History of Ables, Hudspeth County: A Pioneer Settlement


By: Martin Donell Kohout

Published: 1952

Updated: November 1, 1994

Ables, in northeastern Hudspeth County, was named for pioneer settler W. S. Ables. The settlement was established before 1909, when a post office was established there with James W. Hammack as postmaster. In 1914 the area had eight livestock breeders, including W. S., Oscar, and Sid Ables and James Hammack, as well as one real estate broker. By the mid-1930s, however, only one business was still operating in Ables. When the post office was moved to Salt Flat in 1941, the estimated population of Ables was twenty-five. That estimate remained constant until the late 1940s, when the settlement ceased to appear on maps.

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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.

Martin Donell Kohout, “Ables, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ables-tx.

Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

TID: HNA02

1952
November 1, 1994

Find out more about this place from our Texas Almanac.

Place
Ables
Currently Exists
No
Place Type
Town
Town Fields
  • Has post office: No
  • Is Incorporated: No
Belongs to
  • Hudspeth County
Coordinates
  • Latitude: 31.77917600°
  • Longitude: -104.94167200°

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