Do you suffer from indigestion, tuberculosis, or blood that isn’t quite red enough? Are your children listless and lazy? Want to prevent appendicitis? All you need is a bowl of Grape-Nuts cereal — those hard, crunchy little nuggets that contain neither grapes nor nuts. Pair it with a steaming mug of Postum, a coffee substitute made from wheat and molasses, then calm your nerves with some Post Toasties Corn Flakes. All three revolutionary products made millions for C.W. Post, the cereal magnate who founded the town of Post as a utopian colony in 1907.
Post is 40 miles southeast of Lubbock at the foot of the Caprock Escarpment, the dramatic dividing line between the flat High Plains and the eastern rolling prairies. But its story begins far away in Illinois, where Charles William Post was born. Post grew from a sickly child into a serial inventor, achieving early success designing and manufacturing farm equipment — before suffering a stress-induced mental breakdown in 1885. He said, “You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas” (or something like that) and moved to Fort Worth, leaving his old life behind. He invested in a real estate development in today’s Riverside neighborhood, named it Sylvania…then had another mental breakdown.
Post crossed oceans in search of a cure and wound up at Michigan’s world-renowned Battle Creek Sanitarium, overseen by the clean-living pioneer and Seventh-day Adventist Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Kellogg’s holistic outlook held that exercise and nutrition were vital to good health, a radical idea back then. Your prescription from Kellogg might entail vegetarianism, yogurt enemas, and baths that lasted days or even weeks — and don’t even think about having any tobacco, coffee, alcohol, sugar, or sex.
Healthy eating was essential, and the sanitarium’s kitchens churned out bland, easily digestible foods designed to tamp down sexual stimulation — including Kellogg’s most famous libido-busting invention, corn flakes. Work therapy was another therapeutic pillar, and C.W. Post worked in the kitchen baking granola for his fellow patients and for Kellogg’s dry goods company.
Finally healed and greatly inspired by/obsessed with Kellogg, Post moved permanently to the town of Battle Creek, opened his own sanitarium, and launched his own dry goods company. Post started producing Grape-Nuts and Elijah’s Manna (soon renamed Post Toasties), which bore striking resemblances to Kellogg’s granola and cornflakes with one addition: sugar. Americans didn’t like it — they loved it. Sales skyrocketed, thanks to Post’s marketing genius and questionable health claims (Grape-Nuts prevent appendicitis!), and soon he was so rich that he could build his own utopia.
What better place for paradise than West Texas? Post bought a quarter-million acres of the U Lazy S Ranch in 1906 and began parceling out farms and building houses in “Post City.” He planted trees and opened a hotel, cotton gin, and textile factory. Saloons and brothels were not allowed. He tried forcing his ranch’s cowboys to drink Postum instead of coffee, but you can guess how that turned out. Post’s colony soon had a school, a bank, a newspaper, and a railroad. There was only one thing it didn’t have: rain.
It was common knowledge in those days that rain followed cannon battles (false), and Post deduced that explosions must condense atmospheric moisture and stimulate precipitation. So, like any of us would do, he tied sticks of dynamite to kites and detonated the explosives high above town. It didn’t rain. Assuming the kites were his problem, Post took his TNT up to the Caprock Escarpment and continued his experiments by clifftop.
Alas, they’re still waiting for rain in West Texas. Post’s namesake city maintains the can-do spirit of his undying ambitions, but the man had a tragic end. He took his life due to debilitating pain and complications from a severe medical condition: appendicitis.
Explore Post
Savor: Don’t miss the magnificently messy burgers at Holly’s Drive Inn, a nostalgic joint with carhops (or indoor seating if you prefer) along with tasty BLTs and crinkle-cut fries. Local roaster Coffee Wizards crafts killer java and a variety of fried hand pies, including sausage-and-gravy pies for breakfast, taco pies for lunch, and fruit pies for the sweet tooth. Visit Winehouse at 127 for charcuterie boards and High Plains chardonnays, or drop by Smokin’ Dick’s BBQ for their popular Dick-a-Roni: homemade mac and cheese topped with brisket or pulled pork. The Dick-nic Box feeds a family of four, and if you’re in the mood for Mexican, go for the Dick-a-Dilla.
Shop: Browse eclectic gift and clothing boutiques on Broadway and Main streets, like Plum Crazy, where you can shop for rustic stencil art and necklaces made from vintage coin purses. For a one-of-a-kind Taylor Swift or Dolly Parton flannel shirt, head to 8th Day Customs, which also offers funky tees and handcrafted silver jewelry. You’ll find playful outfits and Consuela bags at Buffalo Creek Threads, and cute-as-a-button kids’ hairbows at La Ysabel. Buy road trip snacks at Jackson Brothers Meat Locker, a beef jerky legend with plenty of pork chops and bacon to boot.
Enjoy: Housed in the colony’s former sanitarium, the Garza County Historical Museum has 26 rooms of Native American artifacts, C.W. Post’s personal belongings, and exhibits on ranching, farming, and the oil industry. Discover impressive fine art from around the world (like Fabergé eggs) at the OS Ranch Museum or catch an original religious-themed play at the Ragtown Gospel Theater. Outside of town, explore the red-rock beauty of Caprock Canyons State Park and meet the official Texas State Bison Herd.
Snooze: You can walk everywhere from Hotel Garza, a 110-year-old brick charmer built by the parents of the first child born in Post (they named her Post Toastie). It has been home to a boarding house, post office, and seamstress shop — and now features 11 renovated rooms and suites that ooze Old West ambiance. Antique furniture, clawfoot tubs, and pressed-tin ceilings make you feel like you’re back on the frontier. There’s also a cozy library with a veranda and a pretty garden courtyard, plus a hot-cooked breakfast in the morning.
How to Get There: Drive west toward Abilene on Interstate 20 for 191 miles. Just past Sweetwater, exit to US-84 W toward Lubbock. Continue on US-84 W for 75 miles to reach Post; the entire trip takes about 4 1/2 hours.
