Roby, Texas, Fisher County seat. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan ShellIn 1885, shortly after Fisher County was organized, a dispute arose between business partners from Mississippi and a town called Fisher. Both wanted their land to host the courthouse. One of the partners was a man named D.C. Roby, and the town of Fisher is now called North Roby, so one can assume the result.

The following year the county�s first courthouse was built, and a school and post office opened. In 1890 the population was estimated to be 300 people and the town had a hotel, restaurant and a newspaper.

Being a peaceful place, Roby didn�t have the need of a jail until 1892 when they built one of stone. By 1900 the population had grown to over 700 residents.

Roby received its first railroad in 1907 (The Texas Central) and in 1915 the Roby and Northern laid 4.4-miles of track to connect Roby proper with North Roby. In 1930 the population was 801. It actually increased during the Great Depression � reaching 904 for the 1940 Census. The Roby and Northern line was scrapped during WWII and its rails went to the war effort.

The population peaked in 1950 with 1,040 people calling Roby and North Roby home. The city was plagued by insufficient water throughout its life and finally in 1953 during a long period of drought, water from Oak Creek Lake was piped in. By 1970 the population was down to less than 800 and over the years it has slowly declined to the present 643.
(2010)

Historical Marker - US 180 & Hwy 70 - across from the courthouse

ROBY

Located on land originally included in a land grant to Texas War for Independence veteran Thomas H. Cosby, the town of Roby was first platted in 1885. The land was purchased by D. C. and M. L. Roby of Mississippi, relatives of Cosby's second wife, Martha. The Robys hired Walton, Hill, and Walton, a Travis County law firm, to represent their interests, and instructed the attorneys to organize a town to be named county seat of Fisher County. On behalf of their clients, the attorneys donated land for churches, schools, a park, and a cemetery. Town lots were also given to settlers who would build homes within ninety days. In an election held in April 1886, Roby was declared the county seat.

The first county court was held in a shed behind the V. H. Anderson House, which served as the town's first post office. A frame courthouse was built on the southwest corner of the town square and was replaced over the years by a succession of other structures.

Schools, churches, and businesses were established as settlement in the town increased. Retaining its small town atmosphere, Roby remains a center of commerce for Fisher County.

(1989)

Roby, Texas Landmarks

The 1926 Fisher County jail on the courthouse square still in use today.
Photo Courtesy Gerald Massey, June 2010

Historical Marker - Hwy 70 and CR 203

Roby Cemetery

Settlers began arriving in this area in the late 19th century. The oldest grave marker in the Roby Cemetery, that of Mable W. Deming, bears the date 1884, one year prior to the organization of Fisher County and the establishment of the town of Roby.

Brothers D. C. and M. L. Roby purchased over 4,000 acres of land in 1885. They had a townsite platted; donated sites for schools, churches, and a park; and designated the land containing Mable Deming's grave as a public cemetery. The original cemetery plot consisted of seven acres, and the brothers stipulated that no fee was to be levied for grave sites in that section.

The Roby Cemetery served as the principal burial ground for citizens of Fisher County. In the late 1950s the county deeded the cemetery lands to the city of Roby. In 1975 the Roby Cemetery Association was chartered and accepted the deed to the cemetery property from the city. Later land acquisitions increased the graveyard's size to twenty-one acres.

Those interred in the Roby Cemetery include pioneer settlers of Fisher County, veterans of the Civil War, and one former slave, "Aunt" Abbie Alborn, who came to this area from Tennessee in 1886. The graveyard serves as a reminder of the area's early history.

(1988)

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