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Jack County TX
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JACKSBORO, TEXAS


Jack County Seat, Central Texas North

33°13'24"N 98°09'39"W (33.223355, -98.160845)

US 281 and 380
28 miles E of Graham
38 miles W of Decatur
70 miles NW of Fort Worth
31 miles N of Mineral Wells
34 miles SW of Bowie
Population: 4,384 Est. (2019)
4,511 (2010) 4,533 (2000) 3,350 (1990)

Book Hotel Here › Jacksboro Hotels

Jacksboro Tx - Former Power Plant Walls
In Jacksboro, even the ruins are picturesque.
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009

Jacksboro, Texas Topics:

  • History
  • Jacksboro Landmarks & Attractions
  • Jack County Courthouse next page
  • Fort Richardson State Park next page
  • Jack County next page



  • History in a Pecan Shell

    The Texas Emigration and Land Office started attracting settlers to the area in the mid-1850s. The area around Lost Creek formed a nucleus from which a community developed. A second site called Mesquiteville was made county seat in 1858 and then renamed to honor the Jack Brothers – veterans of the Texas Revolution.

    Jacksboro received mail service in 1859 – even while the Butterfield Overland Mail was still in operation (Butterfield service was stopped by the Civil War in 1861).

    Jacksboro was the westernmost settlement in Texas after the Civil War although it barely survived Indian raids and was in ruins. Fort Richardson was built just south of the town in 1870 – providing safety for the settlers that now numbered several hundred.

    The Chicago and Rock Island Railroad arrived in 1898 and in 1910 a second railroad (the Gulf, Texas, and Western) built through the town.

    In 1900 the population broke 1,000 and by 1930 it had almost doubled – many people brought in by the discovery of oil in nearby Bryson and Antelope.

    Jacksboro, Texas
    Landmarks & Attractions:


    Jacksboro, Texas - Jack County Courthouse
    Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, January 2015
    Jack County Courthouse


    Fort Richardson State ParkJacksboro TX National Historical Landmark
    Photo courtesy Mike Price
    Fort Richardson State Park
    US 281, 1/2 mile south of Jacksboro

    Jack County Museum -
    237 W. Belknap.
    West of the square.

    West side square, Jacksboro, Texas 1900s old post card
    West side square in Jacksboro, early 1900s
    Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com


    Jacksboro, Texas - Rock building
    Same Rock Building on SW corner of the Square Today
    TE Photo 2004
    More Texas Then and Now


    Jacksboro, Texas - Rock building  close up
    TE Photo, 2004


    Jacksboro Texas - Rock Building - Edward Eastburn Building c. 1898
    The Edward Eastburn Building c. 1898
    TE Photo, 2004


    Jackboro, TX -  Edward Eastburn Building detail
    Eastburn Building
    TE Photo 2004


    Jacksboro Tx - Rock Building On Square
    Rock Building On Square
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - Rock Building On Square
    More Rock Building On Square
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - Rock Building On Square
    More Rock Building On the Square
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - Fire Dept On Square
    Fire Department On the Square
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - First Methodist Church
    First Methodist Church
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Texas Churches


    Jacksboro Tx - Former Jacksboro Depot Sign
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - Former Jacksboro Depot
    Former Jacksboro Depot
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Texas Depots


    Jacksboro Tx - Former Power Plant Walls
    Former Power Plant Walls
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - Former Power Plant Walls
    Former Power Plant Walls Front View
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - Old Drug Store Coke Sign
    Old Drug Store Coca-Cola Sign
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    See Coca-Cola


    Jacksboro Tx - Patriotic Mural
    Patriotic Murals
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009


    Jacksboro Tx - Mural
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    More Texas Murals


    High School, Jacksboro, Texas
    Jacksboro High School
    Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com
    More Texas Schoolhouses



    Jacksboro Tx Ft Richardson Bridge
    Fort Richardson Bridge
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
    Fort Richardson State Park


    Dark Corner Cemetery sign
    TE Photo, 2004
    See Texas Cemeteries

    Jacksboro Tourist Information
    Jacksboro Chamber of Commerce
    103-C South Main , Jacksboro Texas 76458
    Mail: P.O. Box 606, Jacksboro Texas 76458
    Telephone (940)567-2602
    http://www.jacksboro-tx.com/



    About Jacksboro Architecture

    Jacksboro’s square today shows that architects made an effort toward uniformity. Professor Henry, author of Architecture in Texas 1895-1945 uses the term “harmonious ambiance” to describe Jacksboro’s blending of facades.
    Order Here

    Jacksboro buildings are also featured in Willard Robinson’s Texas Public Buildings of the 19th Century.
    Order Here



    Jacksboro, Texas Forum
  • Subject: Some of the history of Jacksboro

    Fifty years ago, the Owen family lived in Jacksboro. Eddie Owen owned an oil well servicing company. It was about the time of the celebration of the Jacksboro centennial. Grace Owen, Eddie's wife was sister of my father Leon Rankin. We lived in Antelope.

    My mother Lucille Rankin wrote a column for the Jacksboro newspaper called Pops Eaten. It was a folksy bit with a lot of actual happenings in the surrounding area. People never did guess who the actual writer was.

    The Owens children and my sister and myself are planning a reunion in Jacksboro in July to recall good old times of our youth... I do know that where the flower shop is now was a movie theatre where I saw my first Elvis Presly movie, and my grandfather told me that the Vines side of the family lived there during the time when the indians would still raid, and they would have to seek shelter at the nearby fort. - Ann Rankin Ordonez, May 14, 2006



  • Take a road trip

    Central Texas North

    Jacksboro, Texas Nearby Towns & Cities:
    Graham | Decatur | Bowie
    Fort Worth | Dallas

    See Jack County

    Book Hotel Here:
    Jacksboro Hotels | More Hotels
    Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


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