This Texas Town Was Completely Destroyed by a Deadly Twister

Living in Texas, there's always a fear of a deadly tornado coming through and causing havoc. Some areas are extremely likely to experience a tornado, while others are almost completely safe (you can see which ones are likely to be hit by a tornado here). Sadly there are some towns that were hit and never came back. That was the case of Glazier, Texas; it was hit by a tornado and it never recovered.

Glazier, Texas became a tornado ghost town in April 1947

Before it became a "tornado ghost town", a town that becomes abandoned after it was hit by a twister, the town of Glazier was founded in 1887 along U.S. Highway 60 in Hemphill County by H.C. Glazier. The town was an excellent place for farmers to raise cattle & grow wheat. Thanks to the Panhandle & Santa Fe Railroad, the population grew to 300.

Thanks to the expansion of the Santa Fe line a fire that occurred in June 1916 that destroyed most of the town's business district, many people would leave. But the worst was yet to come...

On April  9, 1947, a massive F5 tornado would rip through the Texas & Oklahoma Panhandle. It became its journey from White Deer, Texas & continued into Oklahoma and parts of the Kansas. Other cities in Texas caught in its path included Higgins, Pampa, Miami & Glazier. As it passed through Glazier, it would claim 12 lives in that town alone; no one was aware of the dangers that came their way.

In total, 181 lives would be lost from the 1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward Tornado, becoming the worst tornado in Oklahoma's history & the 6th deadliest tornado in US history.

Where is Glazier, Texas now?

After the tornado hit in 1947, the town essentially shut down; the local post office closed in 1959 & by the 1980s, all the businesses were shut down throughout the town.

The town of Glazier remains a geographical part of Texas, meaning you can still find it in Hemphill County. And in case if you were wondering yes...tornadoes still do occur in that part of Texas.

Today Glazier is considered one of the only remaining tornado ghost towns in the US. The story of Glazier will always remain a part of Texas history on how to prepare for a tornado.

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