The Albany Echo. (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 32, Ed. 1 Saturday, December 29, 1883 Page: 4 of 4
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m
flrott
miiws flma Delia*;
IMtbtlVXM
from H. vl*:
ilini,lMiwm«<KHH 1JI miles; Halnl.
y mile*; AWleue, south wo : 1ft
1
W OmiASU A+IMK.
February 1.185S. the
of the county
l exception oT some slight
,|HII)U HI* U<I the boundary Hum ol
_ _ _• itmper. fif:. E™; i >■$£,;:. I
tart of Un- legislature Keh nary
i, it m atfoehed to Halo H to I
rv Ibr ludicUi purposes, and on
WU4.il shHiar enactment nttadied
■I ,1 I
/IW«
cultivated
and MMMW favorable Vegetables of all
kind* «« produced hen ; ujtl fruits. such
m pciielMW. sprioots. grapes Mid melons,
l rwve • remunerative crop.
At la arar mid politics. "To th* victor
befonr the spoils.*' no In husbandry to
the former who pro|* rly cultivate* th*>
•oil. belong* t!ic tr-dtien of Ids la bur.
The snecesafol formers of rhU county
have Wuh twenty-live to, tbirty-ti ve
bushels Of wheat to die acre. while boom*
of tlieir neighbors did not have half that
yield. Cow prortw-es fr«m twenty to
thirty bushels to the acre; while oats has
as high as one hundred and twen-
busbeis to the hct^,/ Cotton has
tlie expectations of those who
experimentally a fow years past;
m
*31
M
$8
■rym
So, thai U now forms no incon-
'|"he tncouveuiciiore *ris- w{|en ble part of oar productions. On
sHmp creek there lias been made one bale
to the acre, or in the ooitou parlance of
tl*e older stats*, a ftiU crop. Millet is a
prolific article on the farm; and ha°
produced as uiaiiy aa three lull crops in
a. It is out aud saved for win-
ter feed. Sorghum is anothe/ crop that
pays the former handsomely; beside* the
that is wade Arum It, the stalk,
when saved, makes a good feed for stock.
Coal has been found in various parts of
the oounty, but these dis^ vcries are yet
undeveloped, and are awaiting the influx
of capital, to give them a substantial
start, commensurate, with their Import-
Tbe
Jack
)
resolved to orgtnla-*.
i in
I on its career.
■ of the County Comnito-
was help at Fort Griffin.
74. By proclamation of
dated October 12. 1874.
i was designated as the county
Aa election for the perma-
I flf tk* LIMWtV Mit Was Iu-i<i
'«'• -• " '« ' <"•
* quarter of section
Asylum surveys, on
inow built. .
SOIL *&0 CWMUTK.
the soil undulates from
riacgt^artd in soma places rises to
> as to be called mountain-
r lands are ofa rich sandy
the table lauds are ofa much
I and better adapted to small
I , along W m
l best lands for agricultural for profile investment,
is no healthier county
this la not sururitior
: the aria :er
146 to 66 dug.
W low as the
Max r* t~ «"*P* during the northers,
•M* d not last iouger than from one
lo tferesdsys. The summer months am
pleasant, especially
-and autumn
ng breeze from the Gulf
accounts for the good
a grout
school, asylum
There is a huge
body of land known as Peters' colony,
a large body of land owned by the
i Land Company, and several
l owned by individuals.
<d school lands
railroad couv-
, sit from one to
according to ap
is governed by water
'bus, and university
(wis are apprised at one dollar and Ally
«nta per aen\ with ten year* to pay in
•aasnl laatalhiMUts; school lauds can be
pdd for iatwtmly years in annual Install
■•ah. Eastern Texas railroad lands sre
kdd at various Uteres, ranging from one
cram to five doliaa, according to
Franco-Texan
are befcl at from two . to
The Houston and
compauy have sev-
ln the Mvtb west oornor of the
surveys,
most of the
1 had been sorwyed be-
Uand organlxatloa.
anywhere.
the northern part.
ftMMn. 'J1m following
i to this bold atrwim iu
ill* oounty j Dead man.
ty. Uug, Bluff. Hwaiter.
Collins <«m!i ett the
ereaks, with
It la a an-
t i im>i|
«if living water la
I is an
trash
The
so th«sni and
eouiiiy are watered
caught la
wild rye,
,4m tha latter, bor
all ktoda thrive
Salt bos been made here for several
years past, at the old salt works, about
miles from Albany, in the south-
west part of the coumy, on the head ©1
Salt Prong of Hubbard creek. The salt
is produced by evaporation, and In
strength and quality compares Inferably
with Liverpool salt. They are idle at
present, and here is a good opportunity
There has been a fine crop of |iecan>>
this season, and tne sales realized several
thousand dollars.
Stock-raising, which incliwb-s cattle,
sheep, hones, mules, hojes aud goats, is
the principal industry of the county.
WEALTH.
No better evidence of* the prosperity ol
the county can be tarnished than by com-
parison of the taxable values of the pre*1
eat year, with these of the past, in toe
year 1881, the total assessed property of
the oounty was for the amount of 1766,-
36800 ; and torths year 1883, f1,037.300.-
10; showing an increase of $282,087.10.
A very good showing in the fitue of the
tact that the large stocks of cattle have
been diminishing by sales "nri removals
to ranges farther west. The above figures
show only for the property on hand Janu-
ary 1 of each year. It Is sste to figure the
not leas than $200,000 from enhanced val-
prosperity of tha surrounding oountry.
growing with iugrowtii, and strengthen-
wiih its strength, until her popular
tlon 1ms reached about one thousand.
Stately naldeMH an beginning to beau-
tify iter suburbs, while the business local-
ities ace being rapidly lllletlnp with fine
structures of large dimension*. Our mer-
chants reoeive moat all of their goods by
car-load, owing to the Imiucnse trade car-
ried on with the counties north and north,
west. 'I'lie daily traihs are laden with
ten to fifteen oar loads of lumber, to meet
the unprecedented demajid for building
material. Building rook of the finest
quality is found in the bills in close prox-
imity to town. Several hundred thou-
sand fons of this rock was shipped to
Houston last summer, for building bridge
piers and paving the streets of that c>ty.
thus showing its superiority over rock
much nearer Houston. A great saving in
handling this rock is that it can be readily
quarried from tliesides of the hills without
the expense of blastiog. The great boast
of Albany Is Its pure, healthy water. The"
creek has living water sll the year round,
being supplied by never-failing springs,
and well water can be found at a depth of
from twelve to thirty feet on any lot in
the town. By the liberality and far-see-
ing judgment of the founders of the town,
ample provision has been made for Alba,
uy to b$ the nucleus of a large city
Court House square is 420feet square;
all the streets are 100 feet wide, and are
intersected by alleys 20 feet aide. On the
nartM** the Railroad Addition and Barre's
Add-on—the latter almost a town iu it-
aelf—on the east and southeast, Nixon's
Addition; and on tlte west Jacobs Broth-
ers' Addition ; all picturesque sites, and
most eligibly and conveniently situated.
All the branches of business pertaining
to a large city are well represented; well
selected stocks of general merchandise;
hardware and agricultural implements,
drug stores, hotels, restaurants, meat
markets, livery stables, saloons, furniture
stores, aud stores for die sale of miscella-
neous goods erf'all kinds. The legid and
medical professions are well represented,
aud there are two newspapers published
here—tlie Albany Echo and the Albany
Star. There Me also two eburches—
Presby terian Mid Methodist. Tlie Baptist
church is In course of construction
There is a Masonic lodge, Knights of
Pythias and I^egion of Honor, also a cor-
net band. A huge and commodious
school house Is about to be built, not to
cost less than five thousand dollars. Al-
bany does a considerable amount of for-
warding and commission business for the
unjoining eounttes. Being on the direct
line of the cattle trail, here all the drovers
buy their outfits and supplies for tlie an-
nual drive to Kansas, Tb^Mve for the
year 1882 exeeeeded 26OjjO0 hoad, and it
will probably be more th^hjjjSS figures
for 1888. PoaseSfelug all tmadvantages
tie of property in and around Albanv,
from new buildings erected, and the
number of flocks of ahcep driven
into the oounty from Mew Mexico, and
other places. The lands owned by non-
realdenta have not been a aourae of as
great revenue tor the county and state as
they should be. There Isosrtalnly an un-
fair discrimination made in permitting
nou-reaideuta to render lands at one dol-
lar per acre, and ban, whan the same
lands are held by the owners and agents
at from two to five dellars per acre. An-
other cogent reason why there should be
a more equitable assessment of this class
of lands ariaes from the fact that the actual
settler on school and aaylum lands is
messed at the Adl adnrelsed value of all
his land. And addition assossment for
every acre be may have tinder feiioc or hi
cuidvation.
Sheep are taking the place of Cattle, and
the wool olip of 1882 formed a targe item
Ir. the ex porta of the county, hot less
than two hundred thousand dollars worth
of bsaf and stock cattle have been shipped
and driven from the youuty during 1882.
riw Texas Central Railway Company
have rendered for taxation for 1882 rnven-
toen mites of railroad and appurtenances,
at one handnd and thirteen thousand,
aeven hundred and tan dollars, Mid an
apportionment of motive power Mid roll-
lay sloes io the oounty at eleven thou-
sand, three hundred and live dollars and
ten eeute. The total state tax lor 1882 la
$2,081.61. and for the oounty $3,271,6J.
ALSAMV-^rna ootnrnr bust.
Albany, tha county aeat, la situated on
the north prong of Mill Creek, or North
Prong ol Hubband oreak, aa It Is most
generally called, and Is three miles eas
of the geographical center of the eoUnty.
An election waa bald December 81,187ft,
to move the county seat to Uriffin. but the
latter place failed to reoeive the neeeasary
two-thirds of the vote polled, hence tlie
eounty seat remained at Albany. The
first term of tha I Hat riot Court held at
Aibtay waa on tha 16th of November,
187ft, Mhaekolioro oounty being theu In
the eld TMrty-fourtli judicial district, J.
F. Oeterbout. judge. The writer oau
vivhHf contrast the Albany <>i
and the Albany of tha present.
only buildings ware the reektenoe of Hen-
ry c. Jaoobe. sheriff, and tlie court house;
and not only wen Uiey the only houses In
the town, hut for several miles around.
Albany la now the terminus of the Texas
Central railway, and It la thought will re-
nuda such for a few years. To note Its
many vietasltudee from tafanov to It*
praaeat sturdy growth would he tedious,
add not appropriate In this brief sketch,
to mention some of the prominent
Of Its past and praaeat history,
and a slight p~p behind the sUver lining
of iu future On Its banner may truly be
Inearthed •'Kxeeteinr." Never atnee the
a lota, til Augeet 187ft, haa
a deterioration of ||« property ;
mehrooin growth, with Uiflated val-
bnt atandlly keeping paee with the
& KEENER,
DEALERS IN
CL8HIIH& BOOTS. SHOES,
'C * '*" | ^A/".**- - -".T '■%-r; ^ " * v • .
HATS, CAPS, TRUNKS, VALISES, AND
We keep a full assortment of good goods
and sell at Dallas prices.
OUR MOTTO IS,
BUY GOODS CHEAP!
Come to our counter, there is where we do
our best advertising. We have a house full
of goods and guarantee satisfaction. Our
assortment of
is unsurpassed in the State. All buttons put
on with patent fasteners.
We ask 'you to examine our stock before
purchasing elsewhere,
ROSE & KEENER.
intelligence, enterprise Mid progresalou.
it would boa safe prediction that in ten
yearsi Albany will be tlie largest city hi
northwest Texas.
th* town or ffobt OKirriN.
This town took Its name from the fort
which is adjoining. It is situated in .a
mesquit valley, on the south bank of the
CleM Fork of the Brazos, about sixteen
miles northeast from Albany Tlie fort
was established in 1867, Mid named after
Brigadier Oetierl Onffln, ot the U. 8
Army, at that time stsitioned at Gal eston.
and was abandoned In 1881. The towu
started shortly after the tort was estab-
lished. but did no' assume much propor-
tions until 1874. The first term of the
District Court for Ulisckelford county was
held here June 7, 1876. 'J^lie grand jury
fou*"* thirtr-aeven bills of ludlctineut at
this term, principally misdemeanors, for
gaming and keeping disorderly houaes;
tills character of offenders being in the
majority In all towns contiguous to fron
tier posts. The oaltuy days of the town
may be dated from 'he fall of 187ft to 1878,
during tlie flourish log times of the great
huflklo huuL It was no unusual Occur-
rence I * those days to see fifty hunters st
a time on the streets, all In with wagons
for supplies and amunltlou. To form a
correct Idea of 'he Immense business In
connection with the buffalo hunt, tin*
reader should have seen tlie Urge wagon
loads of guns and amuniilon received at
that time by the Kort tirtffln merchants.
The writer saw unluaded tliero
at one time, five wagon loads of
lead. With a large garriaon of troops,
and a town composed principally of all
uationallttea and colors, It la natural to
supppoas differences would ariae, and often
did, and terminate seriously. Tlie law-
lessness a-d crime charged against the
oounty at this time, while having some
foundation, wrs greatly exaggerated by
the pnas Of neighboring oounties. It Is
true desperate dliaracters made their bead-
quartan at Griffin, and piled their nefa-
rious callings, but there lived In and
around the town at the same time, as law-
alddlng, honorable and chivalrous gentle-
men aa any oounty in the state could pro-
duos How aver much It may be depre-
cated that man will some tlina take the
law Into their own hands, aud how aver
much it may be deplored that eun rgen-
taat cannot be remedied by
( still In truth, and to their
ha it aald, the vigilance commit-
a of thoae days did not malts one mls-
l In selecting victims. Mnce tha aban-
donment of the post the town tuts de-
creased oonshhtrabiy In population a-d
business- Than are two good stores
then fat, a drug etore, one saloon and a
peel e^se. ft will ha the trading point
ot southern Thnwkniorton aud part of
the Clear Fork valley always. There Is a
good school bouse ami a Masonh hall
Ideutanant Chendter. U.8. A.,la atsllooed
there la charge of tha Tunhawa Indians.
wh<ee aamp is near Griffin Than to a
hack Mae and dally nail from Albany.
• *
R ck Building, N. E. Cor. Court 8quare.
MISCK1.LANKOU8.
Shackelford county had at one time
thirteen unorganized counties attached
to her for judicial purposes. One of the
drawbacks to tlie rapid settlement of the
count y was tlie exaggerated reports of
depredations by Indians from Uie Fort
Bill reservation. Her exposed condition
made her a kind of breastwork for the
oounties east and south; but when the
army of buffalo hunters went to tlie front
there was a new protection from the sav*
ages, who ceased their predatory raids.
Hlie can now point with tlie exultatl >n of
a proud mother to her prosperous prog-
eny; for these are her ohlldren: Ste-
phens. Callahan, Taylor, Throckmorton,'
Mitchell, Nolan, Jones and Howard coun-
ties. now eatabllshed as Independent
households ; Haskell, Stonewall. Fisher.
Scurrv, Borden, Dawson. Andrews and
Gaines oounties had also been attached
to her. < ' j
Tlie public buildings owned by tlie
county are the jail aud court house. The
court house was built in 187ft, of cedar
posts at a oost of $#00, and waa weather
boarded ant) otherwise repaired at var-
ious times since, which, with ftynlturc,
stovaa, etc., would probably amount to
|M)0. The jail la of rode, two-story high,
with chilled Iron cages In upper story.
Tha contract for building It was let to
Thomas A Wetner, of Fort Worth, on
the 84th of Heptetnber, 1877, for $M,000;
payments* November 1, 1H77, $800;
January 1, 1878, $1,800; balance In
bonds payable In oue, two and three
years, wltb interest at ten per cant
per annum, 'lliere were alterations
in tha original plan, which coat the ooun-
ty about $1,000 additional. As.the jail If
about paid for, or will be after oollectlon
of taxes for this year, It Is expected a
suitable court^ouse will be erected to
meat the demands of our Increased pub-
lic business. The oounty owns four
leagues of iMid In Motley oounty. but as
this Is a donation from tlie state, for edu-
cational purposes, tlie proceeds arming
from lease or sale cannot be expended
for any other purpoae than that of edu-
Victor, LtMr & Co.,
MANUFACTURERS OF
CHEWING AND SMOKING
TOBACCO,
LTKOHBURG, -- VIRGINIA.
Among our leading brands are
Flat Mip.
1 «
' Navy
SAILOR KNOTS," > Twlat.
LADY FINCERS," " .
"STOLAN KISSKS-" "FORTURE,"
Smoking.
liepreaeutcd in Texas by
DICK McLEOD.
PATENTS
1 Oiler you i rvoltH^lor clear-
ing out uiios, Hint 1 hsvs tried
sud fyund lo work well. It U
•Imply a tfiixtura of oayniins
pepp«r, Hour nnd augai, plaoe
wlinrn I bey OSti get ik
"SIMON RURE,"
"OLD JOHN,"
"SUGAR MARLE,"
"IRONSIDES,"
FOR
One cap of New Orleans mo-
1 asset), due cup uf brown sugar,
aud one-half cup of butter. Boil
until It snap when dropped into
cold water.
FIRST GLASS JOB WOK,
■ A Prayer Postscript.
A little ctilck of four years, at
Pawtucket, R. I., eurprised hie
motiier the other ninbt by ad-
ding the following to hit even-
ing prayer; "Ood biese papa
and mamma, and Aunt Ussie,
and 3ubber Hiram, and Tilly,
and all the other kids."
There ars no uioe little stories
about the return of "The Prodi-
gal Daughter." The aon can re-
turn and bsve tlie liiiest real
served up for him, but the
te/ must sisy away.
1 111 T
The rvsson men eucoeed who
mind ihelrowo buaUesa Is be-
cause there Is so lluls eo pstU
tlon.
Order it from the
111
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Robson, G. W. The Albany Echo. (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 32, Ed. 1 Saturday, December 29, 1883, newspaper, December 29, 1883; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth393321/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.