Antelope is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Jack County, Texas Jack County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,472. Its county seat is Jacksboro. The county was created in 1856 and organized the next year. It is named for ...

, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the community had a population of 65 in 2000.

History

Antelope got a post office in 1858, and B. F. Spear served as postmaster in 1859. Situated close to the West Fork of the Trinity River, the town served as a supply and overnight stop for cattle travelers. The six blocks surrounding the town square were surveyed and platted by Walter S. Jones in 1875, but the paperwork was not filed until 1889. With 300 residents and a hotel, many general stores, and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

churches, Antelope offered daily stages to

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Hen ...

and Graham for two dollars at the turn of the 19th century. Up until 1900, the town had a saw and

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, which was eventually replaced with a

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

Drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

s frequently spent the night in this location. The population was 200 in 1914. There was no mill or hotel in the hamlet, but there were still a few local businesses, a doctor, and a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

. In the 1940s, there were 166 residents. The village featured a fuel station, garage, Methodist and Baptist churches, and the Mullins Brothers general store, which had been operational since 1883. The neighboring oilfields and stockrearing contributed to the community's prosperity. The population dropped to 65 in the 1980s and stayed there in 1990 and 2000. There were still two companies in the settlement. On April 5-6, 1955, an F3 tornado hit Antelope, Shannon, and Newport, but did not cause any damage. On May 19, 2015, an EF0 tornado struck Antelope. This brief tornado caused minimal damage over open range land.

Geography

Antelope is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 175, U.S. Highway 281, and Texas State Highway Loop 187, northeast of

Graham Graham or Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

, northwest of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, and northwest of Jacksboro in northwestern Jack County.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Antelope has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Education

Antelope had its own school in 1890 and the 1940s. Today, the community is served by the Jacksboro Independent School District.

Notable people

* Russell H. Dilday, pastor and chancellor of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute.

References