Cactus, TX

Cactus is a Moore County city on U.S. 287, about 13 miles north of Dumas and close to the Oklahoma line. It began during World War II as Cactus Ordnance Works, a government project that produced ammonium nitrate for explosives. Construction brought hurried housing and thousands of workers; after the war, the site shifted through aviation fuel, ammonia, and later industrial uses. The post office opened in 1948, and the community grew around the plant’s remaining buildings and roads. Waylon Jennings later turned the place into a song subject. Cactus is a Panhandle company town whose first chapter was built for wartime production.