Jones

Formed January 22, 1858 (134^th county)

Jones County (19,653), Anson (2,290), Stamford (2,896)

The domed clock tower on the 1910 pink brick Beaux Arts courthouse makes it stand out in the middle of Anson.  It is built on the square on Commercial (United States Highways 83/277) between 11^th and 12^th streets.  It is six blocks north of United States Highway 180.  The building’s designer was Elmer George Withers.  Anson has been the home for both county courthouses since the county founding on January 22, 1858.  Jones County was originally part of Bexar County as the 134^th county.  The county and county seat are named for Anson Jones, a pioneer doctor who was the last President of the Republic of Texas.  Anson was originally named Jones City but later changed names. 

Jones County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Jones and Shackelford counties and One County Court Judge serves Jones County.  The county is in north central Texas just north of Abilene, Texas.  A fork of the Brazos River crosses the southern part of the county.  The county center is 4.8 miles Northeast of Anson.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Haskell, Shackelford, Callahan, Taylor, Nolan, Fisher, and Stonewall counties. 

The area of the county is 931 square miles.  It is 98 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 124 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 21.1 persons per square mile making it 129 out of 254 in the state.  Jones County has 67.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 83 enters from the northwest, Fisher County, and exits to the south, Taylor County.  United States Highway 277 comes from Haskell County on the north, joins United States Highway 83 at Anson, and goes into Taylor County on the south.  United States Highway 180 transits east to west, Shackelford County to Fisher County.  A square county has Anson almost exactly in the county’s center.  Stamford is located on the northeast border of the county and extends into Haskell County.  Anson is the county seat and Stamford is the largest city.  Anson is 12.0% of the county population while Stamford is 15.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area.