Etna, Texas facts for kids
Etna is what we call a ghost town in Texas, United States. A ghost town is a place that used to be a busy community but is now mostly empty. Etna was located near where the town of Bullard is today, in northwestern Cherokee County.
The Story of Etna
Etna was first settled around the time of the Civil War. This was in the 1860s. People from the southern parts of the United States moved there to start new lives.
Life in Early Etna
By the early 1880s, Etna was a small but active town. It had a post office, which opened in 1867. The town also had several important businesses and buildings. These included:
- A dry goods store, which sold many different items.
- A district school where children learned.
- A church for the community.
- A gristmill, used for grinding grain into flour.
- A blacksmith shop, where metal tools were made and repaired.
- Other general stores for daily needs.
Why Etna Became a Ghost Town
Etna began to shrink in the mid-1880s. A new railroad, called the Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad, was built. However, it did not go through Etna. Instead, it went around the town. This meant that businesses and people found it harder to transport goods and travel to Etna.
Because of the railroad bypassing Etna, most people and businesses decided to move. They went to the nearby town of Bullard, which was on the new railroad line. The post office in Etna closed in 1883. By the year 1900, Etna was almost completely empty. It had become a true ghost town.
