Upland, Texas

Upland was located near the geographic center of Upton County about 10 miles northwest of the site of present-day Rankin.  The town was platted by Henry M. Halff in 1908 and grew quickly to include numerous businesses, a church, and a school that began in October 1908.  A post office opened in 1907 with Edward B. Coatwright as postmaster.  Mr. Miller drilled the first water well in Upland. To encourage development, Halff sold both businesses and residential lots and built a hotel and a general store.  Upland was named the first county seat on May 7, 1910.   W. D. Riser established the Upland Roundup, the first county newspaper in 1910. The County courthouse and a two story jail were  built in 1913 of Limestone at the cost of $22,000. The builder was L R Wright and Company of Dallas, Texas.    The same year the Orient Railroad built south of the town bypassing the town of Upland. It is said that landowners refused to let the railroad cross their lands thus, leading to the demise of the town of Upland.  A new town site near the railroad became into existence because of a man named F. E Rankin. Rankin donated a half section of land for the town site and the Orient established a depot on the land. Within a year the town of Rankin, had two general stores, a tent cafe, a post office The hotel was moved to Rankin in 1914, and the newspaper followed three years later. In 1914 John R Johnston, moved his hotel and general store to the new railroad town. By breaking his building in half and placing in onto large wooden rollers, the building was trucked to its new location. Soon all of the residents followed suit. The last of the settlers of Upland to leave was County Clerk R. C. Harlan.  In 1921 Rankin became the county seat.   By the time the post office closed in 1918, Upland's population had dwindled to a few families. The only remaining thing for the past residents of the Upland community to do was to pay for the Courthouse that was hardly used. It would take 12 years for the courthouse to finally be paid off.

There are only 3 known burials in Upland Cemetery

AINSWORTH, Georgia  1872 – 1913 

BLANTON, George (Infant) 3-11-1913 

OLMSTEAD, R. B. 1848 - 1913

UPLAND CELEBRATES IT 50 ANNIVERSARY

June 5, 1960

A West Texas ghost town named Upland came alive briefly last week when Upton County celebrated its 50th anniversary. On a 9,000 acre sheep ranch 11 miles north of Rankin, the present day county seat, the stone  skeleton of a two-story courthouse rises over thirsty mesquite country. The courthouse lies on a 649  acre section, deserted since  1920 when the last family, that  of County Clerk  R C Harlan  moved to Rankin. In 1911, the Orient Railroad had crossed the southern  part of Upton County, organized the previous year. The rail route missed Upland. The county's only town which is located on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from St. Louis to San Francisco One of the first men to realize the significance of the railroad to the county was a rancher. F. E. Rankin. He gave a half section of land  along the railroad for a town site and the Orient built a depot there. In a year the town could boast two general stores, a hotel, a tent cafe, and a post office building. Upland at that time had a population of about 200 persons and the county commissioners in June of 1913 to show their faith in their county seat. They let a contract to L R Wright and Company of Dallas for a stone courthouse to cost $22, 000.  But the people were leaving Upland, In 1914, John R Johnston, who owned a general store and hotel there showed how easy it was to move to Rankin. He broke his building in half and "trucked" the two parts on wooden rollers to the railroad town. The exodus started and not even the fine dances thrown on Saturday nights in the second floor courtroom could turn the tide.

Finally only County Clerk, Harlan remained, and the county government got tired of convening at Upland then moving to Rankin to conduct business.  So Harlan picked up the county records and moved them to the School house in Rankin. Which thus became the county seat. Upland--with its courthouse the pride of any county, became more than just a deserted town. The ghostly courthouse had a long and haunting laugh, because it was not paid for until 1921 nearly 12 years after it was abandoned. This  year, however the ghost at Upland became a friendly one. The Upton County Historical Society. some of whose members lived in Upland, decided to make the ghost legitimate by erecting a marker at the site  of the old courthouse. Upton County was created in 1887 by a legislative act  dividing the western part of Tom Green County into six new counties and named for two brothers famous in Texas history. They were Lt. Col John Cunningham Upton of Gen. John B Hoods Brigade. who was killed during the Second Battle of Manassas in the Civil War, and William Felton Upton who served in the Texas legislature for four consecutive terms beginning in 1879. 

The discovery of oil in Upton County in 1925 broadened the economy from strictly a ranching foundation and brought a second center of population. McCamey, which is 19 miles west of Rankin. Oil and gas in recent years have become the dominant factors in Upton's economy. Upland may eventually add tourists as a major source of income for the county. District Judge Perry Pickett of Midland in making the address dedicating the marker called the ruins at Upland a memorial to the early settlers and pioneers who wrestled with drought, sandstorms, and lean times for a livelihood in harsh lands.  John W. Miller of Dallas who was present for the dedication talked with pride of helping to build the Upland Courthouse. His father was the first water well driller in Upton County in 1908.  There were others such as Lancelot Ainsworth of Henderson, son of the first County Judge,  and whose mother is buried in a three grave cemetery in Upland.  Mrs. P. P. Barber of Midland, widow of the first tax assessor, collector; and Ed Schnaubert of Carlsbad, N.M. and Arthur Schnaubert of McCamey sons of the first sheriff.

After the ceremonies and the reminiscing of old timers however, Upland sank back into silent time. It's courthouse serving as an occasional shelter for livestock on the Dewayne Lindsey Ranch. Source: 6/5/1960 Dallas Morning News; Rankin Museum

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