Rosston is a small farming and ranching

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in southwestern Cooke County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, 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 75 in 2000. It is located within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

History

By January 5, 1865, white people had settled in the area. During a raid, over 100 Indians from

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

killed nine people and took numerous horses. It was said to be the last Indian raid in Cooke County. The four Ross brothers—William, John, Perry, and Orr—moved from Grayson County to the area in 1870 and established a mill, mercantile store, and

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

. In 1872, the town's name was changed from Rosstown to Rosston, and a post office was opened in the Ross shop. While traveling between Gainesville and Jacksboro, the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

passed close to Rosston. The Chisholm Trail was also close by. The village peaked in 1913, with seven enterprises (two

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 ...

shops, three general stores, a drugstore, and a cotton gin) and a doctor. Sam Bass, an outlaw, is said to have used the Rosston area as a meeting place for gang activity; as a result, the town commemorates Sam Bass Day every year on the third Saturday in July. There were many homes, a store, a volunteer fire station, a Methodist church, a Baptist church, and 110 people living in Rosston in 1980. 110 people were living there in 1990. By 2000, the population had fallen to 75. On April 20, 1912, an F3 tornado struck Rosston. 12 barns and homes were destroyed. On May 25, 2024, an F0 tornado struck Rosston, causing widespread damage to trees. The late Bill Freeman of Rosston trained and showed

Smart Little Lena Smart Little Lena (June 29, 1979–August 30, 2010) was an AQHA registered Quarter Horse, an NCHA Triple Crown Champion cutting horse, and sire of champion cutting horses. He was inducted into both the AQHA Hall of Fame and NCHA Horse Hall of ...

, a quarter horse, throughout his career. On October 12, 1921, Rosston had a branch of the Cooke County Library in its vicinity.

Geography

Rosston is located on Farm to Market Road 922, southwest of Gainesville, east of Forestburg, and west of Era in southwestern Cooke County.

Education

Today, Rosston is served by the Era Independent School District.

Media

The Liberman Broadcasting Tower Era is located just east of the community. The tower is named for its proximity to the community of Era, though it is much closer to Rosston and Leo. The radio transmitters for KZZA, KTCK-FM, and

KBOC KBOC (98.3 FM broadcasting, FM ''Luna 98.3'') is a commercial broadcasting, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Bridgeport, Texas, and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Estrella Media and airs a Lat ...

are also located in the community.

Notable people

* Ralph C. Dills, who served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Cooke County, Texas