Thurber

About

Thurber's story began in 1886 with the discovery of coal, leading to the establishment of a coal mining camp. The Texas and Pacific Coal Company acquired the operations in 1888, transforming it into a meticulously planned company town. By the early 20th century, Thurber was the largest company town in Texas and one of the largest producers of bituminous coal in the state, supplying fuel for numerous railroads. The town attracted a diverse workforce from over a dozen nationalities, including large numbers of Italians, Poles, and Mexicans. In 1897, a brick plant was added, utilizing the area's abundant shale to produce high-quality paving bricks that were used in streets across Texas, including Austin's Congress Avenue and the Galveston seawall. Notably, Thurber became the first totally closed-shop, 100% unionized town in the country following a strike in 1903, marking a significant moment in the labor movement. Thurber's prosperity began to wane with the advent of oil. In 1917, W.K. Gordon, an executive with the Texas and Pacific Coal Company, played a key role in the discovery of the Ranger oil field, just miles away. Ironically, as locomotives converted from coal to oil, the demand for Thurber's coal plummeted. The coal mines closed in 1926, followed by the brick plant in 1931, leading to a rapid decline in population. By the late 1930s, Thurber had become a virtual ghost town, with most of its buildings dismantled or removed. Today, the remaining landmarks and the W.K. Gordon Center preserve its rich industrial and social history.