IATAN, TEXAS. Iatan is on Interstate Highway 20/U.S. Highway 80 about six miles west of Westbrook in west central Mitchell County. The settlement was established as a station on the Texas and Pacific Railway when the line was built into the area in 1881. The community, known occasionally as Vista, may have taken its present name from the nearby Williams-Waddell Iatan Tank Ranch. On March 20, 1890, a post office was granted to Daniel Crowe and remained in service until it was moved to Westbrook on September 10, 1924. A school, which also served as a Methodist church, was established in 1891. In 1930 sixty students were enrolled, but the district was consolidated with the Westbrook school district in 1938. The population of Iatan in 1940 was reported at 125, but by 1950 it had declined to twenty, where it remained for at least the next ten years. By 1972 only a railroad station remained at the site.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lore and Legend: A Compilation of Documents Depicting the History of Colorado City and Mitchell County (Colorado City Record, 1976).

Charles G. Davis