Middle Water, Texas

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Middle Water, on U.S. Highway 54 in central western Hartley County.

History

Middle Water was first established in 1888 as a division of the XIT Ranch. This division, which derived its name from nearby Middle Water Creek, was used for breeding purposes and was a cull ranch, where undesirable cattle were cut out from other division herds. The town was established as a shipping point on the Rock Island line. In 1940 it had one business and a population of twenty-five. By 1984 its population had decreased to ten, due mainly to the proximity of Dalhart, only twenty miles away. In 1990 its population was still reported as ten.

Middle Water History 1922. Middlewater, located on the Rock Island Railroad, has one store and a good school. It is situated in the big pasture part of the county, which will later develop into a stock farming country and now has many prosperous farmers and stockmen. - History of Texas, 1922, by W. Barrett Travis.