In the Texas panhandle, in Wheeler County to be exact, there's a bit of a mystery. It's there that a once "magical" city used to exist. Unfortunately, most accounts say that the town has long been abandoned.

So, please explain to me how a town that "doesn't exist" has a page on Yelp.

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Say "Howdy" To Magic City, Texas

Back in the 1920s, there was a lot of oil to be found in the Texas panhandle. There are numerous stories of towns that popped up all over the region, filled with people looking to make their fortune in the oilfield.

Photo by Documerica on Unsplash
Photo by Documerica on Unsplash
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In 1926, one such town popped up. According to legend, the newly developed town seemed to be on a roll when it came to new derricks opening up. It seemed like every time you turned around, there was a new one; as if by some kind of roughneck magic. So, they named it Magic City, Texas.

The Magic Starts To Fizzle

In the 1930s, the boom-times were drying up.

Luckily the railroad came through, and Magic City was able to hang on. In 1930, there was supposedly only 150 people left.

By 1935, most of the derricks were done and gone. Supposedly, in 1947 the town had two stores, a church, a school, and 100 people.

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
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In 1954 the post office closed. 1970 was the year the rail line was discontinued.

A year later, there was just the church and one business.

By most accounts, Magic City simply disappeared after that. At least, that's how some of the stories go.

So How In The Heck Does Magic City Have A Yelp Page?

What's funny about doing a Google search for Magic City, is coming across the Yelp page titled The 10 BEST Things to Do in Magic City, TX.

Someone's got their wires crossed, if you know what I mean.

The Yelp page lists all kinds of restaurants and hotels to visit while staying in Magic City (which is pretty impossible to find on Google maps, even with coordinates). You'd be forgiven for thinking that maybe Magic City had a kind of renaissance at some point and bounced back.

Google
Google
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The listings, however, are all for things that are in Shamrock. Like the U Drop Inn.

Whoops. Looks like the most interesting thing to do, if you even find Magic City, is go to Shamrock.

I did find an interesting reference to Magic City, Texas. It's in a song. The name of the track is "There Are No Beaches In Magic City, Texas." It's a pretty interesting listen, and they're right. There are no beaches in Magic City, Texas.

If there were beaches in Magic City, I'm sure you'd find them next to the franchise motels and steak houses.

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