CHALK, TEXAS. Chalk, in southern Cottle County, was founded on land originally owned by W. Q. Richards as part of his 3D and Moon ranches. The rise in prices for farmland and severe drought in 1903 or 1904 led him to dig wells and plot a settlement. As the settlement was being developed between 1905 and 1907, it was known as Richards colony and as Dutch colony before assuming the name of Chalk in honor of James M. Chalk, who owned a gin and who became the first postmaster for the community in 1908. The town grew slowly, but some impetus was provided by the Oscar brothers, who started a store there in 1906. By 1915 the population of Chalk had reached forty-five. A school was not established in Chalk until 1914, probably because there were already three schools in the area. By 1940 the town had 100 residents and four stores. Its population later declined, and in 1945 its school was closed and local students were transferred to Paducah. By 1980 the population of Chalk numbered forty-five, although the community still retained its post office and had a cotton gin and a gas plant. The reported population in 1990 was still forty-five. In 2000 the population dropped to seventeen.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Carmen Taylor Bennett, Our Roots Grow Deep: A History of Cottle County (Floydada, Texas: Blanco Offset Printing, 1970). Kathleen E. and Clifton R. St. Clair, eds., Little Towns of Texas (Jacksonville, Texas: Jayroe Graphic Arts, 1982).

William R. Hunt