Thurber · 1969
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 and Pacific Coal Company in 1888. (T. and P.…
View on map ↗Erath County, Texas
Historical Markers in Thurber, Texas
Thurber is home to 9 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
New York Hill · 1994
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…
View on map ↗Site of Hotel Knox and Thurber Mining Office · 1994
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…
View on map ↗Site of Snake Saloon · 1994
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…
View on map ↗Site of Thurber Big Lake and Dairy · 1994
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…
View on map ↗Site of Thurber Brick Plant · 1994
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…
View on map ↗Site of Thurber's First Coal Mine · 1994
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…
View on map ↗St. Barbara's Catholic Church · 1994
Most of Thurber's immigrant population, representing eighteen nationalities, were Catholic. Missionary priests ministered to the town until 1892, when the coal company erected a Catholic church at the bottom of…
View on map ↗Thurber Cemetery · 1994
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…
View on map ↗Discover Thurber’s history on the road
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