DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the word on this one, folks — here's how Duane tells it. Now, you want a story with some genuine architecture to it — and I mean that literally — pull off here in Runnels County and look at what the Jones family left behind. Morgan Jones, born in Wales in 1840, was a railroad builder by trade and, apparently, by soul.
He lived all the way to 1926, which means he had plenty of years to watch what he'd built out here on the Texas plains. And what he built, alongside his nephews Morgan C. — born 1876 — and Percy, born 1885 — was the Abilene and Southern Rail Line. They put the whole thing together in 1909, stretching iron and ambition between Abilene and Ballinger.
Now here's where the story gets interesting. The first train rolled in on September 9th, 1909. And this stone depot — this beautiful, stubborn, still-standing stone depot — was finished up right around that same moment.
Like they wanted the welcome mat down before company arrived. But it wasn't just any depot. Somebody with a fine sense of the dramatic drew up plans with octagonal twin towers.
Twin. Octagonal. Towers.
On a depot in west Texas. That was unusual for the era, the marker will tell you plainly, and honestly, one look at those towers and you believe it. The railroad did a flourishing passenger and freight business — that's the word on it, flourishing — and for a good long while, this place hummed.
Passengers came through. Freight moved. The Jones family's line pulled its weight.
Then 1941 came, and passenger service ended. Freight held on longer, finally closing out in 1966. The trains stopped.
But those twin octagonal towers? They're still standing right here, and they are not apologizing to anybody.
What the marker says
Morgan Jones (1840-1926), a Welsh-born railroad builder, and his nephews Morgan C. (1876-1964) and Percy Jones (1885-1951) built the Abilene and Southern Rail Line in 1909 between Abilene and Ballinger. This stone structure was finished soon after the first train arrived, Sept. 9, 1909. The design, with octagonal twin towers, was unusual for depots of that era. The railroad did a flourishing passenger and freight business. Passenger service ended in 1941 and freight service in 1966. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978