#DesertedTexas

[desertedtexas]

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Camera Roll Vlog. This is a Deserted Texas special. 3 years ago, 4 friends and I embarked on a journey to the ghost town of Helena, TX. We spent 2 days filming what at the time was the biggest production we had ever worked on together. Our cameras were just a few weeks old. Got them under the tree for Christmas… and we were going to make a full length documentary on Texas ghost towns. Despite our hard work, some footage got lost and we never got to editing our first and only Deserted Texas episode. With a little love and creativity I’ve saved our episode so it can now be shared with the world. Learn more about Deserted Texas at www.desertedtexas.com

[aaronjgarcia]

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Currently working on a documentary series called Deserted Texas #video #desertedtexas #history #ghosttown #texas #abandoned

[desertedtexas]

Abandoned General Store in Rock Island, Texas. Post: http://ift.tt/1QNhAyH #DesertedTexas #Texas #abandoned #ghosttown #grime #urbex #urbanexploration #abandoned_but_not_forgotten #rockisland http://ift.tt/1HtpGfp

[desertedtexas]

Abandoned Aldridge Sawmill in the Angelina National Forest. Photo by: @dajohnnyg Post: http://ift.tt/1JCWGmZ #DesertedTexas #Texas #texashistory #ghosttown #grime_lords #deserted #deviantrust #discarded_butnot_forgotten #abandoned #abandoned_junkies #modern_ruins #urbex #urbanexploration #Aldridge #sawmill #nationalforests #forest #angelina http://ift.tt/1BX9rBd

[desertedtexas]

Abandoned Benton City Institute in the ghost town of Benton, Texas on the outskirts of present-day Lytle. Post: http://ift.tt/1MFxA5v #DesertedTexas #Texas #texashistory #urbex #urbanexploration #grime_lords #ghosttown #BentonCity #abandoned #abandoned_junkies #deviantrust #discarded_butnot_forgotten http://ift.tt/1B43I18

[desertedtexas]

Rock Island, Texas from Aaron Garcia on Vimeo.

[desertedtexas]

Sutherland Springs, Texas

Situated half a mile north of the Cibolo Creek, and half a mile south of the now abandoned San Antonio and Gulf Shore Railroad, sits the remainder of 1920’s Sutherland Springs. All that’s left of the town is three buildings: the movie theater, the bank, and the saloon.

Structural integrity

The bank still has the framework in fairly good condition. The bank is made out of concrete walls construction with wood beams inlaid for support. Half of the wood inserts have rotted out. Some of the white plaster wall coat is intact inside the bank vault. Only half the perimeter walls of the saloon are intact. Sadly, one more section of the saloon wall fell some time in early 2015, some time since the last time we were there. The rest of the saloon walls are structurally weak and leaning. The movie theater building is on private property and could not be studied in detail, however, appears to be in the best condition of the three and the roof has not yet collapsed.

Vandalism

There are graffiti marks in the mortar as well as some spray paint in the vault of the bank. Overall, it has minimal damage.

[desertedtexas]

Helena, Texas

Currently located near the intersection of State Highway 80 and FM 81, Thomas Ruckman and Lewis S. Owings founded the town of Helena in 1852 on the site of a former Hispanic trading post. Although once projected to become one of the largest cities in the state of Texas, Helena now exists as a remnant of a bygone era and as the shell of a town once known for violence, outlaws, and a legendary dispute between lawmen and land moguls.

During our visit to Helena, we stopped by the Karnes County Museum which houses most of what remains of the old town. On these grounds sit  several well-preserved  structures from Helena’s historic past, such as the post office, the courthouse, the schoolhouse, as well as two iron jail cells which housed the most infamous of Karnes County criminals. The museum curator, Ramona Noone gave us an insightful tour of the property and educated us on both the history and folklore of Helena and Karnes County. With her help, we were able to get a pretty good feel for everyday life in the Helena city limit (minus the gunslingers and outlaws).  As expected, it turned out that there’s a lot more to this small Texas town that meets the eye.

[aaronjgarcia]

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Frio Town Cemetery #video #desertedtexas

[aaronjgarcia]

Frio Town Cemetery #DesertedTexas

[aaronjgarcia]

You never know when a road may lead to #desertedtexas

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DSLR #selfie #desertedtexas (at Mission San Juan Capistrano)

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Road trip #desertedtexas

[aaronjgarcia]

Scoping out ghost towns for our documentary series #desertedtexas (at City of Lytle)