Jones County, Texas

Jones County Education, Geography, and History

Jones County is a county located in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, its population was 20,202. Its county seat is Anson. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1881. Both the county and its county seat are named for Anson Jones, the fifth president of the Republic of Texas. Jones County is one of 46 prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in the state of Texas.

Jones County is included in the Abilene, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Jones County Name

Anson Jones, the fifth president of the Republic of Texas

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Jones County History

Jones County is a county located in the US state of Texas. Its county seat is Anson. Both the county and its county seat are named for Anson Jones, the fifth president of the Republic of Texas

Handbook of Texas Online
In the years before Anglo settlement, several nomadic groups roamed the area that would eventually become Jones County, including the Comanche, Kiowa, and Tonkawa Indians. Caddos and Delawares camped along the Clear Fork, and Wichitas occasionally hunted in the area. Large herds of bison provided food and other necessities for these Indian groups. The earliest white settlement of Jones County was in 1851 when Fort Phantom Hill, near the site of present Hawley, was established as one of a line of forts from the Red River to the Rio Grande. These military outposts guarded the frontier and furnished protection to Forty-niners following the Randolph B. Marcy trail across Texas. Supplies were hauled from Austin. The fort was abandoned in 1854, and in 1858 the location was made a station on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from St. Louis to San Francisco. Jones County was established on February 1, 1858, from Bexar and Bosque counties. During the Civil War Indian raids forced the frontier back to the east, and the area was not settled for another fifteen years. In 1872 the military post was reestablished, and a settlement was made on a stream four miles distant. The actions of Ranald S. Mackenzie and federal troops removed the Indian threat in the mid-1870s. Buffalo hunters were followed by bone haulers, and the last buffalo was seen in the county in 1879. Owners of herds of longhorn cattle moved in to take advantage of the grass-covered range. In 1873 Creed, John, and Emmett Roberts and Mode and J. G. Johnson established ranches in the area of Fort Phantom Hill. Other early ranches included the T-Diamond, established in 1876, and the Ericsdale Ranch of the Swenson Land and Cattle Company, established in 1882 (see SMS RANCHES). In 1880 John Merchant built a mesquite corral at the site of the future county seat, and Henry Foster put up the first wire fence in the county. The population of Jones County reached 546 that year, and when the county was organized in 1881 Jones City was declared the county seat. In 1882 the name of the county seat was changed to Anson. More at
 Mark Odintz, "JONES COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcj09), accessed January 24, 2016. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 937 square miles (2,427 km²), of which, 931 square miles (2,411 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (16 km²) of it (0.66%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Haskell County (north)
• Shackelford County (east)
• Callahan County (southeast)
• Taylor County (south)
• Fisher County (west)
• Stonewall County (northwest)

Education

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