Telegraph Texas, Kimble County ghost town. (original) (raw)
History in a Pecan Shell
Telegraph came into being sometime before 1900 - the year a post office opened. The name comes from the telegraph that connected the string of military installations - or the telegraph poles that were cut nearby.
The natural setting made it a popular hunting and fishing destination although the year-round population remained at only 25 people from the mid-1920s through the 1960s. A population boom in the mid 1960 swelled the population to 56 - but by 1970 it was back to only 31. By the 1990s there were reportedly only three people living in the town.
Photographer's Note:
I really was amazed at how peaceful and quiet Telegraph was, the only thing you could really hear was the sound of the wind in the trees. It's so isolated, I wouldn't mind living there. -
Erik Whetstone, March 18, 2006
The closed Telegraph Store and Post Office in 2017
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
Historical Marker
Telegraph Store and Post Office
This Kimble County landmark was named for a nearby canyon from which trees were cut for telegraph poles in the Mid-19th century. The store and post office were built about 1890-1900. The first commissioned postmistress was Ruth Holmes in 1900. For many years this has been the stopover place for vacationers along nearby south Llano River and travelers enroute to points south. The telegraph post office was the Kimble County address of Texas Governor Coke R. Stevenson. The site retains the rustic charm of its early years, and has served the community for a century.
1996
The marker in front of the closed store in 2017
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
The closed store with old gas pumps
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
The old gas pump up close
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
In memory of Stanley R. Brite
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
View of Isaac Kountz Historical Marker
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
Historical Marker on US 377 S
(about 2 miles SW of Kimble County Courthouse in Junction)
Isaac Kountz
Killed on this spot by Indians on Christmas Eve, 1867. He was 16 years old, and herding sheep for his father, Dr. E. K. Kountz. A brother, Sebastian, age 11, escaped. a posse and Texas Rangers chased the Indians to the Guadalupe River. Young Kountz was buried in Junction Cemetery.
1967
Isaac Kountz Historical Marker
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
Obelisk
Photo courtesy MF Peck, August 2017
Kimble County TX 1907 Postal Map showing Telegraph
Courtesy Texas General Land Office
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