Looking for a side-trip while driving between Fort Worth and Amarillo on Hwy 287? Just south of the little town of Chillicothe, on TX 91, lies the ghost town of Medicine Mound, named after the nearby dolomite hills that were sacred to the Comanche. Around 1898 Arthur Stilwell built the Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient Railway looking to open a shorter connection to the Pacific Ocean than going to California. (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqk05) The Orient, as it was known in Texas, passed through Chillicothe and Medicine Mound. It only made money for its owners when oil was discovered beneath its right of way. The ATSF bought the railway in 1928 to service the oil fields. Around mid-century, according to a longtime resident of the area, Johnny Kajs, a doodlebug served the little communities such as Crowell, which is near the Pease River site of the recapture of Cynthia Ann Parker. The John Ford movie, the Searchers, is loosely based on her story.
The photos show what is left of the ghost town, an old store and gas station, as well as the barely distinguishable right of way. It shows as a hump in the road. There is still plenty of ballast to mark the way. If you decide to make the diversion, it's easy to get to: just follow 91 south from the center of Chillicothe. But as you walk around, keep an eye out for snakes.
