Abandoned Towns

Ghost town record · Andrews County, Texas

Shafter Lake

Ghost town in Texas, United States.

Record

About Shafter Lake

Shafter Lake is a ghost town in Andrews County, Texas, United States, located four miles west of U.S. Route 385 on the shores of a large salt playa named Shafter Lake. It became a ghost town after the town lost an election for county seat of Andrews County.

This is a site record: what public sources say about Shafter Lake, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.

Map

Where Shafter Lake is

USGS topographic map around Shafter Lake
USGS topographic map, The National Map (public domain). The pin marks the coordinates in the record; old townsites are often a little off.

Historic maps

4 historic USGS maps cover Shafter Lake

Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.

Directions

Getting there

Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Before you go

  • Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
  • Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
  • Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.

Nearby

Other sites near Shafter Lake

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Texas index.

Sources

Sources

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Shafter Lake": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
  2. Wikipedia, "Shafter Lake, Texas": coordinates and summary.
  3. Wikidata Q7461111.
  4. USGS GNIS 2034791.
  5. USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
  6. USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).