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Gordon, Texas was named after H.L. Gordon a director and stockholder of the Texas and Pacific railroad at the time of
it's construction through the area in 1880. The original townsite was called Hampton and was
just north of the present day town of Gordon. Hampton was established in 1864.
In 1881 Hampton was moved to Gordon and the town began to prosper.
Rogan and Cotney were businessmen at Hampton and the first post office in this section of the county was in their store and Robert H. Rogan was appointed post master in 1879. The post office was moved from Hampton and opened on Oct 17, 1883. The first depot agent was a Capt. John Ayers, appointed in 1881. Other original town leaders included, Albert Lusk, Ben Foster, Jess Neblet, Jim Moore, John Moore, Tod Wood, Alf Beckham, Jasper Odan, Jeff Cowden, Dock Abels, and Up Self. (named taken from a photo) Jess Neblet was the first merchant selling groceries and dry goods in town.
The first school was held in 1882 with Miss Mollie Shelton as the fist teacher. A June 26, 1897 issue of "The Ferris Wheel" reported that the construction of a college building was underway in Gordon. The second high school building was completed that year and the term "college" likely meant high school. The Baptist and Methodist churches, along with others were organized in Gordon around this time. In 1889 Gordon had 300 inhabitants, five general stores, three drug stores, three hotels, three cotton gins (at one time known to have ginned more cotton in one year than any other town in the United States), a flour mill, a livery stable, a meat market, two lumber yards, a furniture store, a hardware store, three blacksmith shops, a barber shop, a bakery, a shoe repair shop, a harness shop, a Masonic Hall, odd Fellows Hall, four saloons, and a brick plant. The town also had three doctors at the turn of the century. It was during this time period that farmers and ranchers flocked to the area. The notorious Rube Burrow's second train robbery occured in Gordon on January 23rd 1887. Burrow and his band of five met up in Alexander two days prior and headed north to Gordon during the afternoon of the 22nd. The train made its stop at the Gordon depot at 2:00 AM and Burrow and his men were ready for it. As the train started to pull away they jumped on and quickly directed the engineer to "Run five hundred yards and stop!". Rube forced the express messenger to open the safe where they stuffed $2275 into a sack. At gun point Rube lead the messenger into the mail car where they snatched up $2000 more from registered mail. Jubilant over their successful haul, the bandits discharged their guns into the air, mounted their horses, and rode off to the north (setting a false trail). The Gordon telephone system went into place in 1901. Town leaders J.R. Rice and Eaton & Blewett built large brick buildings in town in around this time which lead to the brich downtown district. Eaton & Blewett began selling Ford cars around 1910. The town was incorporated during this time with R.L. Colvard as the first mayor. In 1912 an electric plant and water system was built for the town. The Encyclopedia of Texas (Published in 1921) had the following information for the town: GORDON – Palo Pinto County; population 1000; alt 955ft.;19 miles north of county seat. 73 miles west of Fort Worth. On the T&P Ry. Banks: First National, Gordon Banking and Mercantile Company, Guaranty State Bank. Hotels:Kelly-Ray, McDonald. Newspaper: Gordon Weekly Courier. Shipments: cotton and livestock. Telephone: Western Union Express. The 1957 county centennial program noted Gordon for its large pecan shelling company(Southwestern Nut Company) and the newly constructed Lone Star Gas facility. In 1967 Gordon was featured in a two page article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, by Jerry Flemmings, in which it was reffered to as a ghost town among other unflattering topics. A month later Star Telegram writer Jon McConal rebuffed the story with his own version titled "G-G-Gordon a Ghost, HA!". In Mr. McConal's two page story he brought to light many of the prospering businesses in town and the construction of a state-of-the-art high school. The Texas state sesquicentennial was in 1986. Gordon was the site of the county's celebration festivities which included an evening program exploring those early days in Texas including customary dance. The following morning a large parade through town was held followed by a meal. Gordon received national attention in 1996 as it's high school football team (the Gordon Longhorns) earned it's first state championship. During that year the town and school were featured in Sports Illustrated and on an ESPN special. A second state championship was achieved in 1999. Sources: "History of Gordon" by Mrs. M.H. Parks (1946);Dora Rogers interview for the Palocade - Palo Pinto County - 1857-1957 Official Centennial Program; The Encyclopedia of Texas 1921; William Ward - "Rube Burrow of sunny Alabama" Much more information and photos are coming soon!!! |
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