Dalby Springs, Texas
Dalby Springs, Texas is a small town in Bowie County, Texas, once noted for its red sulphur springs, but now a virtual ghost town. Dalby Springs was first settled around 1839 and became a town around 1856. It began declining in the 1940s, with the advent of mechanized agriculture (as there were many cotton fields in the area).
From the Texas Handbook Online:
"Dalby Springs is a community eleven miles from DeKalb in southwestern Bowie County. It was named for the nearby Dalby Springs. Settlement in the area began in 1839 with the arrival of Warren Dalby and his family. In the 1850s the springs were discovered to have medicinal properties, and as word spread, people began to visit the area to drink from the springs. Buildings were erected to accommodate travelers, and in 1860 a post office was established there, with Joseph G. Dalby as postmaster. By 1884 the town had a church, a school, five mills, five gins, and a population estimated at 250. During the 1890s a newspaper called The Guest was published there.
By 1900 the community's population had fallen to 186. It continued to be reported at about that level until the 1950s, when it fell to fifty. In 1984 Dalby Springs reported an estimated population of sixty and no rated businesses. In 1990 and in 2000 its population was estimated at 141."
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowie County Scrapbook, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. J. J. Scheffelin, Bowie County Basic Background Book (n.d.).