Ghost Town of Clara
Burkburnett, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Herman Specht migrated in 1870 to Galveston from Germany. In 1884 he married Clara M. Vogel Lange (1853-1912), a wealthy widow. Adding to earlier property holdings in Galveston, he began buying extensive tracts of land in northern Wichita County, which eventually totaled 21,000 acres. In 1886 he platted the town of Clara which he named for his wife. The streets were named for Texas heroes. He donated this site for The Trinity Lutheran Church. Specht advertised for German colonists from other states to settle here. Specht built his home in Iowa Park in 1890 and ran a ranch at Clara where he grew wheat. North of the church site, he had a large experimental nursery for unusual plants. The 1891 drought wiped out the nursery and Specht's crops. The 1900 Galveston storm destroyed the remainder of their vast holdings. Clara included a church, schools, store, garage and post office. Hampered by an inadequate water supply, the town began to decline with the consolidation of the school with the Burkburnett schools. During the oil boom of the 1920s, many residents moved to Wichita Falls. Good roads and cars made it possible to shop elsewhere. The town finally vanished except for the church, rectory and cemetery. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
German immigrant Herman Specht amassed some 21,000 acres in northern Wichita County and in 1886 platted the town of Clara, naming it for his wife and its streets for Texas heroes. He recruited German colonists, raised wheat, and kept an experimental nursery, but drought, the 1900 Galveston storm, an inadequate water supply, and the coming of good roads and cars steadily drained the town until only the church, rectory, and cemetery remained.
Why it matters
Clara's rise and disappearance tells the classic story of the American ghost town—an immigrant's dream undone by nature, changing transportation, and the pull of larger cities.
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Related people
- · Herman Specht
- · Clara M. Vogel Lange
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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