Name: Junction, Texas
Address: Junction, TX

Junction, TX RoadyGoat

Junction is located near the western end of the Texas Hill Country, which grades into the southernmost parts of the West Texas Rolling Plains to the west. The city is named for its location at the confluence of the North and South Llano Rivers. The South Llano River played a significant role in the city's development, with a dam built in 1896 to provide power and water to the city and irrigation to surrounding lands. The city has a total area of 2.3 square miles, of which 0.01 square miles, or 0.26%, is covered by water.

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Junction, TX RoadyGoat

Junction, Texas, a small city with a rich history, has been home to a few notable figures. One such individual is O.C. Fisher, a long-time congressman who represented the Junction area. His office in Washington, DC, is replicated in the O.C. Fisher Museum within the Kimble County Library, a testament to his influence and connection to the city. Another notable person is Ernest Holekamp, who provided Junction with its first waterworks in 1895, a significant contribution to the city's infrastructure. These individuals, while not household names nationwide, have left a lasting impact on the community of Junction.

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A Town Named for Its Poles RoadyGoat

You're in Telegraph, Texas, so here's the long-distance communication tangent behind the name: Telegraph was named for poles cut in this area to support communication lines running to early United States Army forts east of town through Telegraph Canyon. That makes the name unusually physical: before a message could race electrically across Texas, crews had to find timber, cut poles, place insulators, string wire, and maintain miles of exposed infrastructure. A communications revolution still depended on axes, wagons, labor, and a route through the landscape. The nearly instant signal stood on a very slow construction project.

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Stevenson, Coke Robert

1948

Coke Robert Stevenson, governor of Texas, named for Methodist bishop Thomas Coke, was born on March 20, 1888, to Robert Milton and Virginia (Hurley) Stevenson in a log cabin in Mason County, Texas. His father was a schoolteacher and surveyor in various Hill Country areas, including Sutton County, where Stevenson finished his formal schooling (a total of seven years of three-month school terms). His father opened a general store in Junction, Kimble County, and as a teenager Coke went into the business of hauling freight between Junction and Brady. He studied history and bookkeeping by the light of campfires, sold the freight line, and went to work as a janitor for the Junction State Bank. He was soon doing the bank's bookkeeping, and by the time he was twenty he was made cashier. He studied law at night, passed the state bar examination in 1913, left the bank to practice law, and organized and became president of the First National Bank in Junction. As a young man he was involved in many small businesses in Kimble County, including the Junction Warehouse Company, a motion-picture house, a hardware store, an automobile agency, a weekly newspaper, a drug business, and the establishment of the Las Lomas Hotel in Junction. In Kimble County he served as county attorney (1914–18) and as county judge (1919–21). He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1928, and he was a member of that body from 1929 to 1939. He served as speaker of the House from 1933 to 1937, the first person ever to hold that office for two successive terms. Stevenson was elected lieutenant governor of Texas, and served from 1939 to August 4, 1941, when he became governor after W. Lee O'Daniel resigned to become United States senator. Stevenson was elected governor on his own in 1942. He was reelected in 1944 by an overwhelming vote, and his tenure from August, 1941, to January, 1947, was the longest consecutive service of any Texas governor up to that time. Stevenson's record in the legislature showed a concern for soil conservation laws, expansion of and a permanent financing policy for the state highway system ( see HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT ), an enlarged building program for the University of Texas, and increases in teachers' salaries. He was a strong believer in fiscal responsibility, and as governor he emphasized conservative financial policies; his administration began with a state treasury deficit and ended with a surplus. Not an extremist on states rights, he was nevertheless against the centralization of governmental power, and he opposed some of the domestic policies of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Coke Stevenson was married to Fay Wright on December 24, 1912; they had one son. During Stevenson's first year as governor, in January, 1942, his wife died. He remained a widower until January 16, 1954, when he was married to a widow, Marguerite (King) Heap; they had one daughter. When he left the Governor's Mansion in 1947, Stevenson returned to his 15,000-acre ranch at Telegraph, near Junction. His last political race, for United States senator in 1948, was the only one he ever lost, and it perhaps gave him more national attention than he had ever received before. That election, which he lost to Lyndon Baines Johnson by eighty-seven votes, may have changed the course of history, for Johnson went on to become president of the United States. The contest between Stevenson and Johnson was the closest senatorial race in the nation's history; after Stevenson appeared to be the winner, an amended return came in from Precinct 13 in Jim Wells County, a stronghold of George B. Parr , giving Johnson 201 votes and Stevenson only 2 votes; this decided the election in Johnson's favor, with a total state vote of 494,191 for Johnson and 494,104 for Stevenson. Stevenson contested the election, claiming there had been fraudulent votes cast in Duval County and in Precinct 13 in Jim Wells County. The dispute was carried all the way to the United States Sup

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Coach Bear Bryant and the Junction Boys

1954

Paul “Bear” Bryant, former coach at Maryland and Kentucky, became head football coach at Texas A&M in 1954. To evaluate his new players, Bryant sought a preseason camp far from the main campus. The Texas A&M adjunct opened in Junction in 1951, on 411 acres purchased by citizens of Kimble County. It was here that a grueling ten-day training camp thinned the roster while laying a foundation for future champions. Nearly 100 players filled two buses for the 250-mile drive to Junction on Sep. 1. Although the site was normally well-watered near the South Llano River, the region was in the grip of a long-term drought in 1954. There was hardly any grass, and one player recalled “any time you got knocked down you had to avoid the prickly sandspurs.” With high heat, rough ground and long practices, players slipped out by night. By the end of the camp, only 35 men remained to board buses returning to College Station. That fall, the team won a single game, the only losing record in Bryant’s 38-year career. Two years later, the 1956 team went undefeated, won the Southwest Conference, boasted seven all-conference players, and finished ranked fifth in the nation. Many of the camp survivors were successful in their chosen careers, including two with long coaching careers in college and the National Football League. Bryant left Texas A&M for Alabama, winning six national championships and retiring as college football’s winningest coach in 1982. Bryant and the Junction Boys met here again in 1979, reunited at a place which became legendary in Texas and American sports history. (2014)

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Crow, John David

1954

John David Crow, Heisman Trophy-winning football player, coach, and athletics administrator, was born on July 8, 1935, in Marion, Louisiana, to David Harry Crow, a paper mill worker, and Velma (Jenkins) Crow. When he was born, a midwife struggled to remove the umbilical cord around Crow's neck, which resulted in nerve damage that paralyzed the left side of his face. Crow grew up in Springhill, Louisiana, where he excelled in football, basketball, and track at Springhill High School. Crow, a running back, helped the football team win the state title in 1952, and he rushed for 1,366 yards on 84 carries in 1953. Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, along with assistant coach Elmer Smith, recruited Crow to attend the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) in 1954. Bryant had come to Texas A&M to revive a struggling football program. He needed to learn who could play to his demanding standards. In September 1954, before his first football season began, Bryant took two busloads of Aggie football players to Junction, Texas, for a grueling ten-day training camp. Many players quit amidst the heat and tough conditions. Those players who stuck it out, later called the "Junction Boys," were the heart of a Bryant-led, revitalized Aggie football program. Crow became part of that success, though as a freshman he was ineligible to play in 1954 and therefore did not participate in the Junction training camp. The Aggies won only one game in Bryant's first season and finished 1-9. It was the only losing season in Bryant's thirty-eight-year coaching career. The team turned around in 1955, Crow's sophomore year, and Texas A&M finished with a 7-2-1 record for its first winning season since 1951. In Crow's junior season, 1956, the Aggies finished with a 9-0-1 record and won their first Southwest Conference title since 1941. In Crow's senior season, 1957, the Aggies finished with an 8-3 record. Crow was known for a tough, physical running style and that season rushed for 562 yards and six touchdowns. Also a defensive player, he got five interceptions. He was awarded the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first Texas A&M player, and only player for Bryant, to receive the honor. When Bryant retired from coaching in 1982, he stated, "John David Crow was the finest player I ever coached. Watching film on him was like watching a grown man play with boys." Regarding Bryant's tough coaching style, Crow later commented that he "wasn't any tougher than my dad." Crow graduated from Texas A&M with a business administration degree in 1958. He was named to the 1957 American Peoples Encyclopedia Scholastic All-America Team. He was also named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. Crow's football success continued as a professional. The Chicago Cardinals (who moved to St. Louis in 1960; present-day Arizona Cardinals) selected him with the second overall pick in the 1958 NFL draft. He played eleven NFL seasons for the Cardinals (1958-64) and the San Francisco 49ers (1965-68) and was a team captain on both teams. As of 2024 he held the Cardinals team record for longest run from scrimmage, scoring on an eighty-three-yard run against Washington in a 1958 game. Overall, he was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named to the All-Pro team of the 1960s. Playing the halfback position for the majority of his professional career, he rushed a total of 4,963 yards and scored 38 touchdowns in 125 games. After his playing days ended, Crow joined Bear Bryant's University of Alabama staff as an assistant coach. He served as an assistant coach with two NFL teams, the Cleveland Browns (1972-73) and San Diego Chargers (1974-75), before joining Northeast Louisiana University (today the University of Louisiana Monroe) as head coach and athletics director. In 1983 Texas A&M football coach and athletics director Jackie Sherrill brought Crow back to serve as associate athletics director. In late 1988 Crow became athletics director and served until 1993. His

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O.C. Fisher

1903

Author, attorney and politician Ovie Clark Fisher (1903-1994) was born at the Kimble County Ranch Home of his parents, Jobe and Rhoda (Clark) Fisher. He graduated from Junction High School and received a law degree from Baylor University. He married Marian DeWalsh in 1927, and the couple had one daughter. O.C. was Tom Green County Attorney from 1931-35 before serving as State Representative and then District Attorney. In 1942 he was elected to the U.S. Congress, and represented west Texas for nearly 32 years. A prolific author, he compiled oral interviews for it occurred in Kimble, and how (1937), and wrote several books about Texas history and his life in politics. He and his wife are buried at Junction Cemetery. (2017)

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Coke R. Stevenson

1935

First Texas governor to serve more than two terms (1941-1947). First speaker of the house to succeed himself (1935-1937). Lieutenant Governor, 1939-1941. Was first to hold the three highest state offices. As governor, placed state on a cash basis without curtailment of services to the people and without a tax increase. Changed a $34,000,000 deficit to a $35,000,000 surplus. Lifetime resident, Kimble County. Son of pioneer settlers, R. M. and Virginia Hurley Stevenson. Born March 20, 1888. In school only 22 months; studied throughout his life. At 10 got a ranch job; at 16 owned and operated Junction-Brady Freight Line; at 18, entered banking as a janitor, advancing to president. Studied law and was licensed in 1913. County attorney, county judge; legislator, 1929-1939. While he was speaker, State House of Representatives, landmark legislation included first driver's license law; municipal indebtedness reporting Law; creation of state auditor's office; Lower Colorado River Authority; Highway Department pay-as-you-go plan. Over 50 years a Methodist, lawyer, Mason, rancher. Married in 1912, Fay Wright (deceased 1942); in 1954, Mrs. Marguerite King Heap. Children; Coke, Jr. and Jane.

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Frontier Battalion

1874

The Frontier Battalion, composed of six companies of Texas Rangers of seventy-five men each, was organized in 1874 as a result of a recommendation of Governor Richard Coke that Texas organize its own force to protect the frontier. On May 2, 1874, John B. Jones was commissioned major of the force. By July 10, 1874, all six companies were in service. Camps were established along the entire frontier line; Jones himself visited all of the companies, enforcing discipline, and, to tie the command together, established a line of couriers to ride from camp to camp to carry information and pick up Indian signs. By October 8, 1874, Jones reported the battalion in good working order. During the first seventeen months of its organization, the battalion had twenty-one fights with Indians; from September 1875 to February 1876 no Indians appeared on the border guarded by the battalion, and a new feeling of security resulted. The Frontier Battalion was established to control ordinary lawbreakers as well as for defense against Indians. This control was particularly necessary in the period of lawlessness and social collapse following the Civil War and Reconstruction . The situation was aggravated by the proximity of Texas to Mexico and the conflict between agrarian and cattle interests, as the farm frontier began to encroach on the ranching area. Men of the battalion made arrests, escorted prisoners, guarded jails, and attended courts; hundreds of lawless men were arrested; thousands fled. Among the special tasks assigned to the group were settling the Mason County War, cleaning outlaws out of Kimble County in 1877, ending the Horrell-Higgins Feud in Lampasas County, terminating the Salt War of San Elizario , and capturing Sam Bass . The breakup of the Frontier Battalion began with the death of Major Jones and the resignation of the principal captains in 1881. A court ruling in 1900 destroyed the authority of the force by allowing only commissioned officers to execute criminal process or make arrests. In reality the order destroyed the battalion. The work of the Frontier Battalion in making Texas "a fairly safe place in which to live" was largely responsible for the tradition which came to surround the term, "Texas Ranger."

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Junction, Texas

Music in Junction

Songs About Junction

Artists From Junction

Rivers & Roads in Song near Junction

History of Junction

Junction, TX RoadyGoat

Junction, TX RoadyGoat

A Town Named for Its Poles RoadyGoat

Stevenson, Coke Robert

Coach Bear Bryant and the Junction Boys

Crow, John David

O.C. Fisher

Coke R. Stevenson

Frontier Battalion

Everything Near Junction