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Old MKT Depot - Now Albany
Chamber of Commerce
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
Historical
Marker Text - Marker location:
112 Main Street (Hwy 180) & Hwy 283
City
of AlbanyChosen
county seat of Shackelford in 1874, Albany had a 43-acre townsite donated by Sheriff
Henry C. Jacobs. County clerk W. R. Cruger named city for his old home, Albany,
Ga. A wooden picket courthouse was erected. The post office opened August 1, 1876.
By late 1877 there were 16 buildings - homes, hotels, saloons, a blacksmith shop.
Merchants were T. E. Jackson and firm of Woody & Hatcher. Physicians W. T. Baird
and W. M. Powell and lawyer A. A. Clarke located here. D. H. Meyer and Edgar Rye
began (1879) publishing "The Albany Tomahawk". Already on the western cattle trail,
city expanded as a frontier shipping point when Houston & Texas Central Railroad
built a terminus here in 1881. By 1882 a church building had been erected. Music
lovers organized a cornet band. In 1883 an opera hall opened, and a permanent
courthouse of native stone was built. Succeeding D. R. Britt as the school principal,
W. S. Dalrymple founded an adult study club, "The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific
Circle". Albany had an academy, and then a college in 1898-1915. Local activities
include ranching, petroleum production, small farming, and annual staging of the
historical drama, "The Fort Griffin Fandangle".
(1975) |
Albany
Landmarks / AttractionsA
Postcard of a Town
Albany Chamber in the old railroad depot, a proper
bookstore on the square, restored Aztec Theater and Art Center in
the Old Jail.
The 1883 Courthouse
has clock and bell.
Albany Guide published twice a year to correspond
with the County's two major events: The Fort Griffin Fandandle (last two
weekends of June) and hunting season.
Albany Landmarks - Photo Gallery: |
Shackleford
County Jail
(circa 1878)
The restored
jail now houses The Old Jail Art Center.
One block East of Courthouse. Admission:
Free |
Ledbetter
Picket House
112
Main Street
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
Historical
Marker Text
Ledbetter
Picket House
William
Henry Ledbetter (1833-84), a native of Georgia, came to Texas in 1858, and established
a salt works on Hubbard Creek (8 miles southwest) in 1862. Ledbetter withstood
fierce Indians attacks before moving near Fort
Griffin (15 miles north). He was elected first county judge in 1875. In the
mid-1870s, Ledbetter built this picket house near the army post, using construction
methods typical of this frontier region. It was moved here and restored by the
city of Albany in 1953.
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark, 1962 |
Centennial
Marker Text
Shackelford
County
Formed
from Bosque County; created February 1, 1858; organized September 12, 1874. Named
in honor of Dr. Jack Shackelford 1790-1857; captain of the "Red Rovers," a company
from Alabama which became a unit of Fannin's command - one of the few spared by
the Mexicans in the Massacre
at Goliad. Albany, the county seat.
(1936) |
Shackleford
County Sheriffs' Office
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, October 2002 |
Historic
Trinity Episcopal Church in Albany
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2005 |
(Don't
put your money in the slot.)
The preserved Albany Ice Company
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
The
restored Sinclair gas station in May 2007
Photo courtesy Steve Johnson |
The
Fort Griffin Fandandle (last two weekends of June)
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 |
Albany
Nearby Destinations |
"These
smokestacks are on FM601 about eight miles southeast of Albany. May have been
an old oil production facility." -
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2008 |
Shackleford
County Wind Farms
"As
I went to the Fandangle at Albany I had to drive through a Wind Farm on the way...
The Fandangle lasted until 11 PM. Driving back through this wind farm at night,
the moon was out quite bright enabling me to see the wind farm bathed in bright
moon light. The towers were so tall they had to have flashing red lights on them
mainly for aircraft safety I would guess. The entire farm red lights all flashed
on and off at exactly the same time. It was quite a sight to see...
more"
- Gerald
Massey |
| | Albany
street scene
Old post card circa 1930, courtesy THC |
| | Reynolds
Presbyterian Academy in Albany
1909 post card courtesy of THC |
Albany ChroniclesAug
4, 1978 Roger
T. Moore's Texas history cartoon
Record rain in Albany, Texas |
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic,
endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local
history, stories, and vintage/historic photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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