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 Texas : Towns A-Z / Central Texas North : Saint Jo

SAINT JO, TEXAS

Montague County, North Central Texas
Highways 82 and 59
12 Miles NE of Montague
23 Miles NE of Bowie
22 miles W of Gainsville
55 miles NW of Denton via I-35
93 miles NW of Dallas | Fort Worth

Population: 977 (2000)

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Gainsville Hotels | Bowie Hotels

SaintJo downtown, Texas
Saint Jo Downtown
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007

History in a Pecan Shell

First named Head of Elm for it being near the headwaters of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, the community was visited by various Army expeditions, including Captain Marcy (1848) and Col. Albert Sydney Johnston (1855).

The town was considered briefly as the county seat, but lost out to Montague. By the early 1870s, Head of Elm was thriving – partially due to it’s location on the Chisholm Trail. In 1872 a group of investors purchased a section of land that included the community. A plat was made and the town was renamed St. Jo after investor Joseph A. Howell. The following year a post office was granted as St. Jo, Texas and by the mid 1880s the community had a respectable population estimated at 500, doubling that figure by 1890. Ten years later it had decreased to 825. For the rest of the 20th Century and into the 21st, St. Jo’s population has hovered around 1000 residents.
Saint Jo Texas 1889 building
1889 Building in Saint Jo
Photo courtesy
Barclay Gibson, February 2007
See Pitted Dates | Texas Towns
Saint Jo Methodist Church, Saint Jo Texas
Saint Jo Methodist Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007
See Texas Churches | Texas Towns
Saint Jo Tx Wall Mural Sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
Saint Jo Tx 1939 Stone Arch Bridge
The 1939 Stone Arch Bridge in Saint Jo
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2009
See Texas Bridges | Texas Towns
Saint Jo Pioneer Cemetery, Saint Jo Texas
Saint Jo Pioneer Cemetery
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2007
See Texas Cemeteries | Texas Towns

Saint Jo Personalities

  • Donna Howell-Sickles - Cowgirl art
  • Saint Jo, Texas street scene with water tower
    Saint Jo's street scene with water tower
    TE photo, 2000
    Saint Jo, Texas Nearby Destinations
  • Montague - County seat
  • Muenster
  • Bulcher, Illinois Bend and Spanish Fort - Ghost towns
  • Bowie - Bowie Hotels
  • Gainsville - Gainsville Hotels
  • Denton - Denton Hotels

    More Day Trip Destinations & Weekend Getaways:
    Central Texas North | Texas Towns | Texas | Hotels
  • Gainsville Hotels
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    This page last modified: December 1, 2009