Old Hess Building
Jacksboro, Jack County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1898 by Crummel Oric Hess (1853-1945). Native sandstone. Contained the Hess furniture and undertaking business 43 years. Hess came to Jacksboro in 1882. Married Miss Lizzie Longmire in 1885. Was one of first licensed embalmers in state. Prominent civic leader. Served on city commission in early years. Helped organize Jacksboro National Bank; had first long distance telephone in this area. Organized first cemetery association here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967 Incising on base: Presented by Mrs. J. F. Boyd in memory of her father.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1898 of native sandstone, the Old Hess Building housed C. O. Hess's furniture and undertaking business for more than four decades. Hess, who arrived in Jacksboro in 1882, was among the state's first licensed embalmers and a busy civic organizer—helping found the Jacksboro National Bank, the local cemetery association, and bringing the area's first long-distance telephone. The structure stands as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, presented in memory of a founding daughter's father.
Why it matters
It preserves the everyday commercial fabric of a turn-of-the-century Texas town, where a single merchant-undertaker could anchor banking, communications, and community life on one sandstone corner.
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Related people
- · Crummel Oric Hess
Themes & tags
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