Old Hess Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some buildings just stand there. This one has a story to tell, and the stone it's built from has been telling it since 1898.

That's when Crummel Oric Hess put up what we now call the Old Hess Building, right there in Jacksboro, Jack County. Native sandstone. The kind of material that doesn't apologize for itself.

And neither, it seems, did the man who built it. Hess came to Jacksboro in 1882, and from that point forward, this town was going to know his name whether it was ready or not. He married Miss Lizzie Longmire in 1885, settled in, and got to work.

The building he raised in 1898 housed the Hess furniture and undertaking business for forty-three years. Furniture and undertaking, now there's a combination that'll make you think. He'd set you up for living, and if it came to that, he'd see you out in style.

And he had the credentials for the latter part. Crummel Oric Hess was one of the first licensed embalmers in the state of Texas. One of the first.

In the whole state. That's not a small thing to put on a man's ledger. But the ledger doesn't stop there.

He served on the city commission in the early years. He helped organize the Jacksboro National Bank. He had the first long distance telephone in this area, which, if you can imagine a time before that, means he was the man folks came to when the news couldn't wait.

And then there's this: he organized the first cemetery association here. The man had a hand in how Jacksboro handled its living and its dead, its money and its future, for a long, long stretch of time. Crummel Oric Hess was born in 1853 and lived all the way to 1945.

The building he raised in sandstone is still standing. And the marker on it carries one more line worth hearing. It was presented by Mrs.

J. F. Boyd, in memory of her father.

That's the thing about a good life, well-documented in stone. Somebody always remembers.

What the marker says

Built in 1898 by Crummel Oric Hess (1853-1945). Native sandstone. Contained the Hess furniture and undertaking business 43 years. Hess came to Jacksboro in 1882. Married Miss Lizzie Longmire in 1885. Was one of first licensed embalmers in state. Prominent civic leader. Served on city commission in early years. Helped organize Jacksboro National Bank; had first long distance telephone in this area. Organized first cemetery association here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967 Incising on base: Presented by Mrs. J. F. Boyd in memory of her father.