great kiskadees, from Turkey to Lubbock while blasting Waylon Jennings, or catching the remote vistas from Marfa to Chinati Hot Springs, Texans often get to know our state by car—soaking in main streets, small towns, and local oddities from the driver’s seat window.
While driving east on U.S. 90 from Big Bend to Austin in 2009, photographer Bronson Dorsey noticed three run-down buildings near Langtry. He stopped, fascinated by the abandoned structures. “I kept thinking about how many times I had passed abandoned buildings along highways and the streets of rural towns without giving them a thought, much less a second glance,” writes Dorsey. “Thus began my search for Lost, Texas: for the images of vanished ways of life suggested by the buildings people have left behind.” Over the next eight years, he drove thousands of miles across the state, photographing buildings that once were homes, schools, and railroad depots in small towns. Dorsey showcases those images in his new book, Lost, Texas: Photographs of Forgotten Buildings, which came out May 11. See a selection of the photos below.
During its heyday, the Royal Palms Hotel in Catarina also housed a bank, shops, offices, and a café. After the town's water supply was depleted during the Great Depression, Catarina never recovered.
Bronson Dorsey
Larry McMurtry, who grew up in Archer City, based 'The Last Picture Show' on the town's Royal Theater on East Main Street.
Bronson Dorsey
The Cottonseed Oil Mill in Granger, built beside the railroad tracks in 1910, included an ice plant and an electricity-generation plant. The town was the setting for the 2010 remake of 'True Grit.'
Bronson Dorsey
Emmett F. Boydston built the Texas Tourist Camp after travelers started spending the night in Decatur while driving Texas's new highways in the 1920s. The cabins are also called the Petrified Wood Station—the material covers the gas station's walls.
Bronson Dorsey
Fluvanna was one of several towns planned along the railway from Roscoe to the Bailey County line at the turn of the century, but when the highway from Snyder to Post passed it by, the town fizzled. This image shows the remains of the redbrick school.
Bronson Dorsey
When Ira Yates found oil on his ranch 40 miles southeast of Girvin in 1926, the town quickly grew. The Nutter family—Harry and Inez, their three children—along with two boarders, lived in the space above the Nutter gas station, shown here.
Bronson Dorsey
Langtry was named in honor of George Langtry, an engineer and construction foreman during construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad. But Roy Bean, the local justice of the peace, claimed that he named the town after British actress Lillie Langtry, who he was enamored with. This view shows the sheriff's office in Langtry, now abandoned.
Bronson Dorsey
Lipscomb is both the smallest town in the county and the county seat. The Alamo Saloon, shown here, served beer and liquor on the north side of the courthouse square until Lipscomb County went dry in 1908.
Bronson Dorsey
The San Fernando Academy in Pontotoc, founded in 1882, housed and educated two hundred students from across the state. A typhoid epidemic in 1887 nearly killed off the whole town.
Bronson Dorsey
In September 1928, Amelia Earhart landed her plane near Toyah after experiencing engine trouble. Toyah High School, shown here, was used until the 1940s.
