The History of Jasper, Texas

The community was settled around 1824, during the era of Mexican Texas, by pioneer John Bevil, and was first known as 'Snow River.' In 1835, as Texas moved toward revolution, the town was renamed Jasper in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, an American Revolutionary War soldier killed at the Siege of Savannah in 1779.

When the Republic of Texas was formed in 1836, Jasper County was one of its 23 original counties, and the town of Jasper became the county seat in 1844. From the start, it was a center of the densely forested country of Southeast Texas — a land of tall pines, hardwood bottoms, and abundant game and timber.

Jasper's economy was built on the forest. When the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway reached the area in the early 20th century, it transformed Jasper into a lumber-manufacturing center. Sawmills ran at a daily capacity of 125,000 board feet, shipping out roughly 200 rail cars of lumber a month, and timber became — and remains — the backbone of the local economy.

The town also survived disaster. In 1901, thieves blew open the safes at the post office and county treasurer's office and set a fire to cover their tracks. With no fire department to stop it, the blaze destroyed virtually the entire town, with damages estimated at $100,000. Jasper rebuilt, as resilient timber towns did, and carried on. A point of civic pride from this era endures: the Jasper Newsboy, published continuously since 1865, is considered the oldest continuously published weekly newspaper in Texas.

Jasper's name entered the national consciousness for a terrible reason in 1998, when James Byrd Jr., a Black man, was murdered in a brutal, racially motivated killing that shocked the country and the world. The crime led to landmark federal legislation — the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed into law in 2009. Three men were convicted; two received death sentences and one a life sentence.

In the aftermath, the people of Jasper — Black and white — were left to grapple with grief and with the town's image. Over the years since, the community has worked toward healing and reconciliation, including symbolic and practical steps toward unity. It is a somber and important chapter, and an honest history of Jasper includes both the tragedy and the town's ongoing effort to move forward together.

Today Jasper is a city of about 7,000, the busy county seat of Jasper County, and a gateway to some of the best outdoor recreation in Texas. Timber and forest products remain central to the economy, joined by healthcare, agriculture (poultry and cattle), retail, and the tourism that flows from the surrounding lakes and forests. It's a diverse community, with Black and white residents each making up a large share of the population.

The town's true identity is tied to its setting. Sam Rayburn Reservoir — the largest lake entirely within Texas — lies just to the north, B.A. Steinhagen Lake and Martin Dies Jr. State Park to the west, and the Angelina and Sabine national forests all around. Jasper celebrates its place in the Piney Woods with events like its annual Butterfly Festival, marking the monarch migration each October. The Jewel of the Forest remains, at heart, a forest town.