By Mary Leak Post offices are in most towns, and are a surer way to determine the abandonment of a city when looking through history. If a post office closes, it’s likely due to the town being abandoned, closed, or the population falling so low that the town can no...
By Mary Leak Gomer Gower is a name mentioned in many books about Thurber. He was a resource for Mary Jane Gentry in her master’s thesis, “Thurber: The Life and Death of a Texas Town,” “A Way of Work and a Way of Life” by Marilyn D. Rhinehart, and various...
By Shala Scarlato Collections are a land of stories and mementos waiting for their time to shine. They sit in covered boxes so that outside elements don’t further degrade them. The question often asked is, “Why not just restore it?” That’s a good question. Why not? To first understand why...
By Scarlet Weber Led by Thomas Winfield Jordan, the Jordan family came to Erath before the town settled. The Jordan family fruit farm was established in 1885 and was located 2.5 miles south of Thurber. This was one of several farms that provided Thurber with fresh fruit. While many families...
By Mary Adams Colonel Robert Dickie Hunter, president of the Texas Pacific Coal Company, and associates from St. Louis believed that opening a brick plant would expand the Company’s economic power. After countless negotiations and investments, the Green and Hunter Brick Company opened in Jun 1987, and by November, brickmakers...
By Mary Adams After the coal mines and brick plan closed and a fire destroyed much of the downtown, the Texas and Pacific Coal Company had a decision to make, to rebuild or to close the town. They chose to close and salvage every piece they could. They sold houses...
By Scarlet Weber The people who called Thurber home did not just disappear once Thurber became a ghost town. There are many records of people who continued their stories after their time in Thurber, and their stories are continued to be told through their family. One such person was Fred...
By Shala Scarlato Fraternal Organizations were the backbone of much of American society both after the Civil War and before World War I. Fraternal organizations have been clouded in rumors of “magic” and “mystery” for as long as they have been around. Yet, the truth is that the organizations supported...
By Shala Scarlato Thurber was no stranger to labor strikes and unions. Many miners joined so they could fight for better pay and shorter work days. While Thurber was at its strongest, the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) was busy trying to convince adults that children needed to be covered...
By Mary Adams Texas recognized Labor Day on the first Monday of September in 1863. A year later, the federal government made Labor Day a federal holiday on par with Independence Day. The question is, did Thurber embrace Labor Day with the same vigor as they celebrated Independence Day? Mary...
By Scarlet Weber One of the first things an intern must do when starting at the W. K. Gordon Center is research. While materials are provided, it is up to us to learn about Thurber. This helps us understand the town and prepares us to answer questions guests might have....
By Mary Adams The last Fourth of July celebration in Thurber occurred in 1937 after the town closed. According to an article printed in the Palo Pinto County Star in April of that year, plans were underway for a Jubilee Celebration in honor of W. K. Gordon on July 4th....
By Shala Scarlato James Rollins Bingham was a hardworking, published author that found a life in Thurber, Texas. The weigh master of the No. 6 mine found a place to stay with the Yie family who ran a small boarding house. He started in Thurber as a rock breaker but...
By Scarlet Weber Classics are considered classics for a reason, and tops are no exception. Tops have been around for thousands of years, going through waves of popularity throughout human history. In Thurber these could be purchased at the store or whittled by hand from wood. While traditional tops may...
By Shala Scarlato The Knox Hotel had a grand opening on June 3rd, 1894, to a large crowd of boarders and curious townsfolk. Mrs. Sarah Putnam and her assistant welcomed both with a grand feast. While this was the proper opening, research points to a softer opening sometime in May...
By Mary Adams The newness of the town and the paper combine to give this edition a very positive and encouraging tone. On the front page the paper carried stories from other areas, such as labor unrest in Ohio, unemployment numbers and a grim outlook for winter...
Archeology in Thurber By Mary Adams October is known as Archeology month and with it right around the corner, I wanted to take a minute and talk about the archeology of Thurber, Texas. If you are familiar with Thurber you recognize the remains of the Historic Smokestack on the side...
The Year 2020 By Mary Adams As 2019 wound to a close, the outlook was bright for the most part. The world was entering a new decade. Tokyo was preparing to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, the National Basketball Association was in full swing, political parties were gearing up...
In the Search of Something Interesting…By Kyndall Howard Sometimes we look at a particular space not realizing that it has changed drastically over time. The Gordon Center understands this change well. As you walk along the sidewalk to the front entrance of the museum and look to the north, you will...
Controlling the Climate by Lea Hart People who live in Texas know that summer means heat. This was no different for the population of Thurber. According to the Global Historical Climatology Network, on July 1 of 1910 Dublin, Texas’s temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit with a low of 69. As of this...