It was not long before the mines of Thurber began to produce fifteen hundred to two thousand tons of coal daily. wg_adresa_lnk="http://www.maphill.com/united-states/texas/erath-county/thurber/3d-maps/satellite-map/"; mh_atlas.set('s', 'atlas/32n05-98w30/3d-maps/satellite-map/'); Each place is worth a visit. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/thurber-tx. Submitted by Teresa Wingfield on Tue, 02/19/2019 - 9:43am. Music Ghosts To 820 West approximately 25 miles. By 1900, the town had over 200 houses, more than 30 stores and shops, a waterworks, churches, schools, offices, stables, an opera house seating more than 650, a dairy, a meat market, a 200-room hotel and an ice plant. In between paychecks, the workers drew company scrip to buy goods in the commissary stores. As the mines prospered, Thurber grew, reaching a population of about 4,000 in 1910. Share Pin Marker Text: 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. Thurber remained a union stronghold until the demise of the minesin the 1920s. By 1910, 500 Italian and more than 100 Polish coal miners -- some from the old countries, others from the Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio coal fields -- worked there at the height of the coal boom. Electric lights strung throughout the long underground passageways supplemented the carbide lamps attached to the miners helmets. /* kvuli IE */ In the early 20th century, a prosperous coal and brick operation made Thurber a thriving city between Fort Worth and El Paso. Texas History: The Texas State Cemetery shapes its identity for 21st century. Return to Map . Called "The Snake," it boasted what some said was the longest horseshoe-shaped bar in the world, manned at peak hours by as many as 25 bartenders. As in the typical company town, low pay, drawn once a month, forced employees to utilize a check system between pay periods, whereby the customer drew scrip, reportedly discounted at 20 percent, for use at the company's commissary stores. Website, W.K. I do have pictures Ill have to look for. Thurber boasted churches, schools, large parks, two swimming holes and competitive sports teams, as well as an ice factory, electrical plant, 650-seat opera house, 200-room hotel and the only public library in Erath County, according to the Handbook of Texas. They may not have lived there but were part owners in a sheep and cattle operation called the El Capitan Land and Cattle Company. Identifies "only buildings left" in 1920. He died in 1914 of typhoid fever and was interred on the family ranch near Gordon, Texas in Palo Pinto County. googletag.pubads().setTargeting("vyrez", ["133340", "32n35-98w30", "the area around 32 36' 26" N, 98 31' 30" W"]); Eastern investors, headed by Col. Robert Dickey Hunter, bought the mines from Johnson late that year and formed the Texas & Pacific Coal Company. The Wobble Deck opened in January of 2015 and the 5-stand opened in October. Physical map illustrates the natural geographic features of an area, such as the mountains and valleys. Museums 76463. phone (254) 672-5927, (800) 399-3006, fax (254) 672-5971. [3]:95119[5]. Visitor Tips and News About Thurber's Lonely Smokestack Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. } York Hill was the name given to the neighborhood Renamed in 1918, the Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company brought staff for its new oil division to Thurber from New York. Though it is a ghost town today, Thurber once had a population of perhaps as many as 8,000 to 10,000. The dusty gravel driveway up to the castle was paved and a giant lake project was initiated to create a Trophy Bass Fishing haven.In 2011, Greystone Castle was awarded its first Orvis Wingshooting Lodge of the Year award. The mining operation was begun by Johnson in the mid to late 1880s but ceased for a time due to the influence of Knights of Labor, an early mine workers union, leading Johnson to shut down the mine and convey his interest to others. The restaurant also has Thurber information and merchandise and displays historical pictures and artifacts. Globally distributed map delivery network ensures low latency and fast loading times, no matter where on Earth you happen to be. We build each 3D map individually with regard to the characteristics of the map area and the chosen graphic style. A - Z Texas| Columns| "Letters from Central Texas" Thurber, Texas by Clay Coppedge There In a state not known for coal, Thurberproduced tons of "black diamonds" for more than 30 years. 32 30.465 N, 98 24.96 W. Marker is near Mingus, Texas, in Erath County. Across I-20 from the smokestack is a new museum dedicated to the town, the W. K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas. Inside the gift shop you'll find a "working" model of a wooden oil derrick, about 10 feet tall; push a button and a gusher of "oil" will shoot up through the middle of the derrick (Don't worry, it's enclosed in a transparent pipe.). There is no fence, barbed wire, or alligator pit around it. And if the weekly email just isn't enough, there's more. }); The preserved visual evidence about Thurber is almost incredible, perhaps because it was a company town that the owners wantedto document every aspect of it. Once a major bituminous coal producing town in Texas, Thurber grew to be a thriving boomtown between 1918-1921. //wg_jeste_co_adresa = wg_adresa_cela; The company was once said to have the best equipped brick manufacturing operation west of the Mississippi. As it became obvious that many upgrades and expansions were needed, 2 of the original investor groups decided to sell out. Coal, oil, and brick were the most important factors in Thurbers growth. Stores We want to redefine the experience of discovering the world through the maps. Route settings Get Directions Route sponsored by Choice Hotels Advertisement Help By 1886, mining was underway, but union agitation caused a repeat of the Coalville experience. Your email address will not be published. Established as a company town, the mining operations in Thurber were unionized in 1903, and Thurber became the first totally closed shop town in the country. Thurber, after whom the town was named, and company president,Col. Robert DickieHunter, were no less oppressive than the Johnsons. wg_jeste_like = ''; position: absolute; After finishing the three walls and 4 turrets, he sold the beginnings of the castle and its 4,000 acres to several investors. In 2000, Greystone Castle became an Orvis Endorsed Wingshooting Lodge. Thurber (Texas) United States; After having indicated the starting point, an itinerary will be shown with directions to get to Thurber, TX with distance and travel time, it will be possible to modify the route by dragging: the route drawn on the map, arrival and departure.You will be able to change the settings such as means of transport, units of measure, tolls and highways. Trip Planning Caution: RoadsideAmerica.com offers maps, directions and attraction details as a convenience, providing all information as is. Once completed in 1923, the mausoleum was sealed according to Mrs. Johnsons instructions and sits on a high point of the former Johnson ranch on private property, a few miles from Gordon. New Thurber. Money would be placed in a relatives account and when enough was in it to pay their passage here they came. Exit I-20 West (Weatherford exit) They are approximately 35 miles West of Weatherford. mh_atlas.set('ne', 'atlas/33n00-97w40/3d-maps/satellite-map/'); All Thurber and Texas maps are available in a common image format. Funny the things people want to relieve us of in our later years. Leaders in all matters of material and moral progress. The coal fueled the railways which opened up the Southwest. And as Thurber thrived, the farming community for 50 or 60 miles around also benefited. Mr. Thurber had started working in the grocery business at the age of eighteen. If you like this post, please subscribe to our blog viaRSSoremail. While the Wingshooting program continues to be world-class, the Whitetail Deer Hunting and Exotic Hunting programs are seeing the results of the extensive long-term investment. Black miners from Indiana worked in the mines during the labor troubles of the 1880s. The conversion to oil-burning locomotives led to Thurber's demise; declining use of coal and a resulting wage cut led to labor unrest lasting through much of the 1920s and to a strike in 1926 and 1927. window.addEvent('load', function(){ Each map type has its advantages. But my guess is the local sheriff wouldn't cotton to anyone trying to climb the thing. Thurber, Texas click to enter The New York Hill Restaurant, at I-20 Exit 367, in Thurber, Texas, has a wonderful panoramic overview of Thurber. This view of Thurber at an angle of 60 is one of these images. googletag.defineSlot('/114450422/Maphill_com_Map_misto_ATF_TopLargeRectangle_336x280', [336, 280], 'div-gpt-ad-Map-misto-ATF-TopLargeRectangle-336x280').addService(googletag.pubads()); THURBER What if a once prosperous place turned into a ghost town almost overnight? Tickets cost up to $5. Many miners accepted UMW assistance and moved to mining areas in other states. [2] The population of the community is 48 per the 2010 United States Census. Monuments //googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); In turn, the farmers bought their necessities at the company stores: clothing, dry goods, groceries and an occasional bottle of liquor. In addition to Wingshooting, Exotics Hunting and Whitetail Deer Hunting were added to the list of hunting activities. By 1900, there were more than 800 men producing between 1,500 and 2,000 tons of coal a day. James C. Maroney, Labor Movement in Texas Collection, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. You can see bricks have fallen out in several places. mh_fade_obrazky($$('.rlf')); The only product the farmers could not sell around Thurber was cotton, and for several years just after the turn of the century, a company gin even processed that for the farmers. } else { After they failed to meet payroll, the miners struck and the owners sold out to the Texas and Pacific Coal Company. He was a director of a number of banks and was president of a steamship line. One also canspot Steamshovel Mountain, which was mined for the once ubiquitous red Thurber bricks. ); "Thurber gained recognition and the only 100-percent closed-shop city in the nation," reads the Handbook of Texas. Shaded relief map shows topographic features of the surface. The core of the museum works on many levels. The rough polyglot nature of the place might remind some readers of the superb Western, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," which defied the flattening "Gunsmoke" effecton movie memories of the Old West. Mingus, Tx. In 1899, the more nimble and educated William Knox Gordon (18621949), a civil engineer and namesake for today's center,took over the Thurber properties. Since it was illegal even to teach someone how to produce alcoholic beverages and many neophyte wine-makers needed instructions, the labels on the bricks of dried grapes circumvented the law by giving detailed instructions on how not to produce wine: They warned the user that he would be violating the law if he put the grapes in so many gallons of water, added so many pounds of sugar and kept the concoction at a specified temperature for so many days. Following inability to meet a payroll and a resulting strike by miners, the Johnsons sold out in the fall of 1888 to founders of the Texas and Pacific Coal Company, including Robert Dickey Hunter, who became president of the new company, and H. K. Thurber of New York, for whom the town was named. It is now only a collection a few building sites and foundations of others but once Thutber was a boom town of as many as eight to ten thousand people. Oil production made the area so wealthy that by the 1900s, every house was equipped with running water and electricity. Save to My Sights Results 1 to 2 of 2. Adopt the TX Town or County of your choice and share your message with the world. Thurber was one of the most ethnically diverse towns in West Central Texas, with nearly 20 different nationalities or racial groups represented, including Italian, Polish, English, German, Austrian, Irish, Chinese and black. Learn More. Touch for directions. Our goal is different. It was, between 1888 and 1921, one of the largest producers of bituminous coal in Texas and the largest company town in the state, with a population of over 10,000. William Knox Gordon, the new manager of the Thurber properties, at first continued the established policy of suppression and antiunionism. 'https:' : 'http:') + mh_atlas.set('w', 'atlas/32n35-99w20/3d-maps/satellite-map/'); . Thurber, Texas - 2016 to Present. The couple had two children, Marion and William Harvey, neither of whom lived to adulthood. A historic Thurber smokestack can be seen from Interstate 20 near Thurber. Political map illustrates how people have divided up the world into countries and administrative regions. Opened in 2002, it's a superb collection of photographs, films, personal histories and mementos from the coal mining days. googletag.pubads().setTargeting("adm2", ["2832", "erath-county", "Erath County"]); Originally being from the salt water part of Italy, rumor has it this part of Texas is near the Gulf. var src = (useSSL ? By then, railroads and other industries had begun to convert to oil from coal. Ranked from the highest to the lowest in carbon content, they are anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous and lignite. Wind SSE 5 mph. WWII (254) 968-1886 For more detailed maps based on newer satellite and aerial images switch to a detailed map view. Coal was first discovered in Thurber, Texas, by William Whipple Johnson in the mid-1800's. It shipped the signaturered bricks over the region for use in structures such as the Galveston Sea Wall, the Fort Worth Stockyardsand Congress Avenue in Austin. Thurber is an unincorporated community in Erath County, Texas, United States, located 75 miles west of Fort Worth. mh_atlas.set('sw', 'atlas/32n05-99w20/3d-maps/satellite-map/'); More, Roadside Presidents app for iPhone, iPad. The Greystone Castle's history originated from the dream of a Texas businessman. In the early 20th century, a prosperous coal and brick operation made Thurber a thriving city between Fort Worth and El Paso. Satellite map shows the Earth's surface as it really looks like. The new company fenced a portion of its property and within the enclosure constructed a complete town and mining complex, including schools, churches, saloons, stores, houses, an opera house seating over 650, a 200-room hotel, an ice and electric plant, and the only library in the county. Over 18 ethnic groups worked as coal miners and brickmakers. . William Whipple Johnson (1843-1914) was born in Ionia, Michigan and came to Texas in the 1870s following the national economic difficulties of the 1870s. The dining room was upgraded, and the castle walls were improved. The History of Thurber, Texas began with its founding in 1888 by the Texas and Pacific Coal Company. In Michigan he had been a hotelier and shopkeeper and moved to Texas to make a new start. Food The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. Visitor Tips and News About Thurber's Lonely Smokestack. Today, it is a ghost town with an official population of five. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas, the people of Thurber missed it. While workers were on strike, the new owners set out to build a company town with residences, stores, churches, utilities, shops and stores along with two saloons. Get your copy of the 2022-2023 Texas Almanac today! mh_atlas.set('e', 'atlas/32n35-97w40/3d-maps/satellite-map/'); In 1897, the company added a large brickworks using the clay from the nearby hills. The best is that Maphill lets you look at each place from many different angles. mh_fade_obrazky($$('#mmo_kwicks img')); These items were household needs and were treated as such. Highway 80 in northwestern Erath County. I also don't advise anyone to go wandering around Thurber alone, even during the day - one might disappear into an abandoned coal mine air shaft! Small Town Sagas The force of predominantly foreign workers, many of whom spoke little or no English, enabled the company to maintain a repressive environment for many years. But there is good chance you will like other map styles even more. Hotel Here: $('atlas_img').set('src', $('atlas_img').get('src')); Thurber boasted churches, schools, large parks, two swimming holes and competitive sports teams, as well as an ice factory, electrical plant, 650-seat opera house, 200-room hotel and the only. It's right off I-20, and such a tiny town that it's easy to drive by it and miss it. In 2016, Greystone Castle began hosting National Sporting Clays Association registered sporting clays tournaments. Updating Map. Coal, oil, and brick were the most important factors in Thurber's growth. Embed the above satellite 3D map of Thurber into your website. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth An official Texas historical marker sits in front of the tower (In fact, there are eight official state historical markers in Thurber, more markers than residents!). Texas State Historical Association. Thats dedication if you ask me. Current Weather. Mary Jane Gentry, Thurber: The Life and Death of a Texas Town (M.A. left: 0; Today, few remnants of the town remain. Cotton Gins Explore the world.Discover the beauty hidden in the maps. Others were simply leveled. Proceeds benefit education in TX. }); Follow TEXAS HISTORY NOTEBOOK on WordPress.com. This 3D map uses Plate Carree projection, a simple variant of the equidistant cylindrical projection originated in the ancient times. Now only a lone smoke stack and a few buildings remain. Destinations close to Thurber sorted by distance. Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto and Thurber , Book The coal deposits lent themselves to mining processes and the product was formerly used for heating and industrial applications. Gordon, struck oil at nearby Ranger, setting the stage for the West Texas oil boom. Despite the retirement of Colonel Hunter in 1899, Thurber remained a company-dominated community. Texas Centennial The next project was to upgrade the Sporting Clays program. W.K. var useSSL = 'https:' == document.location.protocol; Directions are (from DFW Airport): Exit South out of the Airport. Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Employees from the mines at nearby Coalville, which had been shut down in a labor dispute, moved en masse to the new mines. Take the back roads to Thurber through Mingus and Gordon if you like small town history. '//www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js'; 2023 Photos & Text Copyright - Greystone Castle Sporting Club 66 miles to Fort Worth, TX. Thanks to automating the complex process of turning data into map graphics, we are able to create maps in higher quality, faster and cheaper than was possible before. Your email will only be used to respond to you. By 1935 the town was gone and most of the dwellings were demolished. We need your support because we are a non-profit that relies upon contributions from our community in order to record and preserve the history of our state. We unlock the value hidden in the geographic data. The Thurber time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. [4] By 1920, conversion of locomotives from coal to oil reduced demand and lowered prices and miners left the area through the 1920s.

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