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JACKSBORO,
TEXAS
Jack County Seat
US 281 and 380
28 miles E of Graham
38 miles W of Decatur
70 miles NW of Fort Worth
34 miles SW of Bowie
Population: 4,533 (2000)
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West side square in Jacksboro, early 1900s
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The
Texas Emigration and Land Office started attracting settlers to the
area in the mid-1850s. The area around Lost Creek formed a nucleus
from which a community developed. A second site called Mesquiteville
was made county seat in 1858 and then renamed to honor the Jack Brothers
– veterans of the Texas Revolution.
Jacksboro received mail service in 1859 – even while the Butterfield
Overland Mail was still in operation (Butterfield service was stopped
by the Civil War in 1861).
Jacksboro was the westernmost settlement in Texas after the Civil
War although it barely survived Indian raids and was in ruins. Fort
Richardson was built just south of the town in 1870 – providing safety
for the settlers that now numbered several hundred. |
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Jacksboro High
School
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
The
Chicago and Rock Island Railroad arrived in 1898 and in 1910 a second
railroad (the Gulf, Texas, and Western) built through the town.
In 1900 the population broke 1,000 and by 1930 it had almost doubled
– many people brought in by the discovery of oil in nearby Bryson
and Antelope.
Jack
County Courthouse |
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Former
building on the SW corner of the square
TE Photo February 2004 |
Jacksboro
Today
Jacksboro’s square
today shows that architects made an effort toward uniformity. Professor
Henry, author of Architecture in Texas 1895-1945 uses the term
“harmonious ambiance” to describe Jacksboro’s blending of facades.
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Jacksboro buildings are also featured in Willard Robinson’s Texas
Public Buildings of the 19th Century. |
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The Edward Eastburn Building c. 1898
TE Photo February 2004 |
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Another
view of the Eastburn Building
TE Photo February 2004 |
Jackboro
Attractions
Jack County
Museum -
237 W. Belknap. West of the square.
Fort Richardson
State Historical Park and Historic Site
Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway -
228 State Park Road 61 Jacksboro TX 76458
940/567-3506
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/fortrich/
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L-
Dark Corner Cemetery sign TE Photo 2004
R- Jacksboro water tower
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2005 |
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Jacksboro
Tourist Information
Jacksboro Chamber
of Commerce
103-C South Main , Jacksboro Texas 76458
Mail: P.O. Box 606, Jacksboro Texas 76458
Telephone (940)567-2602
http://www.jacksboro-tx.com/
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Jacksboro
Texas Forum
Subject:
Some of the history of Jacksboro
Fifty years ago, the Owen family lived in Jacksboro. Eddie Owen
owned an oil well servicing company. It was about the time of the
celebration of the Jacksboro centennial. Grace Owen, Eddie's wife
was sister of my father Leon Rankin. We lived in Antelope.
My mother Lucille Rankin wrote a column for the Jacksboro newspaper
called Pops Eaten. It was a folksy bit with a lot of actual
happenings in the surrounding area. People never did guess who the
actual writer was.
The Owens children and my sister and myself are planning a reunion
in Jacksboro in July to recall good old times of our youth... I
do know that where the flower shop is now was a movie theatre where
I saw my first Elvis Presly movie, and my grandfather told me that
the Vines side of the family lived there during the time when the
indians would still raid, and they would have to seek shelter at
the nearby fort. - Ann Rankin Ordonez, May 14, 2006
Anyone wishing to share stories, memories or photos of Jacksboro,
Texas, please contact
us.
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© John Troesser
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