Petersburg

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Petersburg, Hale County. Now every town's got a beginning, and this one's got a good one.

September 9, 1891, out on the open land about five miles northeast of where Petersburg stands today, a rural post office took shape at the home of Captain Zack Peters. His wife, Margaret, was the postmaster. That's right, the whole operation ran out of their home, with Margaret Peters keeping things moving.

So the name, Petersburg, you can draw your own conclusions about where it comes from. But the marker won't say, so neither will I. What I will say is, that's a solid foundation for a town.

A captain, a postmaster wife, and a little corner of civilization carved out of the Texas plains. Then came Ed M. White.

Around 1895, he built the first house at what would become the present site of Petersburg. Not where the Peters home sat, but here, on this ground. A few years later, in 1896, the Peters family moved away from the area, and White stepped up and took on the postmaster duties himself.

He wasn't done. In 1902, White opened the first business in Petersburg, a general mercantile store. One man, one house, one store, one post office.

Ed White was doing a lot of the heavy lifting in those early years. The settlement kept growing, quietly, steadily, the way small Texas towns do, and then 1927 came around and Petersburg incorporated. Charles Schuler was elected the first mayor.

And then, in 1928, the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad arrived, and that changed things. Petersburg became an agricultural marketing center for the area. A post office in a farmhouse, a house on open ground, a mercantile store, a mayor, and a railroad.

That's how a town becomes a town.

What the marker says

First established, Sept. 9, 1891, as a rural post office about 5 miles northeast, at the home of Capt. Zack Peters, whose wife, Margaret, was postmaster. Ed M. White built first house at present site, about 1895. When Peters family moved from area, in 1896, White assumed postmaster duties. In 1902, he opened the first business in Petersburg, a general mercantile store. The settlement incorporated in 1927, and elected Charles Schuler as mayor. After arrival of Fort Worth & Denver Railroad, in 1928, Petersburg became an agricultural marketing center for the area. 1973