Abbott Acton Alvarado Aquilla Bartlett Bellmead Belton Bend Beverly Hills Bluff Dale Blum Bowman Community Brazos Bend Briaroaks Bruceville-Eddy Burleson Bynum Carl's Corner Chilton China Spring Clariette Cleburne Clifton Comanche Copperas Cove Covington Cranfills Gap Crawford Cresson Cross Timber De Leon DeCordova Ding Dong Dublin Elm Mott Evant Fort Hood Gatesville Gholson Glen Rose Godley Goldthwaite Golinda Granbury Grandview Gustine Hallsburg Hamilton Hawker Heights Hewitt Hico Hillsboro Holland Hubbard Huckabay Iredell Itasca Jonesboro Joshua Keene Kempner Killeen Kopperl Lacy - Lakeview Lampasas Leroy Lingleville Lipan Little River - Academy Lometa Lorena Lott Malone Mansfield Marlin Mart McGregor Meridian Mertens Moody Morgan Morgan Mill Morgan's Point Resort Mount Calm Mullin Nemo Nolanville Oak Trail Shores Oglesby Paluxy Pecan Plantation Penelope Priddy Rainbow Riesel Rio Vista Robinson Rogers Rosebud Ross Salado Sidney South Mountain Star Stephenville Temple Tolar Tomlinson Hill Troy Valley Mills Venus Waco Walnut Springs West Westphalia Whitney Woodway Mineral Wells   Mineral Wells - Judge J.A. Lynch, courtesy of A.F. Weaver 1877, James Alvis Lynch, his family and 50 head of livestock left Denison, Texas, and headed west for a drier climate--and thus relief from malaria. Both James Lynch and his wife, Armanda, also suffered from rheumatism. When the family got news of Comanche attacks further west, they decided to settle down where they were, in a valley tucked among the hills of Palo Pinto County. Although the location the Lynch family decided to settle in was quite beautiful, it was four miles from the only water source, the Brazos River. By the summer of 1880, a well driller named Providence agreed to drill a well in exchange for some of the Lynch family’s oxen. At first, the water’s funny taste worried the family, so they watered their livestock with it for a time to test its safety. Soon after the family began to drink from the well, they found they were feeling better. News of the “healing” water spread quickly. Neighbors began trying the water, and within a month strangers were showing up on the Lynch property, asking about the water. Almost immediately people were coming by the thousands to try this magical drink. Lynch’s well produced 100 gallons per day, so he was forced to have guests sign a declaration affirming that they were sick and in need of the water. With the popularity of the water spreading, the town of Mineral Wells was laid out in the fall of 1881, with Mr. Lynch naming himself the first mayor.          Mineral Wells Mineral Water            Health seekers drinking from a mineral water fountain, courtesy of the Palo Pinto County Historical Commission Several wells were drilled soon after the city was laid out, but the most famous mineral water well brand was the Crazy Water from the Crazy Well. The well is currently located at the Crazy Water Retirement Hotel. The well received its name because, the story goes, a demented elderly lady drank from the Crazy Well twice every day and overcame her illness. The crazy lady story could well be true, because in Mineral Wells most of the mineral water wells have a significant amount of lithium, which is used to treat various mental and mood disorders today. Stories of Mineral Wells' healing waters brought tourists from around the world in the early part of the 20th century. Soon bathhouses, drinking pavilions and spas began to open to cash in. The trains that brought visitors also helped the mineral water companies distribute their products outside of the area. Entrepreneurs found more a more efficient way to ship the waters--namely by shipping the minerals only in crystal form. Those who bought the crystals could add them to their water and instantly have Mineral Wells mineral water. During the Great Depression, mineral water companies suffered due to the luxury nature of their product and a trip to Mineral Wells. On top of this, the Food and Drug Administration began to closely monitor medical advertising, which limited the claims local water companies could make about the water. During this time there, were also many medical advances, lessening interest in natural healing. Most of the water companies closed by the 1940s, but one company still remains, the Famous Mineral Water Company. Founded in 1904, it is the only place in Mineral Wells where you can sit at the bar, order a mineral water and enjoy the taste that built this city. Brad   BRAD, TEXAS. Brad, on U.S. Highway 180 and State Highway 16 twenty miles west of Mineral Wells in west central Palo Pinto County, was named for its founder, Bradford Fitzgerald. In 1940 Brad had twenty-eight residents and three stores. After the completion of the Possum Kingdom dam in 1945, Brad became one of the entry points to Possum Kingdom Reservoirqv and its recreational facilities. The community's population was reported as twenty-six in 1980 and 1990. The population was sixteen in 2000. Brazos   BRAZOS, TEXAS. Brazos, on Farm Road 129 and the Missouri Pacific Railroad in southeastern Palo Pinto County, was established when the Texas and Pacific Railway reached the area in 1880. The community was named for the Brazos River, which the railroad crossed at its site. The town had a population of 113 and four stores by 1940. Its population was reported as forty-seven in 1980 and 1990, but rose to ninety-seven by 2000. Strawn   STRAWN, TEXAS. Strawn, on State highways 16 and 108, Farm Road 2372, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad in southwestern Palo Pinto County, was one of several towns developed about 1880 when the Texas and Pacific Railway began service. The site, known earlier as North Fork for its location on Palo Pinto Creek, was laid out on the land of two early ranchers, Stephen Bethel Strawn and James N. Stuart. Stuart built the area's first house in 1875. A community to the west, Russell's Pocket, and one to the east, Davidsonville, were merged to form Strawn. The population was 400 in 1891. The first Palo Pinto County oil was discovered near Strawn in 1895, but development awaited the interest of the Strawn Coal Mining Company and the Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil Company in 1915. Twenty wells were producing near Strawn before the end of the year. The Strawn field is made up of three separate pools extending over an area six miles long and two miles wide. The Strawn Oil Company drilled its first natural gas well in the area in 1924. In 1903 the Johnson brothers sank the Mount Marian coal shaft at Strawn. They sold the mine to Fort Worth interests that opened the Strawn Coal Mining Company; this company merged with another mine at Lyre, three miles north of Strawn, in 1914. By 1920 the payrolls of the two mines totalled $75,000 a month, and the mines produced 1.6 million tons between 1910 and 1920, most of which was sold to railroads. When the railroads converted to diesel, production fell drastically, although the Strawn mine survived until 1946. In 1940 Strawn was incorporated and had a bank, a post office, many businesses, and a population of 1,107. The population was down to 817 in 1960, 786 in 1970, and 694 in 1980. The town is a center for local farmers and oilfield activity. In 1990 the population was 709. The population was 739 in 2000. Santo   SANTO, TEXAS.Santo is on Farm roads 4, 129, and 2201 and the Missouri Pacific Railroad, in southeast Palo Pinto County. It was founded by J. D. T. Bearden between 1850 and 1860 and was originally called Grand Ranch. A nearby makeshift fort provided protection against Indians around 1865. About 1870 the community moved to a site a mile east of the present site on Sunday Creek, and its name was changed to Calgando. Calgando had a mill and a gin. In 1880 the community was moved to its present site and was renamed Cresco. Following a nearly disastrous train wreck caused by confusion of Cresco with Cosco, the town was renamed Sparta. The post office rejected the name Sparta in favor of Santo, derived either from John Santo Statti, an agent for the Texas and Pacific Railway, or from a pioneer, John Adam Santo. In 1920 Santo had a population of 500 and a post office. In 1936 the population remained the same, but the town had fifteen businesses and a bank. By 1940 the population had decreased to 350 and by 1980 to 312, where it remained in 1990. The population grew to 445 in 2000. Salesville   SALESVILLE, TEXAS.Salesville, on Farm Road 2270 eight miles north of Mineral Wells in northeastern Palo Pinto County, was originally settled by the families of Victor Adolphus Dow and Theopalus Sale in the area known as Loving Valley. The place became a stage stop on the line owned by the Carson Lewis Stage Coach Company running west from Weatherford. The road, which passed just east of the settlement, carried soldiers, freighters, and travelers between Fort Worth and Fort Belknap. Sale erected a general store, and when a post office was established in the back of his building in 1880 the community became known as Salesville. Andrew Jackson Grantham donated land for the first school, as well as for a church and a cemetery. The agricultural community prospered, and by 1914 it was a station on both the Gulf, Texas and Western and the Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern railroads. With the decline of cotton in the 1920s, owing to drought and the boll weevil,qv business in the town began to stagnate. The post office was closed in 1954, and several years later the school became part of the Mineral Wells district. The population of Salesville was estimated at 113 in 1925 and 150 in 1941, but from 1949 to 1990 it was reported at forty. The population reached eighty-eight in 2000. Palo Pinto   PALO PINTO, TEXAS. Palo Pinto, the county seat of Palo Pinto County, is on U.S. Highway 180 and Farm Road 4, twelve miles southwest of Mineral Wells in the central part of the county. Settlers began arriving in the area in 1855, attracted by the fertile soil in the Brazos River valley. A legislative act of August 27, 1856, formed Palo Pinto County and specified that the county seat, to be named Golconda, be located within five miles of the center of the county. The county was organized on May 13, 1857, and at the first meeting of the county court (held on August 18 of that year) steps were taken to have Golconda surveyed and laid out. The Golconda post office was established in March 1858. That same year the name of the community was changed to Palo Pinto, and the post office was renamed accordingly in 1860. The first courthouse cost $300 and was built in 1857; a two-story jail was erected in 1858. Joseph H. Dillahunty was the first postmaster and operated the first general store. Some of his early customers included Charles Goodnight and Christopher Columbus Slaughter. Other enterprises included several saloons, a hotel, and a law firm. James H. Baker began the community's first school in 1858. Hardships caused by the Civil War curtailed most businesses during the 1860s, but during the next decade Palo Pinto became established as a ranching center. The original courthouse was replaced by a native sandstone building in 1881. The town was on the Fort Griffin-Weatherford stage line, which crossed the Brazos at Oaks Crossing. A ferry on the Brazos was replaced by a bridge in 1895. James C. Son started the first newspaper in the county, the Palo Pinto County Star, in Palo Pinto on June 22, 1876. The oldest Masonic lodge in the region was active by that year as well. Palo Pinto was the county seat and only town in the county in 1880, but that year it was bypassed by the Texas and Pacific Railway when its tracks were laid through the area. Although the town declined somewhat, its 1891 population was 400, and its businesses included a flour mill, a bank, a hotel, a gin, and a saloon. In 1940 a new courthouse replaced the 1881 structure. The population of Palo Pinto by 1947 had reportedly reached 550. In 1990 Palo Pinto reported 350 residents and eight businesses Oran   ORAN, TEXAS. Oran is located five miles northeast of Graford on Farm Road 52 in northeastern Palo Pinto County in a grazing and farming area that produces peanuts, corn, small grains, fruits, beef cattle, sheep, and poultry. Early settlers in the area included cattlemen Oliver Loving and George Bevers. Citizens wanted to name the town Black Springs, but the United States Postal Service refused; the name Oran was submitted and approved. It is the opinion of old-timers that the name Oran was selected in honor of Governor Oran M. Roberts’ The Oran post office was established in 1886 with Daniel B. Matheny as postmaster. In 1908 several wells began to produce mineral water, and a crystal plant was built to ship the product nationwide. The Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railway, a Texas and Pacific extension, was built into town. Soon Oran had a gin that ran twenty-four hours a day during cotton-picking season, a livery stable, a skating rink, a weekly paper, three churches, a lumberyard, a restaurant, and four general stores. There was also a twenty-room hotel where one could stay for a dollar a day. By 1912 school enrollment had reached 112. A two-story, four-classroom school was built. Through the early 1920s Oran enjoyed continued prosperity, but then the boll weevil began to devastate the cotton industry. The gins were dismantled and moved away, the mineral wells abandoned, the railroad tracks taken up, and the depot dismantled. The school district was consolidated with the Perrin and Graford districts. There was a post office in operation as late as 1967, at which time a population of eighty was reported. No population figures were available in 1990. By 2000 the population was sixty-one. Mingus   MINGUS, TEXAS. Mingus is on Gibson and Palo Pinto creeks, State highways 193 and 108, and the Missouri Pacific line in southwestern Palo Pinto County. It was named for William Mingus, an 1856 settler, and developed because of the 1881 construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway through the area. Original settlers included J. R. Graves, Frank Bolen, B. H. Stewart, and A. T. Crawford. The community served local farmers and ranchers. The Mingus population was estimated at 1,110 in 1920 and 1930; twenty-five businesses were reported there in 1930. By 1940 the number of residents had declined to 570. The population was down to 212 in 1980, but the post office was still open. In 1990 the population of Mingus was reported as 215. The population grew to 246 in 2000. Lone Camp   LONE CAMP, TEXAS. Lone Camp, on Farm Road 4 eight miles north of Santo in central Palo Pinto County, was settled in the 1870s. It had no rail or major road transportation, and its proximity to Santo and Palo Pinto inhibited its growth. A post office operated in Lone Camp from 1907 until 1920. The population was fifty in 1914 and forty-eight in 1940, when the community had two stores. It was reported at thirty-two in 1980 and 1990. The population grew to 110 by 2000. Graford   GRAFORD, TEXAS. Graford is on State Highway 254 and Farm Road 206, in north central Palo Pinto County, midway between Graham and Weatherford, the towns from which it takes its name. In 1854 George R. Bevers surveyed a homestead at Flat Rock Crossing on Big Keechi Creek, three miles east of what was to become the town site; in 1855 he built a home that became a stopping place for travelers between Fort Belknap and Weatherford. The store of Ansell Russell and Willis Mills on the Fort Worth-Fort Belknap Road was the community's first business. In 1894 William S. Green became Graford's first postmaster. By 1920 the community had a population of 313, and by 1940 it had incorporated and had a population of 804 and a bank. In 1980 Graford's population was reported as 495, and in 1990 it was 561. By 2000 the population reached 578. Graford is twelve miles east of Possum Kingdom Lake, a popular recreation center. Gordon   GORDON, TEXAS.Gordon, on State Highway 193, Farm Road 919, and the Missouri-Pacific Railroad in southern Palo Pinto County, was named for H. L. Gordon, an engineer for the Texas and Pacific Railway during its construction in 1880. The town gained importance when the railroad bypassed nearby Hampton and when Thurber declined years later. A Gordon post office was opened in 1883. The notorious train robber Rube Burrow hit his second train at Gordon in January 1887, successfully taking $4,200 from the express car. By the 1920s Gordon had been incorporated. In 1926 it was a market and agricultural shipping center with a population of 650. The population fell to 532 in 1940 and 358 in 1968 but rose to 516 in 1980. In the 1980s Gordon had a post office and a bank. The population was 465 in 1990. In 2000 the population was 451.

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