Albany in Shackelford County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
City of Albany
Photographed By Duane Hall, March 23, 2016
1. City of Albany Marker
Inscription.
City of Albany. . Chosen county seat of Shackelford in 1874, Albany had a 43-acre townsite donated by Sheriff Henry C. Jacobs. County Clerk W.R. Cruger named city for his old home, Albany, Ga. A wooden picket courthouse was erected. The post office opened Aug. 1, 1876. By late 1877 there were 16 buildings, homes, hotels, saloons, a blacksmith shop. Merchants were T.E. Jackson and firm of Woody and Hatcher. Physicians W.T. Baird and W.M. Powell and Lawyer A.A. Clarke located here. D.H. Meyer and Edgar Rye began (1879) publishing “The Albany Tomahawk”. Already on the Western Cattle Trail, city expanded as a frontier shipping point when Houston and Texas Central Railroad built a terminus here in 1881. , By 1882 a church building had been erected. Music lovers organized a cornet band. In 1883 an opera hall opened, and a permanent courthouse of native stone was built. Succeeding D.R. Britt as the school principal, W.S. Dalrymple founded an adult study club, “The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle”. , Albany had an academy, and then a college in 1898-1915. Local activities include ranching, petroleum production, small farming, and annual staging of the historical drama, “The Fort Griffin Fandangle”.
Chosen county seat of Shackelford in 1874, Albany had a 43-acre townsite donated by Sheriff Henry C. Jacobs. County Clerk W.R. Cruger named city for his old home, Albany, Ga. A wooden picket courthouse was erected. The post office opened Aug. 1, 1876. By late 1877 there were 16 buildings—homes, hotels, saloons, a blacksmith shop. Merchants were T.E. Jackson and firm of Woody & Hatcher. Physicians W.T. Baird and W.M. Powell and Lawyer A.A. Clarke located here. D.H. Meyer and Edgar Rye began (1879) publishing “The Albany Tomahawk”. Already on the Western Cattle Trail, city expanded as a frontier shipping point when Houston & Texas Central Railroad built a terminus here in 1881.
By 1882 a church building had been erected. Music lovers organized a cornet band. In 1883 an opera hall opened, and a permanent courthouse of native stone was built. Succeeding D.R. Britt as the school principal, W.S. Dalrymple founded an adult study club, “The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle”.
Albany had an academy, and then a college in 1898-1915. Local activities include ranching, petroleum production, small farming, and annual staging of the historical drama, “The Fort Griffin Fandangle”.
Erected 1975 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number
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879.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1874.
Location. 32° 43.516′ N, 99° 17.851′ W. Marker is in Albany, Texas, in Shackelford County. Marker is on Main Street (U.S. 180) north of S. 1st Street, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located along the Main Street sidewalk fronting Bank Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Albany TX 76430, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . Albany, TX. From the Texas State Historical Association’s “Handbook of Texas Online”. (Submitted on April 19, 2016.)
Photographed By Duane Hall, March 23, 2016
2. Bank Park
Marker is visible in right center background
Photographed By Duane Hall, March 23, 2016
3. View to South Towards Downtown Albany
Marker is next to sidewalk on west side of Main Street
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on April 19, 2016, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 404 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 19, 2016, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.