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History in
a Pecan Shell
Telegraph came into being sometime before 1900 - the year a post office
opened. The name comes from the telegraph that connected the string
of military installations - or the telegraph poles that were cut nearby.
The natural setting made it a popular hunting and fishing destination
although the year-round population remained at only 25 people from
the mid-1920s through the 1960s. A population boom in the mid 1960
swelled the population to 56 - but by 1970 it was back to only 31.
By the 1990s there were reportedly only three people living in the
town.
Photographer's Note:
I really was amazed at how peaceful and quiet Telegraph was, the only
thing you could really hear was the sound of the wind in the trees.
It's so isolated, I wouldn't mind living there. - Erik
Whetstone, March 18, 2006 |
The closed Telegraph
Store and Post Office in 2017
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
Historical Marker
Telegraph
Store and Post Office
This Kimble
County landmark was named for a nearby canyon from which trees
were cut for telegraph poles in the Mid-19th century. The store and
post office were built about 1890-1900. The first commissioned postmistress
was Ruth Holmes in 1900. For many years this has been the stopover
place for vacationers along nearby south
Llano River and travelers enroute to points south. The telegraph
post office was the Kimble
County address of Texas Governor Coke R. Stevenson. The site retains
the rustic charm of its early years, and has served the community
for a century.
1996 |
The marker in
front of the closed store in 2017
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
The closed store
with old gas pumps
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
The old gas
pump up close
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
In memory of
Stanley R. Brite
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
View of Isaac
Kountz Historical Marker
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
Historical Marker
on US 377 S
(about 2 miles SW of Kimble
County Courthouse in Junction)
Isaac Kountz
Killed on this
spot by Indians on Christmas Eve, 1867. He was 16 years old, and herding
sheep for his father, Dr. E. K. Kountz. A brother, Sebastian, age
11, escaped. a posse and Texas Rangers chased the Indians to the Guadalupe
River. Young Kountz was buried in Junction Cemetery.
1967 |
Isaac Kountz
Historical Marker
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
Obelisk
Photo courtesy MF
Peck, August 2017 |
Kimble
County TX 1907 Postal Map showing Telegraph
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history
and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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