Official Name: | Telegraph, Texas |
Settlement Type: | Ghost town |
Pushpin Map: | Texas#USA |
Pushpin Relief: | yes |
Pushpin Label: | Telegraph |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Texas and the United States |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Kimble |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Population As Of: | 2000 |
Timezone: | Central (CST) |
Utc Offset: | -6 |
Timezone Dst: | CDT |
Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
Elevation Ft: | 1854 |
Coordinates: | 30.3275°N -99.9061°W |
Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
Area Code: | 325 |
Blank Name: | FIPS code |
Blank Info: | 48-72092[1] |
Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Blank1 Info: | 1379144 |
Telegraph is a ghost town in Kimble County, Texas, United States, that is located along on U.S. Route 377, 13miles southwest of Junction.
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."[2]
Ruth Holmes was appointed the first postmaster, when Telegraph was assigned a post office on February 17, 1900.[3]
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).[4]
The general store and post office, built 1890–1900, was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1996, marker number 5219.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7]