Telegraph, Texas
{{short description|Ghost town in Kimble County, Texas, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Telegraph, Texas
|settlement_type = Ghost town
|nickname =
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|image_skyline =Telegraph, Texas (7964412796).jpg
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|pushpin_map = Texas#USA
|pushpin_relief = yes
|pushpin_label = Telegraph
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Texas and the United States
|pushpin_mapsize =
|image_map =
|map_caption = Location within Kimble county
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|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Texas
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Kimble
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|unit_pref = Imperial
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|population_as_of = 2000
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|timezone = Central (CST)
|utc_offset = -6
|timezone_DST = CDT
|utc_offset_DST = -5
|elevation_m =
|elevation_ft = 1854
|coordinates = {{coord|30|19|39|N|99|54|22|W|region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP code
|postal_code =
|area_code = 325
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info = 48-72092{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = 1379144{{GNIS|1379144}}
|website =
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Telegraph is a ghost town in Kimble County, Texas, United States, that is located along on U.S. Route 377, {{convert|13|mi|km}} southwest of Junction.
History
Biographer Robert A. Caro notes, "the town had no telegraph; it had been given its name because telegraph poles had been cut from trees near there during the 1850s."{{cite book | title=Means of Ascent | title-link=Means of Ascent | publisher=Alfred A. Knopf | author=Caro, Robert A. | year=1990 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/meansofascent00caro/page/155 155] | isbn=0-394-49973-5}}
Ruth Holmes was appointed the first postmaster, when Telegraph was assigned a post office on February 17, 1900.{{cite web|title=Kimble County Post Offices|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txpost/kimble.html|publisher=Jim Wheat|accessdate=24 February 2011}}
File:Telegraph Store and Post Office, Telegraph, Texas (7967177044).jpg
By the 1890, ranches were established in the surrounding area of the Texas Hill Country. During the 1920s, camping on the river near Telegraph was a popular vacation spot for campers, hunters, and fishermen, with the only building of the town serving as the residence/country store/post office (which closed in 2009). In 1925, Telegraph had rental cabins on the river, and a gas station-post office-general store (residence of the postmaster).{{cite web|last=Gaxiola|first=Anthony B|title=TSHA-Telegraph, Texas|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnt09|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=24 February 2011}}
The general store and post office, built 1890–1900, was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1996, marker number 5219.{{cite web|title=Telegraph Store and Post Office|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=5267005219&site_name=Telegraph+Store+and+Post+Office&class=5000|work=Recorded Texas Historic Landmark|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=24 February 2011}}
Telegraph was about a mile from the ranch built by Governor Coke Stevenson,
known as "Mr. Texas".
At its peak in 1966, the town had a trade population of 56 people, made up of people living in the cedar breaks and on the ranches surrounding Telegraph, using its post office.{{cite web|title=Escape-Telegraph, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHillCountryTowns/Telegraph-Texas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|accessdate=24 February 2011}}
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Telegraph has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=798814&cityname=Telegraph%2C+Texas%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Telegraph, Texas]
Notable person
- Governor Coke Stevenson, long time Texas public servant, known also for his narrow loss to Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1948 U.S. Senate election
See also
{{portal|Texas}}
References
{{reflist|22em}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Telegraph, Texas}}
{{Kimble County, Texas}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks