Alpine, The Last Frontier Land Page: 3
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Page 2
The Southern Pacific Railroad line, which was completed
through West Texas in January 1883, passed through the site of
Alpine, which at the time was little more than a boxcar and a
railroad sign with the name Osborne on it. During 1883 the name
of the site was changed to Murphyville, after Dan Murphy, who had
leased his nearby spring to the railroad company.
KDan Murphy was a man who wanted a town for a monument. The
new Southern Pacific railroad wanted the water from Murphy's
spring. In a deal, old Dan Murphy, gave the company a ninety-nine
year lease on his spring and the company changed the name of the
future Alpine, then called Osborne, to Murphyville. Settlers full
of adventure, dreams and hopes began to build a town. But it
seems they did not like the name Murphy-illa. They said it was
long to write. Maybe that was the reason, because the name was
changed and Daniel O. Murphy's dream went up in smoke.
Mr. Murphy is described as a sociable, friendly man of me-
dium height and slight build, who owned land everywhere. The
story is told that a Catholic priest in Fort Davis advised Murphy
to file on a section of land at the site of Osborne saying that
there was bound to be born a town there. Whoever the priest was
he must have realized that a town would grow/ there because of the
water spring, which at the time was Burgess Spring. Governor John
Ireland sned a patent to Dan's son, Thomas Murphy n October
Ireland signed a patent to Dan's son, Thomas 0. Murphy dn October26, 1883 for 640 acres of land. Dan Murphy in filing, paid the
state $19.20 or three percent of the purchase price.
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Jurado, Delia. Alpine, The Last Frontier Land, paper, December 13, 1971; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth88024/m1/3/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Marfa Public Library.