Justin Texas History Through Sensationalized Headlines!

Justin, Texas - Since 1883

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Justin's History
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Dateline: Cretaceous - Ocean Invades Texas! Marine Creatures establish bases throughout Justin, Tx area!

The fossil formations found in Tarrant Co. and Denton Co. are from the Lower Cretaceous, which was about 100MYA (Million Years Ago). Below are some of the sea creature fossils that can be found in the area around Justin, Texas.

Ammonites, Nautiloids, and other Cephalopods of North Texas - Ammonites, Baculites, and Nautiliods are common in North Texas. They vary in size from very small (one inch) to several feet in diameter. Some are coiled, while others are straight. They are cephalopods, and come in several shapes and sizes, and are early ancestors to our current Nautilus shell. As the animal grew, it created more shell, living only in the very largest part of the shell. As newer parts of the shell were created the older sections were sealed off with septas, or walls, that connected to the outer shell. This connection creates sutures or patterns on the fossil that are distinct, and can be used as index fossils.
Snail Fossils and Gastropods of North Texas - There are a variety of Gastropod (snail) fossils. They are from the Cretaceous period, living about 100 million years ago. The size and shape of the fossils can vary greatly. The word 'Gastropod' means 'stomach foot'. These animals have a single muscular foot that is used to move across the sea floor. They are called univalves because they build a single coiled shell to protect their soft bodies. Ancient fossilized gastropods are related to living gastropods of today like snails. Gastropods can be carnivorous (meat-eaters) or herbivorous (plant eaters). The carnivorous snails have tongues that are covered with thousands of tiny teeth to tear apart food. You can often find ammonites and echinoids (sea urchins) in the same formation.
Urchin Fossils and Echinoderms of North Texas - Echinoderms are marine animals which are recognized by their five-point radial symmetry, and include such well-known animals as starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars. Echinoderms are very common in North Texas.
Clams, Oysters, Brachiopods, and Scallops - Bivalve Fossils of North Texas
Coral and Bryozoa Fossils of North Texas
Plant Fossils and Petrified Woods of North Texas
Vertebrae Fossils - Land & Sea Animal and Reptile Fossils of North Texas - The most common kind of animal fossils are those resulting from the mineralization of shells or bones. Other parts of the animals body are usually recycled by decomposers and never make it to the fossil stage. Only about 1/10th of the species living today are made up of tissues and live in habitats that make it possible for fossilization to occur. Animal fossils are only formed in areas with unusually good conditions for preservation that allow the more biodegradable parts to be preserved and represent an accurate depiction of the variety of species alive during that time.

Glen Rose, Tx is 80 miles from Justin, Tx - Dinosaur Valley State Park is in Glen Rose, Tx where dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River are very distinct. The Glen Rose tracks were the first evidence that sauropods could walk on land with their bodies unsupported by water buoyancy. The Glen Rose tracks became the cornerstone for modern theories about social behavior among dinosaurs. Scientists now know that many kinds of dinosaurs traveled and grazed in herds or hunted in packs. No modern reptile exhibits such behavior. Scientists now think that dinosaurs were active, efficient, social animals behaving much like modern birds and mammals. Although the degree of behavioral similarity is uncertain, the image of the dinosaur as just a clumsy, dull-witted reptile has been changed.

Dateline: 1848 - The Worst Crime Ever Committed in Justin, TX - was it a case of mistaken identity?

The worst crime ever committed in Justin, Texas was one directly connected to one of the most well-known historical facts about the town. In 1848, there was a group of French settlers who were moving into Justin to start their own intentional community, planning on governing themselves based on the idealistic beliefs all in the group shared. However, one of the least known stories about the French Icarians was that one of the families participating in the journey was murdered by a small group of Native American warriors. The Cartwright family, consisted of Johnathan Cartwright, his wife, Martha, and their three young children, Philip, James, and Bertha. The Native American warriors most likely mistakenly identified the group of travelers as that of a group who had recently passed through and kidnapped some of the tribe’s members to be sold into slavery. As it stands, the brutal torture and murder of the five member family on their journey to start their brand new life is the darkest tale that colors the past of the small Texas town. Read more here should you wish to.

Dateline: 1848 - Communists Invade Texas! They establish base outside Justin, Tx!

In Icaria everyone would share abundant wealth on an equal basis, and all private property and capital would be abolished.
In 1848 French immigrants established the Icarian colony at a Texas location that is as yet unverified, although some sources place it near the site of present-day Justin and fifteen miles north of Fort Worth. The first cabin and sheds may have been constructed near the confluence of Denton and Oliver creeks. The colonists held claim to 10,240 acres platted in checkerboard fashion. Little information is available on the community itself. Icaria never became a viable, permanent settlement, and no more than seventy inhabitants participated in the communal experiment at any given time. The colony survived less than a year. From beginning to end, the project was characterized by poor planning, opposition within the Icarian movement, inadequate financing, deception at several levels, debilitating physical hardships, and human tragedy. The Icarians leader, Étienne Cabet, negotiated a contract with the Peters Land Company for what was announced to the public as a million acres of land in Texas. Cabet's land agreement with Peters was not what the settlers had been led to believe; and it contained impossible, almost farcical, restrictions that Cabet had inexplicably kept to himself. For example, the colonists were led to believe that the lands were located along the river and thus easily accessible. They also were not told that the lands were not contiguous and that the total acreage was far less than the million acres expected. The contract made only 100,000 acres available to the Icarians, and the land was not in a continuous plat but divided into unconnected half-mile squares. The settlers could lay claim to the alternate squares only if they had erected individual cabins by July 1, 1848.
Despite the impossibility of their situation, the handful of tenacious Icarians set out to build as many cabins and claim as much land as possible. They were sustained by an often repeated promise from Cabet that a "second advanced party" of 1,500 immigrants was on its way. They had no success. The rocky land was unsuited for cultivation, and they did not have enough equipment or horses to produce a crop. Within a few months twelve colonists died, most from malaria; five left the project; and malaria afflicted everyone to the point of incapacitation. The reinforcement arrived in midsummer-ten sick and disillusioned immigrants instead of the expected 1,500. Realizing that adequate support was not forthcoming from France and that the present situation was untenable, the colonists abandoned the Texas site and returned to New Orleans in the winter of 1849 from TSHA
On February 3, 1848 a so-called "advance guard" of 69 Icarians departed from Le Havre, France for a new life in Texas, leaving aboard the sailing ship Rome. These were to proceed to the port of New Orleans and to make their way from there to the designated area in Texas, which was represented as being in close proximity to the Red River. The advance guard arrived in America on March 27, 1848. They were quick to discover that they had been deceived and that the actual lands designated for colonization were fully 250 miles away from the Red River; moreover, colony lands were not contiguous, but rather were separated into a checkerboard fashion, alternating state and private lands, making integrated communal life not possible. Moreover, instead of the promised 1 million acres, actual contractual terms of the land distribution provided for the distribution of 320 acres of land to 3,125 individuals or families who each had to construct a log cabin and occupy their allotment by the deadline date of July 1, 1848. With only 69 hands available for the construction, there was little hope for construction of more than about 30 cabins by the deadline. The promised 1 million acres was thereby transformed into perhaps 10,000. By 1849, only 281 Icarians stayed loyal to Cabet and remained to rebuild, whereas the rest went back to France.
The party could only proceed by boat to Shreveport. A wagon was obtained and loaded it with provisions for a difficult overland trek via the Bonham Trail to a resting place halfway to the final destination. The first group of 25 men departed on April 8, followed in a second wagon by 14 others shortly thereafter. Both wagons broke down en route and the 39 Icarians were forced to proceed in small groups, packing what they could on their backs. It was not until April 21 that they arrived at their resting place, still more than a hundred difficult miles from their goal.
Only 27 intrepid French settlers were able to make the final leg of the trip from the farm designated as a resting place to their new Texan utopia, a site located in today's Denton County in Texas (near Justin). The small group arrived June 2, 1848, and immediately began a frenzied effort to construct dwellings in order to stake their land claims, attempting at the same time to plow and farm the prairie. Virtually no time remained to meet the terms of the land concession. The hot summer sun began to bake the ground. Poorly fed, poorly housed, overworked and exhausted, the Icarian colonists next fell victim to an outbreaks of cholera and malaria, illnesses which killed four and sickened the rest. Making a bad situation still worse, the one medical doctor in the company broke down into a state of insanity and deserted his fellows. The grim reality of their situation now clear, the Texas colonization venture was written off as a total loss by the participants and the survivors divided into small groups to make their way back to Shreveport and from there to New Orleans. Four more died en route. Finally arriving in New Orleans late in 1848. from wikipedia

Dateline: 1887 - Railroad Invades North Texas! GCSF Builds a railroad through Justin, Tx!

The chief engineer of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (GCSF) leads to town's name.

In January of 1887 the community of Justin petitioned postal authorities for a post office to be named Justin, in honor of Justin Sherman, chief engineer of the Santa Fe line.

Background:

In the mid-1880s, Chief Engineer Temple was succeeded by an engineer named Walter Justin Sherman. Sherman encountered quite a few labor problems along the line. Especially in the hot summer months, members of the construction crews would desert, and replacements were hard to find. So, the GCSF authorized a daily whiskey ration, and Sherman dispensed a dipper of liquor at the end of the day to each member of the crew in an effort to keep morale high.

As early as 1881, the GCSF attracted the attention of several large railroad magnates. Jay Gould, who held a monopoly in northern Texas, presented quite a threat to the other Texas lines, including the Gulf, Colorado line. William Barstow Strong, president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, actively pursued a way to break Gould's stronghold on Texas railroad commerce.

Plagued by more financial problems, Sealy and the other leaders of the Gulf, Colorado line realized their railway would need a connection north out of Texas if it were to survive. William Strong offered a connection between the two lines and a solution to the problem. On March 25, 1886, the stockholders authorized George Sealy to work toward an exchange of stock between the two companies.

The agreement stated that the GCSF line would be built from Fort Worth to Purcell, in Indian territory, and would connect there with the southbound Atchison line. Then the Gulf, Colorado road was to build to Paris and connect with the St. Louis and San Francisco, as well as build a branch from Cleburne to Weatherford. On April 26, 1887, Sherman and his crews reached Purcell, four hours ahead of schedule and before the Atchison crews. By June, trains began to run from Kansas City to Galveston.

With the completion of the line to Purcell, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe was to assume control of the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe line. The contract, signed on March 3, 1886 by Sealy and Strong, provided for the transfer of the entire capital stock of the GCSF to the Atchison line in exchange for $8 million in Atchison stock. On March 23, representatives of the ATSF were elected to the board of the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe, and the merger was completed.

While the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe line had officially become part of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, it was still an important section of the rail line. The fact that it connected so many major Texas cities with the most important port city in Texas made it a valuable acquisition. from wikipedia

Dateline: May 15th, 1896 - Tornadoes Invade Texas! First attacked was Justin, Tx!

"Tornadoes occur in every state in the Union, and each region of the nation has its unique "tornado season." The most intense tornadoes can carry automobiles a half-mile and level a well built home. Some tornadoes have crossed mountains, seemingly unimpeded. Some have lasted more than an hour, scouring the earth with wind speeds of 250 miles per hour. Nor are tornadoes unique to the United States. In Bangladesh, for example, they have killed a thousand people in a single swath. The year 1896 may have been one of the worst year for tornadoes in the history of the USA. There were at least 40 killer tornadoes, including the only one to cause more than 100 deaths in two separate cities. The May 1896 tornado outbreak sequence was a series of violent and deadly tornado outbreaks that struck much of the Central and Southern United States from May 15 to May 28, 1896. It is considered one of the worst tornado outbreak sequences on record with tornado expert Tom Grazulis stating that the week of May 24–28 was "perhaps the most violent single week of tornado activity in US history".^[1] There were four particularly notable tornado outbreaks during the two-week period. It produced three F5 (Fujita Scale) tornadoes as well as the third deadliest tornado ever in United States history. A total of 484 people were killed during the entire outbreak sequence by at least 38 different tornadoes which struck Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, and Michigan

Visit the
Justin Texas Area Historical Society's may 15, 1896 tornado webpage
You'll be blown away!

Dateline: April 17th, 1897 - Aliens Invade Texas! Execute Flawed Landing 16 miles outside Justin, Tx!

Happily the invasion was stopped by the our superior windmill technology. Ok, attention grabbing headlines aside, The Aurora, Texas, UFO incident reportedly occurred on April 17, 1897 when, according to locals, a UFO crashed on a farm near Aurora, Texas which is 16 miles due West of Justin, Tx. The incident (similar to the more famous Roswell UFO incident 50 years later) is claimed to have resulted in a fatality from the crash and the alleged alien body is said to have been buried in an unmarked grave at the local Aurora cemetery. During the 1896–1897 time frame (some six or seven years before the Wright Brothers' first flight), numerous sightings of a cigar-shaped mystery airship were reported across the United States. One of these accounts appeared in the April 19, 1897, edition of the Dallas Morning News. Written by Aurora resident S.E. Haydon, the alleged UFO is said to have hit a windmill on the property of a Judge J.S. Proctor two days earlier at around 6am local (Central) time, resulting in its crash. The pilot (who was reported to be "not of this world", and a "Martian" according to a reported Army officer from nearby Fort Worth) did not survive the crash, and was buried "with Christian rites" at the nearby Aurora Cemetery. (The cemetery contains a Texas Historical Commission marker mentioning the incident.) Reportedly, wreckage from the crash site was dumped into a nearby well located under the damaged windmill, while some ended up with the alien in the grave. Adding to the mystery was the story of Mr. Brawley Oates, who purchased Judge Proctor's property around 1945. Oates cleaned out the debris from the well in order to use it as a water source, but later developed an extremely severe case of arthritis, which he claimed to be the result of contaminated water from the wreckage dumped into the well. As a result, Oates sealed up the well with a concrete slab and placed an outbuilding atop the slab. (According to writing on the slab, this was done in 1957.) from wikipedia
To learn more about Aurora, Tx see our Histories of Nearby Towns webpage.

Dateline: June 27th, 1910 - Pafford St. located right next to Leuty St... A Coincidence? We Think Not!

Also, more than bruised egos happen in Justin. From the Denton County News newspaper, which was printed on June 30, 1910.

"The Denton County News"

---
NEWS FROM JUSTIN.
JUSTIN, June 27 (1910)
----

J. E. Bradley went to Gainesville.
Herbert White was in Krum.
C. C. Gouldy was in Fort Worth.
Harry Hancock went to Denison.
Invitations are out announcing the marriage of miss Nannie Pafford to Callie Luety next Wednesday evening.
The rain which fell here Friday evening came in good time for the corn, as it had begun to suffer for moisture.
Squire T. E. Wood happened to a painful accident today by letting a separator run across his foot. his toes are badly bruised and it will be several days before he can work.
W. T. Lewis was considerably bruised up Sunday evening by being thrown from a wagon. His team ran away while he was driving near Fort Worth and his injuries were such that he could not come home in the wagon, but returned home on the train.
George Hodges of Fort Worth is here.
Mr. Tisdale of Bartonville was here.
A concrete ice house is being built on the railroad right of way. It is owned by a stock company.

Thanks to Jim Morriss for this submission.

Dateline: July, 3rd 1934 - A Murderous Boozer Stalked Justin, Texas! Kills Heroic Deputy Sheriff.

A Fallen Hero of Justin - Deputy Sheriff Carl Edward Garrett of the Denton County Texas Sheriff's Office

Deputy Sheriff Carl Edward Garrett passed away at age 34 on Tuesday, July 3, 1934, after succumbing to a gunshot wound he sustained the previous night in Justin, Texas when he and several other peace officers raided a cafe on 4th street in Justin. Deputy Garrett was struck in the throat when one of the occupants of the cafe, Jimmy Glasscock, opened fire. The other deputies returned fire, killing the suspect. The grave of Deputy Sheriff Carl Edward Garrett of the Denton County Texas Sheriff's Office is located in Elizabethtown Cemetery. Elizabethtown Cemetery is located on the south side of Elizabeth Creek on Elizabethtown Cemetery Road. The cemetery is south of Texas Hwy 114 and east of Interstate 35, a service road on the east side of I-35 and on the south side of TX 114, leads south across Elizabeth Creek to Elizabethtown Cemetery Road. Turn left, east,on Elizabethtown Cemetery Road, the cemetery is at the end of the road about 1/4 mile.
Justin Police Officer Kelli Thielemann is leading the official efforts to honor Deputy Garrett. Her contact info is at bottom of this page.
The Justin Police Dept. is working to honor the memory of Deputy Garrett. Stay tuned for details as they are announced.
The Justin Texas Area Historical Society also wishes to honor his memory, his service, and his ultimate sacrifice while serving the community. More information will be posted on the website as we acquire it.

AP Newspaper Account July 3, 1934	Newspaper Account July 3, 1934	Newspaper Account July 4, 1934	Newspaper Account July 7, 1934	Newspaper Account April 3, 1935	Newspaper Account April 6, 1935
Book Account	Map of Scene	Glascock, Garrett's Killer	Investigation Posse 1934

Dateline: 1951 - Farm to Market Road 407

FM 407 was the primary access route between the former US 77 and farms that were part of the original Icarian Colony, where the city of Justin now sits. The current designation of FM 407 has existed since 1951; the original routing was solely in Denton County, from FM 156 in Justin westward 2.6 miles. The route was extended to the Wise County line in 1952, and into Wise County to an intersection with US 81 in 1953. The majority of the length of FM 407 was added in 1955, when it was extended into Lewisville. FM 407 begins in Wise County, at US 81 / US 287 in New Fairview. The route travels east into Denton County and into the city of Justin. In Justin the route is concurrent with US 377 for approximately four blocks. It crosses IH 35W in Northlake and US 377 in Argyle. Near Bartonville at Country Club Road, FM 407 (locally known from this point as Justin Road) turns south before resuming an eastward path (however, as of 2014 construction is underway to re-route the road to the north). from wikipedia

Dateline: December, 1951 - Justin, TX Freight Train Wreck

From Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton, TX - 9 Dec 1951: Freight Train Wreck Blamed On Drawbar - Justin, Dec. 8 – A drawbar was the cause of a rail accident which upset 10 cars of the Sante Fe’s Gainesville bound train south of here at 12:10 p.m. yesterday. Officials of the Santa Fe said the drawbar between two cars pulled out and fell on the track, causing the pileup of railroad cars, which were loaded with bananas, carbon and cotton. The cars which were wrecked were followed by tank cars of the Warren Petroleum Company which were loaded with gasoline. Wheels of the first tank car were torn off by the impact, but the car was not overturned and no fire resulted. The derailment destroyed 250 feet of track. No estimate of the extent of the damage was available. Regular traffic over the line was rerouted by Decatur. The train was 80 cars long and was an extra. The derailed cars were in the middle of the train. link

Dateline: March, 2015 - 4 Years of Early Justin History Nearly Erased at City Council Meeting! Not a Train Wreck... but close?

The City of Justin Town Council was on the verge of approving a new official logo for the city, when, with only moments to spare, the director of JTXAHS, Mr. French, pointed out that the new logo incorporated the wrong date for the community's creation. Corespondent Justin Thyme (not his real name) reports from the scene: "There, to the horror of Mr. French, was a logo with a date of 1887, which implied the community of Justin was born in 1887. A visibly aghast Mr. French raised the alarm about the date (and the look of the logo as well - but more on that tomorrow). He pointed out the error, and rightly voiced that the correct and logically concluded date of the town's creation is 1883. A ruckus ensued regarding the design concept of the new logo. The gnashing of teeth eventually subsided only when the Mayor made a motion to form a committee to look into the matter and that Mr. French be a member of said committee. Mr. French, knowing how close to the precipice the town's history had gotten, was pleased and was heard to give a hearty 'Umm, ok' in response.
UPDATE: Mr. French informs this reporter that he will be unable to play tennis this week due to excessive patting of himself on the back in direct response to the averted logo date disaster. He also hopes that children can learn from this situation saying; "Kids, don't be afraid to stick up for what you know is right. You might suffer for it initially - such as my injured arm - but afterwards you can sell your story to Hollywood, and make some big bucks doing so." Mr. French is in talks re: a straight to DVD movie production. He would like to see Brad Pit play the Mayor, and Matthew McConaughey play himself, with Mr. McConaughey channeling Jack Nicholson in 'A Few Good Men'... The Truth? You Can't Handle the truth about the date 1887..." Mr. French adds "It'll be EPIC!"

"The Denton County News" about Justin. hot news printed on June 30, 1910. Pafford St. next to Leuty St.

Stay tuned for more Tongue-in-cheek news from Justin, Tx

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