![The Rise and Fall of Mobeetie: Oldest Town in the Texas Panhandle](https://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2024/05/attachment-Austin-44.jpg?w=980&q=75)
The Rise and Fall of Mobeetie: Oldest Town in the Texas Panhandle
Once a trading post, popular with hunters, cowboys, and gamblers, now a near ghost town. This is some of the history of the oldest town in the Panhandle, Mobeetie, Texas.
How it Started
In 1874, buffalo hunters made their way from Kansas to Sweetwater Creek, about two miles south of where Mobeetie stands today, forming a camp they called Hidetown near Fort Elliot, one of Texas’ last frontier forts.
![1025 KISS FM logo](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/KZIIFM.png?w=100)
Hidetown grew into a large settlement, taking the name Sweetwater City, and eventually Mobeetie, the native name for the town which means ‘buffalo dung’.
It became the commercial center for much of the panhandle, expanding with stables, wagon yards, blacksmith, drugstore, barbershop, hotels, saloons and more. The first courthouse in the Texas Panhandle was even built there in 1880, becoming the judicial center of the Thirty-fifth District by 1881.
By 1886, the town had around 300 people and around 400 by 1890.
Unfortunately, much of the town was destroyed during a tornado that swept through the area on May 1, 1898.
The buildings that were destroyed in the storm were never rebuilt, and many residents eventually left Mobeetie, finding a new place to call home. By 1900 the town had shrunk to a population of around 128 people, being taken over by agricultural focuses.
Over the next century, their population fluctuated up to 250 and back down to their low count of only around 100 residents today.
The town is now made up of a bank, post office, diner, an elementary school formed from three other towns close to Mobeetie, and the old county jail that has been converted into a museum.
Considered the “Mother City” of the Panhandle, Mobeetie is located 20 miles east of Pampa, Texas on State Highway 152 in northwest Wheeler County.
Live Among West Texas Vineyards in This Gorgeous New Home
Beautifully Unique Lubbock House
10 Gadgets to Help Your Pet Beat the Texas Heat
More From 1025 KISS FM
![These Are the Strongest Earthquakes Ever Recorded in Texas](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2024/07/attachment-Fireworks-20.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![West Texas is Getting Its Own Renaissance Festival This Fall](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2024/07/attachment-Fireworks-6.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![These Tasty Texas Towns are Named After Food](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2024/06/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-06-19T120735.169.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Don’t Blink! The Tiniest Texas Towns You Might Miss](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2024/06/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-06-18T153044.384.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Alamo is Getting a $500 Million Face Lift](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2018/04/Alamo_ChurchFront-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Help From My Friends Summer Tour: Triple Headliner Coming to Lubbock](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2024/04/attachment-hfgjsdthj.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![How to Prep for Tornado Season in Lubbock](http://townsquare.media/site/192/files/2017/01/RS3849_135454119.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Texas Tech University is the Largest Employer in Lubbock](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2021/11/attachment-screenshot-2021-11-04-113622.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Oil And Gas Companies in Texas Would Love To See This Little Lizard Go Extinct](http://townsquare.media/site/189/files/2024/03/attachment-sage-lizard.jpg?w=980&q=75)