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Jones County TX
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ANSON, TEXAS

Jones County Seat, West Texas / Texas Panhandle

32°45'20"N 99°53'47"W (32.755529, -99.896301)

US Hwys 83/277 and 180
24 miles NW of Abilene
36 miles W of Albany
15 miles SW of Stamford
36 miles SE of Aspermont
61 miles E of Snyder
ZIP code 79501
Area code 325
Population: 2,347 (2021)
2,430 (2010) 2,556 (2000) 2,644 (1990)

Book Area Hotel HereAbilene Hotels

Anson TX downtown 1940s
Anson in 1908
Click on image to enlarge

Photo courtesy Dan Whatley Collection

History in a Pecan Shell

The town was built in anticipation of the arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Investments were made and stores and hotels opened. But the T & P went further south - through Baird, Abilene and Sweetwater. A town is a terrible thing to waste - so the people made the most of it. It began life as Jones City, Texas.

Jones City was declared the county seat in 1881 but the name was changed to Anson in 1882. There wasn't too much opposition to the change of name since Anson and Jones were the same man. As a physician, San Jacinto veteran, publisher and founding member of the first Masonic Lodge in Texas, Jones was a busy man. He also managed to be President of the Republic of Texas and Texas' Ambassador to the United States. He is buried in Houston's Glenwood Cemetery and there is no record of him ever traveling near the county that bears his name.

Anson TX downtown 1940s
Anson downtown in 1940s showing Jones County Courthouse
Click on image to enlarge

Photo courtesy Nancy Bailey


Anson Tx - Anson Jones Statue
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
Anson Jones


Anson Texas Jones County Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, January, 2007
Jones County Courthouse

Anson, Texas Attractions

  • The Jones County Courthouse

  • Anson Post Office Mural "Cowboy Dance"
    Anson has one of the nicest post office murals in the state and there was some controversy when the artist painted an earthen jug into the mural. It appears as if it might contain beverage alcohol - but the artist never said.

  • Anson's Opera house was once the largest between Ft. Worth and El Paso and is still a formidable building.

  • The Anson Jones Museum: 1302 Avenue K Some of Anson Jones' personal items are on display. Included in the exhibits is a miniature town square c. 1904.

  • Cowboy's Christmas Ball
    Anson is home to the Cowboy's Christmas Ball and has been since 1885.
    [ The Cowboys' Christmas Ball by Michael Barr]

  • Anson Tx - Anson Jones Statue on courthouse grounds
    Anson Jones statue on courthouse grounds
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Statues in Texas


    Anson, Texas post office mural  Cowboy  Dance, by Jenne Magafan, 1941
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    Anson Post Office Mural "Cowboy Dance"


    Anson Texas Opera House
    Anson's 1907 Opera House
    1120 11th St.
    Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009

    Historical Marker Text

    Anson Opera House

    Built 1907 by A.W . Johnson and Dr. D. Williams, with Thomas Vetch, contractor. House was site for diverse programs: stock company and Chautaugua productions such as "East Lynn" and "The Klansman" (for which Sheriff Tom Hudson's horse was borrowed and led on stage); "Perils of Pauline" and other silent moving pictures; a state championship wrestling match in era of local pugilist Boomer Moore; and Anson High School's first (1909) graduation.
    Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1963

    Anson Texas Opera House Sign
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Anson Texas Opera House  brick work detail
    Opera House architectural detail
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Anson Tx - Palace Theater Neon Sign
    Palace Theater Neon Sign
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Texas Old Neon


    Anson Tx - Palace Theatre
    Palace Theatre
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Anson Tx - Palace Theatre Entry
    Palace Theatre Entry
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Texas Theatres


    Anson Tx - Methodist Church
    Methodist Church
    832 Commercial St.
    Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009

    Historical Marker Text

    First United Methodist Church of Anson


    This congregation was organized in 1882 by the Rev. J. C. Strickland, a pioneer Methodist circuit rider. In 1908, during the pastorate of the Rev. W. H. Terry, local builder Thomas Veitch constructed this Romanesque Revival building for the church. The original bell tower was eventually lowered to avoid possible wind damage. Later additions to the sanctuary reflect the growth of the church, a leader in Anson's development for over a century.
    Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -1982

    Anson Tx - M. E. Church, 1912
    M. E. Church, 1912
    Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
    More Texas Churches


    Anson Tx - 1907 Corner Brick Building
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Anson Tx - 1907 Corner Brick Building architectural details
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Pitted Dates


    Anson Tx - Corner Building with tile works
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Anson Tx - Knox Pittards Drug Store
    Knox Pittards Drug Store
    Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
    More Texas Drug Stores


    Anson Tx - Cafe & Grocery Ghost Sign
    Cafe & Grocery Ghost Sign
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Texas Ghost Signs


    Dr. Pepper handpainted wall mural
    Dr. Pepper handpainted wall mural in Anson
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2003
    More Texas Murals

    Anson, Texas Chronicles

  • The Cowboys' Christmas Ball by Michael Barr
    "On a snowy December evening in 1885, cowboys in plaid shirts, red bandanas, and shiny boots rode into Anson, Texas, a town of about two dozen, nestled among the mesquites in Jones County. Musicians arrived by stage from Abilene. Ranch families in their Sunday best bounced in by buckboard from Hamlin, Roby, Stamford, Albany, and Rotan. They came to dance in the dining room of the old Star Hotel....Read full article"

  • No Dancing in Anson Cartoon by Roger T. Moore

  • Harper Valley PTA Cartoon by Roger T. Moore

  • Anson Jones tombstone
    Ten Things you should know about Anson Jones

    TE photo 2001



    1936 Centennial - Highway Marker on courthouse grounds

    Jones County

    Site of emigrant trail, the frontier military road, and Fort Phantom Hill, founded in 1851 to guard the military road. County created 1858 from Bexar and Bosque counties. Named for Anson Jones (1798-1858), a veteran of San Jacinto, minister to the U.S., Secretary of State and last President of the Texas Republic. Phantom Hill, in 1858-1861 a Butterfield Overland Mail Station, was in 1861-1865 a Civil War patrol point, trying to curb frontier raids by Indians. The county was recreated in 1876, organized 1881. Anson (at first called Jones City) is county seat.
    (1965)



    Take a road trip

    West Texas / Texas Panhandle

    Anson, Texas Nearby County Seats:
    Abilene
    Albany
    Stamford
    Aspermont
    Snyder
    See Jones County

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