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Note: The following numbers are based only
on the section of the Cherokee County Census designated as "Jacksonville".
This may or may not correspond to the official city limits of Jacksonville
at that time.
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It had been 8 years since the town of Jacksonville was moved
to be closer to the newly laid International Railroad. Below
is a snapshot of various aspects of life in Jacksonville in
1880.
Population - 347
Race: 76% white, 24% black
Adult place of birth:
- 32% born in Texas
- 67% born in other states (primarily Alabama)
- Only 3 foreign born residents (2 Russia, 1 Germany)
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Intersection of Main & Commerce,
late 1800's
Photo Courtesy of Cherokee County Historical Commission
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The Town - The first brick building was built by
W. H. Lovelady. I'm not sure when this was done, but the next
brick building was not built until 1882. Meaning that the
structures in town in 1880 would have been wooden frame buildings.
Railroads - The only railroad at this time
was the International and Great Northern. A wooden-railed
tramway from Rusk to Jacksonville had operated unprofitably
from 1875-1879.
Communication - The first telegraph line
through Cherokee County was built in the early 1850's along
the stage route from Henderson. In January of 1880, the Western
Union Telegraph Company established service between Rusk and
Jacksonville.
Agriculture - Cotton appears to have been
the primary crop in 1880. The peach industry in Jacksonville
was just beginning to bud at this time. Peaches really took
off as an industry in the late '80s and early '90s. This was
long before the tomato days.
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Churches - It appears that in
1880, the Methodist Church was the only church in town. The
Presbyterians also had a church nearby and in 1882 they built
a church in the new town. A History of Cherokee County
gives conflicting information of 1880 as the year that the
Presbyterians built on their lot.
Banks - At this time, the only banks in
the area were various receptacles - from sugar bowls to old
stockings. The first bank in Jacksonville, Wettermark &
Bagley, did not open until around 1888. Merchants doing extensive
business kept large sums on deposit with New Orleans and Galveston
firms, on which they could draw in the settlement of bills.
Gradually citizens acquired the habit of depositing their
money with local merchants and lawyers to be kept in their
iron safes.
Schools - The first school in the new town
was the Jacksonville Collegiate Institute, which opened in
1873. In 1880 this school was operating in a frame structure
built on a lot later occupied by the Methodist Church on South
Bonner Street. The Jacksonville centennial book says that
in 1880 the school building was used for a private school
principaled by A. D. Davies. The next year, in 1881, the first
public school was opened.
Newspaper - The only newspaper being printed
in Jacksonville was the Texas Intelligencer. The
newspaper was begun in 1873 in Rusk, but was soon moved to
Jacksonville.
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Masonic Lodge, built 1853 in
Old Jacksonville and moved to the present town. Used by the
Lodge until 1893.
From the book, Jacksonville: the Story of a Dynamic Community
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W. H. Lovelady's store
Photo Courtesy of Cherokee County Historical Commission
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Entertainment - "Copies of
the newspapers of the '80s reveal interesting bits of social
life. Croquet was in great favor. Pitching dollars was a masculine
sport gaining editorial comment. Picnics, Sunday school and
otherwise, were popular summer diversions. Chalybeate Springs,
some three miles east of Rusk, was a favorite picnic ground.
According to enthusiastic visitors, the scenery rivaled Colorado.
Fishing parties frequently made the social column. De Bonnaire's
trapeze and gymnastic performers were always greeted by a
large audience." - from A History of Cherokee County
Christmas - "The day of electrically
decorated living-room trees was not yet . . . The celebration
of Christmas with a public tree on Christmas Eve was a practice
begun in Jacksonville in 1874 . . . At the appointed time,
gifts for one's own family, from grandfather to baby, as well
as for sweethearts and friends, were laboriously carried to
the appointed [place] for the tree-dressing crew to hang high
or low as their bulkiness required. Burlesque presents always
added to the fun. Witty comments from the master of the distribution
ceremonies increased the gaiety. Tiny folk, blushing boys
and girls in their teens, grown-ups of varying ages and sizes,
all marched down the aisle and back again, bearing gifts.
Tired but happy families often drove miles in slow-going wagons
before sleepy children could be put to bed. Morning brought
a new joy; the household and its guests, whether chance comers
or invited friends, sipped the Christmas egg-nog, an exhilarating
beverage made by cooking beaten eggs with whiskey." -
from A History of Cherokee County
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National Events - Electric lightbulb invented
in 1879, construction begins on the Panama Canal, James Garfield
elected president, terrible winter storm in North America ("Blizzard
of 1880"). Actually, the harsh winter of '80-'81 is when the
word blizzard came into general use.
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