Towash, Texas Ghost Town

You’ll find Texas’s most unique ghost town lying 110 feet beneath Lake Whitney’s surface. Originally home to the Ioni tribe, Towash emerged as a bustling riverside community with a gristmill, ferryboat system, and thriving trade post. The town weathered Wild West gunfights and natural disasters until Lake Whitney’s creation in 1951 submerged it completely. Today, this underwater time capsule holds countless stories of frontier life waiting to be discovered.

Table of Contents hide

1 Key Takeaways

2 The Early Days: From Ioni Village to Anglo Settlement

3 Industrial Hub on the Brazos River

4 Surviving the Wild West Years

5 Natural Disasters and Economic Decline

6 Lake Whitney’s Underwater Ghost Town

7 Frequently Asked Questions

7.1 What Artifacts Have Scuba Divers Recovered From Underwater Towash Ruins?

7.2 Are There Any Living Descendants of Original Towash Settlers Still in Texas?

7.3 How Deep Can Divers Safely Explore the Submerged Towash Structures?

7.4 What Happened to the Displaced Ioni Tribe After Leaving Towash?

7.5 Can Tourists Visit Any Preserved Items From Towash in Local Museums?

8 References

Key Takeaways

Towash, Texas was a thriving riverside settlement that now lies submerged 110 feet beneath Lake Whitney’s waters.
The town began as an Ioni Indian village in 1835 before becoming a mixed settlement with Anglo-Americans.

Economic decline began after repeated flood damage to vital mills and the railroad bypassing the town in the 1880s.
The community officially ended when its post office closed in 1901, leading to complete abandonment.
Lake Whitney’s creation in 1951 transformed Towash into an underwater ghost town, preserving its historical remains.

The Early Days: From Ioni Village to Anglo Settlement

Before Towash became a bustling frontier settlement, the Ioni tribe called this prime spot along the Brazos River their home.

Having migrated from Louisiana in 1835, they established their village on the east bank, where they’d live peacefully for the next 15 years.

You can trace the town’s name to an Ioni tribal leader – a tribute to their lasting legacy on this Texas soil.

By 1854, Simpson Cash and Dyer sought permission to construct a dam on the Brazos River for what would become one of the area’s most important gristmills.

The town would later become the site of a deadly Christmas Day gunfight between John Wesley Hardin and James Bradley over a card game dispute.

Industrial Hub on the Brazos River

Once peaceful tribal lands transformed into a bustling industrial center as Towash took root along the Brazos River. Settlers first established themselves in the lower river valley in 1822, marking the start of Anglo-American development in the region.

The frequent major flooding events between 1833 and 1842 posed significant challenges to the town’s riverside industries. You’d find yourself right at home among the water-powered gristmill grinding grain and the blacksmith shop ringing with the sound of hammers shaping tools for local farmers. The town’s lifeblood flowed through its ferryboat system, connecting folks to essential trade routes up and down the Brazos.

If you’d visited Towash in its heyday, you’d have seen:

Busy wagonyards loading and unloading supplies
The wood-carding machine processing textiles
Stores stocked with goods from regional traders

These industries kept Towash humming until 1876, when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad chose Whitney as its stopping point, spelling the beginning of the end for this river town’s industrial glory.

Surviving the Wild West Years

While Towash earned its place as a thriving trade post, it couldn’t escape the rough-and-tumble reality of frontier life. You’d have found yourself in the midst of classic Wild West drama, as evidenced by the infamous 1869 Christmas Day gunfight involving outlaw John Wesley Hardin. The town now rests beneath Lake Whitney, forever preserved in its watery grave.

Yet daily life wasn’t all shootouts and showdowns. The town’s cultural interactions reflected the changing Texas frontier, from its roots as an Ioni Indian settlement to its transformation into a mixed community. The settlement’s growth began when Simpson and James Dyer constructed the first stone dam in 1854.

You would’ve seen both White and Black schools operating by 1905, with over 100 students between them. The ferryboat system, wagonyards, and local gathering spots kept the community connected, while the nearby Towash Baptist Church served as a spiritual anchor through the town’s tumultuous years.

Natural Disasters and Economic Decline

As natural disasters hammered Towash throughout the late 1800s, you’d have witnessed the town’s gradual decline from a bustling trade post to a struggling settlement.

Ioni Indians once thrived in this area before moving northward along the Brazos River by 1850.

The flood impact proved devastating, repeatedly destroying the town’s lifeline – its dam and mill complex. When the railroad bypassed Towash in the 1880s, economic isolation tightened its grip on the community. Today, the town lies 110 feet underwater beneath Lake Whitney’s surface.

Here’s what sealed Towash’s fate:

The 1908 flood wiped out the dam, mill, and cotton gin
Railroad construction favored nearby Whitney, drawing away trade
Repeated flooding made it impossible to sustain farming and milling operations

You’d have seen families pack up and leave as businesses shuttered, including the post office’s final closure in 1901.

The once-promising settlement couldn’t overcome these combined blows to its economy.

Lake Whitney’s Underwater Ghost Town

Since the waters of Lake Whitney rose in 1951, Towash has slumbered beneath 110 feet of water at the mouth of Towash Creek.

Deep beneath Lake Whitney’s surface lies Towash, a Texas town submerged in 1951 and frozen in time.

If you’re a scuba diver, you’ll find this underwater ghost town about a mile from today’s shoreline, where cultural artifacts from the once-thriving community rest silently on the lake bottom.

You can still spot remnants of the old grain mill near the shore, but the real treasures lie beneath the surface.

Lake Whitney’s creation transformed this historic settlement into a unique destination for underwater exploration, where the remains of stores, wagonyards, and the old mill complex await discovery.

While the town’s bustling days of serving Confederate soldiers and frontier settlers are long past, Towash lives on as a submerged time capsule of Texas history.

John Wesley Hardin frequently visited the town and documented his experiences through letters to his family.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Artifacts Have Scuba Divers Recovered From Underwater Towash Ruins?

You’ll find scuba techniques revealed pottery, mill parts, glass bottles, tools, and personal items like beads, while artifact preservation’s kept these treasures intact beneath Lake Whitney’s mysterious waters.

Are There Any Living Descendants of Original Towash Settlers Still in Texas?

While you might find some folks claiming Towash settler ancestry, there’s no official record confirming living descendants in Texas today. The old families scattered when the town declined in the 1870s.

How Deep Can Divers Safely Explore the Submerged Towash Structures?

Like descending into nature’s time capsule, you’ll need advanced certification to safely dive the 110-foot depths. Don’t venture deeper – that’s pushing recreational limits and diver safety guidelines for underwater exploration.

What Happened to the Displaced Ioni Tribe After Leaving Towash?

Y’know, records don’t tell us exactly where the Ioni migration led after Towash, but their tribal heritage got scattered as they likely merged with other Native groups or dispersed across Texas.

Can Tourists Visit Any Preserved Items From Towash in Local Museums?

You’ll find authentic Towash artifacts at the Whitney Area Museum, where you can marvel at the miniature mill replica, plus the original church bell, hand-hewn rostrum, banister and Bible they saved.