10 Once-Booming Oil Towns in Texas That Were Left Behind

10 Texas Oil Boomtowns That Went Bust — And What Remains Today Texas oil created entire towns almost overnight. Workers arrived, tents became streets, hotels and businesses opened, and isolated settlements suddenly looked like permanent cities. Then the boom ended. In this EDAN TEXAS documentary, we explore ten Texas oil boomtowns that suffered extraordinary decline—and examine what remains today. Some disappeared completely. Others still have a post office, a few homes, or a small number of residents. Every one of them lost the scale, prosperity, and purpose that once made it seem unstoppable. You will discover how railroad changes, falling production, shallow wells, saltwater intrusion, failed banks, fire, industrial disaster, population loss, and corporate decisions altered these communities forever. One town went from approximately 1,500 residents to zero in only a few years. Another reportedly fell from 3,500 people to just two. In Phillips, hundreds of homes were moved while the refinery remained. And Texon once offered residents a hospital, theater, swimming pool, golf course, and baseball team before the company behind it stopped maintaining the town. Not every location in this documentary is completely abandoned. Some remain inhabited, and this video distinguishes those surviving communities from towns that genuinely ceased to exist. Which of these Texas oil towns had you heard of before? And which forgotten Texas location should EDAN TEXAS investigate next? Subscribe for long-form documentaries about forgotten towns, abandoned places, hidden history, isolated communities, strange locations, and the side of Texas most people never see. Discover the Texas most people never see. #TexasHistory #GhostTowns #OilBoom #ForgottenTexas #EDANTEXAS