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History
in a Pecan Shell
The town was laid out by A. L. Odin in 1871 and
became the county seat that year under the name Frio City. The site was chosen
for its convenient low water crossing of the Frio River - said to have been used
by Juan Ugalde (Uvalde's
namesake), Santa Anna during the Texas Revolution and General Woll when he briefly
occupied San Antonio in 1842.
The courthouse was finished in 1872 and the town had a stone jail as well.
The original jail is still standing. The post office was established in that same
year and a Masonic lodge was established sometime during the 1870s. The courthouse
burned in 1877, and a new stone courthouse was constructed with assistance of
local rancher W. J. Slaughter. |
Frio City was an
outpost of civilization - and the town would occasionally fill with people seeking
safe haven from Comanche raids. Rangers were called in to solve the Indian mischief
and the last incident occurred in 1877. In the early 1880s the estimated population
was close to 1,500.
Frio City lost its prestige and population when it
was bypassed by the International-Great Northern Railroad in 1881. Pearsall
was on the line, however, and people and businesses moved the 16 miles to be connected
to the rest of the world.
Pearsall
became the county seat in 1883 and the decline in population made Frio City officially
Frio Town in 1886. The courthouse was purchased in 1884 by an individual and became
a general store/ post office for the shrunken community.
By 1890 there
were only 100 people left in Frio Town and in 1916 the two-teacher Frio Academy
was teaching 16 students in the former courthouse. Nevertheless, Frio Town was
wired to the outside world by telephone in 1914.
By 1953 Mrs. A. C. Roberts
owned most of the townsite, including the former courthouse and jail. Mrs. Roberts
had an interest in history and contributed what she knew in a 1936 article in
Frontier Times called: "Frio County Has a Colorful History," which remains part
of the bibliography for the Handbook of Texas' entry for Frio Town.
Today
the former courthouse, jail, cemetery and of course, the river crossing are all
that is left of the once prosperous Frio City. The ruins are on private property,
although the cemetery (on FM 140) is accessible.
See
Frio County
Courthouse |
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Frio
Town Cemetery historical marker
Photos courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2009 | |
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