#talco

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In 1856 a US Post Office was opened up north of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, to serve a community called Gouldsboro.    That Post office closed in 1860; but, another one was opened up nearby in 1878 to serve a town now being called Goolesboro.  Goolesboro grew up to have the Post Office, a general store, a doctor’s office, and a blacksmith’s shop; and by 1884 its population was about 30 people.

In 1910, the postal officials asked that the name of the town be changed to avoid confusion since there were other towns in Texas with the same name.   A town merchant came up with the idea of naming the place after the initials of the company that made a common candy bar back then.   It was the Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana Candy Company; hence, the town became “Talco”.   Nowadays, some locals dispute that this was how the town was named. 

When the folks of the community heard that the railroad was going to be coming through the area, they actually moved the town over to where the railroad would be.   When the store and Post Office was moved to the new town site in 1912, most of the other businesses moved too; which turned out really well for them.  Within a couple of years there were about 300 people residing in Talco.  

Suddenly, in 1936, oil was discovered in the “Talco Oilfield”, and the oil boom was on.  People came running to Talco in droves looking for work and trying to scoop up oil leases; and by the late 1930′s the population was around 2,000.