Saint Jo is a city in Montague 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, along the northern border of the state. The population was 881 at the 2020 census.

History

Established by primarily European Americans in 1856, the city was originally known as Head of Elm, named for its location at the headwaters of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, one of the four distinct headwaters. Numerous settlers came to this area from the Upper South of Tennessee and Kentucky, attracted to new opportunities in Texas. Joe Howell was a surveyor who originally laid out the town and is credited as founder. According to one account, Irby Holt Boggess from Tennessee gave leadership in partnership with Howell in or around 1872. This account was displayed in 1986 in the Stonewall Saloon Museum on the town square of Saint Jo. It is incorporated in a story about Boggess. Howell was said to have opposed

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

sales, and was given the

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

nickname "Saint Jo." This was also applied to the town he founded. But in 1880 Zachariah T. Haden, who had come from

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

with his family, was working as a saloon keeper in Saint Jo, perhaps at the Stonewall Saloon. Saint Jo was located near Red River Station, a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

on the Red River. In the post-Civil War period, this post became the southern terminus of the

Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail ( ) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, across the Red River into Indian Territory, and northward to rail stops in Kansas. The trail cons ...

. As ranchers undertook

cattle drives Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding, often associated with cattle, in which case it is a cattle drive (particularly in the US). Droving stock to market—usually on foot and often with the ...

to get their cattle to railheads in Kansas and then shipped East, where they could command high prices, the areas related to the trail began to develop increased populations and businesses. Cowboys were the chief customers for saloons and hotels in these towns. Eventually railroads were constructed into Texas, ending the cattle drives to Kansas, and drawing off business along the trail. After the United States' 20th-century

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

, from 1920 to 1933, Saint Jo voted to remain a "dry" city. It was not until May 2009 that residents voted to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption. Saint Jo has been proud of its Western heritage and encourages tourism related to it. For instance, the Stonewall Saloon has been preserved for use as a museum, and the main street has retained its late 19th-century character. On May 6, 2017, the Real

Symposium met in Saint Jo. Program participants included representatives of the West Texas Historical Association, the Trail Drivers Association, and the Fort Sill Museum in

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Gary and Margaret Kraisinger, the joint authors of the 2004 book ''The Western: The Greatest Texas Cattle Trail, 1874–1886,'' also appeared. The city holds BoHo Saint Jo semiannually, a collaborative event produced with the retail clothing store Panache. The event features local vendors who can showcase their locally sourced goods.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 881 people, 364 households, and 240 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 977 people, 404 households, and 271 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 470 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.11%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.20%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.82% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 1.43% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.30% of the population. There were 404 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,045, and the median income for a family was $35,500. Males had a median income of $31,711 versus $20,859 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,225. About 13.5% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Saint Jo is served by the Saint Jo Independent School District.

Photo gallery

Image:St.Jo6 (1 of 1).jpg, Downtown St. Joe Image:St.Jo4 (1 of 1).jpg, City hall

References

External links

Handbook of Texas Online: St. Jo, Texas
{{authority control Cities in Montague County, Texas Cities in Texas