Justin

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, before a single nail was ever driven or a single train whistle blew across this corner of north Texas, the land itself had something to say. Rich, fertile, softly rollin' prairie, the kind of country that just pulls people toward it, whether they want to come or not.

Justin sits right at the confluence of three creeks: Denton, Oliver, and Trail. And that meeting of waters? It has seen more history than most rivers twice its size.

For many years, Native American tribes flourished here. This was their country, and they knew what the land was worth. Then came 1841.

A man named John B. Denton was killed near Fort Worth in the Village Creek Battle. They buried him in an unmarked grave, right at the juncture of Denton and Oliver creeks.

No headstone, no fanfare. Just the soft prairie ground and the sound of those creeks runnin' past. Twenty years went by before his remains were moved to Bolivar.

And then in 1901, he was reinterred on the grounds of the county courthouse. A long road to a proper restin' place. But that same creek juncture, that very spot, had already seen another chapter entirely.

In 1848, a group of French socialist immigrants, part of what was called an Icarian settlement, arrived and were allocated thousands of acres by the Peters Colony. French socialists. In north Texas.

You can already feel where this is headed. Strife with Peters, harsh conditions, and within two years, the settlement was abandoned. The prairie had spoken again.

By the mid-1800s, settlers were arrivin' from Missouri and other states, and the Texas Rangers posted at Hickory Station were doing what they could to provide some protection, helping folks establish the land for ranching and farming. Wheat, corn, and cotton all grew easily in that rich soil. The land that had drawn so many before was finally being worked in earnest.

Now, here's where the story shifts, because a railroad changes everything. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway came through, and Justin became an important stop on that line. One of the men responsible for bringin' the railroad through was Walter Justin Sherman.

W. J. Sherman, chief construction engineer.

The town was eventually named for him. Not a bad way to be remembered. And once that railroad arrived, the businesses followed.

By 1914, this small town had four elevators, two cotton gins, a flour mill, and over twenty other businesses. The Justin State Bank opened its doors in 1904 and has remained locally owned, managed, and operated ever since. That kind of staying power is its own kind of story.

The City of Justin incorporated in 1946, and it has kept on growin', offering, as the marker puts it, a historical perspective and a modern quality of life to new generations of settlers. Three creeks. Centuries of people drawn to the same patch of Texas prairie.

Some stayed, some moved on, some never got the chance. But the land kept its memory, and Justin is still here to tell it.

What the marker says

Located in the rich, fertile, softly rolling prairie land of north central Texas, Justin is situated at the confluence of the Denton, Oliver and Trail creeks. For many years Native American tribes flourished in the area. In 1841, John B. Denton was killed near Fort Worth in the Village Creek Battle and was buried in an unmarked grave at the juncture of Denton and Oliver creeks. Twenty years later his remains were moved to Bolivar and in 1901 he was reinterred on the grounds of the county courthouse. That same creek juncture was the site of an 1848 Icarian settlement of French socialist immigrants who were allocated thousands of acres by the Peters Colony. Because of strife with Peters and harsh conditions, the settlement was abandoned within two years. In the mid-1800s, as settlers came to the area from Missouri and other states, the Texas Rangers posted at Hickory Station were able to provide some protection for the settlers to establish the land for ranching and farming. Wheat, corn and cotton grew easily in the rich soil of the agricultural area. Justin was an important stop on the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. One of the men responsible for the railroad coming through Justin was Walter Justin (W. J.) Sherman, chief construction engineer, for whom the town was eventually named. Businesses soon opened up and thrived in this small town, which by 1914 had four elevators, two cotton gins, a flour mill and over twenty other businesses. The Justin State Bank remains a locally owned, managed and operated financial institution since its doors opened in 1904. The City of Justin incorporated in 1946 and has continued to grow, offering a historical perspective and modern quality of life to new generations of settlers. (2014)