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In
Jacksboro, even the ruins are picturesque.
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
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.
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.
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Jacksboro,
Texas Landmarks & Attractions: |
West
side square in Jacksboro, early 1900s
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
The Edward Eastburn Building c. 1898
TE Photo, 2004 |
Eastburn Building
TE Photo 2004 |
More Rock Building On the Square
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
Fire Department On the Square
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
Former Power Plant Walls Front View
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
About
Jacksboro Architecture 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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Historical
Marker - at Courthouse
west entrance, Jacksboro
Jack
County
Created
1856. Organized 1857. Named for W. H. and P. C. Jack, brothers and patriots in
the Texas Revolution. Butterfield Overland Mail, 1858-1861, had 3 stage stops
in county. In 1861, Jack County voted against secession, 76-14. Most men fought
in frontier units. Some were Confederates; others joined Federal army. Fort
Richardson was established in 1867. In 1871 near Jacksboro, Kiowas
massacred Warren Wagon Train teamsters. General of the Army W. T. Sherman,
then at the fort, sent General Ranald S. MacKenzie, commander, to arrest the Indians.
Chiefs Satanta and Big Tree were convicted in first non-tribal trials of Plains
Indians in North Texas.
By 1875 MacKenzie's raiders had opened West Texas
for settlement. A Corn Club founded in Jacksboro by County Agent Tom Marks on
September 8, 1907, was the forerunner of the International 4-H Clubs. Fort
Richardson, with 7 original buildings standing, is now a Recorded Texas
Historic Landmark. Museum is open the year round.
Other attractions include
circular high school building and old limestones on square, Jacksboro. Recreation
centers about lakes, parks, campgrounds. Economy is based on agriculture, oil,
cattle, sheep, and goats.
(1965) |
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 ForumSubject:
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
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