Ables

Ables, in northeastern Hudspeth County, was named for pioneer settler W. S. Ables. The settlement was established before 1909, when a post office was established there with James W. Hammack as postmaster. In 1914 the area had eight livestock breeders, including W. S., Oscar, and Sid Ables and James Hammack, as well as one real estate broker. By the mid-1930s, however, only one business was still operating in Ables. When the post office was moved to Salt Flat in 1941, the estimated population of Ables was twenty-five. That estimate remained constant until the late 1940s, when the settlement ceased to appear on maps.