What West, Texas Will Need ASAP: About 30 to 60 New Homes. Let’s Have a House Drive!

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West, Texas home

801 N. Davis, West, Tx.

Just got off the phone with West, Texas Realtor Pat Grimm, of Slovak Realty, who tells me he has lived in West all his life. The town’s main business is farm and ranching, the town’s population about 2800. West was founded about 1882 around the KATY railroad, and a lot of Czech and German settlers nestled down to farm and ranch, much like Fredericksburg. The town is named after a major landowner, Thomas West.  This from the town’s Chamber of Commerce

“The Katy Railroad was laid between Hillsboro and Waco in the fall of 1881. The path of the railroad cut through land owned by Thomas West. Mr. West moved to the area in 1859. He farmed land that he had purchased and served as postmaster of Bold Springs. A train depot was built on the land he sold to the railroad company and the land running beside the tracks was divided into small sections and sold to people wanting to start businesses. The new depot included a post office and from that time forward it was known as the West Post Office. Mr. West served as postmaster while opening the first general store. He became a successful businessman later owning a hotel, a furniture store and a bank. The railroad brought prosperity to the area during the 1880′s. More businesses were opened and more surrounding land was purchased. Czech immigrants came to the area purchasing the rich lands to farm and start a fresh life in the new world. They also opened businesses sharing their European culture. By the 1890′s the Czech businesses flourished in West.”

Pat tells me 30 to 60 homes have been destroyed or will be declared un-liveable, those homes ranging in values from $120,000 to about $200,000. An entire apartment complex was just wiped out by the explosion:

Why they were located so close to the West Fertilizer Co. plant, and why a school was practically across the street, remains to me, rather baffling, as it does Tod Robberson over at the Dallas Morning News:

“So why didn’t local planners demonstrate an equal level of forethought and imagine what kind of problems could arise when you place a middle school, a retirement complex, apartments and houses next to a fertilizer plant with a 12,000-gallon tank containing highly volatile chemical compounds? “

Of course, this is a ranching town. Only recently have psychos figured out how to make terror bombs out of everyday items. We need to figure out, says Pat, where these people and families are going to live. As for the rescue workers and people who have been injured or killed, our hearts go out to you and your families. People are still missing and unaccounted for, and loved ones are fretting. How did this nightmare happen right in our own backyard?

We need a House Drive! Any home builders out there willing to get involved?

Pat has lived in West, Texas all his life and told me that yes, the place is pretty devastated, but what is heartening is the way so many are reaching out, helping and donating. I’m told the Dallas hospitals are loaded with people donating blood.

The town had a brand new City Hall, and was in process of building a city museum. Thankfully, Pat thinks most of the folks who lost homes did have insurance, but with homes and multi-family taking at least 6 months to build, they are going to need some sort of shelter immediately!

The adorable home you see here is in town, listed at $109,900 at 801 North Davis. I hope it is still standing.

 

Candy Evans, founder and publisher of CandysDirt.com, is one of the nation’s leading real estate reporters.

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