Bug Tussle, Texas

On our Saturday drive in February to Paris, Texas my husband wanted to stop and check out the ghost-town of Bug Tussle. Bug Tussle was founded in the 1890s, and was originally named after an original settler, John Truss, so the town was originally named Truss. The town was located at the junction at State Highway 34 and FM1550. For those of you not from Texas the county, or farm roads are called Farm to Market roads, they connect rural or agricultural roads to market towns.

From all that I have read of Bug Tussle it was a town of 30 residents at its peak, and as low as 6 residents in the 1960s. In 1990 the population was reported to be 15 residents.  There is a picture from Rose Bariekman that was published on TexasEscapes.com that shows the general store that was once owned by her father and grandfather from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s. And this is the only "commercial" building that is now still standing in Bug Tussle.

This is the Rose Bariekman photo that was taken in the late 1950s and you can see the Bug Tussle sign at the top of the store.

There is also a post on that same website from James Nelms that questions the timing and naming of the town, along with a picture of the store from 2004. Nelms writes that his friend Robert told him a story that a man named David Graham Hall, who took a lease on Bug Tussle in 1962 to renovate it, had the town renamed Bug Tussle in the mid 1960s in order to cash in on the TV show the Beverly Hillbillies. Bug Tussle was the name of the town that the Clampetts were from.

But, the date of the Bariekman photo taken in the 1950s where the name Bug Tussle is clearly on the top of the store, and the release date of the Beverly Hillbillies of Sept of 1962, says to me that the timing just doesn't jive. It is possible that the writers of the show got the name of the Clampett's home town from the already established Texas town.

This is the Nelm's photo from 2004.

I am more inclined to believe the town was renamed in the late 1800s or early 1900s because of one of the three stories that have been given over the years. The first story is the most popular, and it says that the town was renamed after a swarm of bugs invaded a community ice cream social. Another explanation is that there was nothing else to do in this small town than to watch bugs tussle. The last possibility was the story of two "old timers"  who were discussing changing the town's name and were distracted by two tumblebugs fighting. One of the men said, "Look at those bugs tussle," and that was then the name they decided on.

The Bug Tussle store in 2017

There was a time when couples would drive to Bug Tussle to get married so they could have the city written on their marriage licence, and they could say they were married in Bug Tussle. The town name was so popular that there have been over 70 highway signs stolen by people that wanted them for souvenirs. They would also take the sign above the store building. Now there is a permanent sign next to the store that is too big to steal.

Isn't it amazing how an old abandoned store and a funny town name can turn into a fun and obscure history lesson?