Fritch was a store, a post office and about seventy-five people until Sanford Dam went in on the Canadian River. Most of the town grew up with Lake Meredith.
Tell us what the water is doing and we’ll call you back to set up a free on-site look.
Fritch was a store, a post office and about seventy-five people until Sanford Dam went in on the Canadian River. Most of the town grew up with Lake Meredith.
The Handbook of Texas puts Fritch at about seventy-five residents in 1940. Construction of Sanford Dam on the Canadian River prompted the town to incorporate in 1959, and by the time the dam was finished in 1965 Fritch had about 2,800 people, two schools, six churches and a bank. The Handbook credits most of that growth to the recreation areas at Lake Meredith.
So when you're looking at a Fritch house, you're usually looking at something built in or after the lake era. The town sits on State Highway 136 in southwestern Hutchinson County, and part of it lies in Moore County.
H. C. Fritch, a Rock Island Railroad vice president, laid out the town's streets in 1933 parallel to the rail line, which ran northwest to southeast. The Rock Island abandoned that line in 1972, but the grid stayed.
A street plan drawn to match a track rather than the lay of the land means the low corner of a lot isn't always the one nearest the curb. Before we recommend anything, we shoot grades across the whole property and the street frontage, because the obvious outlet is sometimes uphill.
The full range of fixes, chosen for what your lot is actually doing — start with why yards here hold water:
Across most of the Panhandle, the Canadian River runs through a gorge 500 to 800 feet below the surrounding plateau. Lake Meredith fills part of that valley behind Sanford Dam; at an elevation of 2,965 feet the lake covers about 21,640 acres and reaches into Moore and Potter counties. The National Park Service headquarters for Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is in Fritch.
Being near a river valley means your property may sit on a grade, and slope changes the problem. Water from the lot above yours arrives as moving sheet flow, cuts small channels in bare ground, and drops silt wherever it slows down -- often in a window well, a flowerbed or an old drain line.
The lake is also a reminder of how big this watershed is. The Canadian drains more than 20,000 square miles above Lake Meredith, though only about 9,090 square miles actually contribute water to it, and the reservoir supplies eleven West Texas cities including Amarillo, Borger and Pampa. Your lot is a very small piece of that system, but it follows the same rule: water heads downhill toward the river.
A typical plan pairs grading that turns water around the house with a collection line along the uphill side. Where silt has already packed an older pipe, drain repair or replacement with a cleanout is often enough. For low, soggy corners, yard drainage work gives the water a defined route instead of a puddle.
Irrigation deserves a look too. The Handbook notes Fritch is known for a flatland irrigation system that uses treated sewer water, and plenty of yards in town run their own sprinklers. Heads that spray the siding or a timer set for summer and left running into fall can keep a foundation bed wetter than any storm does.
We cover Fritch as part of a Panhandle-wide service area that also takes in Borger and Dumas; we don't have a Fritch office. Ring (806) 606-0904, describe what you're seeing after a storm, and we'll call back to schedule a free, no-obligation visit to your Fritch property.
Free on-site drainage assessments in Fritch and across the Panhandle. Call or send the form and we’ll set up a time to look.