The Albany Echo. (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 34, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 12, 1884 Page: 4 of 4
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ran
|tingl buintry.
stn-nifthen-
a$ II* ilcvciupiueut of llie Smith pn t*ri v o M>«- snrreffaltt
oftii.-wnniv. Wheat, ivrn, o.-s*. millet. j growing with itxgrowth&iSd
AT nA TTPWPPTPTTVP ^ * ' !!!!'*r>C' ,",rt,'v 11 «m ou, yk lU ing wiili it* strength. uit$ Iter populsr
AL and DEbORIFIIV L g od rnams when | a>peri.v tmUivated lion lias reached about tme thousand.
county !• situated > in season* favorable. Vp^vtubU-* of all ( Stately residences nre beginning to lieau-
Tcfcas, abont 450 miles from ni* l pod,,cwi • <* i *lul fruits, such tify her suburbs, white the business >oe*l-
150 miles from Dalla«; and*" l™ph«*^'r,cota. grapes am) melons.
ing named IoWimoi, the Texas j im>v<* H re' «<*™tlve crop.
si-....- r i> _!_ . As In war ami politics, "To the victor
mm-
ROSE & KEENER,
ilway'are distant from it. via:
, southeast about 18 miles; Balrd,
t; Abilene, southwest 15
V OKUAKIZATIOM.
M
" "X -
I' £.-j
February 1.1858, the boun-
tlie county were established,
tlte exception of some slight
,are ijtllt the boundary Hues of
proper. Jva, ^ | .■>,
(lie legislature February 14;
I to Palo Pinto coun-
, and on May 1.
attached it to-|
Inconveniences aris-
i last law soon became appa-
■ seat of Jack county be-
i distant) and the citi-
I resolved to orgtnlz-.
lered for all officers In
e county started on its career,
r of the Oounty Commis-
t was help at Fort Grifljin.
By proclamation of
ted October 12,1874.
nated as the county
ffor the perma-
f oounty sent was held
resulted in the
I quarter of section
Asylum surveys, on
r built.
utb. ''v:^
! aoil undulates from
i tome places rises to
> be called inouutain-
! are of a rich sandy
e lands are of a much
: adapted to small
aloug the
i for agricultural
i no healthier county
Is not surprising
hat during the wln.er
* from 45 to 66 deg.
as the
t during tlie northers,
nger than from one
summervmontii8 at*
I and pleasant, especially
belong the spoils," so in husbandry to
the former who properly cultivates the
•oil. belongs the trillion of Ids labor.
The successfbl farmers of this county
have made tweuty-live to thirty-five
bushels of wheat to the acre, while some
of their neighbors did not have hidf that
yield. Corn produces fronfctwenty to
thirty bushels to the acre; while oats has
yielded as high as one hundred and twen-
ty-five bushels to the acre. Cotton has
exceeded the expectations of those who
tried it experimentally a few years past;
wm m SBSp
f breeJte from the Gulf
unts for the good
u a great measure.
'• " • -M*'
* 41.1A AHUM4M ,| — II
ox tills county nre
school, asylum
ia_a 1h rite
as Peters' colony,
land owned by the
.■ r
'I
by Individuals,
of school land*
ait nil I road com-
, at from one to
per acre, according to ap-
hieli Is governed b.V water
Asylum and university
9 appraised at one dollar and fifty
■ .r T' with ten years to pay In
1 hwtulliiMiits; school lands van be
■ In twenty years In annual Install-
i Texas railroad lands are
lous figures, ranging.from one
to five dollns, according to
Colony and Franco-T«xan
' lands are held at from two to
" per acre. The Houston and
I railway company have sev-
liwcst corner of tlie
< preemption surveys,
the moat of tlie
ity had beert surveyed be-
lt anil orgaalzatloa.
*r«mia.
ty of water 8haek*|
anywhcreJ
M the
Itles are being rapidly fi^ed up with fine
urea of large dimensions. Our incr-
recelve most all of their goods lv
owing to the immense trail'
strtmturef
charts rw
cnr4oad. i
%«■>
so much so, that it now forma noincoiw handling this rock istbat It canbe readily
8tderable part of our productions. On
■Peep creek there has been made one bale
to the acre, or in the cotton parlance of
the older states, a full crop. Millet la a
most prolific article on the farm; and ha«
produced as many as three lull'crops lp
one season. It is cut and saved for whi-
ter feed. Sorghum is another crop that
pays tlie former handsomelybesides the
molasses that is made from it, the stalk,
when saved, makes a good feed for stock.
Coal has been found In various pacts of Court House square is 420 feet square;
■1
■■■
the county, but theae discovering are yet
undeveloped, and are awaiting the influx
of capital, to give them a substantial
start, commensurate with their import-
anee.
Salt has Been made here for several
years past at the old salt works, about
seven miles from Albany, in the south-
west-part of the county, on the head of
Salt Prong of Hubbard creek. The salt
Is produced by evaporation, and in
strength and quality CQinpares fovorably
wlth Liverpool salt. They art idle «t
present,-and here is a good opportunity
for profitable investment.
.There has been a fine crop of jiecans
this season, and tne sales realized several
thousand dollars.
Stock-raising, which includes cattle,
aheep, horses, mules, hogs and goats, is
the principal industry of the county.
wealth. ;
No better evidence of the prosperity ot
the county can be furnished than by com-
parison of the taxable values of the pres-
ent year, with those of the past. In tne
year 1881,, the total assessed property of
the county was for the amount of $755,-
•2G300 ; and torthe year 1882, $1,037,300.-
10; showing an increase of $282,037.10.
A very good showing in the face of the
fact tbat the large stocks of eatUe have
been diminishing by sales and removals
to ranges farther west. The above flgores
show only for the property on hand Janu-
ary 1 of cach year. It is sa|e to figure the
actual increase since last January te be
not less than $200,000 from enhanced val-
ue of proper.y In aiid around Albanv,
from new buildings erected, and the
great number of flocks of slieep driven
Into the county from. New Mexico, and
other places. The lands owned by non-
residents have not been a source of as
great revenue tor the county and state as
they should be. There Is certainly an un-
fair discrimination made In permitting
noiM-esidents to render lands at one dol-
lar per acre, and less, when the same
lands nre held by the owners and agents
at from two to five dollars per acre. An-
other cogent reason why there should be
a more equitable assessment of this class
of lands arises from tlie foct that the actual
tettler on aeliool and asylum Isolds is
assessed at tlie fhll adpraised value of all
his land, and additional assessment tor
eveiy acre be may have under fence or in
cultivation.
Sheep are taking Ute place of catUe, and
the wool dip of 1882 formed a large item
In the exports of tlie county. Not less
than two hundred thousand dollars worth
of beef and stock cattle have been shipped
ami driven from the county during 1882.
Phe Texas Central Railway Company
have rendered for taxation for 1882 <even-
tceu miles of railroad and appurtenances,
at one hutidied and thirteen thousand.
hundred and ten dollars, and an
apportionment of, motive power ami roll-
ing stock in the oounty at eleven thou-
sand, three hundred and fire dollars and
ten cents. The total state tax tor 1882 Is
$2,004.51. and for tlie oounty $8,271.62.
aummy—1thb OotJWTT 8bat.
Albany,the county seat, * situated on
prong of Mill Creek, or North
ot Hubbard creek, as it is most
oalM, and Is three miles eas
the geographical center of the comity.
An election was held December 31, 1875.
to move the count? seat toGrifiln. but the
ice foiled to receive tlie ifneeasary
Of the vote polled, hence the
•eat remained at Albany. 'Tlie
of the District Court held at
on the 15tii of November.
Hlmckelloru count? being tlieu In
y-lonrth Judicial district, J.
Judge. The writer e«li
the Albany of that date,
y of the present. Tlien tlie
acre tlie reshienee of llea-
and the court'house:
only were they tlw only houses In
for several miles around,
tlie terminus of tlie Texas
| and It ts thought will re-
la fow yuan. To note Its
vteMlmles from Infonev to Ifr
I swnly'grnwlh would be tedlop*.
In this brief sketch,
aueor tlie promlnenl
Its past ami present history,
behind the Silver Hnlltft
truly t*
ried on with tlie counties
west The dally- trains Ju*
ten to fifteen car toadrof fttiuo'
the; unprecedented demand
material. Building roc>
quality is found In the hills in close prox-
imity to town. Several huudred thou-
sand tons of tills rock wus shipped to
Houston last summer, for building bridge
piers and paving the streets of that city,
thus showing its superiority over rock
much nearer Houston. A great saving in
quarried from the sides of the hills without
tlie expense of blasting. The great boast
of Albany is its pure, healthy water. The
creek has living water all the year round,
being gujjplled by never-feilmg springs,
and well water can be found at a depth of
from twelve to thirty feet 011 any lot In
the town. By the liberality and for>«ee>
ing Judgmentof the founders of the town,
ample provision lias been m (le for Alba-
ny to be the nucleus of a large city.
up*
.hpbf% ■ /yyg-wiM
i |i'm
DEALERS IN
all the streets are J.00 feet wide, and are
intersected by aJleysiO feet, wide. On the
north is the Bailroad Addition and Banc's
Addition—the latter almost a town in it-
self—on the east and. southeast Nixon's
Addition; And on the west Jacobs Broth-
ers' Addition; all picturesque sites, and
most eligibly and conveniently situated.
All the branohe3 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, and stores for the sole of inlscellar
neons goods of all kinds. The legai;and
medical professions are well represented,
and there are tvro newspapers published
here—the Albany Echo and the Albany
Star. There ate also .two churches-
Presbyterian and Methodist. The Baptist
church Is jo course of construction.
There is a Masonic lodjte. Knights of
Pythias and Legion of Honor, also a cor-
net band. A large mid commodious
school house is about to be built, not to
cost less than five thousand dollars. Al-
bany docs a considerable amount of for-
warding and commission business for the
a<yoinlng counties. Being on the direct
line of the cattle trail, here all the drovers
buy their outfits and supplies for the an-
nual drive to Kansas, The drive for the
year 1882 exfeceeded 260,000 bead, and It
will probably be more thun these figures
for 1883. Posses slug all the advantages
herclng enumerated, with a population of
intelligence, enterprise and progression,
it would be a safe, prediction that in ten
yearelAlbany wil/be the largest city in
northwest Texas.
THK TOWN OK KOHT GltirKIN.
This town took Its name from the fort
which Is adjoining. It is situated in a
mesqult valley, on tlie South bank of the
Clear Fork of the Brazos, about sixteen
miles northeast from Albany The fort
was established In 1807, and named alter
Brigadier Generl Griffin, ot the U. S.
Army, at that time stationed at Ual cston,
and was abandoned in 1881. The town
started shortly after the tort was estab-
lished. but did no* assume much propor-
tions until 1874. 'I he first term of the
District Court for Shackelford county was
held here June 7, 1875. 'Tlie grand Jury
fou>"' thjrt^-«even bills of indictment at
this term, principally misdemeanors, for
gaining and keeping disorderly houses;
this character of offenders being lp the
ausJori'-y In all towns coutlguous to froti
tier posts. The nalmy days of the town
may be dated froth be foil of 1875 to 1878,
during tlie flourishing times of the great
bufljilo hunt It was no unusual occur-
rence I those days*to see fltly hunters at
a time on the streets, all In with wagons
for supplies and amumtion. To form a
cornet Idea of'he Immense business In
connection with the buflalo hunt, the
reader should here seen the large wagon
load* of guns and nmunitlon received at
that time by the Fort Oriftln mereliauts.
The writer saw unloaded * there
at one time, five wagon loads of
lead. With a large garrison of troops,
and a town composed principally of all
nationalities and colore, It Is natural to
•upppoee differences would arise, and often
did. anil terminate seriously. The law-
lessness s*vl crime charged against the
county at this time, while having some
foundation, wrs greatly exaggerated by
tlie press of neighboring 'counties. It is
true des|terate characters made their head-
quarters at Griffin, and plied their nefa-
rious callings, but there lived In and
around the town At the rame time, as law-
abiding. honorable ami ehlvalrdus gentle-
men as any oounty hi the state ootdd pro-
How ever much It may be depre-
cated that men will some.time take the
law Into their own hands, and how ever
much It may be deplored that emergen
occur tliat cannot be remedied by
legsl means; stU! In truth, ami to their
credl' be It said, tlie vigilance commlt-
lee iff those days did not make on* mis-
take In *ele<;ting victims. Hluce tlie alaui
lomufiit of tlie poet tlie tf)wii liM de-
creased considerably In population a*d
business- There art two good "tores
liters yet, a drug store, one saloon and
poet o*"ee. It will be the trailing (mint
ot sonlheni Throckmorton ami part of
thot leur Fork valley always. There is
house ami a Masonic hall
HATS, CAPS, TRUNKS, VALISES, AND
Gents' Furnistang HHHUI
We keep a full assortment of good goods
and sell at Dallas prices.,
gfaiy^iiiyii .o<iR®w"o is,
um
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
1 HI x > I AI 11 1 1
is unsurpassed in the State. All buttons put
on with patent fasteners.
We ask you to examine our stock before
purchasing'elsewhere. -
Respectfully,
ROSE k KEENER.
Rc k Building, N. E. Cor. Court Square.
lliaCKM.ANROUS.
Shackelford county had at one time
thirteen unorganized counties attached
to her for judicial pnrposes. One of the
drawbacks to the rapid settlement of the
county wus the exaggerated reports of
depredations by Indians from the Fort
Sill reservation. Her exposed condition
made her a kind of breastwork for the
counties east and south; but when the
army of buflalo hunters went to tlie front
there was u new protection from the sav-
ages, who ceased tlicir predatory raids.
She can now point with the exuitati >n of
a proud mother to her prosperous prog-
eny ; for these are her children:' Ste-
phens, Callahan, Taylor. Throckmorton,
Mitchell, Nolan. Jones and "oward ooun-
lles, now established as independent
houwholds; Haskell, Stonewall, Fisher.
Scurrv, Borden, Dnwsou. Andrews and
Gaines counties had also been attached
to her. .
The public buildings owned by the
county are the Jail and court house. The
court house was built In 1875, or eedar
posts at a cost of $800, and was weather
boarded and otherwise repaired at var-
ious times since, which, with fornlture.
•toves, etc., would probably amount to
♦W0. The jail is of rock, two-story high,
with chilled Iron cages in upper story.
The contract for building it was let to
Thomas ft Werner; of Fort Worth, on
the 34th of September, 1877. for $8,000;
payments- November 3, 1877, $800;
January 1, 1878, $1,300; balance In
bonds payable In one, two and three
years, with interest at ten per cent
tier annum. There were alterations
In the original plan, which cost tlie coun-
ty about. $1,000 additional. As the jail if
about paid for. or will be after collection
ofr taxes for this year, it Is expected a
suitable courtl-ouae will be erected to
meet the demands of our Increased pub-
lic business. The county owns four
leagues of |and In Motley county, but as
fills Is a donation from tne state, for edu-
cational purpose*, the proceeds arising
fTotii lease or sale, cannot be expended
for any otiier purpose than that of edu-
cation.
wmammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmtm
Th« matt who tlir*ut*ni l«ud
ly tlie world la always rldiou
Ionsfur the world can easily
go 011 without him; and, in
■*lioH time, will oaa « to
hitu .—[Johnson.
niias
THE ECHO
Is not ^the only paper in
Northwest Texas, but it gives
the bulk of the news, espe-
cially
LOCAL.
THE EC
J
also claims to give value re-
ceived to both advertiser
and Subscriber.
Pon't wante Ufa In doubts and
fear*) p**nd yotireelf on tlit*
work now before you, well as-
sured tbat tha right perform*
of this hour's duties will
THB JOB DEPARTMENT
of the Echo is first-class and
prices as low as any country
' ■
Uriffn
Iiymall
Patronize
1
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Robson, G. W. The Albany Echo. (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 34, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 12, 1884, newspaper, January 12, 1884; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth394049/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.