Jones County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Jones County — straight from the record, with a little room to breathe. Now, if you're rollin' through Jones County and you find yourself wonderin' what kind of ground you're coverin', let me tell you — this land has had traffic on it for a long, long time. Long before any county lines were drawn, there was an emigrant trail cutting through here, and right alongside it, a frontier military road.

And to guard that road, the United States Army put up Fort Phantom Hill in 1851. Fort Phantom Hill. Even the name sounds like something the wind made up.

The county itself was created in 1858, carved out of Bexar and Bosque counties. And it was named for a man worth namin' something after — Anson Jones, born 1798, died 1858. Now that's a life that touched some consequential moments in Texas history.

He was a veteran of San Jacinto. He served as minister to the United States. He was Secretary of State of the Republic.

And when the Republic finally handed itself over and became a state, Anson Jones was the last President of the Republic of Texas. The last one. After him, there was no more Republic to preside over.

Out at Phantom Hill, history kept on stackin' up. From 1858 to 1861, that same site was a Butterfield Overland Mail Station — coaches rollin' through, mail movin' across a young and restless country. Then 1861 came, and everything shifted.

From 1861 to 1865, Phantom Hill became a Civil War patrol point, with the mission of tryin' to curb frontier raids by Indians. The old fort site was busy in ways its founders probably didn't fully reckon. Now, the county had a little administrative drama of its own.

It was recreated in 1876 — which tells you it had been, at some point, uncreated — and then finally organized in 1881. The county seat is Anson, which, if you check the records, was first called Jones City before it settled into the name it carries today. So the next time you pass through Anson, you're passin' through a place that was a trail, then a fort, then a mail stop, then a patrol point, and eventually — finally — a county that stuck.

Named for the last President of a republic that didn't last. That's Texas for you. Even the endings have more story in 'em.

What the marker says

Site of emigrant trail, the frontier military road, and Fort Phantom Hill, founded in 1851 to guard the military road. County created 1858 from Bexar and Bosque counties. Named for Anson Jones (1798-1858), a veteran of San Jacinto, minister to the U.S., Secretary of State and last President of the Texas Republic. Phantom Hill, in 1858-1861 a Butterfield Overland Mail Station, was in 1861-1865 a Civil War patrol point, trying to curb frontier raids by Indians. The county was recreated in 1876, organized 1881. Anson (at first called Jones City) is county seat. (1965)