What’s in a Name? A Series on the Origins of Gordon Area Locations – Mingus, Texas

Captain William Mingus, an early day settler and Texas Ranger settled with his wife and children in the area of present-day Mingus in 1857. This was a very dangerous time to live in Palo Pinto County with the heavy threat of Native American raids in the area. It took a great deal of bravery and resources to survive as isolated as they were. The nearest community of any mention was Stephenville, which was established the same year the Mingus family settled in Palo Pinto County. Conditions with the natives were so extreme in the few years after 1857 that the county’s population dropped to single digits. It would take years of battling with natives and the railroad coming through in 1880 to really boost the county population. Capt. Mingus was no exception to the early exodus as he uprooted after just 11 years in the area and resettled in the more populated Bosque County. 

When the Mingus family left in 1868 the area was largely unpopulated and dwindling. A settlement at the current location of Mingus would not exist for another 20 plus years. 

1891 Map of Southern Palo Pinto County

The Texas and Pacific Railway came through the southern portion of Palo Pinto County in the fall of 1880. The town of Gordon was specifically plotted by T&P as a shipping center and was initially populated by the recently nearby settlement of Hampton and people that flocked to there to work in the Gordon Coal Mines east of town. Eight miles down the line to the west, North Fork (later Strawn) was developed as nearby settlements merged. The only mention of Mingus in the area was a small lake north of the present-day town named Mingus Lake. This lake is mentioned as far back as 1887 and appears to have been located north of town. It was known later as Mingus Little Lake and had a popular early day picnic area used by the locals. There is a large “Lake Mingus” north of town today, however it was constructed in 1922 by Texas and Pacific Railway (at a reported cost of $100,000). 

When the Johnson Coal Mines became successful enough to attract Texas and Pacific Railway’s interest, they agreed to run a spur down to the mines at a point just west of the present-day Highway 108 crossing in Mingus. The Johnson Mines were sold to the Texas and Pacific Coal Company (not related to the railroad) in late 1888 and as operations grew there a company owned town was established and given the name Thurber in 1889 after company stockholder Horace K. Thurber. Thurber’s coal was the cash crop; however, Thurber also became almost more famous for its brick plant. As Thurber’s travel and shipping via T&P Railway increased, the area south of the main T&P line at the spur was developed. This area was first known as Coal Mine Junction and later named Hunter before the name Thurber Junction was selected as the town name. 

Thurber Junction quickly grew and became infiltrated with some of Thurber’s immigrant families seeking more commercial business, taking advantage of the high traffic at the spur. Hotels, banks, stores, and other popular businesses filled the commercial section of town near the tracks. 

In 1895 Reverend J.T. Harris established a real estate business and laid out blocks for a town on the north side of the T&P main line, literally across the tracks from Thurber Junction. Rev. Harris heavily promoted this development and gave it the name Mingus after learning about the early settler Capt. Mingus. Mingus became inhabited by more of the local area farmer types, and not of those inhabiting Thurber Junction. It was like an almost separate community was formed within spitting distance. One account referred to Mingus as the “English Speaking Town” while Thurber Junction was referred to as “entirely owned by immigrants and more lawless and wilder than Mingus.” Whether that was the case or not, it is well established that alcohol did flow much more freely on the south side of the tracks, which likely promoted more lawlessness. 

As the Mingus settlement grew, a post office was established on September, 16, 1897. Local resident Joel Brock served as the first postmaster. 

While Mingus and Thurber Junction were so heavily tied to Thurber in their existence, they were very different places. For instance, the company owned town of Thurber famously became the first city in the United States to provide 24 hour electricity to all residents and businesses in the 1890s, along with a host of other amenities. The Mingus/Thurber Junction community was not as fortunate. Electricity didn’t find its way to Mingus until 1914 when a line was run from Gordon’s power generator. Gordon’s generator was a dynamo connected to a 10 horsepower gasoline engine and provided power from six o’clock in the evening until midnight as well as Wednesday mornings from eight until noon to allow for ironing during the day. Most homeowners quickly wired in rudimentary lighting in their homes as, while it wasn’t what we are accustomed to today, it was far better than kerosene lamps.

Another community with ties to Mingus and Thurber was Grant Town. It was located between Thurber Junction and Thurber, just inside Palo Pinto County. A man by the name of Jimmy Grant opened a saloon at this location, which was just outside the city limits of Thurber. His saloon was frequented by miners who could talk freely about unionization without fear of company intimidation. Some immigrant Thurber miners moved out of Thurber to Grant Town to own homes and small businesses. The area became known as 'Grant's Town' shortened to 'Grant Town.' This community had many of the same features previously noted about Thurber Junction, with possibly a little more prohibition-era bootlegging going on due to its closer proximity to Thurber.

While Thurber had its own school for those living inside the confines of the company town, those outside of town had to generally fend for themselves. A small school was built in Grant Town and this school also served Mingus and Thurber Junction. Eventually a larger wooden school building was constructed in the Mingus community, north of the railroad. Brick school buildings were later built a few blocks south of the tracks.

Downtown Mingus

Mingus/Thurber Junction enjoyed several years of success while Thurber was going strong. Some reports indicate that the population grew to as many as 2000 inhabitants by the 1920s. With the population increase came more violence and tragedy. It was reported that in 1917 alone there were 12 murders, 12 deadly car wrecks, 6 suicides, 4 deaths as a result of the railroad, 4 fire fatalities, and 3 drownings in the Mingus/Thurber Junction community.

As coal faded from popularity for oil, the town of Thurber suffered greatly. T&P Coal’s 1917 discovery of oil in Ranger, helped to set off a series of events that would spell the end of Thurber as it was. The demand for coal rapidly diminished over the next few years. The last of the coal mined in Thurber occurred in 1926 and the company set in motion a plan to dismantle the once thriving community. 

The stock market crash of 1929 helped to drive a final nail in the coffin of Thurber as just a few months later the Thurber Brick plant was closed. The plant would reopen briefly in 1931 but eventually closed permanently and by 1937 Thurber, once a town of over ten thousand inhabitants, was abandoned. 

As Thurber faded from existence, the Mingus area lost its primary lifeline. The Mingus/Thurber Junction population dwindled down to around 300 inhabitants and eventually Thurber Junction and Grant Town became part of Mingus when it incorporated in 1934. 

The town of Mingus survived the loss of Thurber largely due to it's first mayor, Lawrence Santi. Mr. Santi was a civic minded mayor, holding office for over three decades and he also served as a town druggist for almost 60 years.

The Gordon Coal Mines: Part 1 - Jones, Cowen & Knowlton

 

The Gordon Coal Mines, later known as Coalville, was a very significant site during the early years of the Texas & Pacific Railway’s western development from Fort Worth. The firm responsible for the initial discovery and development of the Gordon Mines was a group T&P had contracted to build the bridges and buildings for the line for all points 100 miles west of Fort Worth. Over the years there has been confusion as to the name of this firm. Weldon Hardman’s book on Thurber “Fire in a Hole”, which was one of the earliest historical accounts of coal mining in the area, noted that the firm that opened the Gordon Mines was James, Cowan and Nolton. This was almost correct, and while Mr. Hardman admittedly wrote that his book was not “scholarly” and depended more on memory and word of mouth, this incorrect bit of information was propagated into multiple subsequent books on Thurber and area mining history, further blurring the rich history of the almost completely forgotten mining site.

The true name of the firm responsible for opening the Gordon Coal Mines was the Jones, Cowen and Knowlton Company. While the name variations are slight it is important to correct the record when attempting to unravel the history of the mines.

On January 16, 1880, the partnership of Jones, Cowen and Knowlton won the lucrative T&P building and bridge 100 mile construction contract. Each of the three partners were independently successful lumber men. John Roberts Jones was born in Gwernymynydd, Wales in 1841 and emigrated to the US as a child. He settled in Shreveport, LA where he worked his way into a very prominent career as a lumber man and civic leader. He owned multiple sawmills and started the Victoria Sash and Door Company in Shreveport. Col Edward Palmer Cowen was born in New Bedford, MA in 1842 and had multiple lumber locations (including Fort Worth) under the name E.P. Cowen Lumber Co. Samuel G. Knowlton, possibly the least prominent of the three, was born in 1840 in Gloucester, MA and migrated to Plaquemine, LA during the mid to late 1800s where he owned the Plaquemine Lumber and Shingle Co among other lumber related interests.

Newspapers at the time reported that it was Samuel Knowlton that discovered the coal outcroppings on Clayton Mountain, northeast of the future townsite of Gordon, while scoping out the area where the railroad would be passing through. This was the first significant discovery of coal in north Texas and Knowlton, along with his partners recognized this could be a very lucrative opportunity. Coal, of course, was the fuel of choice for the railroad at the time.

The three men began laying claim to the land surrounding the coal discovery. Some of the land was originally given to the railroad by the government for potential use, but as the actual route was established, much of the extra land was sold. While they worked as a partnership, they individually purchased land. Looking at the original landowner’s map of this area, you will see the area littered with the names of these three men. They eventually collectively owned appx 7000 acres in the area.

Who better than to start a mining operation and town in the 1880s than a group of lumber giants?

By September of 1880, in good timing with the progress of railroad construction though the area, Jones, Cowen and Knowlton had sunk their first mine. Initially the loads of coal were taken by wagon to the Gordon T&P depot for pick up. Due to the immediate demand for coal, the town of Gordon was reported to have literally sprung up over the course of a weekend.

Within a few weeks of operation, the Gordon Coal Mines were turning out 25 tons per day and were supplying all of the coal used by Texas & Pacific engines, eliminating the high cost of shipping coal from other states. This would soon gain the interest of railroad magnate (head of Texas & Pacific among other lines), Jay Gould.

More on the Gordon Coal Mines to come!