Head of Elm - 1849-1873 - St. Jo, TX
N 33° 41.713 W 097° 31.360
14S E 636919 N 3729342
A granite marker on the south side of the square in St. Jo notes significant events between 1849-1873, most of which occurred when the settlement was known as "Head of Elm."
Waymark Code: WM128JF
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/29/2020
Views: 4
Head of Elm was the original settlement here, settled initially by Ithane and Prince Singletary in 1849 as they sought gold. They failed in their search, but returned in 1851, dubbing their home "Head of Elm" for the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. By 1870, the community was significant enough that it was considered for the seat of Montague County, but like Bowie, it lost out because the town of Montague was more centrally located. The timeline provides several significant events during the Head of Elm period, culminating with Head of Elm's being absorbed when it was purchased and platted for the townsite which became Saint Jo. Remnants of the original Head of Elm cemetery are just north of town along FM 677, and both Boggess and Howell are buried a bit north of that, in Boggess Cemetery. The marker reads:
Head of Elm
(Saint Jo)
Historic Camp Site
for
1849 Capt. Randolph B. Marcy
on Government Survey Trip
1854 Capt. John Pope
Surveying Proposed Federal R.R.
1855 U.S. 2nd Cavalry
Under Col. Albert Sidney Johnson en route to establish Texas Frontier Forts. Reported Settlement here.
1857 Col. James B. Leach
Heading "Corn Train" to Ft. Belknap
1860 U.S. Post Office Opened
John W. Womble, Postmaster
1867-87 Great Cattle Trails
Drivers Camped and Watered
1873 Saint Jo Founded
on site by I.H. Boggess and J.A. Howell
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