This is the site of the first commercial coal produced in Texas by Texas & Pacific Coal Company, mined in 1888. This company was the forerunner of Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company, now one of the nation’s substantial independent producers of oil . . . — — Map (db m88627) HM
Born in Giles County, Tennessee, Joseph Peter Davidson moved to Texas and settled in Palo Pinto County about 1856. Davidson established a trading post near this site. In 1865 he started a ranch in present Eastland County and later helped organize . . . — — Map (db m97807) HM
Area Baptists trace their history to 1891, when the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church congregation was organized with 14 charter members. Originally named for the rural schoolhouse where early worship services were held, the congregation was . . . — — Map (db m97805) HM
This area of Thurber developed after 1917, when the Texas and Pacific Coal Company expanded into the burgeoning oil industry following W.K. Gordon’s discovery of the Ranger oil field. Renamed in 1918, the Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company brought . . . — — Map (db m113729) HM
Most of Thurber’s immigrant population, representing eighteen nationalities, were Catholic. Missionary priests ministered to the town until 1892, then the coal company erected a Catholic church at the bottom of Graveyard Hill. Originally named St. . . . — — Map (db m113730) HM
The Texas and Pacific Coal Company built the first-class Hotel Knox about 1895. In addition to serving out-of-town guests, it was a social center in Thurber and home to many of the town’s white collar workers, including store clerks and staff of the . . . — — Map (db m98443) HM
In 1891, a 20-acre “little lake” was built south of the Thurber townsite to supply water to the community. It soon proved inadequate, however, and five years later a 150-acre “big lake” was constructed here about a mile . . . — — Map (db m98445) HM
Texas and Pacific Coal Company general manager W.K. Gordon, seeing potential in the shale mud found in Thurber, persuaded company president R.D. Hunter to build a brick plant here in 1897. Original machinery included three Ross-Keller brick presses . . . — — Map (db m113726) HM
Two hundred yards southeast of this site, at the base of the hill and at a depth of 65 feet, the first coal mine in this area was placed in operation by brothers William W. and Harvey E. Johnson. After Harvey’s death in 1888, and because of labor . . . — — Map (db m113727) HM
Saloons were prominent in the life and history of Thurber and were often settings for union organizational efforts. The first Snake Saloon, located between the drugstore and the livery stable in the center of town, was famous for its massive . . . — — Map (db m97808) HM
Most important mine site in Texas for 30 years. Coal here, probably known to Indians, was “discovered” in 1886 by W.W. Johnson, who with his brother Harvey sold out to Texas & Pacific Coal Company in 1888. (T.&P. Coal Company provided . . . — — Map (db m88626) HM
Encompassing slightly more than nine acres, the Thurber Cemetery documents the multi-ethnic Thurber community. The graveyard was divided into three sections with separate entrances: Catholic, Protestant, and African American. There are more than . . . — — Map (db m98444) HM
In 1887, before any settlement at this location, a spur track was laid from the Texas and Pacific RR main line to the coal mines two miles south. Originally, this juncture with the main line was called “Coal Mine Junction” and then . . . — — Map (db m97806) HM
The Whitehead Cemetery is a significant reminder of the African American community that occupied the Thurber townsite in the early 20th century. When the Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil Company relocated its offices to Fort Worth in 1933, several . . . — — Map (db m113725) HM
