PUMPVILLE

NAME: Pumpville COUNTY: Val Verde ROADS: 2WD GRID: 3 CLIMATE: Warm winter, hot summer BEST TIME TO VISIT:Winter, spring, fall

COMMENTS: A couple of residents. REMAINS: A few foundations.

Pumpville would probably still be in existence was it not for the steam locomotive being replaced by the diesel engine. The Southern Pacific Railroad built a pumping station at the site to provide water for steam locomotives that pulled trains through the semiarid ranch country. In the early 1880s, the company drilled a fresh water well, constructed a pumping facility and storage tank and provided housing for railroad personnel. The town grew slowly after a post office was added in 1899 to include a general store, livestock holding pens and loading chutes, a Baptist Church and a number of dwellings. Pumpville began to decline after World War II when the railroad began to withdraw its personnel. The depot closed in 1952 and the water service abandoned in 1955 when diesel locomotives replaced the steam engines. All that remains are the foundations and ruins of structures that once called itself Pumpville. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

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