Artesian Belt Depot - Pleasanton, TX - Train Stations/Depots on Waymarking.com

The Artesian Belt Railroad was formed in November 1908 by a private landowner, Charles Simmons. Simmons was an independently wealthy land colonizer.

Charles, who had both a medical and a law degree, became a land speculator, or colonizer, after he came to Texas, for health reasons. He got into the business when he bought a ranch in Live Oak county for his son from George West, who would later become involved with the San Antonio Uvalde and Gulf railroad. West was forced to sell due to huge losses stemming from a drought. Regrettably, the son died and Simmons disposed of the ranch by subdividing it. This turned out to be very profitable. Delving into the "colonizing" business again, he purchased 95,000 acres, at $4.50 per acre, south of what is now Jourdanton but this time things proved to be more difficult. The land was divided into lots ranging from 10 to 640 acres, but the problem was no one could get there as there were neither roads nor rails to transport them to what had, up until that time, been a huge ranch with tens of thousands of cattle.

Not being a man who lacked clarity of vision or the required resources to put ideas into effect, Simmons decided to build a railroad to his land. He had already made plans for a town to be called New Artesia which actually ended up being called Christine. Another town between Christine and Jourdanton was also created, called Imogene. However Mr. Porter has found reason to doubt why these towns were given these names. The accepted theory was that they were named after Simmons' daughters but historical records indicate that though he did indeed have daughters, these were not their names. Mr. Simmons was quite a character, who divorced his first wife only to marry her sister. His brother ended up taking him to court over business matters as well. The nearest main line to Christine was some forty miles to the north, in a roughly straight line that went near Poteet and Somerset. And so he set about acquiring right of way and materials and establishing a link with the International & Great Northern line that ran from San Antonio to Laredo.

The new line was called the Artesian Belt Railroad in reference to the area's source of water, namely artesian wells. There is no obvious river in this area. The water is a few hundred feet underground. The intersection with the International & Great Northern was given the name of Kirk. There was no town at this place. Kirk may have been the name of an engineer or IGN officer. A depot was built to service interchange passengers, plus some sidings and freight buildings. Another spur was built another four miles north, allowing the new line to reach Macdona on the Galveston Harrisburg & San Antonio line. This was abandoned in 1920 as, by that time, the line was fully allied with the IGN.

Jourdanton was platted out as the railroad was being built and soon took over as county seat of Atascosa from Pleasanton after a vote to decide the issue. That Jourdanton was on the railroad and Pleasanton was not virtually decided the issue. With the construction, a few years later, of the San Antonio Uvalde & Gulf, Pleasanton did get railroad service and now, ironically, only it does. Poteet and Somerset also grew. Both towns relocated a few miles to be on the railroad, a common practice in those days. Railroad service, back then, could make or break your community.