A small ghost town in West Texas with an old motel, restaurant, post office and gas station used as a watering hole in the 1800s is coming on the market for $100,000.
The unusual opportunity comes after a group of German friends who bought the place twenty-two years ago hoped to sell the remote town to a buyer with a ‘vision’.
Lobo is located in a remote corner of the Lone Star State, just off Texas Route 90, 130 miles southeast of El Paso, 15 miles east of the Rio Grande, and 56 miles from the city. desert of Marfa.
The town, which spans 10 acres, is home to several old commercial buildings, including a few remaining structures such as a grocery store, post office, motel, gas station, restaurant, and a few other homes and structures. , according to property list.
The asking price of $100,000 is well below the median home price in the state of Texas, which is currently $341,300.
In Texas’ second largest city, San Antonio, the median price of a family home is $274,000.
Lobo is nestled in the heart of the desert, in a remote region that for nearly a century has never seen a population of more than 100 people
The town was finally abandoned in 1991 when the last of its inhabitants had to leave for personal reasons before a group of German friends bought the place.
A hotel in Lobo is depicted in a photograph from the mid-1800s
Located 210 miles southeast of El Paso, 91 miles from the desert town of Marfa, the ghost town of Lobo, Texas has been put on the market for $100,000.
Frankfurt’s German friends first purchased the small town in November 2001 and began to rebuild various parts of the city.
Over the next two decades, the property hosted art exhibitions, film screenings, and musical events.
Desert Dust Cinema was one of the small short film festivals that took place. The event would see people gather to watch films and enjoy live music and art performances.
Now that the friends are older, the group say they are struggling to maintain and want to sell the land to someone who would appreciate the quirky nature of the listing.
“We are too old now to continue our efforts to maintain the buildings and 10 acres of land and would like to sell Lobo to someone who appreciates the specialness of ‘our’ little ghost town,” they wrote in their announcement.
“You come back after a year and things have been destroyed, then you have to start over,” said Alexander Bardorff, one of Lobo’s owners. Texas monthly.
“I’ll be seventy in a month, and all my other friends are in Germany, so we’re running out of energy.
Remote location has hosted a few art and film festivals
Desert Cinema has seen people visit the area for something different, including a remote getaway
The town, which spans 10 acres, is home to several old commercial buildings, including a few remaining structures such as a grocery store, post office, motel, gas station, restaurant, as well as a few other houses and structures .
The buildings are now all condemned and ready to be taken over and renovated by new owners
Lobo is about as remote as you could imagine in the middle of the desert in West Texas
The entire 10-acre lot, with buildings, is for sale for $100,000
A star-shaped fire pit is seen next to a dilapidated swimming pool
“We’re not just trying to make a profit. We would like to find a group of people who want to do something interesting there,” Bardoff said. “We hope to find a buyer with a lot of energy, stamina, motivation and an interesting vision for Lobo’s future.”
The name Lobo refers to the wolves that roamed the area and caused trouble.
The town rose to prominence between 1850 and 1860, when Lobo became a stopover on the mail route from San Antonio to San Diego.
In the 1880s it became a watering hole and a depot for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1882.
In 1914, the population of Lobo was only 20, but the town grew and in 1962, 90 people lived there despite two powerful earthquakes which caused people to flee.
The whole town needs a lot of work to restore its features, including the swimming pool
The swimming pool is seen during better days when the city attracts visitors
A roadside sign once served to welcome visitors from afar
A disused motel is just one of the buildings included in the package
There are a number of outbuildings but no one actually lives in town full time
Weathered metal structures in the deserted town of Lobo, south of Van Horn on US 90 in Culberson County, Texas
Eventually, a drop in the water table led to the town no longer being able to support its people or local businesses.
The move of the city’s railway station sounded the death knell.
As the town began to fade, a man named Bill Christ bought the town in 1969, opened a new gas station and general store.
Christ retained ownership of the city for another 22 years until 1991, when he was forced to sell it due to “crimes and personal issues,” according to the property’s website.
Although Lobo needs some work, sellers believe it still has potential as a desert hub for the arts or perhaps a retreat for nature lovers.
An “open city” event will be held over Memorial Day weekend for potential buyers to come and experience the city for themselves.
