Jones County Texas Archives - Tuxedo School - 1927 *********************************************************** Submitted by: Dorman Holub Date: 19 January 2020 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/jones/jonestoc.htm *********************************************************** The Stamford American Thursday, June 9, 1927 Tuxedo School District No. 5 has an outstanding bonded indebtedness $8,700.00. Valuation of $253,956.00. The local rate of tax 60c, for bonds 40c. The area of the district is 17 square miles. The trustees are W.C. Carlton, J.B. McAlister, and W.P. Apperson. The teachers are W.B. Griffith, Pauline Hudnall and Annie Marie Cooper. Tuxedo is located 14 miles west of north of Anson, 10 miles west of Stamford and 11 miles east of Hamlin on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway. It is 1728 feet above sea level and by recent survey said to be the highest point in Jones County, its elevation exceeding that of Flat Top Mountain. Tuxedo is one of the oldest settlements in Jones County. In 1905 a small one-room school building was erected about half mile south of the present school site. Miss Polly McDougle was the first teacher. She taught five months at $50.00 per month. About this time Tuxedo was known as Bonita, but the school was called Fairview. When the railroad came to Tuxedo about 1907, and a Post Office was established it was found that there was another Bonita in Texas and as the two were often confused the railroad officials changed the name to Tuxedo. The origin of this name is not known but one of the stockholders of the company who lived in Waco was either named Tuxedo or had a wholesale house stocked with Tuxedo clothing and to him is given the reason for the name.l In 1911 there were 17 or 18 business houses located in Tuxedo. There was one hotel of 40 rooms, two lumber yards, two gins, one bank, telephone exchange and a Western Union office. In 1912 a fire destroyed everything with the exception of the gins, lumber yards and hotel. The hotel was later moved away. Early settlers who still reside near Tuxedo are Messrs. Gene Appling, Dick Williams, D.J. Meads, and John Ashburn. In 1909 a two-story brick school building was erected on the present site; the upper story being used for an auditorium. In 1923 the building was torn down and the present one-story three-room brick building erected. A teacherage was also built at this place. Tuxedo is an agricultural district. Cotton is the chief crop, however maize, wheat, oats, and vegetables are raised. County Agent Tanner reports that Tuxedo has more terraced land than any other Jones County school district. The amount of terraced land being about 25 percent of the land in the district. Some of the farmers who have terraced their farms are Messrs. A.J. French, B.F. Ashburn, E.E. Link, M.H. Cook, M.B. Apperson, F.H. Butler. Tuxedo farmers practice and have found profitable diversification. In the fall of 1926, the gin at Tuxedo ginned 2010 bales of cotton. This however cannot be accepted as the yield of Tuxedo school district because many farmers at this district took cotton to Hamlin and Stamford brought cotton to the Tuxedo gin. Tuxedo now has only one store. The store and post office is operated by Mr. Dick Williams, The population of Tuxedo, according to the last census, was given as 75 or 100 people. By Pauline Hudnall, teacher Tuxedo School.