Mobeetie, Texas gifts and souvenirs: 16 designs made from Mobeetie's own map, landmarks and history, from $16 to $95. Printed to order and shipped free in the USA.
| Popular | Price |
|---|---|
| Mobeetie Hometown Ornament | $23 |
| Mobeetie Varsity Crewneck | from $57 |
| Mobeetie Est. Tee | from $33 |
| Mobeetie Town Line Mug | from $26 |
| Mobeetie Market Tote | $37 |
Ceramic keepsake, gold ribbon
The town's story in dates, from its own records, for home or classroom
Heavy-blend fleece, street map printed on the back
Soft Bella+Canvas jersey
Kids' Bella+Canvas jersey, youth sizes
Bella+Canvas toddler jersey
Bella+Canvas baby bodysuit
Glossy ceramic, dishwasher safe
Weatherproof, for the front walk
24″×16″, printed coir-look fibers, rubber back
12″×12″ printed wood, ready to hang
Soft-touch, zip cover
Sturdy all-over-print tote
Glossy top, cork back
Soft fleece, 50″×60″
20 oz, double-wall stainless
Mobeetie (formerly known as "Cantonment Sweetwater") was a trading post for hunters and trappers for nearby United States Army outpost Fort Elliott. Mobeetie is the birthplace of Morrie Rath, baseball player.
The first formal name for the town was "Sweetwater". It was located on the North Fork Red River, a tributary of the Red River of the South. Nearby Fort Elliott, developed to protect the buffalo trade from Indian raiders, stimulated further growth of the town. On January 24, 1876, the "Sweetwater Shootout" occurred. Anthony Cook (Corporal "Sergeant" Melvin A. King; of the then-4th Cavalry Company H, stationed at Fort Elliot) shot and killed Mollie Brennan (a dancehall girl and former prostitute). Sgt. King then wounded Bat Masterson, who in turn killed him (King may have shot Masterson first and then killed Brennan; accounts vary). Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight said about the town: "I think it was the hardest place I ever saw on the frontier except Cheyenne, Wyoming."
When the town applied for a post office in 1879, the name "Sweetwater" was already in use. The town took the new name of "Mobeetie", believed to be a Native American word for Sweetwater. It was allegedly later revealed that the word, in fact, meant "buffalo dung."
Because of the presence of Fort Elliott and Mobeetie's importance as a commercial center, Wheeler County became the first politically organized county in the Texas Panhandle, in 1879, followed by Oldham County at Tascosa, now a ghost town. Mobeetie became the first county seat for Wheeler County. From 1880 to 1883, the notorious Robert Clay Allison ranched with his two brothers, John William and Jeremiah Monroe, 12 miles northeast of town, at the junction of the Washita River and Gageby Creek. One day, Allison rode through Mobeetie drunk and naked. Allison married America Medora "Dora" McCulloch in Mobeetie on February 15, 1881.
At its peak in 1890, the town had over 400 people, but Mobeetie's boom days ended when Fort Elliott closed that same year. Further decline came with the tornado of May 1, 1898, and then the loss of the county seat, in 1907, to Wheeler. In 1929, Mobeetie moved two miles when the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway built nearby tracks. The town steadily grew again until the start of World War II brought a peak around 500.
Mobeetie is also known as the birthplace of a member of the 1919 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds, infielder and catcher Morrie Rath. Rath was born on Christmas Day 1886.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Mobeetie, Texas, revision 1374759038 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
We share a part of every Mobeetie sale with local partners, and we'd love to print from your collection. Old photographs, maps and postcards make the best keepsakes.
Partner with usA favorite landmark, your street, a school or team, an anniversary gift, a different product. Tell us and we'll get back to you by email.
Mobeetie's population was 87 in the 2020 U.S. Census, down from 101 in 2010.