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BRONTE,
TEXASCoke
County, Panhandle / North Central Texas
Hwys
277 and 158
34 miles NE of San
Angelo
12 miles E of Robert
Lee
42 miles S of Sweetwater
Population
962 |
Old
Store c. 1925
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2006 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Founded in the late 1880s the town was originally
named Oso and then Bronco. The request for a post office was rejected and so they
settled on the English novelist Charlotte Brontë, but no one seems to remember
why. The post office was granted in 1890.
Dr. W. F. Key, is credited
with starting the town which could brag of a 213 person population in 1900. |
Justice
of the Peace court in Bronte
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2006 |
The
recently restored Bronte depot and war memorial
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson,
August 2006 |
The Kansas City, Mexico
and Orient Railway was completed through the area in 1907 (later the Santa Fe).
There was a spirited rivalry for the railroad between Bronte and the town of Robert
Lee. Bronte won and the town moved a mile to be on the railroad, however it
was 1909 before the first train arrived.
Bronte's population came close
to breaking 1,000 when 999 people were in town for the 1960 census. |
The
former Texas Theater – closed but picturesque in its simplicity
TE photo, 2001 |
The
former Texas Theater as it is today
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2006 |
More
Bronte Attractions
Fort Chadbourne Site: Est 1852 – abandoned 1867 – private property
Cemetery
is 10 miles North on Hwy 277.
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©
John Troesser |
| | The
water tower
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2006 |
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Bronte,
Texas Forum“When
Robert Lee Gets a New Railroad"
A letter from Ruth Elliott Sellers
My mother and her family lived in Robert Lee when she was a teenager.
As teenagers do, she picked up songs of that era. “When Robert Lee Gets a New
Railroad" was written about the time that the towns of Robert Lee and Bronte
vied over who would get the railroad. (The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient - later
bought by what is now the Sante Fe.) Robert Lee lost and the railway was completed
to Bronte in 1907. more
Subject:
Tragedy in early Bronte
Greetings: I am responding to your request for
stories, etc. about early Bronte, Texas. I was actually seeking material on this
myself, and that's why i was looking on the web site.
In April of 1932,
my uncle Vernon Lee Young, who was 18 or 19 at the time, was killed in Bronte
in a freak accident while playing baseball there. He was hit in the head by a
baseball bat after the batter threw it aside to run. I don't know if my uncle
was actually playing catcher (as the family says he often did) or was just nearby.
Vernon Young lived in Bronte with his parents, Jay and Mattie Young, and his brothers
J.D. and Raymond Young, who were 14 and 6 at the time, respectively. He was buried
in the cemetery there, I believe it is called Pioneer Rest. They have no record
of his grave, but I've seen it as late as the 1960s when my father took me there,
and my great-grandfather is buried there, as well as other relatives. Vernon Young's
grave was marked with a sandstone marker with just his name and year of death
etched on it. At any rate, I'm looking for old clippings, accounts, etc. on this.
Thanks for your time. - Shirley Young Jinkins, June 16, 2005
Anyone
wishing to share history, stories, memories or photos of Bronte, Texas, please
contact us.
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