Editing Megargel, Texas (section)

==History==
Megargel was established as a result of the Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad extending services to [[Jacksboro, Texas|Jacksboro]] and [[Seymour, Texas|Seymour]]. The town was established in 1910. The community developed multiple businesses within three months because the purchasers of land who established businesses 60 days after acquiring their lots received discounts as an incentive to do so.<ref name=Handbook>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlm53|title=MEGARGEL, TX|encyclopedia=[[Handbook of Texas Online]]|access-date=December 29, 2016}}</ref>

The town had 350 residents in 1914. By 1923, the population had increased to 475. Around that time, H. Sheets drilled a new oil well in the Swastika oilfield, causing a population increase. Oil was discovered {{convert|4|mi|km}} east of Megargel in 1925, and the town expanded even more. One year later, the town had 1,000 residents, and in 1927, it increased by 200 more people.<ref name=Handbook/> About 1,200 people lived in Megargel in 1927, but the population began a decline after that point. The railroad stopped operations in 1943. The number of residents was 347 by 1950, 244 in 1990, 248 in 2000, and 203 in 2010.<ref name=Hannatiny>{{cite news|author=Hanna, Bill|url=http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article3843235.html|title=Tiny North Texas town struggles to survive |newspaper=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]|date=January 19, 2014|access-date=December 29, 2016}}</ref>

In 2014, 130 water meters out of the 200 in Megargel were active, and many houses were unoccupied. That year, Bill Hanna of the ''[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]'' stated that downtown Megargel was "virtually empty, littered with crumbling and abandoned buildings and outdated gas stations."<ref name=Hannatiny/> Hanna stated that some Megargel residents believed that the demise of the [[Megargel Independent School District]] was a factor in recent population declines.<ref name=Hannatiny/>