Shafter, Texas Shafter, Texas, a
ghost town located at the east end of the Chinati Mountains 18 miles north of Presidio, has a long history closely tied to
silver mining. It was the first major mining town established in west Texas and the only successful silver mining area. This once bustling town had a population of as many as 4,000 people, but today is mostly quiet and called home to only a few families.
Long before the town of Shafter was established along Cibolo Creek, there is evidence that Spaniards prospected for valuable ores in the area during the early 1600s.
Mining began by locals in the 1880s and the town of Shafter grew to as many as high as 4000 people.
In the end, like other mining towns, the ore played out and Shafter died. Today it is called home to only about a dozen area residents.
