Proffitt - Texas Ghost Town

PROFFITT

NAME: Proffitt
COUNTY: Young
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 1
CLIMATE: Warm winter, hot summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT:Winter, spring, fall

COMMENTS: There are a few scattered homes in the area.
REMAINS: The cemetery.

Proffitt had its problems long before it became a town. The Reverend Robert S. Proffitt, a Methodist minister, came to the area from Tennessee in 1852. During the early 1860s, he acquired ranch property on Elm Creek near Fort Belknap. Proffitt and his sons began raising cattle on land ideally suited for cattle ranching. On October 13, 1864 one of the most unforgettable of all Indian raids into Texas occurred. Known to this day as the Elm Creek Raid, Indians attacked the settlers in Elm Creek, killed 10 settlers and carried off two women and five children. Another major raid followed in July of 1867. Three young men, one of them a son of Robert S. Proffitt, were tending cattle when they were surprised by an Indian war party. All three were killed and scalped on the spot, their bodies later being placed in a common grave that today is identified by an historical marker. With the end of Indian raids in the 1870s, Proffitt thrived for a number of years, retaining its post office until 1925. Today it consists only of a handful of scattered rural homes and an interesting cemetery. The Proffitt cemetery that began with the burial of the three boys killed by Indians in 1867 is located on the north side of U.S. Highway 380 two-tenths of a mile beyond the turnoff to the town. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth	Proffitt Cemetery 8-16-09 Courtesy Trina Haynes Common Grave of three teenage boys killed in an Indian Raid July 17, 1867 Courtesy Trina Haynes Proffitt Baptist Church Courtesy Chris Bellomy

Proffitt had its problems long before it became a town. The Reverend Robert S. Proffitt, a Methodist minister, came to the area from Tennessee in 1852. During the early 1860s, he acquired ranch property on Elm Creek near Fort Belknap. Proffitt and his sons began raising cattle on land ideally suited for cattle ranching. On October 13, 1864 one of the most unforgettable of all Indian raids into Texas occurred. Known to this day as the Elm Creek Raid, Indians attacked the settlers in Elm Creek, killed 10 settlers and carried off two women and five children. Another major raid followed in July of 1867. Three young men, one of them a son of Robert S. Proffitt, were tending cattle when they were surprised by an Indian war party. All three were killed and scalped on the spot, their bodies later being placed in a common grave that today is identified by an historical marker. With the end of Indian raids in the 1870s, Proffitt thrived for a number of years, retaining its post office until 1925. Today it consists only of a handful of scattered rural homes and an interesting cemetery. The Proffitt cemetery that began with the burial of the three boys killed by Indians in 1867 is located on the north side of U.S. Highway 380 two-tenths of a mile beyond the turnoff to the town. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

Proffitt Cemetery 8-16-09
Courtesy Trina Haynes

Common Grave of three teenage boys killed in an Indian Raid July 17, 1867
Courtesy Trina Haynes

Proffitt Baptist Church
Courtesy Chris Bellomy

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