Eighteen miles southeast of Hamlin, at the junction of US-180, sits Anson, named in honor of Dr. Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas. Anson was also a stop on the legendary Butterfield Stage U.S. Mail route that ran between St. Louis and San Francisco from 1858 to 1861, but these days it feels more like a stage set for The Last Picture Show, with handsome blocks of brick-fronted buildings forming a square around the stately Jones County Courthouse at the center of town. Anson is still a center for the local cotton industry, but its main claim to fame is the Cowboys’ Christmas Ball, described in an 1890 poem by William Lawrence “Larry” Chittenden and recently re-awakened by the involvement of country-folk singer Michael Martin Murphey, who did a Christmas show here in 1995.
You can see almost all of Anson by driving through on US-83, but if you want to learn more, stop by the Anson Jones Museum (Wed.–Sun. 2–4:30 pm), a block southeast of the courthouse. For more information, contact the Anson visitors bureau (325/823-3259).
Anson marks the junction of US-83 and US-80, part of the cross-country Southern Pacific route.
