Calliham, Texas

Located in the south Texas county of McMullen on highway 72 between the towns of Tilden and Three Rivers is the small town of Calliham. It was started about 1918 when oil and gas was discovered in sufficient quantity as a boomtown with one store and tents. The settlement was originally Guffeyola, named for Hiram Harvey McGuffey, who owned a store on the site.

Guffeyola furnished the first natural gas to San Antonio in 1922, when an oil well was drilled on the site. Natural gas lights were installed in the town and water was piped from the Frio River.

There were traces of traces of salt water, sulphur, gas, and oil in water wells for about thirty years prior to the drilling of the first oil well in McMullen County. This meant that petroleum was likely to be found. Then in 1908, a well on Charles Byrne's land began to spout sulphur water and gas 120 feet into the air every 8 days, arousing much interest about the minerals below the surface. A well somewhere between 1917 and 1918 was drilled and for 3 months it spewed out of control because of the intense subsurface pressure and inadequate equipment. It was finally arranged by W.M. Stephenson that the oil and natural gas be piped sixty-eight miles north to San Antonio. Petroleum became one of the primary sources of income for the residents of McMullen County.

"Calliham High School"

But in 1923 a town site was laid out on the J.T. Calliham Ranch land and named in his honor. J.W. Stephenson proposed that a formal town site be laid out because there were so many new people moving into the area. He guaranteed Calliham fifty dollars for every lot sold. During the 1920s the town had four cafes, three two-story hotels, grocery stores, bakery, a drugstore, a newspaper office, and a dance pavilion, but none of those can be found now. The post office was founded in 1923. The old gymnasium and the old sign from the Calliham High School are still in existence. The development of Calliham peaked in the 1930s with a population of four hundred.

In the 1940s the population began to dwindle down to a whopping three hundred residents. Its high school closed in 1948, and its elementary school closed in 1963. In about 1965 the town acquired a deep water well for the towns water supply. As the oil and gas began to play out the population began to diminish even more drastically.

In 1976, the government began to take land where the old Calliham town was located. The Choke Canyon Dam was built on the Frio River and the area was flooded. The original town site is now completely underwater, but the town of Calliham rests peacefully in its new location. The new town consists of the cemetery, the original church (that was moved from the first town site of Calliham), the Calliham Store, the Calliham Cemetery, a washateria, some new cabins, and residential homes.

What is left of the original Calliham is now the Choke Canyon State Park. It brings lots of business and tourism to the town. There are boat ramps, cabins, tennis courts, and other recreational facilities. The old gymnasium still exists and is used for many different occasions such as at Christmas time when the park invites elementary children from local schools, like McMullen County and Three Rivers, to view Christmas programs. Choke Canyon State Park is one of the best in the state's park system. The two units of the park are on peninsulas that jut into Choke Canyon Lake, famed for excellent fishing. The 26,000 surface-acre reservoir is surrounded by two parks teeming with wildlife, such as turkey, deer, quail, duck, javelina, wild hog, alligator, and many different species of birds which could be seen while driving through the park or taking a walk down the many nature trails that the park has to offer, but watch out for the snakes that also live here!

Some interesting facts about present-day Calliham are:

Area of the County: 1159 square miles

Average Annual Temperature: 72 Degrees Fahrenheit

Annual Average Precipitation: 25.5 Inches

Climate Type: Sub-Tropical

Elevation: 242 Feet above sea level

Calliham is a very interesting small town to research for it is rich with culture and heritage. We live very near this town and visit it often, but we never knew that Calliham had so much history behind it. We did, however, know that it isnt located in the original area as it was founded for our parents remember when it was relocated in the 1970s and have told us about it. We have seen what is left of the original town.the gym, a few houses inside the State Park, and the church, and what we cannot see is submerged beneath the Choke Canyon Lake.

Calliham Community Church

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