Belcherville is an agricultural community of about 30 residents. The couple abandoned structures on Farm Road 1816 suggest something else was once there; however, only stories can really paint off picture of how great the town once was.
Belcherville was incorporate in 1891 and had a population of 1,200 by the turn of the century. There were several businesses, including a hotel, 2 mills and a gin, a school, stores for furniture, drugs, groceries, dry goods, 2 churches, a music store, and more. They had a weekly newspaper and even a community band. Such growth wasn’t chasing nature resources like many towns of that time, it was just billed as land with favorable climate and farming conditions. Unfortunately, Belcherville’s boom busted much sooner than expected.
In the town’s early days, the Rock Island Railroad was building railways from Oklahoma to Texas. They offered to make a route to Belcherville if expenses of $1,000 were paid. The community assumed it would have to happen anyways and decline to fund the effort. Much to their surprise, the railroad actually did go in another direction. This was a critical blow since trains were so important in those times. Not long after, severals buildings burned down in 2 different sections of town, on 2 different nights. It was rumored that some business owners started to the fires to collect on insurance and leave town. Residents began leaving when buildings were not rebuilt, including the high school.
Belcherville later gained national recognition twice. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not featured a story about the post master delivering mail from his personal car when the post office burned down in 1948. A few years later the town protested a 1950 census, claiming 13 residents weren’t counted, and threatened fights if it wasn’t corrected in 1960. The number should have been 51.
Those who stayed were of a proud and strong community. Newspaper articles can be found for many years documenting continued gatherings for the community band and even monthly birthday celebrations.
