Jumping through Jack County

We decided to take a road trip to New Mexico and in doing so we traveled

Near Joplin, Texas

through some of the smallest county seats in Texas. The next few blogs will chronicle those towns. Dave and I left Keller rather early in the morning to avoid the work traffic and quicker than I anticipated got away from the normal sights and sounds of the Metroplex. If you hop over to Google Maps you can follow us along to such places a Joplin, Bryson, Rule, Old Glory, Southland, and a host of other tiny towns that may not appear on any map.

Located in the north central part of Texas, Jack County had a booming population of 9,044 in 2010, but has decreased to about 8,832 by 2019. The county was created in 1856 and organized the next year. It was

Re-built train station

named for William Houston Jack and his brother Patrick Churchill Jack; these men were patriots in the Texas Revolutionary War. Farmers and ranchers, as well as the military, lived in the area. The county’s economic development was supported by the Butterfield Overland Mail with its three stage stops within the county. However, living here wasn’t always easy. The Civil War divided the county, although most residents voted against secession; when asked to choose, some men joined the Confederate Army while others joined the Federalists. But the fighting in the area wasn’t finished. The men stationed at Fort Richardson following its establishment in 1867 were kept busy by the Kiowas. In 1871 they massacred a group of Warren Wagon Train teamsters; they were subsequently caught and prosecuted for murder in the first non-tribal trials of Plains Indians in North Texas. General Ranald S. MacKenzie and his raiders made West Texas for safe for settlement ushering in a series of settlers who began to construct towns; establish farms; raise cattle, sheep and goats; and hunt for oil. In 1907, County Agent Tom Marks founded the Corn Club which was the predecessor of the International 4-H Clubs.

Jacksboro, originally called ‘Mesquiteville’, was first settled in the mid-19^th century by folks willing to move to the land offered by the Texas Emigration and Land Office. The community encompassed acreage along

Historic building in downtown Jacksboro

Lost Creek, including the pastureland between Lost Creek and the West Fork of Keechi Creek. The name change occurred in 1858 when the town became the county seat. A year later regular postal service began, but it would take forty years for the Chicago, Rock Island & Texas Railroad to find the community. As with many small towns, the arrival of the railroad created a trade center and supported the completion of roads and highways connecting Jacksboro to other markets. After the Civil War, the 6th U.S. Cavalry arrived in Jacksboro bringing with it Major and Brevet Colonel Samuel Henry Starr; I do wonder if he was one of my grandmother’s relatives. His headquarters were actually on the southwest corner of the square and was the best structure there. At that time there was a grocery store/saloon, a few other structures and a ramshackle raw-hide house that was being used as the first county courthouse.

The Jack County Courthouse was designed in 1939 by architects Herbert Voelcker and Jesse L. Dixon from Wichita Falls; construction was

Jack County Courthouse

completed in 1940. It is the fourth courthouse building, replacing the one built in 1885. Built in the Modern Classical Style, the three-story building was ‘cast-in-place’ then sheathed in Texas limestone with marble spandrels. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. It’s an interesting structure, but much more modern than I expected.

A little farther down the road is Young County – more about this place in the next posting!

Wind turbines on the prairie

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