The settlement originally at Fort Phantom Hill was relocated to a site that its founders mistakenly thought would be on the Texas and Pacific Railway lines. The town, and later Jones County, was named after Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas. The Anson Jones Museum occupies the 1929 First Presbyterian Church. Displays include a miniature reproduction of the town square in 1904, Anson Jones’ desk and chair, plus a host of local memorabilia. The town’s post office lobby features a 12-foot mural, “Cowboy Dance,” painted in 1941 by Jenne Magafan for a Depression-era federal government program employing artists. The scene depicts westerners at a frontier dance, similar to Anson’s real-life Cowboys’ Christmas Ball held in December since 1885. Anson’s historic district also features the Beaux Arts-style Jones County Courthouse, built in 1910, and the 1907 Opera House, which hosts monthly live music shows.
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Anson-Jones Museum1300 Avenue K
Anson, TX 79501